I MISS BILL

*I saw a great bumper sticker this weekend: I MISS BILL. Yes, we certainly do miss Bill Clinton. Remember when we had jobs? Health insurance? Our country was respected in the world? Those were the good old days.

Raw Story found an article in The Boston Globe that indicates that Bush is ignoring approximately 750 laws. How can he do that????? Here is an excerpt:
Phillip Cooper, a Portland State University law professor who has studied the executive power claims Bush made during his first term, said Bush and his legal team have spent the past five years quietly working to concentrate ever more governmental power into the White House.

''There is no question that this administration has been involved in a very carefully thought-out, systematic process of expanding presidential power at the expense of the other branches of government," Cooper said. ''This is really big, very expansive, and very significant."

*If you missed the White House Correspondents dinner on CSPAN, you should try to catch the Stephen Colbert section of the entertainment. Visit http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/

*Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said gas prices could stay high for many years. Marketwatch has the article. What is the consumer to do? Buy a car that gets better mpg. I'm getting 50mpg on the highway and that makes me very happy! Buying my Hybrid was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

*Don't forget to visit SAVE DARFUR and let people know that we cannot let the genocide continue.

Why did Kuhl vote against better port security?

Why would Republican Rep. Randy Kuhl (NY-29) vote against increased port security? On March 16, 2006, Kuhl VOTED AGAINST INCREASED PORT SECURITY. How can he justify this vote? He serves on the Committee for Transportation and Infrastructure and you'd think he'd be well aware of the challenges faced by our highways, railroads, airports, and bridges. His vote against more port security shows his lack of interest in protecting the security of our nation and his district.

Friday with Neil Young

Neil Young's album is available for listening.

Senator George Allen's idiocy is revealed: Allen supports and sometimes wears a confederate flag pin. This guy wants to be president? Of the KKK?!!!!

Raw Story does it again: The Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has denied Democratic attempts to interview Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former CIA Director George Tenet and two former senior aides to erstwhile Secretary of State Colin Powell, RAW STORY has learned....

The icing on the cake.....from the New York Times: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case, is expected to decide in the next two to three weeks whether to bring perjury charges against Karl Rove, the powerful adviser to President Bush, lawyers involved in the case said Thursday...

Those Silly Republicans!

Karl Rove visited the grand jury yesterday. It was the 5th time he appeared. (Please, Patrick Fitzgerald, indict him, please!!!!)

Looks like Sen. Rick Santorum (PA-R) is scaring off a lot of women with his views and politics. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Santorum had invited 3,000 women to a special conference, but only 90 attended and they weren't impressed. Obviously, Santorum's draconian views aren't bringing women voters to his campaign.

If you can't get a job, it must mean you are not related to Republican Rep. Curt Weldon. According to the Harpers, Weldon's relatives are gaining jobs and government contracts.

Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt made some interesting comments lately. According to the Enquirer:
Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, said in one of her rare debates that local Ford workers are being laid off because the plants were making four-cylinder transmissions when the market wanted seven-cylinder transmissions.

The Ford Motor Co. Web site lists 70 models of Fords, Jaguars, Mercurys, Lincolns, Land Rovers and Mazdas - but not one seven-cylinder transmission....

Florida Republican Katherine Harris is running for U.S. Senate and her poll numbers are poor (27%).

Jack Abramoff's second favorite Congressman, Bob Ney (OH-R) is still raising campaign money. Ney is still being investigated because of his ties to Abramoff.

Don't Take Their Word--Verify

I came across an article about Republican Rep. Chris Chocola (IN-2) who says he has done nothing wrong and that he has not taken money from big drug manufacturing groups. There are a few pieces of evidence that indicate that Chocola has close ties with big PAC's:
1. Chocola loved Tom DeLay
2. Chocola has received $533,669 from PACs for this 2006 election cycle
3. For the 2004 campaign, Chocola got $692,850 from PACs
4. For the 2001-02 campaign, Chocola got $623,352 from PACs

Remember when Chocola was against aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina? His quote: "...Having said that, I believe we must not compound the natural disaster of Katrina by creating a fiscal disaster in Congress - it is our duty to ensure that we reign in other government spending in any event, and especially in this time of national emergency..."
Chris Chocola

What?

According to Newsday---Dr. Janet Woodcock of the FDA, was against the use of the Plan B contraceptive pill because she thought it might lead teenagers to form 'sex based cults' because of access to Plan B. What? Sex based cults? What kool-aid is she drinking?

Bloomberg is reporting that BP has been fined for safety problems: BP Plc, the fourth-largest U.S. oil refiner, was fined almost $2.4 million by U.S. workplace regulators for unsafe operations at the company's refinery near Toledo, Ohio....

