Monday Mashup Part Two (11/01/10)

(Part One is here.)

While Broderella imagined war with Iran (fine...pick up a gun and go over and fight it yourself - here), Fix Noise “Democrats” Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen concocted the following over the weekend at the WaPo (here)…

President Obama's post-partisan America has disappeared, replaced by the politics of polarization, resentment and division.

In a Univision interview on Monday, the president, who campaigned in 2008 by referring not to a "Red America" or a "Blue America" but a United States of America, urged Hispanic listeners to vote in this spirit: "We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us."

Recently, Obama suggested that if Republicans gain control of the House and/or Senate as forecast, he expects not reconciliation and unity but "hand-to-hand combat" on Capitol Hill.

What a change two years can bring.

We can think of only one other recent president who would display such indifference to the majesty of his office: Richard Nixon.

God, that’s hilarious (and not particularly original either, as noted here...last bullet).

Continuing with Caddell/Schoen…

As Election Day approaches, the president and others in the Democratic leadership have focused on campaign finance by moneyed interests - an ancillary issue serving neither party nor country. They have intensified attacks on business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and individual political operatives such as Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie - insisting that organizations are fronting for foreign campaign money and large secret donations and campaign expenditures. Even the New York Times has noted that "a closer examination shows that there is little evidence" that these organizations have engaged in activities that are "improper or even unusual."

It astounds us to hear such charges from the president given that his presidential campaign in 2008 refused to disclose the names of all of its donors, and in past election cycles many liberal groups, such as the Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress, refused to disclose their contributors.

In response, I give you Greg Sargent responding to a similar charge from Karl Rove (here, and I would ask that you substitute the Sierra Club with the League of Conservation Voters for the purposes of argument)…

The comparison to the Center for American Progress is absurd, because it does not and has never run campaign ads. The League of Conservation Voters has only spent a paltry $1.3 million this cycle -- an infinitesimal fraction of the right's spending. It pays for ads out of several committees. Nearly half of LCV's spending came from a committee that does, in fact, disclose its donors, according to a group spokesman.

LCV does also spend for ads out of a 501 c4, which doesn't disclose donors, but there's substantial donor overlap between the two committees, so we already have a very good idea of who they are. The Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund is also a 501 c4, and doesn't disclose.

But even so, Rove's assertions about these groups are still absurd, because we already know what their issue positions and agendas are. What's more, Obama and Dems tried to pass the DISCLOSE Act this summer -- which would have forced such organizations to disclose their donors.

As for Rove's claim that literally tens of millions of Obama's contributions remained secret, the reality is that 90.2 percent of the hundreds of millions Obama raised were disclosed. And the comparison of conservative spending to labor, echoed by many on the right, has already been debunked by one lone blogger, Ben Smith.

By all means, let's fact-check the living heck out of the White House/Dem attacks on Chamber foreign money. But the steady stream of falsehoods and distortions coming from major players on the right deserves a look, too.

And on top of all this, the following New York Times article shows why, when it comes to campaign contributions, the Nixon White House had more in common with Karl and his pals (including Caddell and Schoen) than Obama ever will.

Next, the following Guest Opinion recently appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times by Scott Harp, former Newtown Township supervisor, on the subject of drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. Harp makes a lot of good points about what we should and shouldn’t be doing on this critical issue.

And based on this, it’s pretty clear who the drillers are bankrolling in the PA gubernatorial election, thus expecting Tom Corbett to do basically whatever the drillers want (all the more reason to vote for Dan Onorato tomorrow).

Also, Lurita Doan provided the following hilarity at clownhall.com today (here)…

(House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi has boasted of the $5 trillion increase in the national debt and the punitive, legislative warfare that she championed through Congress that has squandered our treasury and left us the greatest debtor nation on earth. Restoring some level of fiscal sanity will not be easy, but it is the most urgent task. Fiscal discipline will require a line-by-line review of the budget, a practice that elected officials love to discuss but rarely execute.

Americans cannot continue the Pelosi madness of borrowing money from China to redistribute to union activists and favorite left wing causes. Nor can our nation, once again, extend unemployment benefits for additional years after making payments for the already mandated two years.

On the subject of “restoring some level of fiscal sanity,” I give you the following from here, when Doan took up space as Bushco’s head of the General Services Administration (referencing a nested New York Times story from 2008)…

Consider the State Department employee who slapped down a government credit card to buy $360 worth of boutique lingerie before heading off to drug enforcement training in the Ecuador jungle. Or the postal worker who ran up $14,000 in Internet dating services on his federal card. And a now legendary Forest Service official who used government credit to pay off $640,000 worth of gambling debts, car expenses and six years of mortgage payments. What makes it even more outrageous, is that it took a whistle-blower, not an internal monitor, to uncover this wholesale trashing of the government’s — i.e. the peoples’ — credit.

For late-night comedy writers, these findings and numerous other abuses are priceless. For all other taxpayers, they’re appalling.

Millions of dollars in charges ranging from questionable to outrageous were uncovered in just a 15-month spot check of a few agencies by Congressional auditors. One sampling of $2.7 million in card purchases found more than $1.8 million worth of laptop computers, iPods and digital cameras could not be accounted for.

And here are some more credit card charges…$14,000 for Internet dating services and a dinner at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Orlando, Fla.; $45,000 at Brooks Brothers and similar stores for tailor-made suits — $7,000 of which were purchased a week before Christmas; and $642,000 from 180 convenience checks written by an Agriculture department employee for a live-in boyfriend over a six-year period.

What does Doan have to do with this? Well, when she was GSA head under Bushco, her agency failed to do its due diligence and let these charges all slip by (on our dime, of course).

Only in the wingnutosphere could someone like Lurita Doan pose as an expert in money management. I suppose clownhall’s next editorial offering, then, will be Karl Rove on the importance of campaign finance reform.

Finally, I give you the following from the Patrick Murphy for Congress campaign…

Marine Vet: “Mike Fitzpatrick, I Fought For Your Freedom. Stop Playing Politics With Our Votes.”

Decorated Marine veteran tells Mike Fitzpatrick to put a stop to the political games and let his mother vote; Joins other Bucks County residents whose votes are on GOP-Fitzpatrick target list and in danger of not being counted.

(Bristol, PA) – On Saturday, October 30, Patrick Murphy joined voters who had already cast ballots, only to learn on Friday that their votes are in danger of being tossed out due to a massive, far-reaching challenge by GOP operatives intent on using Florida-style Bush tactics to suppress turnout and steal the election in Bucks County. They called on Mike Fitzpatrick put an end to the efforts to disenfranchise thousands of voters in Bucks County.

Tony Rakoczy, a young decorated Marine from Levittown, talked about fighting for his country at the Battle of Fallujah in 2004 and suffering severe injuries after an IED blast nearly cost him his life. Though the explosion left him 100% service-connected disabled, Tony was proud to serve his country and fight for our democratic freedoms. Today, six years after returning from battle, Tony’s mother is being denied the very democratic freedoms for which Tony risked his life. Patricia, a longtime Levittown resident and registered Democrat, is going to be out of Pennsylvania on Election Day and so voted by absentee ahead of time. But Republican operatives desperate to win an election have filed a baseless challenge to her vote in a sweeping Florida-style attempt to toss out thousands of valid Democratic ballots and steal the election for Mike Fitzpatrick.

“Fitzpatrick is playing politics with the freedoms I risked my life to defend, telling my mom her vote isn’t going to county,” Tony Rakoczy said. “Mike Fitzpatrick, I fought for your freedoms. Now I’m asking you to do the right thing. Stand up, be a man, and stop playing political games with my mom’s right to vote.”

“I did everything I was supposed to do and sent in my vote,” Patricia Rakoczy said, “but Mike Fitzpatrick and the Republicans are trying to take that away. My baby fought for his country. This isn’t right.”

