Hartzler in? Cleaver out?

If what the CBS Channel KCTV 5 reports right now is true, Vicky Hartzler is in, defeating 17 term, 80 year old Ike Skelton (not a huge surprise but a surprise nonetheless) and Emanuel Cleaver is voted out, by however a slim margin it shows? 

Holy cow.

This is some surprising election, at least on these points, among a few others.

And now because we shouldn't be so serious all the time

As I said, enjoy your Sunday, everyone.

What happened to sanity, calmness and clarity? To us, for that matter?

If you do watch this and do so all the way through (it's a total of twelve minutes and 2 seconds, so you know), you might recognize that it is filled with brief, smart, unintended, quotable moments.

I say yet again, as Jon Stewart seems to, "Can't we all just get along?"


Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

Demagogues and demagoguery

Sad.  Pitiful.  Pathetic.

Too bad so much of what they say resonates with people.

See more here:  http://wakingupnow.com/blog/those-wacky-republicans?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wakingupnow+(wakingupnow.com)

More reasons why Roy Blunt shouldn't be our Missouri Senator

You've heard about Roy Blunt's "housekeeper-gate", haven't you?

How, reputedly a woman worked for their family, years ago, and he filed papers for her to remain in the country and blah, blah, blah?

Well, first Roy says it's no big deal:

(ST. LOUIS, Mo.) The Missouri Democratic Party released documents Tuesday that they say paint Blunt as hiring an illegal immigrant and working to expedite her case during his time as Missouri Secretary of State.

“Blunt clearly states in the letter that dora has done some work for his family, and blunt attaches a letter clearly showing Blunt knew of her status,” said Corey Platt, with the MDP.

In the letter, sent on official state letterhead, Blunt writes to Gene McNary, then Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, explaining the situation.

“Dora Narvaez has done some work for Roseann [Blunt],” Blunt wrote. He wrote that Roseann Blunt, Blunt’s previous wife, received a letter from Narvaez expressing her “concern regarding her status in the United States.”

A woman who identified herself as “Narvaez” told the Kansas City Star she worked as a housekeeper for the Blunt’s for some time in 1990, but declined further comment.

Then--now, actually--he says he "doesn't remember" her.  From Steve Kraske and The Kansas City Star yesterday:

Blunt can't recall meeting Nicaraguan woman he helped with immigration matter
U.S. Senate candidate Roy Blunt said Wednesday that he could not recall meeting a Nicaraguan woman he helped with an immigration matter in 1990.

Well, Roy, I gotta' tell ya', on this one, we believe the first story, that she worked for you and that you plead her case to the government, that's all there is to it.

It's just one more reason we don't want you in the Senate, representing us, too.  It isn't your housekeeper, either.  It's the fact that you seem, clearly, like you have a problem with truth--and telling it.


But wait--there's more.  Check this out from Mike Mahoney's page and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:


Blunt spoke to the editorial board by phone. He was scheduled to appear in person, but changed plans after a small group of protesters — maybe half a dozen — gathered outside the Post-Dispatch building downtown, holding signs accusing Blunt of hypocrisy on immigration.


Six people are holding up signs and you can't show up to talk to the editors of the paper, Roy?


What a wienie.

Links:  http://politicmo.com/2010/10/19/mdp-alleges-blunt-hired-illegal-worker-expedited-her-proscess

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/20/2336796/blunt-cant-recall-meeting-nicaraguan.html


http://20poundsofheadlines.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/blunt-says-he-doesnt-remember-immigrant-woman/

Quote of the day--man, I love these people

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator John McCain's daughter said on Sunday that Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware, a Tea Party favorite, is "seen as a nut job."


Side note:  So, technically, officially, are all relatives of politicians, politicians themselves or political scholars?  I'm thinking the Cheneys first, and now the McCains.  Of course, the Kennedys may have begun the whole mess, eh?  But at least they studied history and government.


Link:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101017/pl_nm/us_usa_election_mccain

How did we get here? And are we all really this stupid?

What I mean is, how did we get to the place we are now, where a wack-job like Sharron Angle, of all people, can say things like the following, as examples, and be in a tight race for a Senate seat out in Nevada against Harry Reid?