Republicans are hypocrites. While they say they'll investigate high gas prices, the Republicans refuse to raise taxes on the oil companies. So does that mean that Republicans support high gas prices and huge obscene profits for oil companies???? Here is an excerpt from Tampa Bay Online: While Republican leaders sharply criticize soaring gasoline prices and energy industry profits, GOP negotiators have decided to knock out provisions in a major tax bill that would force the oil companies to pay billions of dollars more in taxes on their profits....

High Gas Prices?

While President Bush is promising to look into the price of gasoline, we need to be reminded that Bush is a former oil man. Since the year 2000, oil companies gave 75% of their political contributions to members of the Republican Party. Do you honestly believe that Republicans are going to give up their free lunch from these energy companies? Bush can't stop the rising gas prices and even if he could, he wouldn't. His best buddies are getting richer and that is good for the Republicans.

Why does the former Chairman of Exxon Mobil, Lee Raymond, deserve a retirement package worth $400 million? The Herald News Daily reports that....The country‘s three largest oil and gas companies are expected to report combined first-quarter profits this week in excess of $16 billion, a 19 percent surge from last year...

These profits are obscene. We need leadership and real solutions for these energy problems. Bush's half-baked ideas that were written by a speech writer, won't work. This administration and the Republican Party are clueless about the real needs and struggles of Americans. Watch this video for an example of real leadership.

Get Ready for A Snow Job

Raw Story is reporting that the White House will soon announce that Tony Snow, of Fox News, will be the new White House press secretary. Crooks and Liars has more on the story.

How are gas prices in your neighborhood? GasBuddy.com has reports from all over.

Hopefully, you've heard about the upcoming release of Neil Young's new album, Living with War. Neil Young also has a blog called Living with War: http://livingwithwar.blogspot.com/

How low can you go?

If you are old enough to remember the song to the Limbo, you'll remember the following words ...how low can you go? Unfortunately, those words should be changed to 'how low can HE go' in reference to the new approval ratings for President George W. Bush. CNN is reporting that ...32 percent of respondents said they approve of Bush's performance, 60 percent said they disapprove and 8 percent said they do not know... Whoa!

I am really, really, really worried about those 8 percent who said they do not know. Hello! People! Do you know what is going on----Iraq, high oil prices, Exxon and other oil companied have obscene profits, no jobs, scandals, etc.???? Where do those 8% live because I think we need to go talk to them. Obviously, these people need to get informed by talking to someone, reading a newspaper, or turning on the TV.

The crisis in Iraq is hitting home. We've lost 62 Americans in Iraq this month, and we still have a week to go.

Personally, I think that having 60% of the American people's disapproval is incredible. Where does he go from here?

Ohio Republicans Going Down

Republican Rep. Bob Ney (OH-18) once was on the top of the world. He would travel with lobbyists, golf at fine resorts, eat lots of sushi, and get great meals at Jack Abramoff's restaurant, Signatures. Now Ney's political future is hanging in the balance. It is very possible that Ney might be indicted because of his ties to convicted lobbyist, Jack Abramoff.

Unfortunately, Bob Ney doesn't think he did anything wrong. He blames everything on liberals. Ney, who professes to be a religious man, does not seem to understand that his greed and hunger for power made him do things for lobbyists that were unethical.

The Chicago Tribune has an article which describes the discontent of the Ohio voters. The Tribune notes that ..a recent University of Akron poll said 59 percent of Ohioans want to oust the Republicans, who have controlled state government for 16 years...

Ohioans are sick of the Republican lies, scandals, and failures. We deserve better!

Numbers and Dates

* The Iraq Coalition Casualty site has the following information on our service members who have died in Iraq as of 10:15AM EST Sunday, April 23, 2006:

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:	2380
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:	9
Total	2389

Ohio has lost 108 men and women in Iraq and there is one MIA, Pfc Matt Maupin, from Batavia, Ohio.

When a family has lost someone in war, that is a heartache that never goes away.
Here are some poignant words (Lyrics Magnet) from Pink's song, Dear Mr. President:

...How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why ...

Watch a video here from You Tube.

*The Bush administration plans to tell us that there are big successes in Iraq. I frankly don't care. Our men and women have died and put their lives on the line in a war that was driven by the president's attempt at revenge toward Saddam for an attempt on the life of former President George H.W. Bush (#41).

* (Posted at Huffington Post - Original Link)
BAGHDAD, April 22 (Reuters) - Two roadside bombs attacks killed five U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Saturday, the U.S. military said. Four died when their combat patrol south of Baghdad was hit by a bomb, the military said in a statement. A fifth soldier died on Saturday night after being hit in a separate bomb attack south of Baghdad, a military spokeswoman said. No further details were available.

