the good housemembers who had the guts to vote what the majority of Americans demand. congrats to you members who knew better than to let party loyalty get in the way of Good American Lawmaking.
jim kolbe - AZ
joe hefley - CO
chris shays - CT
jim ramstad - MN
kenny hulshof - MO
walter jones - NC
charles bass - NH
jeb bradley - NM
steve chabot - OH
todd platts - PA
mark green - WI
f. james sensenbrenner - WI
source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=110&chamber=H&congress=1092&printer=1
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
history is on my side
USA Today fronts a poll showing President Bush's rating at 34 percent, a record low for the poll. The paper points out that since 1950, Gallup (which conducted USAT's poll) has clocked six times when a president's approval rating was below 50 percent in the spring before a midterm election. His party lost control of the House all six times.
--
today's papers
thought it was something else didn't ya
The graduation of nearly 1,000 new Iraqi army soldiers in restive Anbar province took a disorderly turn Sunday when dozens of the men declared that they would refuse to serve outside their home areas, according to U.S. and Iraqi military authorities.--source
Letter of the WeeQ
Regarding “Authorities Harass Bush Protesters” (April 25 letters): Once there was a saying, “The cat can look at the king.” Now, in the United States of America, ordinary citizens are not allowed to look at the president. Why?attribution
— Luna Daly, Fairfield.
but pigs might fly?
that's the headline over this letter to the editor in the des moines register today:
President Bush announced his administration is going to get tough on the oil industry over high gas prices. If you believe that, you’ve been smoking something strange. Bush and Dick Cheney are the oil industry. They get campaign contributions by the tanker truck.
Here are a few things that are more likely to happen before Big Oil is curbed. Pat Robertson will come out in praise of Playboy magazine; Tom DeLay will run for president on the Democratic ticket; Iowa basketball coach Steve Alford will shave his head for next season.
In other words, don’t hold your breath.
Letter of the Day
The April 24 article, “U.S. Facing Sticker Shock for Iraq War,” does indeed contain some shocking numbers and information. The total to date, prorating for 2006, is about $220 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.attribution
So what does this mean to Iowans? Based on IRS data, Iowa contributes about 0.7 percent of the total paid into federal funds. These Iowa contributions are from individual income taxes, corporate income taxes and excise, gift and estate taxes. That 0.7 percent sounds like a pretty small number. But 0.7 percent of $220,000,000,000 (somehow, writing it out with the zeros makes it look a little more daunting than writing $220 billion) is about $1,540,000,000.
And this is for the cost through the end of April. Obviously, these amounts will continue to grow, even if it were announced tomorrow that we are going to start an immediate withdrawal of the troops.
What could this state do with an extra $1.54 billion? Perhaps be less concerned with how to fund education, including pay for public school teachers. And we could have the world-class research facilities and personnel to make Iowa the clear leader in alternative energy sources.
Of course, what’s immeasurable are the loss of human life — American, Iraqi, Afghans and others — and the potential positive contributions of all those lives to the future of this world. Surely it would dwarf the cold numbers above.
— Wayne Woodworth, West Des Moines.
Monday, May 01, 2006
i wonder if anybody is studying this
what the effects of the new medicare prescription drug benefit is having on title XIX patients. have those rolls increased at all? i'll bet they have. simply because all the providers have got it hooked in to devising a 'plan' and you get money from the government as payment for methadone. which is cheap as hell to manufacture. so yea, any study in progress or recently done about this?
bush: i am above your petty laws
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/30/examples_of_the_presidents_signing_statements/
and from today's papers
And in other papers ... Yesterday's Boston Globe had a big takeout on the president's fondness for "signing statements":
President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, "whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
Judging from a quickie Nexis search, the number of front-page stories the LAT, NYT, and Post have had on the president's signing habit: one
.
Quote of the Day
"What kind of insult is this? Instead of buying us off and treating us like we're a bunch of whores, just solve the problem.attribution
--Rush Limpbagh
speaking about the $100 giveaway plan by the republicans in the House to stave off gas relief. kinda interesting that he would say such a thing to his own party.
ya know what causes so much wait time on these sites?
where you sit there forever waiting for the page to load? fuckn ads servers are crappin out.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
i'm sitting here watching the west wing, and i'm thinking....
jus why don't they grow some bold balls and have santos offer vinnack (sp?) the VP role. that would have ramnifications far beyond the audience.
it's what dictators are made of
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
--more
wanna bet we don't see a bit of that at the pumps?