Bill Kiernan from Levittown spoke for his daughter, Sam, a college student in Maryland and read a statement for her:

“Even though I’m at college, I was determined to have my vote count. I made sure to apply on time for my ballot. I filled out my vote, signed it, double checked it, and stuck it in the mail – just like I was supposed to do. Now Mike Fitzpatrick tells me, if he gets his way, my vote won’t count because he doesn’t like how I voted. Unfortunately, Mr. Fitzpatrick, I learned in my political science intro class that it doesn’t work like that. I’m asking you to do the right thing. Stop playing political games with my right to vote. Sincerely, Sam.”

Her father added, “Mike, how dare you try to disenfranchise my daughter – a registered eligible voter – because you will do anything to win your election. I know that I can look my kid in the eye and tell her I’m doing everything I can to protect people’s right to vote. Can you?”

And…

OUTRAGE: More Dem Voters Targeted by GOP Witch Hunt Voice Anger

Bucks County voters call on Mike Fitzpatrick to end political games and protect their right to vote

(Bristol, PA) – Democrats in Bucks County continue to discover that they are targets of the GOP’s witch hunt, as more learn that their names are on a list of voters that Mike Fitzpatrick and his GOP operatives are attempting to disenfranchise. Voters on the target list – including disenfranchised veterans, a nine-month pregnant woman, and college students - are joining the calls for Mike Fitzpatrick to put an end to the political games and allow their eligible vote to count.

Yesterday, Murphy listened to voters who are on the GOP’s target list express outrage over Mike Fitzpatrick and his GOP operatives’ attempt to steal the election using Florida-style Bush tactics:

“Six years ago, I put the Marine uniform on for my country and shipped out to fight in Iraq at the battle of Fallujah. I almost lost my life several times in IED blasts and fire fights. Mike Fitzpatrick, I’m asking you to step up, be a man, and stop playing political games. Let my mom’s vote count. I served my country. And I served for your freedom.”

- Tony Rakoczy, decorated Marine who served in Battle of Fallujah, 2004

“I did everything I was supposed to do and sent in my vote, but Mike Fitzpatrick and the Republicans are trying to take that away. My baby fought for his country. This isn’t right.”

- Patricia Rakoczy, Tony’s Mother, Levittown

“Even though I’m at college, I was determined to have my vote count. I made sure to apply on time for my ballot. I filled out my vote, signed it, double checked it, and stuck it in the mail – just like I was supposed to do. Now Mike Fitzpatrick tells me, if he gets his way, my vote won’t count because he doesn’t like how I voted. Unfortunately, Mr. Fitzpatrick, I learned in my political science intro class that it doesn’t work like that. I’m asking you to do the right thing. Stop playing political games with my right to vote.”

- Sam Kiernan, Levittown

“Mike, how dare you try to disenfranchise my daughter – a registered eligible voter – because you will do anything to win your election. I know that I can look my kid in the eye and tell her I’m doing everything I can to protect people’s right to vote. Can you?”

- Bill Kiernan, Levittown

“I’ve voted in Bucks County for years, and when I found out last-minute that I would be out of town for business, I immediately applied for my absentee ballot, filled it out, and sent back my vote. Yesterday, I heard I’m on Mike Fitzpatrick’s target list of the votes he’s trying to toss out – and I won’t have another chance to vote. How can he get away with this? Mike Fitzpatrick, I’m asking you to do the right thing. Stand up, be a man, and stop playing political games with my right to vote.”

- Dorothy Wax, Langhorne

Other stories have been pouring in as more people learn that the GOP is attempting to strike their vote.

“My name is Amie Proctor and I live in Morrsiville. I voted absentee because I’m nine-months pregnant and am due next week. So, I might be a little preoccupied on Election Day. Just in case there was any question, I even sent the Board of Elections my doctor’s business card so they could check. Now I’m on their target list to have my vote tossed out. Who on earth do these Republicans think they are, to tell me while I’m nine-months pregnant that I can’t vote?”

- Amie Proctor, Morrisville

“They can’t take away my vote. I am not going to be here on Election day. If they try to take away my vote, which is a legal vote, whoever is doing this is going to have a problem. I am a veteran of the Iraq War. I fought to preserve the right to vote. Whoever is doing this, will have to look me in the eye and explain how he can possibly do this, because he is wrong.”

- Stephen Capaldi, Iraq War Veteran, Levittown

“It’s my ballot. I requested it. I signed it. I sent it in. No one sent me anything or asked me to do anything. I’m disenfranchised, and I’m angry about it.”

- Vincent Plebani, 57, Langhorne

“I did fill out an absentee ballot application and I did fill it out correctly and honestly, since I am in school in Boston. I am very concerned and dismayed that Mike Fitzpatrick has discounted my vote. I wish that I were home or could get home so that my vote would count.”

- Dana Roccograndi, 20, Richboro

Also, I should note that the Bucks County Courier Times has featured a few full-page ads over the last two weeks accusing Murphy of everything under the sun, and each day, a little blue dot in the paper’s front-page banner has been telling everyone to go to the page where the ad is located (assuming the paper’s readers are not able to find the full-page ad on their own).

I have neither the time nor the desire to try and debunk the garbage the Fitzpatrick campaign and the Bucks County Republican Party has been hurling at the Murphy campaign. Even though Murphy and the Democrats have been relentless in pillorying Fitzpatrick, I believe the preponderance of truth is very much on the side of the incumbent as opposed to the challenger. And it also speaks volumes to me that Mike Fitzpatrick, in typical fashion, has chosen to hide behind sleazy ads and voter disenfranchisement tactics (apparently, aside from the testimonials above which are powerful in and of themselves, nothing happening on the absentee ballot story today) in the waning days of the campaign without even bothering to write a Guest Opinion (now watch the paper publish one tomorrow when the Murphy campaign will not be able to respond).

Please click here to find your polling place to vote for Patrick Murphy, Steve Santarsiero, John Toth, Joe Sestak, and other worthy PA Dems.

This is it!

Sunday Stuff

Just a reminder of what our 8th district incumbent Dem U.S. House rep is up against while the party of Mike Fitzpatrick is busy trying to fix the election for him along with "Self" Ciervo (and as I said, the whole "Pennsylvania Voter Assistance Office" matter is a red herring - prove to me that the Dems violated PA election law by gathering the absentee ballots, which no one has done yet, even though Republican DA David Heckler says that "clearly" some signatures were forged on ballots, even though "proving (it) is another matter"...again for the umpteenth time in this story, charges against Dems with no proof of wrongdoing, even though the Ciervo letter is textbook voter caging - the latest is here)...



...and for no particular reason, I give you this, intended to mock Dubya-era triumphalism (guess I'm in the mood for this after watching that putz tonight helping to throw out the first pitch in the World Series...nothing against the Texas Rangers, but I hope San Francisco wins - would serve all those southern fried Methodists right to succumb to a sports team from Nancy Pelosi-land).

More Saturday Stuff

In his terrific Special Comment a few nights ago (mentioned here also), Keith Olbermann referenced this scene from the 1960 film "Inherit The Wind," based on the play (even though the film is 50 years old this year, it is every bit as relevant today as it was then)...



...and speaking of K.O., here is "Worst Persons" from last night (it's cut off on the tape, but ABC gets it for letting Andrew Breitbart provide his verbal flatulence on election night - this is a bit of an update, but for any supposedly legitimate media outlet to associate with Breitbart AT ALL is an utter disgrace; Tea Party wingnut Jesse Kelly from Arizona gets it also for trying to spread the lie that the Dems bus illegal immigrants into his state to vote for elections - yeah, and we also serve them tequila and empanadas and prop them up in barcaloungers so they can watch comedy tapes of George Lopez...fool; but the perpetually awful Sharron Angle gets the top nod for literally running away from the questions of reporters, and in response to a reporter actually getting close enough to ask her something, she banned all reporters from campaign events...now seriously people, what kind of a stone cold moron would think that a person like this deserves to be elected to the U.S. Senate? Never mind, I guess I shouldn't ask the question...and sorry Angle isn't included here either - I could include the entire MSNBC clip if their downloads were functional)...



