House Cmte Votes For Rove To Be In Contempt, Now What?

First of all I'd like to congratulate the House Judiciary Committee on showing the tiniest hint of a spine by holding Karl Rove in contempt of Congress. He feels that since he worked for George Bush, that magically puts him above the law. Well the framers of our country and our Constitution felt differently, and so should all of us. So procedurally speaking, Chairman Conyers did his job by moving this along to the full House.

From Bloomberg:

The House Judiciary Committee's 20-14 vote along party lines escalated the dispute between the Bush administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress over lawmakers' demand for testimony by presidential aides.

President George W. Bush has invoked executive privilege to bar his aides from testifying under oath in Congress about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. The president also barred Rove's testimony on the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

The panel has asked a federal judge to order Bush's chief of staff, Joshua Bolten to turn over documents about the firings and to direct former White House counsel Harriet Miers to testify about the dismissals.

So now that John Conyers had his committee vote for contempt, it is up to the full Congress to vote on it. Say they hold him in contempt in a week or two from now. When Rove sticks his middle finger at that, will Congress go all the way and put him in jail? More than a hundred-thousand have already signed the pledge (including myself) for them to do so. This is really simple, Karl Rove broke the law for political reasons, going as far as having a governor put in jail for purely vindicative reasons. Now that we found out what he was up to, it is time to have justice give him the swift kick in the ass that he justly deserves. Any other conclusion is completely unacceptable.

Obama Knows Main Street Comes Before Wall Street

Barack Obama was in Springfield, Missouri today and he talked about the economy, as everyone is feeling the economic pressures build by the day. Instead of listening to the special interests like McCain does, Obama shows there is another, better way:

Pundits Say The Darndest Things

Yesterday Ted Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements concerning the bribes and/or gifts he received from certain Alaskan companies. It is one more mark to add to the litany of criminal and moral offenses the GOP brand is about when it comes to the stewardship of our government. Yet for one pundit (and I presume many more on the right) it could be an opportunity for John McCain.

From Politico:

Ted Stevens, the long-serving senator from Alaska and former chairman of the powerful Appropriatons Committee, is to be indicted today on seven criminal counts. No word yet from McCain or the campaign, but I'd be shocked if they didn't at least subtly remind voters about the clashes between the two senators over the years. McCain often likes to brag that Stevens had once deemed him, "The Sheriff," for his crusading ways.

John Cole tags this one under General Stupidity, I couldn't agree more. Of course, if John McCain wants to talk about Senator Stevens' indictment, then by all means, go for it!

Harrison/McMahon Versus Somebody

The NY Times did a write-up this week on the differences between the two Democratic candidates running for Congress in Staten Island (with a sliver of Brooklyn too). As anyone can easily see, there are plenty of contrasts between the grassroots-energized Harrison and 'moderate' Councilman McMahon. Steve Harrison has worn out multiple pairs of shoes walking the district while Michael McMahon got the full backing of the Democratic establishment once Vito self-destructed.

Here are just a few differences:

Political labels aside, there are stark differences between the two. Mr. Harrison opposes capital punishment, while Mr. McMahon supports it. The councilman favors nearly all means of addressing the nation’s energy problems, including offshore drilling, something Mr. Harrison opposes. Mr. McMahon supported Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ultimately unsuccessful congestion pricing plan, while Mr. Harrison opposed it.

On the Iraq war, Mr. Harrison has demanded an immediate withdrawal of American troops, while Mr. McMahon said he supported “a responsible redeployment of our troops in Iraq.”

New York's top Democrats have made life very hard for the progressive Harrison and with all that money, the race for the nomination this year is much tougher. As a liberal, I'd love to see Steve win this, despite the long odds. McMahon reminds me of the DLC Republican-lite crap that has been a losing proposition for too many Democrats over the years. People want to see a candidate with principles and a backbone and frankly, the Councilman looks like he is just playing politics and not standing up for what is right.

Of course, come November when either Harrison or McMahon is up against what's their faces, ultimately there will be one more member in the Democratic caucus, c/o Staten Island.

Super McCain Bros.

Remember when the original Nintendo came out twenty-some years ago? Personally, I loved playing Super Mario Bros as a kid, though I think my memories about it are fading, because something looks odd in this video:



Ah, the Colbert Report....inspiring such creativity across the nation!

Paterson Addresses State On Money Woes

Governor Paterson took the extraordinary step yesterday of going on television to (dramatically) make the case for something to be done about a budget deficit in our state that seems to grow by the second. As revenues fall in our tightening economy yet fuel costs (and anything connected to oil in our petro-world) rise, the budget deficit has ballooned nearly $1.4 billion dollars since the budget passed this year. Now Paterson wants the legislature to get an early start on next year....starting next month.

From The Times-Union:

Paterson was short on specifics, mentioning his plan for a cap on school taxes as well as a boost for home heating aid. He did not say he would try to convince lawmakers to make cuts or slow the growth in Medicaid and school aid, which together make up a substantial portion of the $121.6 billion state budget in most years, and which have grown recently.

He talked about reducing the state work force, as well as what he termed "private/public" partnerships, which could include the sale or lease of excess land and other assets.

Another possibility was an income tax hike for those earning more than $1 million annually, a move Assembly Democrats and unions have been calling for.