* From Huffington Post:
Sleepy time for V.P. Dick Cheney: Cheney was caught sleeping during the press conferenct at the White House when China's leader, Hu, visited the White House. Picture From Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

*April 28 is the day that Neil Young's new album will be available for listening free of charge on the internet. Here is an excerpt from Reuters:
...Starting April 28, fans can log onto Young's Web site, www.neilyoung.com, and listen to the 10-track collection in its entirety, free of charge, said Bill Bentley, a spokesman for Warner Music Group's Reprise Records.

The album will first become commercially available as a digital download beginning May 2, "and we plan to get it into retail stores as soon after that as we can get them manufactured," Bentley said....

Neil Young's new CD will be a blockbuster!

Who needs science when you have Republicans?

Did you ever wonder what would happen if this country turned into a conservative Republican theocracy? The New York Times has an indication that the religious righties have gained control of the (FDA) Federal Drug Administration: (excerpt) The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists....

Who needs scientists when you have conservative Republican zealots? This is what happens when you have Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Rod Parsley, and Dr. Dobson setting policy for the U.S. How does it feel?

These are the same conservative pinheads who don't want to talk about safe sex and the use of condoms. These righties want to control what you can read, what your kids learn in school, what drugs you take if you have cancer or glaucoma, if you can use birth control, if you can have an abortion, who you share your life with, who makes decisions on when your loved one can die, who can get medical care, and what entertainment you see/hear. This is George W. Bush's America that has been dictated by the religious right.

As Americans, we have to decide if we want to continue having the Republicans control the agenda and the House and the Senate. We have to get something accomplished in this country, and the ONLY way to get the tough work done is to elect Democrats. The Republicans have shown what they'd do in the future because we know what they've done in the past. It is time to vote for Democrats because it is the only way to get this country back on track and provide hope for the future.

---Other points of interest....

***The governor of California (Arnold?) owns 8 Hummers. Did you know that Hummers have no environmental emission controls? Cough on that for awhile.
***How much are you paying for gas where you live? Remember when Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska refused to allow the oil executives to be sworn under oath when they appeared in front of his committee? Remember when Cheney had a secret meeting with energy companies? It still is secret. You can compare gas prices at Gas Buddy and Gas Price Watch. I don't mean to make you any sicker, but according to Think Progress, Exxon's CEO got $190,000 per day. Gross.
***According to Fox News, by way of Bloomberg, President Bush's job approval is a fabulous 33%.
***If you are going to buy a car, don't buy an SUV hybrid. You'll only save a few mpg. For real gas savings and an improved environment check the Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Smart Cars, and the Gem Car.

The Truth in Shorthand

White House staff changes = nothing but musical chairs
Karl Rove re-assigned = start the dirty tricks in Republican campaigns
Napoleon, Ohio = tiny town loses major employer
Catholics abandoning Republicans = immigration proposals create schism
Jack Abramoff's ties to Ralph Reed = Raw Story found Reed's political future bleak
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald = back in DC working with grand jury
New White House Policy Chief Kaplan = pounded windows to stop the recount in Miami-Dade in 2000
I'm the Decider (Koo-koo-ka-choo) = Huffington Post music

--------
I got this in one of those forwarded e-mails and I found one post here.
What You Need to Believe To Be A Republican (excerpts)

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion...

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq...

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation...

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay...

A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy...

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business...

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery....

The Decider

Did you happen to hear or read what President Bush said yesterday at a news conference? Here is an excerpt, as quoted by ABC News: "I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation," the president said testily. "But I'm the decider and I decide what's best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."

We need to take that quote apart. He is hearing voices? What voices? What are they telling him? He only reads the front page of newspapers or other printed material???? 'Decider?' Have you ever heard any adult use that word? Can you believe this man is the President of the United States?
* * *
Rolling Stone magazine has the details about Neil Young's newest album, Living With War. Neil Young has always been an advocate for peace and this album should be a blockbuster.
* * *
Teachers! Looking for a job? New York is offering some big incentives to bring teachers to the Big Apple. The New York Times has the whole story:
New York City will offer housing subsidies of up to $14,600 to entice new math, science and special education teachers to work in the city's most challenging schools, in one of the most aggressive housing incentive programs in the nation to address a chronic shortage of qualified educators in these specialties.

To be eligible for the subsidies, teachers must have at least two years' experience. City officials said they hoped the program, to be announced by the city Education Department today, would immediately lead to the hiring of an extra 100 teachers for September and, with other recruitment efforts, ultimately help fill as many as 600 positions now held by teachers without the proper credentials....