...and somehow I have a feeling that, if you're reading this, you remember too (here)...



...and I wasn't sure if I was going to include this or not, but I decided to at about the last minute - the video got cleaned up a bit and it sounds like it was remastered (in the spirit of the season).

Saturday Stuff

(I also posted here about Tom Corbett's attempt at vote suppression.)

One of the last few plugs for Admiral Joe here in response (and here is a Toomey takedown from yesterday)...



...and here is another reminder as to why we should send "No-Corporate-Tax" Pat back to his pals on Wall Street (and yes, I know these are reruns, but they need to be repeated)...



...and still another reminder...



...and let's not forget PA-08 either (to help Patrick Murphy, click here)...



...and it looks like we can blame Obama for something else (snark)...


Has Obama Failed To Reduce Hostility Toward Obnoxious Americans Abroad?

...and I don't know how much of a Halloween-ish video this is, but it's kind of goth - reminds me a bit of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater" on SCTV, where Count Floyd kept trying to show scary movies that turned out to be not scary at all (for the dozen or so people out there who remember SCTV, the Canadian version)...



...and yep, I'd say this is appropriate for next Tuesday.

Friday Mashup (10/29/10)

(I also posted some stuff here.)

It looks like “Governor Bully” is hob-knobbing with the "hoi polloi" again (here)…

Gov. Chris Christie took a jab from Jimmy Fallon on his late-night show last night over his decision to pull out of a cross-river tunnel project, in which the comic said people will have to get to New Jersey the way they usually do, "by accident."

Christie tweeted at Fallon just now: @jimmyfallon Heard your joke about NJ last night. Why dont u come across the river on purpose and I'll give u a tour http://bit.ly/cPS9KH

Then he got his own poke at Fallon for his Bruce Springsteen-homage opening sketch at the Emmys:

@jimmyfallon Consider this is a formal invite. By the way — nice attempt at Born to Run but Bruce does it better. http://bit.ly/cRRvbk

Keep reminding me that only liberals suck up to celebrities again, people, OK?

I guess the only reason why I’m mentioning this at all is because I’m a bit shocked (though maybe I shouldn’t be) by the cowed silence form our corporate media over the fact that Christie killed the $8.7 billion New-Jersey-to-New-York-City tunnel project with barely a peep of protest from our news organizations with initials for names.

Well, one person who most definitely is not going to go quietly is NJ Dem Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who tells us the following from here…

NEWARK – Today, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) issued the following statement in response to Governor Chris Christie’s decision to kill the critical Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) Tunnel project:

“The Governor was given a deal from the federal government on Sunday that put no extra imposition on the state of New Jersey for its obligation to the ARC Tunnel project, and the Governor refused it. It was clear from the beginning that Governor Christie planned to kill the ARC Tunnel no matter what. In doing so, the Governor has once again put politics over performance.”

…

CHRISTIE MYTHS vs. THE TRUTH

Christie Myth: The Federal Government did not provide a proposal that would have shielded New Jersey from being responsible for cost overruns beyond the current state share of $2.7 billion.

Truth: The Federal Government provided options to the state for transferring responsibility for covering overruns to a private entity through a Public Private Partnership (“P3”).

*

Christie Myth: The Federal Government did not offer New Jersey any additional Federal funds beyond the $3 billion already committed.

Truth: The Federal Government offered a financing option in which it would provide an additional $358 million dollars, bringing the total Federal commitment to an unprecedented $3.358 billion.

*

Christie Myth: The actual cost to New Jersey of this project will be $3.5 billion because the state will be on the hook for Portal Bridge.

Truth: The Federal Government presented Governor Christie with a proposal for a Public Private Partnership (“P3”) that would not only relieve New Jersey of responsibility for cost overruns, but also of the cost of the Portal Bridge.

*

Christie Myth: He is killing the tunnel because the state cannot afford it.

Truth: He is killing the tunnel in order to move $1.25 billion in New Jersey Turnpike Authority funds dedicated to the ARC Tunnel to the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.

*

The Governor was presented with a proposal from the Department of Transportation (as noted above) that would shield New Jersey from the risk of cost overruns. The Public Private Partnership (P3) proposal was presented to Governor Christie as follows:

Federal Contribution: $3 Billion

Port Authority Contribution: $3 Billion

New Jersey Contribution: $2.7 Billion (hard cap)

Private Investors: $1.85 Billion plus assumption of risk of cost overruns

Good for Lautenberg – nice to see someone tell Christie off for a change, instead of the other way around.

Next, I give you the latest in the ongoing story of the rejected absentee ballot applications in Bucks County (from here – a brief summary of what has happened so far can be obtained from here).

And by the way, get a load of how the Courier Times divided up the stories online:

In response, here is some required reading for the person or persons responsible for the paper’s online content.

Returning to the story today, I give you the following:

In a news release, Murphy's campaign said the board of elections remedied errors on Republican ballot applications but not those of Democrats.

As evidence, the Democrats provided a copy of an absentee ballot application submitted by a Republican woman from Bensalem who used her married name, although she is registered under her maiden name, and failed to include her date of birth. Board of elections workers added the woman's maiden name and approved the application.

In contrast, the Democrats provided copies of applications submitted by Democrats from Levittown and Fairless Hills who put incorrect dates in the field for date of birth.

The Democrats "didn't get the same special treatment," as the Republican voter, the news release says.

(Board of Elections Director Deena Dean) said the campaign staff's allegations are absolutely false.

"No one has been tampering with any ballots and I'm offended by that," Dean said.

Dean explained that a ballot application with a woman's maiden name is permissible. A voter who has married and changed his or her name but has not updated his or her voter registration may sign an affidavit at the poll. Dean did not explain why the application was approved without a date of birth.

Of course she didn’t, because she didn’t want to admit that Cawley and Martin told her to do that (no, I don’t have proof, but this is beginning to “walk like a duck and talk like a duck,” if you know what I mean, particularly since Bucks has had trouble with running fair elections in the past, as noted in a Murphy campaign press release... I’ll try to track it down and link to it).

Continuing…

Bucks County Republican Committee Vice Chairwoman Pat Poprik said the congressman's news release was misleading. She said she was familiar with one of the rejected Democratic applications and noted that it had been denied for other defects in addition to the incorrect date of birth.

"They selectively told you what was on that card," Poprik said.

Well then, why else was the application rejected? Can the Repugs do anything on this story except accuse Democrats of wrongdoing without any proof?

The big “takeaway” for me on all this, though, is the letter on Rob Ciervo’s letterhead accompanying the absentee ballot application saying “Mike Fitzpatrick and I need your help” and instructing voters as follows: “If the application is for a student who will be away in November, be sure to use their college address to ensure they receive the ballot in a timely manner” (here...the whole business about whether the PA Voter Assistance Office exists or not is nothing but a red herring as far as I'm concerned).

So the application is filled out with the college address, sent to the Bucks County Board of Elections…and then it is tossed because it doesn’t match the address to which the absentee ballot application was originally sent.

Welcome To Voter Caging 101, ladies and gentlemen. Your instructors are Dr. Ciervo, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Cawley and Mr. Martin.

With all of this in mind, this makes the following information on behalf of Congressman Patrick Murphy for this Tuesday all the more important (I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to sneak in any more plugs for him over the next few days, but we’ll see).