Saudi King Abdullah ordered petrol prices in the oil-rich kingdom slashed by more than 30 percent, according to a copy of the decree carried by the official SPA news agency.-=-source
"In order to improve the living standards of citizens and for the public good, we have ordered that the price of one litre of petrol for the consumer be changed to 0.60 riyals (17 cents) instead of 0.90 riyals (24 cents) until 10/12/1427," the decree said, referring to the last month of the Muslim lunar calendar which would coincide with next January.
The decree, which becomes effective on Monday, also cut the price of one litre (0.26 gallon) of high octane petrol by 25 percent to 0.75 riyals (20 cents) and that of diesel fuel by almost 35 percent to 0.25 riyals (6 cents) per litre.
we have no authority on this issue
Military officials claim that of the almost 500 suspects being held at Guantanamo, 150 are ready for repatriation as soon as their return can be negotiated with their home countries. Talks with these countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Yemen which account for almost half of the detainees, have been "complex, time-consuming and difficult." The State Department's human rights bureau is insisting on guarantees that prisoners will not be tortured upon their return and will be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law. Enforcement seems to be the sticking point—officials have no way of monitoring the prisoners. One proposal had the Red Cross visiting prisoners but when the Saudi government refused to allow the Red Cross access to its prisons, the proposal was scrapped.
Letter of the WeeQ
Regarding “Term Limits Lose Appeal Among Those in Congress” on April 16: The quoted congressmen decided against “retiring” early because they “need more time to earn seniority and bring money to their districts.”
Excuse me? When did that become the raison d’être for serving in Congress? I’d gladly give up the Iowa pork in exchange for lawmaking for the general welfare of the American people.
— Kathy Collins Reilly, Des Moines
attribution
Quote of the Day
comes to us from another letter writer:
Marijuana may be a gateway to illegal drug use the way beer is a gateway to alcoholism. Most alcoholics probably started with beer, but most beer drinkers do not become alcoholics.attribution
— Gail Halloran, Iowa City.
Letters of the Day
yes, lets stop the hypocrisy!
Regarding “A More Wicked Weed” (April 23): The Iowa crime-lab officials who stated that marijuana today is 10 times more potent than it was 30 years ago are mistaken.and
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy made this claim in 2002, but retreated sharply in 2005, when it stated in a newspaper advertisement that today’s marijuana is, on average, only twice as strong as that of decades past.
Claims of vastly increased potency are based on research from the 1970s using a small number of poorly stored samples in which THC had degraded before testing.
More important, there is no scientific evidence demonstrating greater risks of addiction or health problems from higher-THC marijuana.
The Marijuana Policy Project strongly opposes children smoking marijuana, but we don’t think that exaggerating the dangers will help young people or their parents. The best way to keep our kids away from marijuana is to tax and regulate it like alcohol and tobacco.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more teens today smoke marijuana than cigarettes, which proves that the most effective way to keep a substance away from children is to put it behind the counter and require valid identification for purchases.
Factually inaccurate articles like this destroy any chance we have at a reasonable and informed debate about our nation’s marijuana policies.
— Rebecca Greenberg, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, D.C.
The problem with marijuana is an unregulated market. Remember alcohol prohibition in the 1930s? You had high-potency forms of alcohol being made in people’s bathtubs, only bathtub gin was often toxic. Even at today’s higher standards of potency, marijuana still hasn’t produced a single death in recorded history.and
If you want to have any kind of control you have to legalize and regulate the commercial production and sale [of marijuana].
All the exaggerated scare stories have only increased interest in, and experimentation with, marijuana. I’m sure all the pot dealers want to thank the Register for the free advertising.
If your kid experiments with alcohol, at least your kid isn’t going to be stigmatized for life by a drug conviction. The chances for intervention and treatment are better when society recognizes that people need help instead of locking them up and labeling them as rejects for the rest of their lives.
So, go on keeping marijuana illegal and forcing it into the black market. See where it has gotten you?
— Carl Olsen, Des Moines.
Marijuana today is 10 times stronger than that of previous generations?attribution
Having smoked the “wicked weed” of the ’70s and today myself, I can assure you this is not true. The super high-potency strains that came from places like Thailand and Panama were much more potent than any of today’s marijuana.