Lying with Statistics

When George W. Bush was governor of Texas, his people claimed that there had been a "miracle" in student achievement in Texas. After closer scrutiny, it was revealed that there had been some manipulation of test administration and results. Students with disabilities were told not to come to school during the testing week. Others were transferred to other schools. In the end the "miracle" in Texas was a lie.

New information today reveals a loophole in the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" results. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the test results of some minority students were not included in the final assessment reports. Here is an excerpt from the Dispatch article:

...In Ohio, almost 40,000 students, or about 4 percent of all test scores, aren’t counted under the law’s racial categories, a computer analysis by the Associated Press found. Almost all were minority students.

Nationwide, the analysis found that about 1.9 million students — or about 1 in every 14 test scores — aren’t being counted under the law’s racial categories. The scores of minorities were seven times as likely to be excluded as those of whites, the analysis showed....

The No Child Left Behind Act has been a tremendous burden to teachers, students, and school boards because it is an unfunded mandate. The Bush administration has demanded improvement in reading and math, but they have refused to provide federal money for programs to improve reading and math. This administration has manipulated this whole program to further their own political agenda. In the end, students, teachers, parents, and school boards have been used and abused by the Republican Party and this administration.

Poll Numbers

Raw Story has the results of a new Gallup Poll and the numbers are not pretty. Here is an excerpt: latest USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted April 7-9, 2006. It shows that 57% of Americans think the United States will not win in Iraq, including 21% who think the U.S. can win but will not....

The Rasmussen Poll has President Bush with a 39% approval rating and a 60% disapproval rating. Wow! I believe that is the lowest approval rating that has come from Rasmussen for this president.

I saw this post at Raw Story and the original is at Multichannel News: Is Fox News Channel worth a buck? Affiliates will decide. Officials at the network are floating a proposal seeking a license fee of $1 per month per subscriber....

I am seriously considering calling my cable company and asking them how I can drop Fox News from my cable subscription. I never watch them because they are NOT a news channel. They are a branch of the Republican Party and I'm certainly not interested in that political group.

Just A Suggestion

Are you looking for something fun and informative to read? I'd like to suggest a book, Sweet Jesus I Hate Bill O'Reilly, by Joseph Minton Amann and Tom Breuer. The authors are the founders of the website famous sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com which has been around for several years. They do a great job of debunking 100% of everything that the pompous O'Reilly has to say on both his radio and TV shows.

Why do you think that some people are defending Donald Rumsfeld? If this administration would come out and not defend him, then it looks like they've made mistakes in the Iraq war. Rumsfeld has wasted our resources, our money, and most of all, the lives of our military with his mistakes and arrogance. Just because he met with various top brass 200+ times, doesn't mean he is listening to them or following his advice. Rumsfeld should be fired.

I saw something scary this weekend. I saw a car with 2 bumper stickers. The first bumper sticker stated: Bush 2004 for Morality and Integrity. The second one said Kenneth Blackwell for Ohio Governor. Needless to say, the person who drives that car is an idiot.

Rumsfeld

With the month of April just half over, the total American deaths this month have already exceeded March 2006. The total number of confirmed American deaths in Iraq is 2,369, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty page. However, that could have changed by now. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's methods of getting us into this war, troop movements, supply methods, and his relationships with military brass have been exposed and criticized. Rumsfeld, who has no combat experience himself, has overruled the recommendations of military brass. The war has not gone well and the only people to blame are the President and Rumsfeld. They created the war and they continue to orchestrate it. Our sons and daughters continue to pay the price with their lives.

Late News

Criticism is increasing over an e-mail sent by Republican Supervisor Fred Gold. Philly Burbs has the story. Here is an excerpt:
The leaders of the Republican and Democratic committees in Warminster are calling for the resignation of GOP Supervisor Fred Gold, who sent an e-mail with a photo of a topless woman promoting Jan. 15 as "Breast Appreciation Day."

The e-mail that accompanied the photo asked, "Beats ... Martin Luther King Day, doesn't it?"

Democratic chairman Joseph Bowes Jr. and Republican chairman Jim Messina described the e-mail as insulting to women and blacks...

Despite the calls for Rumsfeld's resignation, the president wants him to stay. Boston.com has the story.

Things are getting worse in Iraq. More deaths are being reported by the New York Times. Here is an excerpt: ...on Thursday, 2 American marines were killed and 22 wounded in an attack in Anbar Province, the American military said in a news release early Saturday that offered few details...

The Failing Republicans

The Stephanie Miller Show has a link to a video that someone made to Pink's song, Dear Mr. President. Watch the video.