As noted here, Murphy played a role in bringing the following jobs to our area:

• February 2009 – ETC Southampton, U.S. Navy contract: 300 direct jobs, hundreds more from using local contractors/vendors

• March 2009 – Humanistic Robotics: several dozen jobs and a new company moving into Bucks

• April 2009 – Neshaminy Creek Watershed: 200 jobs elevating homes and businesses along the flood plain

• May 2009 – Lockheed Martin, NASA contract: 50 new jobs direct from contract; many more expected through 2010 (total of 250 so far since Rep. Murphy took office)

• June 2009 – SEPTA Croydon Station revitalization: 2-year project, over 100 jobs

• August 2009 – Brenner Aerostructures, Boeing contract: 25 new jobs over 2 years

• November 2009 – ETC Southampton, South Korean Air Force contract: 100 direct jobs, hundreds more from using local contractors/vendors

• December 2009 – Y-Carbon, Inc.: 25 jobs from expanding their manufacturing operation to Bucks from Montgomery

• January 2010 – Gamesa USA: $2.8 million in tax credits for manufacturing and green jobs

• January 2010 – AE Polysilicon: $44 million in tax credits for manufacturing and green jobs

Also, Patrick was responsible for the following:

He won the endorsement of five small businessmen (four of whom are Republicans) here (last item).

Murphy has worked tirelessly to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell (second item here).

He kept teachers and other public workers from losing their jobs (last item here – and by the way, as long as Mikey has been screaming about the supposed profligacy of the Dem Congress, take a look at the chart in the post to see the debt run up by the Republican congresses earlier in this decade).

He supported primarily low-income veterans here – also, an amendment he sponsored in response to the awful Citizens United ruling that passed the House is noted.

He explained here about how taxes have been lowered under Obama and the Dems in Congress (yes, it’s true, people).

He took the lead in legislation creating the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail - a 685-mile path crossing eight states from Newport, R.I., to Yorktown, Va., as noted here.

Oh, and the Courier Times said that Murphy has “shied away” from HCR – yeah, right.

Murphy also took the lead in passing the HOMESTAR Energy Rebate and “Cash For Caulkers” programs here.

And as noted from here…

This is part of Congressman Murphy's accomplishments along with those of the 111th Congress, including passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create and save 3.5 million jobs, as well as giving a tax cut to 95 percent of this country's workforce (Mike Fitzpatrick, by contrast, said the stimulus "brought us less jobs," a claim that was called false by factcheck.org).

This Congress also enacted legislation reforming the system of federal student loans to save taxpayers $87 billion -and then investing $77 billion of those savings back into education, particularly by making college more affordable, and directing $10 billion back to the Treasury to reduce entitlement spending.

Add to this list of accomplishments numerous jobs bills, including a bill to invest $31 billion in science, technology, innovation, math education, cutting-edge research, advanced manufacturing technologies, and workforce training; the "Cash for Clunkers" program, which spurred the sales of 700,000 vehicles and revived the auto industry; blocking a 21 percent cut in Medicare physician payments; granting new powers to the FDA to regulate the advertising, marketing and manufacture of tobacco products as well as regulating the food supply to prevent illness outbreaks; forcing health insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions; ethics reform including new lobbying restrictions; and passing a credit card bill of rights (I would say that the House, including Murphy, has a record to be proud of).

Also, as noted today from here…

Legislators who want to repeal (or in other ways, harm) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would rather you didn't know that any Pennsylvanian who has been denied medical insurance coverage for at least six months due to a pre-existing condition and do not qualify for Medicare/Medicaid can now get medical insurance coverage.

With federal funds allocated in the new law, any state can implement high risk pool coverage. Pennsylvania has done so under Highmark PPO Blue Shield.

I urge everyone who thinks they may qualify to call toll-free 1-888-767-7015 and place an application.

As of Oct. 1, I now have medical insurance coverage. Wholeheartedly, I commend Congressman Patrick Murphy for voting to pass the new law that made this possible.

Because of a seizure disorder - which has been medication-controlled for over 10 years and is not life threatening - I went without medical coverage for over three years. I was consistently turned down - or offered coverage at minimum $835 a month; $10,000 deductible, if coverage at all. A letter from Aetna reads, "We have declined your application ... a history of seizures (and) ... your health history exceeds the allowable limits provided by our underwriting guidelines."

This kind of letter is routinely sent to people with diabetes, high cholesterol, battered women and others who through no fault of their own have conditions that the medical insurance industry deems that, since there is the possibility that they may have to actually pay for services, they'd rather not. If denying coverage for illness' sake, then what are premiums collected for?

Here's an analogy: Old cars (I'm a 63-year-old) can get liability insurance. This liability covers you if I get into an accident (or a long-term illness). With my "liability" insurance if I go into the hospital and incur high medical bills, guess who doesn't have to pay for my repairs: You!

I pay an affordable premium: $283 per month with a $1,000 deductible and $20-$50 copays. I have the medical coverage I need, which keeps you from paying for me!

From an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 11: www.post-gazette.com/pg/10215/1077193-114.stm: "90 percent or more (premium dollars) will go toward patient care with the remaining share spent by the state for administrative expenses to Highmark for its contract work."

Again, I urge anyone who thinks they may qualify to call toll-free 1-888-767-7015.

Barbara Stakes
Oakford, PA

And I suppose I wouldn’t be “fair and balanced” if I ignored Mikey Fitzpatrick here, so I’ll merely add the following (from here)…

Republicans vow to repeal health care reform, privatize Social Security, end Medicare as we know it, give tax cuts to millionaires and preserve tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.

They can call themselves the tea party, the Jefferson Club or even Kitchen Table Patriots, but they are still the same old Republicans to me.

Regina Axenroth
Levittown, PA

Also, a “Vent” submission today stated the following:

“The Murphy endorsement (by the Courier Times) was about his accomplishments. The Fitzpatrick endorsement was about bashing Murphy. All hat and no cattle, just like the campaign.”

Indeed, and to help Congressman Murphy (and time is short now, people), click here.

Thursday Stuff

OK, so let's do a recap on the absentee ballot application story here in Bucks County to find out where we're at, OK?

On Tuesday the story broke in the Courier Times that 600 absentee ballot applications for this Tuesday's election were rejected (deadline for filing applications is tomorrow). Yesterday, Pat Poprik, Vice Chairwoman of the Bucks County Republican Party, accused Patrick Murphy and the Democrats of "Chicago style politics," which, as I pointed out, was absurd on its face because what she was implying was "voter caging," and it's not logical for the Dems to "cage" other prospective Dem voters (#1 here).

Today, the Patrick Murphy campaign responded, claiming that the Bucks County Republican Party has engaged in a systematic campaign to disenfranchise Democratic voters (of the rejected absentee ballot applications, 82 percent were from Democratic voters). And all the Republicans had to support their specious claim that Democrats were trying to force Republicans to file absentee ballot applications was "testimony" from people who wouldn't even provide their names (#2 here).

Now, here is the latest - the Murphy campaign has filed charges against the GOP-controlled Board of Elections for illegal voter suppression here. And it gets even better; this tells us that the Murphy campaign has obtained a letter sent by Fitzpatrick and "Self" Ciervo instructing recipients on how to commit voter fraud for real.

This is all about to bust wide open, people. In light of this, I have no idea as to whether or not next week's election will yield a fair result, but I'm sure the lawyers will end up living happily ever after.

And with all of this, I think this seasonal tune is highly appropriate.

Thursday Mashup (10/28/10)

Former Laura Bush employee Andrew Malcolm actually asked a good question today here (shocking, I know)…

“When’s the last time you heard someone from Harvard admit that they were wrong?”

Hmmm, I have to admit that that’s a real poser for me too (Harvard Business ’75, to be exact).

Next, the Bucks County Courier Times assigned two more reporters to the absentee ballot application controversy and actually did a respectable job in reporting the story today (here)…

In documents filed with the Bucks County Board of Elections, the state Democratic committee said the Republican Party machine that controls county government is working to disenfranchise voters.

"What makes their current scheme so egregious is that the Republicans are trying to prevent people, many of whom are ill or bedridden and incapable of going to the polls on Election Day, from legally casting absentee ballots," wrote Philadelphia attorney Keith Smith, of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, in the response for state Democrats.