The reason teens prefer marijuana over alcohol is because it is easier to get than beer. Most pot dealers don’t check IDs like liquor and convenience stores do. As long as marijuana continues to be illegal, this trend will continue.
It seems funny to have a state government that controls the distribution of a dangerous drug, such as alcohol, turn around and throw people in jail for possessing marijuana. Especially considering all the people who die of alcohol poisoning. It is not possible to die of THC poisoning. Let’s stop the hypocrisy.
— Lee Selly, Des Moines.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
wonder why i hate george bush junior as much as i do?
CLEVELAND -- Managers at a downtown mall stopped a performance by a band whose members wore T-shirts critical of President Bush.--source
Mifun, an Afro-beat band, had been playing for about 20 minutes Friday as part of a jazz festival when the sound system was cut off at Tower City Center.
"They didn't like that all the band members wore a T-shirt with a picture of George Bush with a line through it," said band leader Jacob Fader, 28, of Cleveland Heights. "They said we either remove the shirts, turn them inside out, or get off the stage. I said that doing so would be against our core principles and free speech. We told the audience what happened from the stage after the microphones were cut. The crowd booed."
Tower City general manager Lisa Kreiger said the band's attire was distracting and inappropriate.
"The purpose of the show was to provide musical entertainment," she said.
Fader said the band was stopped during a performance of "Supercrush," which he described as a "song about how the Bush administration separates the wealth, causing the elimination of the middle class."
"When my father started to say that it was wrong to silence us, a security cop told him to shut up," Fader said. "My dad said he had the right to free speech and the security guy said, 'Not in here you don't.'"
talk about gestapo technics. adolf would be so proud of kreiger. even that name sounds nazi.
what? no republican protesters?
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame), a Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate, was one of the lawmakers who were willingly arrested. Lantos was taken into custody by the U.S. Secret Service along with Democratic Reps. Jim McGovern and John W. Olver of Massachusetts, James P. Moran of Virginia and Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas. Also arrested were six members of religious and humanitarian aid organizations.
--story
so george bush junior is making us safer eh?
then what the hell is this about?
The WP fronts the latest annual State Department Country Reports on Terrorism that reveals the number of terrorist attacks increased four times in 2005 to a total of 11,111, which resulted in the death of 14,600 noncombatants.--story
Letters of the Day
today there are 3 winners:
Driver education teaches students not only the rules of the road but also the hazards. They often are shown pictures of horrific crashes and mangled bodies.and
Do schools use the same philosophy in sex-education classes? Are they shown pictures of the final days of a 25-year-old man dying of AIDS? If not, why not?
— Jack Banghart, Des Moines.
I agree with Jim Nussle: We need an inspector general. Maybe an inspector general could figure out what Nussle and the Republicans did with President Clinton’s surplus.and
— D.A. Benda, Toledo.
G.W. Bush: “I listen to the voices.” The only voices Bush hears are the ones in his head.attribution
— Keith Nichols, Perry.
Friday, April 28, 2006
a new source for decent music
Imogen Heap performed on the tonite show. her singing wuznt all that (it was good), but it was her being the only member of her 'group' and doing it live. very kewl.
i'm going to mexico
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Owning marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if the drugs are carried in small amounts for personal use, under legislation passed by the Congress.- source
Police will not penalise people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin or 500 milligrams of cocaine, under a bill passed by senators late on Thursday and earlier approved by the lower house.
ever see double without reason?
i'm seeing double now, and i'm not sure why, but it's sure disconcerting. calld the doctor's office, and of course, they would like me to come in.
Letter Of The Day
I am pleased to see that the Iowa Legislature finally banned anti-gay demonstrators like Fred Phelps from protesting within 500 feet of funerals. But where were they for almost 10 years when Phelps and his clan protested funerals of gay people and people with AIDS? Where were they when Phelps and his clan protested graduation ceremonies of gay high-school students?attribution
Where are they now as Phelps, the Iowa Family Policy Center and the rest of the pro-bully lobby continue to protect bullies in Iowa schools?
Don’t our young people deserve the same protections from name-calling, violence and harassment as our veterans and their families?
— Brad Clark, Des Moines.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
will the elevation of snow to a somewhat prominent state
what will tony's cost to get that post be the 10% of Americans who believe fox is the only source for news. even that 5% that watch it for masochistic value.