Are Republicans trying to attract African-Americans to their party? There is an interesting article from Southern Voice which says that Republicans are trying to use a specially crafted campaign to bring African-Americans to the GOP. In my opinion, the Republican Party has done everything they can to destroy civil rights, voting rights, workers' rights, and anything else they can get their hands on. I still remember those remarks of Kanye West during that hurricane relief program, and I'm positive that many African -Americans recall his words today. It will be nearly impossible for the failing GOP to bring in African-Americans, Latinos, women, Catholics, Jews, and others because the GOP works for their business pals, not for real people.

Why do you think that all of these retired generals are calling for the firing of Donald Rumsfeld? They could not do it when they were on active service, but as private citizens they can voice their opinions without fear of reprisals. MSNBC has the story and the video.

Americablog is reporting a quote by Democrat Harry Reid on the subject of immigration. Bush has been blaming Democrats for blocking the votes, but Bush is wrong. Here is the Reid quote:

"President Bush has as much credibility on immigration as he does on Iraq and national security. If he were actually committed to comprehensive immigration reform he would have stopped his own party from filibustering it twice last week.

"If the president is serious about moving forward, then he should join me in calling on Senator Frist to bring immigration reform back to the Senate Floor when we return. Hopefully by then, President Bush and his Majority Leader will have found the backbone to stop the extreme elements of the Republican Party from blocking improvements to America's security."

Fear

Tonight on MSNBC's Keith Olbermann program, guest, Jonathan Alterman of Newsweek, said that this administration may change FDR's famous quote, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" to a quote to fit their own needs. In the past, Alter said, this administration has used fear to scare the American people in order to win elections. Alter thinks they will use the following quote to regain power--"The only thing we have to do is fear."

I think Alter has a good point. Have you ever talked to people who said the only reason they voted for Bush was because of the security issues? You need to remind those same people that the Republicans can talk security, but they don't vote to deliver it. Remember when this administration was willing to turn the control of our ports to the Dubai Ports? When Republicans had the chance to increase port security, they voted it down (see vote here).

In reality, the only thing we have to fear is that the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate remains under control of the do-nothing, corrupt Republicans. It is time we stop listening to their talking points and vote for Democrats. It is the only way to put our country back on the right path.

--> On another subject....Gasoline Prices
Some analysts are saying that gasoline prices could go as high as $4/gallon. If gas would go that high, people would be forced to change their driving. However, according to an article found by the good people at the Huffington Post, Ford Motor Company is betting that you'll still buy SUV's no matter what the price of gasoline. In the article, Mark Fields of Ford Motor said, "There is a certain portion of the marketplace and customers who want that flexibility that is provided with a traditional SUV..." and "So I don't think our strategy would change too much."

In other words, Fields and the folks at Ford are betting the future of their company on the misguided hope that you'll buy a Ford SUV that gets 12mpg city/16mpg highway EVEN IF GAS REACHES $4/gal! How stupid can they be? As an owner of a hybrid, I want to tell you that if you want to give your money to EXXON, that is your business, but you don't need to do it. I continue to get 40-45 mpg city/45-51 mpg highway in my hybrid car. I think Ford is stupid and they deserve to continue to go down the drain.

All About Numbers

The fatalities and injuries are up again in Iraq. The New York Times is reporting the number of troops killed this month to at least 32. That figure already surpasses the American military deaths for all of March.

The Iraq Coalition Casualty Count has the numbers on our war dead and injured. It is really sad to see the brief death notices given for the American service members. It is even more difficult to realize that more of our young men and women will die and be injured because the current Republican administration has no exit strategy for Iraq. How many more families will lose a loved one while this war continues?

MSNBC is reporting that
....At least $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds that was given to Iraqi ministries by the former U.S.-led authority there cannot be accounted for, according to a draft U.S. audit set for release soon.....
....One of the main benefactors of the Iraq funds was the Texas-based firm Halliburton, which was paid more than $1 billion out of those funds to bring in fuel for Iraqi civilians.

The monitoring board said despite repeated requests it had not been given access to U.S. audits of contracts held by Halliburton, which was once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, and other firms that used the development funds.

**American taxpayers are footing the bill, and all this money goes missing? There is no money to rebuild the Gulf Coast, but the shareholders of Halliburton are seeing huge profits. This is morally wrong!

George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States, was born in Connecticut. However, a home he spent some time in as a youngster, has been restored. The home in Texas, is trying to give evidence to the myth that Bush is a "good ole boy." The story is here. (In my humble opinion, the restoration is trying to make it look like he was born in a log cabin!)

Do you hear the sound of a check being written? No, I didn't hear it either. The federal government still has not written a check to reimburse Franklin County for the money spent on finding the freeway shooter, Mr. McCoy. I guess the taxpayers of OH-15 will have to foot the bill because Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce isn't doing her job to help the people of her district.