--"I hope that's not where we're going, but you know if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out." --interview with right-wing talk radio host Lars Larson in Portland, OR, January 2010

--"People ask me, 'What are you going to do to develop jobs in your state?' Well, that's not my job as a U.S. senator."  --May 14, 2010

--"We needed to have the press be our friend ... We wanted them to ask the questions we want to answer so that they report the news the way we want it to be reported." --during an interview with Fox News Channel's Carl Cameron, Aug. 2, 2010

--"You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job, but it doesn't pay as much. And so that's what's happened to us is that we have put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry and said you don't want the jobs that are available." --on unemployment benefits, interview with KRNO, July 14, 2010

--"The Federal Department of Education should be eliminated. The Department of Education is unconstitutional and should not be involved in education, at any level." --July 12, 2010

--"When I said privatize, that's what I meant. That I thought we would just have to go to the private sector for a template on how this is supposed to be done. However, I've since been studying and Chile has done this." --explaining why Social Security should be phased out in favor of a system resembling the one created in the 1980s by right-wing Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, Aug. 12, 2010

"I think that two wrongs don't make a right. And I have been in the situation of counseling young girls, not 13 but 15, who have had very at risk, difficult pregnancies. And my counsel was to look for some alternatives, which they did. And they found that they had made what was really a lemon situation into lemonade." --Sharron Angle, explaining why she is against abortion even in cases of rape or incest, July 8, 2010

"Government shouldn't be doing that to a private company. And I think you named it clearly: It's a slush fund." -- on the BP escrow account set up at President Obama's urging to pay out oil spill claims, Alan Stock Show, July 7, 2010

"They [Republicans] say, 'You're too conservative.' Was Thomas Jefferson too conservative? I'm tired of some people calling me wacky." --March 21, 2010

Okay, Harry Reid isn't perfect and he's no saint and Nevada can no doubt do better in their representation--you can always find someone "better", one way or another but at least he doesn't say patently stupid, outrageous things, rapid-fire, again and again on the record.

Then, here in Missouri, you've got someone like Roy Blunt, for pity's sake, who's been in Washington 14 years, and there's this huge anti-incumbent sentiment but he's ahead in the polls and he's been shown--factually--to be as dirty a politician as about there ever was. 

Why is Roy Blunt leading in the polls, people?  Are we really that stupid? 

Sure, he's got name recognition and there's the incumbency thing on his side to campaign, you can't deny that, and then the corporations and all his wealthy friends are backing him because they know if he gets back in there he'll take care of them all with his votes but really---are we all that dumb?

It surely seems so.

Links:  http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/republicanquotes/a/Sharron-Angle-Quotes.htm;
http://citizensforethics.org/crew-26-lawmakers-corrupting-halls-congress

UPDATE:  Mon 10/18/10:  LAS VEGAS – Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle told dozens of Hispanic high school students last week that "some of you look a little more Asian to me..."


Man, she's not very bright.  (I'm trying to be nice)

Missouri voters: Are you paying attention?

According to the group Citizens for Reponsibility and Ethics in Washington, our own Representative Roy Blunt is one of the top 26 "Most corrupt members of Congress":

•Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)


•Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)

•Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

•Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)

•Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)

•Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

•Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)

•Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)

•Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

•Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)

•Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL)

•Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

•Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA)

•Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)

•Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

•Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA)

•Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)

•Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)

•Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)

•Rep. David Scott (D-GA)

•Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)

•Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH)

•Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)

•Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

•Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

•Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

What do you need, people?  He's dirty.  He's been in Washington for years.

Let's vote him out, once and for all, for pity's sake.  He's not up there for you and me, by a long shot.  I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, Green Party or whatever--LET'S VOTE ROY BLUNT OUT OF WASHINGTON.

Could I be more clear?

Link:  http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/

Quote of the day II--Billionaire for tax cuts

Warren Buffett proposed a further tax cut for the middle class, upper middle class and lower middle class -- essentially, everyone except the wealthy -- in an interview Tuesday with CNN Money's Poppy Harlow, at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, DC

The billionaire investor, who, with a roughly $45 billion net worth, is the country's second richest person (behind Bill Gates), also said the government should raise taxes on the richest 2 percent of the country. That particular message was nothing new: He's been saying for years that the rich need to bear a greater share of the tax burden. Buffett reiterated Tuesday that he has the lowest tax rate of anybody in his Omaha office, even despite the fact that he doesn't have a tax shelter. But his tax cut proposal was new.
"I think maybe we should cut taxes for the middle class," he said. "Upper middle class [and] lower middle class."
Taxing the rich, he said, is the best way for the government to boost its income.

"The question is, Do we get more money from the person that's gonna serve me lunch today, or do we get it from me? I think we should get it from me," he said.

I couldn't agree more, Mr. Buffet.

Link to the original post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/05/warren-buffett-tax-cuts_n_751503.html

Roy "The Toy" Blunt, being bought and sold

Roy Blunt, once again selling his soul, in effect, in order to get elected.  This time, it’s to the Tea Party.  Forget what Roy Blunt stands for—forget what he’s done for himself and his family and his rich friends and the corporations that pass him thousands of dollars, repeatedly, in order to get what he and they want.  Forget all that.  Just keep in mind that he’s signing a document to you, for your group’s goals and you say you’ll give him your vote.

I have just one question for this “Tea Party”:  How, exactly, is that going to “clean up Washington”?