The response asked the board of elections to dismiss the Republican complaint in its entirety.

A letter to the board of elections penned for the state committee by Doylestown attorney Jordan Yeager noted that among more than 600 absentee ballot applications rejected by board of elections staff for defects including signatures and birthdates that don't match voter registration records, 82 percent were from Democratic voters.

The letter called upon the board of elections to provide more time for voters to submit absentee ballots due to the large number of rejected applications and subsequent delays in obtaining ballots.

Yeager said the state election code contains a provision for emergency absentee ballots to be submitted until the close of polls on Election Day. Normally, the deadline for absentee ballots is the Friday before the election. The deadline for voters to apply for an absentee ballot was Tuesday.

"We're saying, 'You're the cause of this. You ought not hold them to that five o'clock Friday deadline. Give them until Tuesday. We're still trying to clean up the mess you made,' " Yeager said.

And in response…

In his own news conference Wednesday, Fitzpatrick called for Murphy to answer questions regarding the Democratic get-out-the-vote effort that included a series of letters to Bucks County voters the Republicans labeled misleading.

…

Fitzpatrick said he wants to know who compiled the list of addresses where the letters were sent, why those people were targeted and who is going door-to-door on behalf of his campaign. While Persico acknowledged the campaign's involvement with the letters, he said Tuesday that the Murphy campaign has not employed anyone to canvass neighborhoods.

…

State Republican committee spokesman Michael Barley said the allegations against the Democrats and Murphy are serious and called for the criminal investigation to continue.

"Republicans continue to stand in favor of ensuring that every registered voter can cast their ballot while Patrick Murphy seems OK signing people up for absentee ballots whether or not they actually requested them," he said.

To begin, Fitzpatrick’s request is completely unreasonable because the “burden of proof” is not on the state Democratic Party, but on the Bucks County Board of Elections Republican Party. In addition, the charge that absentee ballots were sent to people who did not request them is completely baseless; anonymous individuals are cited in the story who say that they were approached to fill out forms for absentee ballots, but no one goes on the record of course (a charge dutifully repeated in an editorial in the paper today that might as well have been written by Bucks Repug Party Chair Harry Fawkes).

As usual, Mikey and his playmates are fishing for a campaign issue out of this.

Continuing…

The Democratic state committee asserts the letters were part of a voter education effort to inform recipients of their right to vote by absentee ballot if they meet specific qualifications. The committee also contends that letters comply with state election law.

It rejects a GOP allegation that the Democrats had voters return their ballot applications to a post office box rather than the county voter registration office so that the party could screen them.

"Since the letter was only addressed to registered Democratic voters, there would be no rationale to 'screen' applications," the Democrats' response says.

The committee also says Republicans have no evidence to support their allegation that applications were screened or discarded.

The Democrats also criticize the Republicans' inclusion of affidavits by Bucks County voters who claim they were approached by "a man" or "young man."

The Democrats also say that six affidavits by Bucks County voters included in the Republican petition are unreliable. The voters claim they were approached by young men who encouraged them to apply for unneeded absentee ballots or complete an application on a family member's behalf.

"Based upon the description provided + it is not possible to identify who the people were that allegedly approached the accusers," the Democrats' response says. The Democrats also say neither the party nor any Democratic candidate would have authorized the activities alleged in the petition.

Finally, the state Democrats argue that the state election code provides no legal basis for the Republicans' request to prevent absentee ballots from being counted until the board of elections can complete an investigation of the party's allegations.

…

Yeager's letter on behalf of the state committee alleges the board of elections has disenfranchised voters by falsely claiming the signatures on their absentee ballot applications does not match the signatures on file with the board of elections. A review of 13 voters' files reveals the signatures on their applications do, in fact, closely match those on file, Yeager wrote.

Yeager also wrote that the board of elections appears to have denied absentee ballots because the applicants provided invalid excuses for not voting at the polls. He said the Democrats identified a representative sample of 11 voters whose applications were denied despite providing valid reasons for their absence including work and family obligations.

Several people contacted by the newspaper Wednesday whose ballot applications were rejected said they had similar experiences to those described in the Democratic responses.

Betty Schramm of Furlong said her daughter Katherine Schramm-Strosser received a notice that her ballot application was rejected because the signature on the application did not match county records. Schramm said her daughter's signature has likely evolved in the 12 years since she first registered to vote.

Karen Monahan of Middletown said her son Brett Monahan applied for an absentee ballot because he attends college in New York. His application was also rejected because the signature did not match the one on file.

Gee, I wonder if Monahan’s signature was rejected because the ascending character in the letter “T” of his first name was missing or crooked?

And by the way, I have no proof of any wrongdoing on the part of Deena Dean, the Bucks County Board of Elections Director. However, as noted here in the matter of the Creekside polling place move from about two years ago, it apparently has been common practice for her to be bullied by Commissioners Jim Cawley and Charley (“I Have A Semi-Open Mind”) Martin, as well as former Operations Officer David Sanko, in the course of the three trying to get what they want. Is it really a stretch to think that that didn’t happen again in this case (at least concerning Cawley and Martin)?

I think it’s safe to say that this story will be ongoing for some time, as long as it takes to get to the bottom of this mess.

In addition, Texas Repug U.S. House Rep Lamar Smith warned us here that the election next Tuesday is also about Terra! Terra! Terra!...

We know that former Gitmo detainees often return to terrorism. The Pentagon has reported that at least 20% of released Gitmo terrorists have returned to plotting attacks against Americans.

In response, I give you the following (here)…

So who are these approximately 116 men (out of the 532 prisoners released from Guantánamo under George W. Bush) who have allegedly “engaged in recidivist activities”?

We know, from earlier Pentagon claims, that this “recidivism” has included — and may well still include — publishing houses, the offices of newspapers, TV studios, and film sets because the Pentagon admitted (in a press release that was subsequently deleted from the Pentagon’s website, but is mirrored here) that it included former prisoners, like the Tipton Three — three young men from the West Midlands — who had appeared in a movie, The Road to Guantánamo, which dramatized their experiences, and the five Uighurs sent to Albania in 2006, after tribunals at Guantánamo cleared them of being “enemy combatants.” In the latter case, this was apparently because one of them, Abu Bakker Qassim, wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times in which he urged U.S. lawmakers to defend habeas corpus.

In the years since, many more ex-prisoners have written books, newspaper articles, and op-eds, and have appeared on TV and in films. Perhaps Omar Deghayes, the British resident (released in 2007), who appeared in the Guantánamo documentary that I co-directed, Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo, has now joined this ever-expanding group of “recidivists” who have dared to use their words and their voices to “attack” the United States for what it did to them in its brutal, experimental prisons in Afghanistan, Guantánamo and elsewhere.

Clearly, however, the main thrust of this propaganda is directed not at these men, but at others — 70, 80, 90 men, perhaps — who have supposedly engaged in terrorism since their release.

Is this plausible? In a word, no.

This is par for the proverbial course when it comes to Smith, though – as noted here, he claimed that Obama AG Eric Holder didn’t use the expression “a radical version of Islam” when testifying before Congress (Holder did) and he equated illegal immigrants with “terrorist weapons” here.

But believe it or not, Smith doesn’t think terrorism is the greatest threat facing this country; as noted here, his number one boogeyman is “liberal media bias.”

The best way to respond to this from Smith is to click here and support his opponent next Tuesday, Lainey Melnick.

Also, it looks like the “stim” created more “non-jobs” in PA (snark) based on this last night…

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, Oct. 27 – State Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero, D-Bucks, will participate in a ribbon-cutting event to mark the completion of a project to replace 23 incandescent traffic lights with LED models, as well as replace all freestanding parking lot light poles with LED fixtures at the Lower Makefield Township Building.

The event will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28 at the township building, 1100 Edgewood Road in Yardley.

Santarsiero, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger and other local officials are expected to attend the event.