$2.79 per gallon

Today I paid $2.79 per gallon for gasoline. Here in central Ohio, on a beautiful day in April, $2.79 per gallon for unleaded gas is just obscene. While Exxon has profits of over $30+ billion dollars, working families are having difficulty filling up the tank. I guess nothing will be done to stop these oil companies from profiting from war and natural disasters. President Bush and the Republican Congress will do everything they can to keep oil/energy companies, pharmaceutical corporations, large financial institutions, and other businesses happy and wealthy so that Republicans can continue to enjoy contributions from their CEO's and directors.

Let College Students Ask Questions

Yesterday, President Bush got questions from college students. If you were able to hear some of the questions asked by the college students, you'd be amazed. Perhaps we should have our press, except for great reporters Helen Thomas and David Gregory, turn in their press passes to have college students ask questions in the White House briefing room. I think it is a brilliant idea! I'd love to see Bush, Scott McClellan, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condoleeeza Rice squirm when someone demands the truth. The Brad Blog has a video of part of yesterday's event.

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been giving some hints as to where his investigation is going. The NY Times has the story.

Staying Informed

There is plenty of information on the Bush leak scandal. Why would the President of the United States authorize the declassification of secret stuff for political reasons? Isn't that juvenile? Articles about the leaker-in-chief, can be found---- New York Times USA Today Concord Monitor

* In other news.....
Did you know that a vaccine for cervical cancer might be available very soon? Did you also know that some extreme right wing religious groups don't want you or your daughters to get the vaccine? Really. Here is an article about the fight to vaccinate young girls to prevent cervical cancer.

Bush Approval Poll

The Huffington Post found the AP story---Here are some of the excerpts from article at Yahoo:

...Just 36 percent of the public approves of Bush's job performance, his lowest-ever rating in AP-Ipsos polling. ..

...Just 30 percent of the public approves of the GOP-led Congress' job performance, and Republicans seem to be shouldering the blame...

...Just 35 percent of the public approves of Bush's handling of Iraq, his lowest in AP-Ipsos polling...

...By a 49-33 margin, the public favors Democrats over Republicans when asked which party should control Congress....

That 16-point Democratic advantage is the largest the party has enjoyed in AP-Ipsos polling...

Read it and weep, Republicans!

Curt Weldon PA-7

Having lived in Pennsylvania, I have a special place in my heart for the Keystone State (except when Ohio State plays against PSU). I've been surprised by the recent antics of Republican Rep. Curt Weldon. Yesterday, he attacked the 4 year old daughter of his opponent. Despite the fact that the youngster has suffered from a malignant tumor, Weldon had to viciously go after the little girl and the Sestak Family. Now we have word that Weldon has declared that Sun Myung Moon "as humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent", on March 23, 2004.

The entire story, with references, is posted at The Swing State Project. A word of caution for those people in the 7th district in PA, you need to dump Weldon. He is a disgrace and you cannot let someone like him represent you. You can do better than Weldon.

Really?

I don't know if you've ever read Wonkette or even heard about it. There is an interesting article about Jessica Cutler, a former staff member of Sen. Mike DeWine (OH-R). Here is a little tidbit from today's posting:

According to the Associated Press:

A judge on Wednesday allowed a lawsuit to proceed against Jessica Cutler, the former Senate aide who posted details of her sex life on the Internet. The case brought by Sen. Mike DeWine’s former counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Robert Steinbuch, alleges that Cutler engaged in an invasion of his privacy in 2004 by publishing sexually explicit facts about a relationship with Steinbuch.

But even though the judge declined to dismiss the suit, his ruling on the statute-of-limitations issue may not bode well for Steinbuch:

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that Steinbuch had one year from the time of the Internet postings to bring the matter to court. Almost all of the material at issue in the case was posted on the Internet more than a year before the lawsuit was filed May 18, 2005...

More articles HERE and HERE.

Joe Sestak

Retired Navy Admiral and Democratic candidate Joe Sestak has had to endure a lot in his life. Joe and his wife, Susan, have had some heartbreak in their lives with the diagnosis of their daughter's illness and treatment. However, Joe and Susan Sestak probably could never imagine that Republican Rep. Curt Weldon would be attacking them and their 4 year old daughter. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story describing the Weldon attacks and the aftermath. The bottomline is this....Weldon has no business attacking a sick child.

Thanks, Harry Shearer!

I don't know how he does it, but Harry Shearer finds the most incredible stuff! At the Huffington Post, Harry Shearer posted a conversation between Chris Matthews (MSNBC) and disgraced Republican Rep. Tom DeLay. The taped conversation happen before Matthews and DeLay went on the air. Matthews and DeLay were discussing the results of a focus group. Here is an excerpt:

MATTHEWS: Have you seen this new focus group stuff on the candidates?