Paterson's budget experts planned to offer more specifics at a briefing this morning in New York City.

Two longtime observers said they were heartened that Paterson was starting budget talks early, in stark contrast to a long-standing tradition of lawmakers, after the November elections, professing shock at the deterioration in the state budget.

This is definitely something different and the times do call for something along those lines. There will most certainly be a lot of fighting amongst all the groups in the state over who loses and who loses big. My hope is that those on the bottom rungs amongst us lose least, because they are already on the brink in these economically perilous times. Reviving talk about the millionaire's tax is heartening, because frankly, having one less yacht versus one less meal on the table really shouldn't be up for debate in the first place.

Alaskan Catch Du Jour: Ted Stevens

I love fishing, but seeing federal authorities charge Senator Ted Stevens for false statements was on par with going out and landing actual fish. This all went down yesterday, but since I was flying all day, I still had to write about this now. So, the old, corrupt Senator from Alaska was found to have improperly taken gifts in exchange for favorable legislation....and get this, it concerns fishing laws that also helped his son. Nothing like a little father-son bonding time when unethically playing off your constituents.

From CBS News:

(CBS/AP) Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

Stevens, the first sitting U.S. senator to face federal indictment since 1993, has been dogged by a federal investigation into his home renovation project and whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.

The investigation has upended Alaska state politics and cast scrutiny on Stevens - who is running for re-election this year - and on his congressional colleague, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who is also under investigation.

Nearly every major Republican Alaskan legislator is in hot water of some form or another. Even the once-popular Governor Palin was found to have used the power of her office to get revenge for one of her family members.

Folks, this 'red' state is going to get a heavy dose of purple this year.

McCain Hearts Oil Industry Money

And for his positions on offshore oil drilling, the oil industry hearts him back:

Bush's $490B Deficit Is Really $600 Billion

The White House announced yesterday that the budget deficit for FY 2009 was 'only' going to be around $490 billion dollars. That of course, is a far cry from the surpluses we saw under Clinton but hey, at least George Bush was giving us an honest account of where our nation stands and how much more of a burden we are putting on our children and future generations with this load of debt. Oh wait, who are we talking about here?

From ThinkProgress:

Yesterday, the White House “increased its estimate for next year’s deficit to nearly $490 billion, a record figure that will saddle the next president with deepening budget problems in his first year in office.” But, on ABC News’s Good Morning America today, Claire Shipman reported that the deficit is actually much higher because “creative White House accounting” didn’t include the war, the unemployment costs, Medicare fees, or the housing bill in its calculations. If those numbers are included, it brings “the grand total to about $600 billion.”

Um, yeah, what's $110 billion dollars anyways. The war is going to pay us back in spades, right wingers? The thing is, from the lowly pundits to the top of the White House, they are all a bunch of cheerleaders that rah-rah themselves in front of the public despite being down by 50 at the end of the 4th quarter.

McCain Made More Than Median Family By Not Showing Up For Work

Thanks to pro-corporate and anti-working class policies, the median income for today's American family is under $50,000. Most people work hard for that money, putting in well over 40 hours a week and then some. However, if you are John McCain, with gobs of money from his wife's beer fortune, pulling in more than $50 grand is a breeze, especially since he didn't show up for work since totaling that number.

From DailyKos:

• $51,345.08 - Senate salary John McCain has 'earned' since he last showed up in the Senate to perform his job on April 9, 2008.
• $48,201.00 - The median household income in the US in 2006.

So do you want to tell me how exactly that makes him in touch with the average American? He has collected that money from the taxpayers in less than four months yet didn't even bother showing up to vote on anything in the Senate. Though you never know, he may try to lie about this in the same way he tells whoppers about other things.

Maddow And Olbermann Expose McCain's Fake Empathy For The Troops

Despite what McCain says and what his history is with our armed forces, what matters is his voting record and what that means in a McCain presidency.

Violent Right Wing Rhetoric Becomes Tragically Real

Since September 11th, the right wing echo chamber has become increasingly violent in regards to their rhetoric. The hatred shown by pundits such as O'Reilly, Coulter, Hannity and Michael Savage has been vicious towards liberals and those that oppose their way of seeing a black and white, good versus evil world. Well people out there listen to their foaming-at-the-mouth rhetoric and unfortunately we will see tragic events like this happen more frequently.

From RawStory:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church, killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday.

A four-page letter found in Jim D. Adkisson's small SUV indicated he intentionally targeted the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church because, the police chief said, "he hated the liberal movement" and was upset with "liberals in general as well as gays."[...]

The attack Sunday morning lasted only minutes. But the anger behind it may have been building for months, if not years.

"It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred for the liberal movement," Police Chief Sterling Owen said.

Adkisson was a loner who hates "blacks, gays and anyone different from him," longtime acquaintance Carol Smallwood of Alice, Texas, told the Knoxville News Sentinel.

These pathetic individuals are exactly the type that right-wing commentators go after. They seek out those that hate the world for their situation, without opening their eyes to realize that so many are in the same boat with them. Instead, it is a "me against the world" attitude that breeds hate and violence when a strong dose of ignorance is involved. Every once in a while our society is exposed to the culmination of one individual's hate. Yet it would be wrong to write this off as one loon that killed innocent people, because that loon is getting his information from somewhere.