Does this not reek of desperation?  Desperation on both their parts--both Roy Blunt and the Tea Party.  Desperate on Roy’s part:  “Oh, I’ll sign anything, anything, as long as you vote for me.”  And the Tea Party because it screams, “Look, old man, you’re the guy with all the money and name familiarity and political party machinery behind you so since you’re going to win anyway, would you do us a favor and sign this document, pretend you care about our goals and in exchange, we’ll give you our votes and support?”

This is no way to get the big money, the corporations, the graft, the lobbyists and the ugly money out of our government, folks, if anyone is listening and cares remotely otherwise.

You don't need to be for Robin Carnahan, but I can't imagine how anyone but corporatists, corporations, their lobbyists and wealthy people would be for Roy "The Toy" Carnahan.

Sad.  Pitiful.  Pathetic.

Maddening.

Links to source posts:  http://rebootcongress.blogspot.com/;

http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2010/10/blunt-signs-tea-party-treary.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/ASRIt+(The+Turner+Report)

Roy Blunt: Bad, old, corrupt Washington politics

Roy Blunt: wrong for Missouri

As we get closer to election day

All things they've voted for...   or against.  Think about it.  And then don't vote Republican.  Vote for smaller government but for the love of pete, don't vote Republican.

And enjoy that great weather out there, folks---have a great week.

Quote of the day--on Republican Senate Candidate Linda McMahon

Imagine if someone ran for Senate on the strength of their experience as CEO of a billion-dollar company. Now imagine if, as an aside, their employees kept ending up dead. They would routinely die of heart attacks, drug overdoses, suicides, and strokes before the age of 50. Imagine if their company had a "death clause" in their contracts that prevented employees and their families from suing the company. Imagine if they had gag orders to prevent family members from speaking out against what could be fairly called the most dangerous working conditions in the United States. Imagine if this candidate was so sociopathic, that they would look at this billion-dollar business built on broken bodies and death as a source of pride and even as a motivator for why they deserve the power of public office. And lastly, imagine the media happily joining in with the sociopathology and giving them a free pass. Welcome to the race for Senator of Connecticut, where Republican Linda McMahon is self-funding her campaign on the bodies of the dead wrestlers who have built the billion-dollar empire that is World Wrestling Entertainment. --David Zirin, author, The Huffington Post Link to original post and entire article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/linda-mcmahons-body-count_b_745346.html

On the "new" GOP "Pledge to America"

From The New York Times, today: The best way to understand the pledge is as a bid to co-opt the Tea Party by a Republican leadership that wants to sound insurrectionist but is the same old Washington elite. These are the folks who slashed taxes on the rich, turned a surplus into a crushing deficit, and helped unleash the financial crisis that has thrown millions of Americans out of their jobs and their homes. Not only are the players the same, the policies are the same. Just more tax cuts for the rich and more deficit spending. We find it hard to believe that even the most disaffected voters will be taken in. But again, these are strange and worrying times. Let's face it, there are two--and only two--things the Republicans can or should promise to the country that they would do, if returned to office in Washington. Those are cut spending---and truly, honestly and seriously do so--and shrink government. (Some of the cutting and shrinking for whoever is in power, too, will have to be at the Pentagon and across the entire military, something they are highly unlikely to do). Nothing else matters and nothing else means anything. If they only keep doing what they have been, that is, cutting taxes for the wealthy and reducing regulation on businesses, they are possibly likely to be overrun by the Tea Party. I don't think they're capable of either of these jobs, to date, but who knows? Maybe those old dogs could learn some new tricks. And keep their promises. Link to original story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/opinion/26sun1.html?th&emc=th

Remember "Tricky Dick's" 18-1/2 minute gap?

Remember that? The 18-1/2 minutes of tape that was somehow magically erased by his secretary in some cockamamey contortion she showed us, later, in a picture for the magazines and newspapers at the time? Remember? Well, good news history buffs. It seems we may find out what was in those missing minutes after all. According to Tricky Dick's now-famous former White House Counsel, John Dean yesterday: "A key piece of Watergate history that remains shrouded in secrecy -- former President Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony of 1975 -- should be made public, historical experts have told a court," the press release from Public Citizen stated earlier this week. Public Citizen's Litigation Group, representing a number of prominent American historians and archivists, is seeking this information under a developing body of law that has led to the release of historically-important information, freeing the material from the bonds of traditional grand-jury secrecy when its significance outweighs the reasons for secrecy. And here's the juicy part: While the content of the testimony is not known precisely, news reports from that time suggested the general areas explored: what was said during the infamous 18.5 minute gap in the first recorded conversation Nixon had with his chief of staff following the arrests at the Watergate and whether Nixon was involved in erasing the material; Nixon's role, if any, in the alterations of the White House transcripts of the recorded conversations that were submitted to the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment inquiry; the extent to which Nixon used the IRS to harass his political enemies; and the $100,000 campaign contribution from Howard Hughes to Nixon's friend Bebe Rebozo, which was never received by the campaign, but purportedly instead went to Nixon's brothers and his secretary Rose Mary Woods. This could be very enlightening, even if it is about 40 years late. Link to original post: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20100917.html

The logic, such as it is, of Glenn Beck

Yeah, sure, Mr. Beck. I get it.