DELAY: No I haven't

MATTHEWS: It's great stuff. I'll send it to you -- it's great -- yeah it's great stuff. Hillary, John Kerry. All these guys, all these democrats, and how they do. And, uh, Frank Luntz did it...

DELAY: who I like

CM: ...and Hillary did not do well. Kerry did well.

DELAY: You're kidding.

MATTHEWS: I am NOT kidding. They didn't like Edwards -- they thought he was a rich lawyer, pretending to care about poor people...

DELAY: Too slick. Too slick.

MATTHEWS: ...and Hillary was a know-it-all.

DELAY: Nothing worse than a woman know-it-all...

Thank you, Harry. And thanks also to Chris Matthews and Tom DeLay--You've confirmed yet again that you are complete idiots!

My To Do List

Newsweek is reporting:
A deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was charged with using a computer to seduce a child after authorities said he struck up sexual conversations with an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Brian J. Doyle, 55, the fourth-ranking official in the department’s public affairs office, was expected to be placed on administrative leave Wednesday....

>From the Dayton Daily News:
Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell held shares in voting-machine manufacturer Diebold last year when he identified Diebold as the state's only qualified provider of touch-screen voting machines....

>Republican Sen. Bill "video diagnosis" Frist is trying to delay a vote on immigration reform. ABC NEWS has this:

...Democrats set up a showdown over a proposal that would allow the illegal immigrants to remain in the country and become permanent residents after paying $2,000 fines and back taxes, learning English and working six years.
"Are the Republicans going to stand up for comprehensive immigration reform or not?" Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked Tuesday....

>>To Do List:

1. Visit Dependable Renegade.
2. Vow to never ever see another Tom Cruise movie.
3. Read Two Deadlines and an Exit.
4. Visit The Daily Show and watch the Persian 2.0 video.
5. Laugh while listening to the Stephanie Miller Show.

A foreshadowing of future for Schmidt

Yesterday was opening day for baseball and there was a big parade. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The coolest thing about the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade is the way families hang out together all day.....

....OOPS: You just knew there had to be a snafu at some point. That came at 12:01 p.m. when the red Corvette in Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's entourage stalled at Fifth and Sycamore streets. Six or eight floats had to go around until members of Schmidt's party could push the car out of the way and get it rolling back down Fifth....

Has the Schmidt campaign stalled with all the miscommunication and false statements? What about that second bachelor's degree? Tsk! Tsk!

Facts You Should Know

Embattled Republican Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas will resign his office and quit his re-election bid, according to the New York Times. Is this the beginning of the end of the Republican culture of corruption? The culture of corruption will only end if Americans vote out these unethical Republicans.

Speaking of unethical Republicans, the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Republican candidate for Ohio governor, Kenneth Blackwell, just recently sold his stock in Diebold. Diebold, as you may recall, was the voting machine company that was the center of vote manipulation in Ohio's 2000 and 2004 presidential election. Blackwell was also the chair for the Ohio Bush/Cheney campaign for both of those elections. Doesn't it just make you sick? Read the entire Dispatch article here.

Have you seen the new ads put out by Move On? Some stations are refusing to broadcast them. Here are the ads:

Pryce (OH-15) (ad | facts) Chocola (IN-2) (ad | facts)

Drake (VA-2) (ad | facts) Johnson (CT-5) (ad | facts)

DeLay Drops Out

Raw Story is reporting that Tom DeLay will drop out of his re-election campaign. Could it be that the federal investigation is getting closer? Other sources are here and here. Will Rep. Bob Ney (OH-18-R) be next?

The following was mentioned at the Huffington Post: From Yahoo News-- Senator Obama said the following about President Bush:
"Saying that America is addicted to oil without following a real plan for energy independence is like admitting alcoholism and then skipping out on the 12-step program," said Obama in a reference to one of the principal themes of Bush's State of the Union address...

Have you seen the new ads put out by Move On? Some stations are refusing to broadcast them. Here are the ads:

Video
Watch the Ads

Chocola (IN-2) (ad | facts)
Drake (VA-2) (ad | facts)
Johnson (CT-5) (ad | facts)
Pryce (OH-15) (ad | facts)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

THE GOOD
Journalist Jill Carroll is safe at home after months of being held captive in Iraq. PEOPLE has the story.

THE BAD
Republicans Sen. Frist and Rep. Sensenbrenner want to criminalize immigrant workers. The problem with both Frist and Sensenbrenner is that they are both....prejudiced pinheads. They are trying to push their far right agenda, and in the process, many people will be hurt. The Mercury News has an article describing their proposed legislation.