Lower Makefield Township received this grant through the PA Conservation Works! Program, a competitive grant program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is designed to help local government and nonprofit organizations improve energy efficiency, curb energy consumption and reduce energy costs by at least 25 percent.

Sorry I’m a little late getting to this – to support Steve, click here.

Update 1/14/11: Speaking of John Hanger, this letter doesn't cast him in a favorable light on the issue of hydrofracking and the Marcellus Shale.

Finally, I know I’ve been beating the drum about voting next Tuesday and supporting Democrats as if our livelihoods depended on it (it does as far as I’m concerned), but as this tells us, President Obama recently met with five of our “A list” brethren yesterday. And that’s a good thing.

Anybody have a clue as to why it took him a week until the election to do it?

Update: Dear God Almighty, “President Hopey Changey” just let the air out of another balloon (here – I know The DC is a questionable source, but they’d have to go a long way to fabricate a quote like that, which, unfortunately, isn’t likely here given Number 44’s penchant to “build bridges,” which is usually commendable, but not now).

Tim Profitt isn’t just a “supporter” – He’s A CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR FOR RAND PAUL! (Update: The NY Times reported today that Profitt is no longer with the Rand Paul campaign)

And as noted here, Profitt wants an apology from the woman whose head he stomped.

For this.

Yes, I’m serious.

“In fairness, I don’t expect every candidate to be responsible for every single supporter’s actions”…

If someone from the Conway campaign had done this to a Paul supporter (though I give them more credit than that), every Repug in this country would be calling for a congressional investigation (and probably screaming ACORN all over the place, even though the group is defunct…why let the truth get in the way of some genuine propaganda?).

Wednesday Stuff (update)

Nail. Hammer. Head. - it's Keith Olbermann versus the tebaggers tonight in perhaps his finest "Special Comment"...one of his very best at least.

As I watched this, I had a few reactions. One was relief that SOMEONE IN OUR CORPORATE MEDIA WAS FINALLY CONNECTING THE DOTS! Another was disgust that it has come to this point and so late in the game, and another was a bit of disappointment with myself...I don't know about anybody else who puts his or her opinions in a public sphere like this, but no matter what good I may do in my small way, I always feel like I should be doing more, screaming louder...something. Ultimately, it's up to me to deal with it, I know.

Anyway, here is Part 1...



...and here is Part 2...



Update 10/28/10: And by the way, all the teabagger stuff, important as it is to call it out, is partly a smokescreen to cover up this.

...and here is one antidote to the teabaggers (and by the way, here is an update to the absentee ballot applications matter that makes a hell of a lot more sense than anything I've read on this in the Courier Times, who, as far as I'm concerned, have utterly bungled this story)...



...and if this song doesn't capture your mood for going out to vote on Tuesday after watching K.O.'s Special Comment tonight, then you don't have a pulse - perhaps no conscience either.

Wednesday Mashup (10/27/10) (update to #1)

The following story appeared from the banner headline of the Bucks County Courier Times yesterday (here)…

Bucks County election officials rejected more than 600 applications for absentee ballots as of Monday and local Republican Party officials are reviewing those that had been granted for defects.

Voter Registration Director Deena Dean said the number of ballot applications rejected for mismatching signatures, incorrect birthdates and other problems is substantially higher than in recent elections.

While the number of absentee ballot applications issued so far this year - 11,331 - is only slightly higher than in the last mid-term election four years ago, the number of defective applications is significantly larger. Dean said she hasn't kept count in years past, but the file drawer where her workers usually store the rejects is overflowing.

And by the way, I would ask that you keep in mind that we’re talking about applications for absentee ballots, as opposed to the actual ballots themselves.

Continuing…

While the reason for the surge of bad applications is unclear, Bucks County Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Pat Poprik said she believes it is the result of a Democratic effort to steal the election using Chicago-style tactics.

And leave it to the Courier Times to fail to note the absurdity of that remark.

Well, a follow-up story in the Courier Times tells us the following (here)…

A trio of Bucks County residents backed by the county Republican committee say they have evidence linking Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy's campaign to a scheme to flood the county voter registration office with fraudulent applications for absentee ballots.

In a petition filed Tuesday, county Republicans say the name of Murphy's campaign manager appeared on a Bristol post office box where voters were urged in a series of letters paid for by the state Democratic Committee to send absentee ballot applications.

The county Republicans submitted with the petition a photograph of a note inside the mailbox that said, "Tim Percico and Paul Hampel only pick up mail." Tim Persico is Murphy's campaign manager, although his name is misspelled in the note. Hampel is a volunteer for the Democratic state committee who said he collects mail from the box.

While county and state Democratic officials denied involvement in the letter campaign or refused to discuss it, Persico said Tuesday that the "PA Vote 2010" project that paid for the letters is a partnership between Murphy's campaign and the state Democrats.

Persico said the goal of the project is to help eligible Democratic voters obtain and cast absentee ballots.

He dismissed assertions by Republican critics that the letters were misleadingly worded and noted that the Democratic state committee clearly takes credit for the mailings, which comply with all election laws.

"The only reason the Republican Party is mad is working parents and college kids are sending in an application because they want to vote," Persico said.

And in today’s story, the Poprik line about “Chicago-style politics” is repeated for good measure.

So let’s count down the wingnut umbrage on this, OK? Five, four, three (here)…

At issue is whether Rep. Patrick Murphy was directly involved with the absentee ballot scheme, which is being investigated by the local district attorney’s office and has so far resulted in the rejection of at least 600 absentee ballots for “defects.”

The number of reject ballots, which is “significantly higher” than in previous years, has been reportedly fueled by errors including mismatching signatures and incorrect birth dates, indicators of potential fraud.

This comes on the heels of the county Board of Elections recording (an) unusual spike in Democratic absentee ballot application last week. Within a six day period from Oct. 14 to 19, Democrat (sic) absentee ballot applications to the county increased by 67 percent as compared to Republican applications, a spike that occurred nowhere else in the state.

Gee, that’s interesting, seeing that Deena Dean said above that “the number of absentee ballot applications issued so far this year - 11,331 - is only slightly higher than in the last mid-term election four years ago.”

So basically, either Irrational Spew or Deena Dean is lying (and I would put my money on Irrational Spew). Also, leave it to I.S. to get the “fictitious voter office” part wrong in the post headline also; as noted here, there is such an office, though it isn’t an independent state agency, but based with the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee.

Update 10/28/10: I edited the above paragraph to allow for the possibility that the Pennsylvania Voter Assistance Office may be fictitious - I don't think that has been completely established yet one way or the other, and I don't think that's really even the issue here...also, here is a link to the mailing.

I honestly think what is going on here is that the Murphy campaign and the PA Democratic Party are trying to close the Repug edge in voter absentee ballots (noted in this post, by the way, "Democrat" reference and all) by trying to obtain as many absentee ballots for registered Democrats as they can. The only other explanation would be a voter caging scheme, whereby (as noted here) a political party would send “direct mail to addressees on the voter rolls, compiling a list of addressees from which the mail is returned undelivered, and using that list to purge or challenge voters’ registrations on the grounds that the voters do not legally reside at registered addresses.”

And if the Murphy campaign is targeting Dem voters, what sense does it make to “cage” and disqualify them (and I give the Murphy campaign more credit than to try something like this with registered Republicans – someone is going to have to present rock-solid proof to get me to believe that).

Also, as long as I’m mentioning the Courier Times, I should note that the paper has run advertisements for the Mikey Fitzpatrick campaign in its front-page banner every day for the last two weeks, along with full-page ads inside. I realize that the paper has the right to accept advertising of this kind, but I honestly cannot recall another person, place or product receiving this kind of preferential treatment, and I’ve been reading that paper for longer than I care to admit.

Update: Yep, this sounds about right, unfortunately.

Next, I give you the following from Tucker Carlson’s Crayon Scribble Page (here)…

You’ve probably read about ObamaCare’s harm to Snooki and more traditional interest groups like seniors and doctors. But what has gone unnoticed is ObamaCare’s harm to our troops.