The FBI spied on Greenpeace?? Really?

True, according to this latest article at Truthdig just now: JUSTICE DEPT. HAND-SLAPS FBI FOR SPYING ON GREENPEACE AND FRIENDS Then guess under what Presidential administration this took place. Like me, you likely got it: A report by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine absolved the FBI of the most serious allegation against it: that agents targeted domestic groups based on their exercise of First Amendment rights. Civil liberties groups and congressional Democrats had suggested that the FBI employed such tactics during the George W. Bush administration, which triggered Fine’s review. I mean, come on--hasn't the FBI got any real work it needs to do? Not only is this stupid at virtually any time in our country's activities, look WHEN it happened: in the years between the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and 2006. You gotta' be kidding me. The Bush administration was supposedly keeping us safe from terrorists during this time but they had the FBI chasing Greenpeace? Check this out, too: the report said, the FBI extended probes “without adequate basis” and improperly kept information about activist groups in its files. Among the groups monitored were the Thomas Merton Center, a Pittsburgh peace group; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; and Greenpeace USA. Activists affiliated with Greenpeace were improperly put on a terrorist watch list, the report said. A Pittsburgh peace group? PETA? And look at this description of the Thomas Merton Center from their website: Organizes, educates, and takes action around issues of peace and social justice. And you're spying on them? Let me ask you this--when do you suppose the really stupid, stupid things will stop coming out about Former President George W. Bush, his Vice President Dick Cheney and their administration? 20 years from now? 50? It can't be soon enough but we surely need to learn everything--and I mean everything--these chuckleheads did while they were in power, no matter how long it takes. And no matter how mad or angry it makes us. Links: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/justice_department_hand-slaps_fbi_for_spying_on_greenpeace_and_friends_2010/; http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/

Nature wasn't good enough? We have to "genetically alter" fish?

There are articles all over the internet today (NPR, Alternet, etc.) about "genetically altered" salmon that may be okayed by the FDA and about to be released into nature. And why would anyone genetically alter salmon, you ask? Why, so they grow faster and companies can make more money, of course? Isn't that why we do everything? Naturally, the company responsible for these salmon insist they're a-okay. Scientists, however, aren't totally sure yet: Michael Hansen, a senior staff scientist with Consumers Union, disagrees. "They need more data. They need more data on the allergy question, and I think most any allergy scientist would say the same thing,” he says. And then there's this: Another contentious issue being debated Monday is what will happen if these salmon escape from fish farms into the wild. People are concerned about whether they would mate with wild fish, out-compete them for food or irreversibly change their habitats. The fact is, this same Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist at Consumers Union Consumers Union senior scientist Michael Hansen calls the FDA's work on this salmon "'sloppy,' 'misleading,' and 'woefully inadequate.'" From NPR's article "Weird Facts About Genetically Engineered Salmon: The engineered fish are sterile, have three sets of chromosomes and are exclusively female. I am personally of a couple different thoughts here. First, screwing with nature doesn't seem like a great idea but, second, we certainly screwed--big time--with chickens and we seem to be okay there. Third, growing salmon faster might be a good way to feed more people---provided, of course, it's safe. This seems to be one of those situations where, once again, we need to be calm and rational and patient and let the true science work this one out. Link to original stories: http://www.alternet.org/food/148156/the_creepy_science_behind_genetically_engineered_%22frankenfish%22_about_to_enter_our_food_supply_unlabeled/; http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129939819; http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/09/20/129993900/weird-facts-about-genetically-engineered-salmon; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100920/ap_on_bi_ge/us_modified_salmon

The next thing corporations are going to try to brain wash us out of

I saw a huge, full-page ad in The New York Times today on why we should be against a "gainful employment" proposal in the Department of Education so I knew something was up and I had to do some homework. This is what I found out: The "gainful employment" proposal would have cut federal aid to schools whose graduates spend more than 8 percent of their starting salaries to repay student loans, based on a 10-year repayment plan. You see, businesses have been fleecing students and schools on student loans--charging too much in interest rates--and President Obama's adminstration, through the Department of Education, was going to try to put an end to it but, as you can see, corporate America doesn't want to end this cash cow so here comes the PR to fight it. If they're successful, folks, and if we don't pay attention, they'll win this fight, too, and we'll be further screwed.