THE UGLY
Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Katherine Harris, has had big problems with her campaign staff. Now things have gotten worse....
Concord Monitor New York Daily News UPI

INCOMPETENCE

How do you spell incompetence? There are many ways that the Republicans and the Bush administration spell it. Here is my word list for incompetence:

>AFGHANISTAN
>ABRAMOFF (YEAH, WE KNOW HE VISITED THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE TEXAS RANCH)
>ATTEMPTS TO DISMANTLE THE CLEAN AIR ACT
>BYPASSING THE FISA COURTS TO SPY ON AMERICANS AND ANTI-WAR GROUPS
>BUSH
>CHENEY
>CORRUPTION IN THE REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED HOUSE, SENATE, AND EXECUTIVE BRANCH
>CONFUSING MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN THAT REWARDS DRUG COMPANIES
>CUTTING PROGRAMS FOR THE POOR AND ELDERLY
>ENCOURAGING CORPORATIONS TO SEND EMPLOYMENT OVERSEAS (OUTSOURCING)
>FEMA
>INCREASING THE FEDERAL DEFICIT TO ASTRONOMICAL NUMBERS
>IRAQ
>KATRINA
>INABILITY TO MONITOR ALL THE WORLD'S HOTSPOTS, INSTEAD OF JUST IRAQ
>INABILITY TO WORK ON A FAIR AND HUMANE IMMIGRATION POLICY
>INCREASED INTEREST RATES FOR COLLEGE LOANS
>INCREASED LOGGING IN NATIONAL PARKS
>LACK OF BODY ARMOR FOR TROOPS
>LACK OF FUNDING FOR THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT
>LACK OF LEADERSHIP IN SOLVING OUR NATION'S PROBLEMS
>LIBBY
>NO EXIT STRATEGY IN IRAQ; LEAVING THIS PROBLEM TO THE NEXT PRESIDENT
>NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR INDUSTRY INCREASING BECAUSE OF ADMINISTRATION'S ARROGANCE
>POISONED WATER SUPPLY FOR OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ
>PUTTING POLITICAL CRONIES IN POSITIONS INSTEAD OF QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS
>RELEASING THE NAME OF AN UNDERCOVER CIA AGENT
>RICE
>ROVE
>RUMSFELD
>RHETORIC INSTEAD OF ACTION IN REBUILDING THE GULF COAST
>SENDING BOLTON TO THE U.N.
>WAR PROFITEERS (HALLIBURTON, KBR, OIL COMPANIES, ETC.)

I'm sure you can think of more areas in which they've demonstrated their incompetence. What have the Republicans concentrated on instead of these critical issues? Terri Schiavo, same-sex marriage (the defense of marriage act), the war on Christmas, missing woman in Aruba, tax breaks for the rich, ducking lobbying reform, refusing to increase port security, etc. Do you get the picture, America? The Republicans have done NOTHING for this country except get our kids killed in an unnecessary war, increase our deficit, and reward their rich pals with unbid contracts? Do you feel better now?

Right Wingers Attack

Right wing bloggers have been attacking Cindy Sheehan for a long time. She has endured because no matter what they say or do, she experienced the most pain when she lost her son, Casey. Now, besides Sheehan, a Gold Star Mother, these righties are attacking others. These are the same righties that denounced Senator John Kerry by wearing bandaids and making jokes about his military service. Those of us who have studied psychology know that these right wingers' attacks are covering up their own inferiority complexes.

Now the same conservative bloggers, TV/radio talkers, and others are attacking journalist Jill Carroll, who was held captive in Iraq. Obviously, theses righties have no compasion or intelligence. Miss Carroll was held captive in a foreign country by terrorists. She endured physical and emotional pain. However, the righties continue their attacks because they are unable and unwilling to feel sympathy and understanding for her ordeal. How would these right-wingers feel if it had been their daughter, sister, or wife who had been held in similar circumstances?

It is no wonder that Hannity, Boortz, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and other right-wing conservative talkers are losing their audiences. The American people are tired of their unrelenting, and unfounded criticisms.

I hope that Miss Carroll finds the peace and understanding she needs with her family, friends, and compassionate Americans. Welcome home.

Rohrabacher

Bill Maher had Seth Green, Erica Jong, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on his program on Showtime. Rohrabacher, a Republican, followed the GOP's reasoning for going to war in Iraq. After watching Rohrabacher, and hearing his views on Hispanics, I've concluded that he is an arrogant racist and he is stupid (he doesn't believe in Global Warming). Rohrabacher is a jerk and he has ties to Abramoff. CNN has an article about the radical Republicans in the House and their proposals about immigration. If you have the chance to catch the repeat of Bill Maher, watch it.