In a time of war, when medical devices like prosthetic legs are critical to the care of injured service members, ObamaCare slaps a destructive 2.3% tax on medical devices. The majority of companies who make these devices are small businesses for whom this tax will consume a significant portion or all of their profit margins, leaving them with two options — both harmful for our troops.

The first option for these devices makers is to pass on the cost of the tax to consumers, thereby burdening the Veterans Affairs Department (VA). Given the VA’s limited budget, this will either lead to higher premiums for veterans enrolled in their insurance plan known as TriCare, or the Department will have to scale back other benefits it presently provides to veterans.

The second option for device makers is to reduce the funds they dedicate to research and development, leading to less innovation and fewer advances that enable a better quality of life for our injured service members.

Do we really want to send the message to our military service members that we want to increase their premiums, reduce their benefits, and cut back on the innovation that allows them to have a high quality of life? Of course not.

Ugh – as noted from here…

The health care debate featured no shortage of rumors designed to misinform the American people about the Affordable Care Act. And while the debate has ended and implementation of the new law has begun, the rumor mill hasn’t slowed down. The latest rumor is the unfounded charge that “America's wounded warriors face a new tax on prosthetic limbs and other vital medical devices.” Nothing could be further from the truth. While the new law includes a tax on big medical device manufacturers, the tax won’t be passed on to veterans and wounded active duty military personnel and veterans will continue to receive prosthetic devices at no cost from the VA and TRICARE.

Here’s the truth behind the latest unfounded claim:

• Today, wounded veterans and active duty military receive prosthetic devices from the VA or TRICARE at no cost. That won’t change under the Affordable Care Act.

• We know medical device manufacturers will prosper under the new law -- the Affordable Care Act expands health insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans and these newly insured individuals will use products made by the medical device industry. This is already a large and profitable business; sales in the medical device industry even before the Act takes effect are estimated to be $138 billion for 2010. The new tax applies to this industry and will help ensure we provide more Americans with affordable coverage choices.

• This is not a tax on consumers and claims that the tax will result in higher prices for prosthetics or other medical devices are wrong. Prices and reimbursements for medical devices will continue to be negotiated between the device industry and insurance companies, retail establishments, and the federal government, in the case of veterans and active duty service members. And the full cost of prosthetics for veterans will continue to be borne by the government.

Also, it takes a particular kind of gall for someone to blame a Democrat for trying to improve the lives of our veterans when at least two Republican politicians, Sharron Angle (here) and Ken Buck (here), both running for the U.S. Senate, support privatizing the VA.

And on top of that, a certain former Bushco Defense Secretary and his pals were linked to a privatization scheme at a VA hospital (here). Oh, and that doesn’t even take into account former Bushco VA head Jim Nicholson, under whose watch it took 145-150 days to process disability payments; he was also accused of denying wounded veterans disability pay and mental health treatment, as well as accidentally exposing millions of vets’ social security numbers to possible fraud and identity theft (all noted (here).

As an aside, I should note that one of the authors of the DC post, Alex Cortes, represents a group trying to abolish HCR (of course), and the other is Michael Grimm, a U.S. congressional candidate who, as noted here, only has three campaign contributors from his district, so it's safe to assume where the rest of the money came from (OK, the post was in March - hopefully he's broken into double digits at least by now).

The Citizens United legacy lives on.

In addition, former Bushco flak Dana Perino confided “5 Ways To Avoid Blowing It” to Repug candidates in the final days of the campaign here (with #1 being “Don't give any big interviews to the mainstream media -- this can only lead to a self-inflicted wound.”).

Based on this, though, I think Perino should tell Repug candidates not to give an interview to anybody, based on her misadventure on the Sean Inanity program (and yes, I’m being tongue-in-cheek here).

Finally (speaking of our prior ruling cabal), today marks the fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of Harriet Miers (once referred to as "Hazel The Cleaning Lady" by Bill Maher) from consideration for the Supreme Court vacancy that would ultimately go to “Strip-Search Sammy” Alito.

I don’t have anything particularly brilliant to add about that, but I only mention it to get in a plug for this blog on the subject, which provided more than a few funny moments when the episode with Miers played out and is still worth a chuckle or two every now and then.

Tuesday Stuff

(Posting may be questionable tomorrow and Thursday - I'll do what I can.)

In response, to help Admiral Joe, click here...



...and here is another reminder as to why we should send "No-Corporate-Tax" Pat back to his pals on Wall Street...



...and here is another important reason to support Patrick Murphy (here)...



...and I guess this is a little "goth" to get us in the mood for the upcoming holiday festivities.

Mikey's Game Of "Past Is Prologue In PA-08"

The Bucks County Courier Times tells us the following today (here)…

As evidence mounts that mortgage lenders have been evicting homeowners using flawed paperwork, Congressman Patrick Murphy is calling for a moratorium on home foreclosures "to ensure families in Bucks County and across America get a fair shake."

"With so many families struggling to keep their homes and revelations that some families may have lost their home to fraud, we need to take action and immediately freeze foreclosures," Murphy, the two-term 8th District Democrat, said. "The freeze will give these families the opportunity to keep the home they have worked long and hard to buy and give the government time to investigate these charges of fraud."

The Federal Reserve on Monday became the latest government regulator to announce it would be looking into whether mortgage companies cut corners on their own procedures when seizing homes.

Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed would look intensively to see if policies, procedures or internal controls led lenders to improperly foreclosure on homeowners. Preliminary results of an in-depth report are expected to be released next month.

Murphy said the moratorium should last until lenders "can vouch for the integrity of their own process."

Mike Fitzpatrick, Murphy's Republican opponent in the fast-approaching midterm election, said "Congressman Murphy's economic policy has always been to improperly interfere in the free market. And his support for higher taxes, increased government spending and bigger deficits are the cause of high unemployment and, ultimately, the higher rate of foreclosures."

And as usual, Mikey offers no solutions, only criticism.

There are a lot of reasons why Fitzpatrick should do the right thing and shut his damn mouth on this issue if he has not a clue as to how to address it. I’m thinking of basic human decency first and foremost (apparently, Mikey needs a bit of a refresher course on that subject after watching him during this campaign), but I’m thinking of political reasons also.

To understand what I mean, I would ask that you read about a bill from the happily-now-long-gone 109th Congress, and that would be HR 1295, the Responsible Lending Act (here). The bill was sponsored by former Repug U.S. House Rep from Ohio Bob Ney, who was convicted of conspiracy and making false statements in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

The title of the bill sounds benign enough, I realize, but as noted here…

Consumer advocates are bringing out big names from the civil rights world to try to keep a lending industry-backed bill on predatory mortgage lending from rolling through Congress the way recent bankruptcy legislation did.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and their groups are joining with consumer groups to oppose a bill introduced earlier this month by Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Financial Services housing subcommittee, and Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D-Pa.), the senior Democrat on the capital markets subcommittee.

The civil rights leaders and the head of the National Fair Housing Alliance are expected to issue a statement today urging Congress to reject the Ney-Kanjorski proposal. The Post obtained a copy of the statement yesterday.

…

The civil rights groups contend that the Ney-Kanjorski approach falls far short of what is needed to stop abusive lending targeted at minorities, the elderly and immigrants and instead removes protections in existing federal law and in state and local regulations. The states and local jurisdictions have been passing laws since about 1999 as lending to subprime, or higher-risk, borrowers has exploded. Although not all subprime lending is predatory, complaints about abusive lending, with hidden or excessive fees and deceptive practices, have skyrocketed as higher-cost, subprime loans have become available.

Subprime lending now accounts for about 20 percent of the mortgage market, with about $500 billion in new loans last year.
…

Consumer groups have painted the Ney-Kanjorski bill as intolerable and an "evisceration" of state and federal protections.

(I would ask that you keep in mind that this story was written in 2005 - this tells us what would become of the subprime mortgage mess, for which Kanjorski can answer for himself as far as I'm concerned).

And by the way, I would also ask that you go back to the GovTrack link above and click on the list of the 39 cosponsors. Guess whose name appears when you click to read the list?

Why, Michael Fitzpatrick, R of PA-08, that’s who.

Now who’s guilty of “improperly interfering with the free market,” Mikey? Now who’s guilty of trying to exacerbate “the higher rate of foreclosures”?

This is all part and parcel of Mikey’s foul term in office, also epitomized by the following (as noted here)…

• Card Check: Fitzpatrick was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act and is pictured on the AFL-CIO website signing an enlarged copy of the bill. In 2010, he is against Card Check.

• Cap and Trade: Fitzpatrick was a co-cosponsor with Henry Waxman on the Safe Climate Act of 2006. In 2010, he is against Cap and Trade.

• Earmark Reform: Fitzpatrick continued to fight for Pork Barrel Spending in the 109th Congress. In 2010, he wants earmark reform.

• Government Spending: Fitzpatrick received a "D" letter grade from the National Taxpayer Union in 2006. In 2010, he says we need to spend less.

• Energy/Off-Shore Drilling: Fitzpatrick opposed off-shore and ANWR drilling and voted against the American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act of 2006. In 2010, he wants to explore drilling.

• Tax Cuts: Fitzpatrick opposed tax cuts and job creation (HR 6, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Roll Call #132 - 4/21/05). In 2010, he wants to focus on tax cuts and jobs.

And just as a further reminder, I give you the following from here…

- Here’s Mikey failing the mothers of children suffering from autism as these women advocate exploring whether or not vaccines could be responsible for this awful affliction.

- Here’s Mikey sponsoring something called the Railroad Security and Public Awareness Act, which supposedly provides more funding for mass transit security; the problem is that the bill is currently stuck in a House subcommittee.

- Here’s Mikey doing nothing (nothing good, anyway) about rising personal property taxes, health care costs, and student loan costs.

- Here’s Mikey “considering” supporting legislation to allow Medicare Part D recipients to buy drugs in bulk for less money, even though Medicare Part D wasn't listed as an issue on his “Mike On The Issues” health care page from his campaign web site).

- Here’s Mikey’s ridiculous criticism of Patrick Murphy for attending a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. hosted by Nancy Pelosi when, to quote the Doylestown Intelligencer, Mikey “never met a PAC contribution he didn’t welcome” (and God, how tedious the “Murphy/Pelosi” linkages have gotten, even when they frequently have had no basis in reality).

- Here’s more evidence of Mikey the "independent moderate" supporting Bushco both on the Iraq war and its failed domestic agenda also.

- Here’s Mikey voting to fund something called the Secure Fence Act (as opposed to an “insecure” fence? Does it have self esteem issues?) which provides funding for a fence along the Arizona/New Mexico border nowhere near the 8th congressional district, while Mikey and the Repugs voted down a host of homeland security measures including increasing the number of border patrol agents…and by the way, here is an update.

- Here’s Mikey stating his support for adult stem cell research, which holds nowhere near the potential for curing life-threatening illnesses as embryonic stem cells.

- Here’s Mikey supporting Social Security privatization and taking campaign funding from Dick Cheney, though he proclaims himself an “independent moderate.”

- Here’s Mikey voting against homeland security measures (I know I mentioned that above also) though he DID vote to fund the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska…talk about supporting “increased government spending,” a criticism which is actually hilarious anyway considering the debt racked up by the wretched 109th.

- Here’s Mikey voting for a conference report allowing drilling in the ANWR, and also voting against investing in cleaner energy (the mailing once in question, by the way, had no mention of the fact that Fitzpatrick is a Republican, though it did contain a quote from JFK as well as the former president’s picture).

- Here’s Mikey stating that he’s abandoned Bush’s policy on Iraq (Dubya had one?) while Fitzpatrick offered no plan of his own instead.

- Here’s Mikey trying to include an estate tax cut in legislation to raise the minimum wage (the legislation was defeated…again, I give you an example of “increased government spending”).

- Here’s Mikey’s sudden conversion to exploring alternative energy sources to lower energy costs, though in ’05, he voted against bills to crack down on gasoline price gougers and creating a strategic refinery reserve.

- Here’s Mikey calling for hearings on Bucks County flooding, even though, as a member of the Delaware River Basin Commission, he should have been familiar with the issue already.

- Here’s Mikey shredding the safety net for our most vulnerable citizens and remaining silent while Bush tried to raise acceptable levels of mercury in our drinking water.

- Mikey wasted no time here in calling Iraq war vet Patrick Murphy “a cut-and-run liberal” right after Patrick defeated Andy Warren in the Democratic primary four years ago.

- Mikey favored weakening House ethics rules, and his excuse was that he was trying to help pass a homeland security bill.

- Here’s Mikey supporting the House immigration bill punishing religious aid workers, including Catholics (his faith, for the five people who don't know that in PA-08 because they apparently aren't reminded frequently by the Courier Times).

- Here is the context in which Mikey provided that wonderful quote saying he’d win in ‘06 “If Bush had a 50 percent or better approval rating”...and recall that Mikey recently claimed that he lost in '06 "because of Bush and Iraq."

- Here’s Mikey trying to fudge on the “honesty” pledge he signed for the Bucks County Courier Times almost right after he signed it (with Mikey’s great quote, “The truth is a matter of interpretation”).

- Here’s Mikey traveling to Iraq to check on our troops, including whether or not they have adequate body armor, but not saying whether or not they actually do (and as a bonus, he also channels “Crazy Curt” Weldon’s “Able Danger” nonsense…truly a “golden oldie”).

- And FINALLY, here’s Mikey refusing to say whether he thinks Don (“The Former Defense Secretary You (Had)”) Rumsfeld should stay or go.

Also, in another chapter of “Today In Mikey Fitzpatrick History, More or Less,” this tells us that our former rep bailed out on a candidates’ media forum while Patrick Murphy called him out over “a slew of negative ads” (Fitzpatrick’s excuse was that he had to attend a Newtown Supervisors meeting over the issue of the veterans’ cemetery – Patrick made sure the cameras followed Mikey as he left; in response Mikey “turned towards Murphy and stared at him before leaving”).

In addition, here is a reminder from the SEIU about how Fitzpatrick "failed to support U.S. troops, voting against rightful survivor benefits for families of fallen service members." Now, (Iraq war vet Jared) Baker says in the ad, "it's time to vote against him."

Please click here to support Congressman Patrick Murphy. And vote as if your livelihood depends on it because, if Mikey and the Repugs return to power and pursue what will probably be a ruinous course once more to “press restart” on making the mess they made once before all over again, plunging our economy into catastrophe in the process, it probably will.

Update: Not sure how I forgot this item in the post above, but I did...oops.

Monday Stuff (updates)

It is personally loathesome and offensive to yours truly that a gutteral scumwad like Ron Johnson is actually still leading Russ Feingold in Wisconsin based on this - this video (more is here) is bad enough, but there is so much more that's wrong with this guy...



...and at this point, I don't know why anybody would have any doubts as to what Carly Fiorina is all about, but in case somehow you do, here is a reminder...



...also, click here to help Admiral Joe keep what probably will be his final campaign ad on the air...



...and oh yeah, concerning Admiral Joe's opponent, I give you this (and he keeps such good company too)...



...and get a load of the politician Rand Paul "admires most" in action at the end (based on this...see the last update - in response, click here to help Jack Conway)...



Update 1 10/26/10: Disagree with Rand Paul - get your head stepped on (here...h/t Thers at Eschaton).

Update 2 10/26/10: Nope, won't be able to sweep this under the proverbial rug...

...finally, I featured this song a few times in 2006, and I'm going to bring it back again now to try and fire up anyone who needs it.