'
'
well, DUH
if the media isn't playing it, then it doesn't seem to matter to the American people. we need to make everyone aware of the scandal.
The scandal surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been a Washington obsession for months, but Republican lawmakers who returned from a two-week recess this week said they felt free to pass a relatively tepid ethics bill because their constituents rarely mention the issue.
--source
ya think this could be why iraq is such a mess?
The LAT says on Page One, "VISIT BY RUMSFELD, RICE SETS OFF CRITICISM IN IRAQ." That's interesting, but the piece buries a crucial and fascinating bit of nuance: It was Shiite politicians who were complaining. The Sunni politicians who were quoted welcomed the swing-by.--today's papers
one can only guess at the reason the U.S. are aiding the sunnis. wasn't saddam a sunni?
a bushite dream come true
Everybody notes inside that E.U. investigators have concluded that the CIA has had about 1,000 undeclared flights in European airspace since 2001. Nobody, except of course the CIA, is sure how many of the flights were used to transport "ghost prisoners."--story
77% feels the economy is cause for concern
The Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox leads with an in-house poll in which 77 percent of respondents called themselves "uneasy about the state of the economy."--source
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
pro-war vs anti-war
the CIA's proter goss should recheck his to-do list
He has taken no disciplinary action against CIA personnel identified by his inspector general as having played a part in the failure to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has taken no action against CIA interrogators known to have participated in the torture and killing of foreign detainees, or against those who knowingly violated the Geneva Conventions in Iraq.but he wants to stop leakers cold. dictators do things that way.
Quote of the Day
"Crude oil supplies are at an almost eight-year high. The price is obviously not reflecting that. It's reflecting the worries about the future."attribution
-- John Kilduff, a senior vice president at commodities firm Fimat USA Inc. in New York.
i don't drive, so the price of gas is only hitting me at the shelves of things i buy. but it just seems to me that since supply isn't the culprit, the only thing that can be done is reigning in the traders' speculation about oil. they're the evil monsters of high prices.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
saddam would be proud
dictators hold people without charges.
WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Nearly 30 percent of the Guantanamo detainees have been cleared to leave the prison but remain jailed because the U.S. government has been unable to arrange for their return to their home countries, the Pentagon said on Friday.--source
The Pentagon refused to identify these 141 men despite having released on Wednesday its first comprehensive list of detainees held at the prison for foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Of these 141 detainees among the 490 still at Guantanamo, various military reviews have cleared 22 to be freed in their home countries and the remaining 119 for transfer to the control of their home governments.
"It's just an outrageous situation where people have gone through this system that has been established, such as it is, and the (U.S.) government itself has found there's no reason for them to be held any longer, and yet they continue to be held," said Curt Goering, a senior Amnesty International USA official.
a man i almost fell in love with, gets arrested
MASON CITY — A Mason City man has been arrested by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force and charged in a three- count federal indictment.i remember first meeting jim in 2003 when he was a close friend to one of my employees. i remember his stunning handsome good looks and how i fell head over heels for him. then there was the time i went to his house and spent some time fixing his computer. we came this close to actually getting it on, but it never happened. i had since then tried to see him several times, but never could find him home. now he'll never be home. and i'm really saddened by this development.
James Mariner, 38, is charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and a mixture of cocaine; and money laundering.
If convicted, according to a news release from the drug task force, Mariner faces 40 years in prison and $12.5 million in fines.
The investigation has been ongoing since 2003, according to authorities.
In addition to the task force, the case was investigated by the Mason City Police Department, Mason City Drug Enforcement Unit, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and Iowa Army National Guard.
Mariner was held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail and taken to Cedar Rapids for his initial appearance in federal court.
--link
more good newes
HARTFORD, Conn. --A Hartford Courant/Connecticut poll shows that President Bush's job approval rating has dropped to 24 percent among Connecticut residents.-source
from the good news files
Brokerages and fund managers for the first time since 1994, helped by support from hedge funds and companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co.--story
Democrats got $13.6 million, or 52 percent of the financial industry's $26.3 million in political donations in 2005, said the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan Washington group that researches the influence of money on elections and public policy. In the two years leading up to the 2004 presidential election, Republicans received 52 percent of the $91.6 million given by the industry.
``Wall Street wants change'' on issues such as the Iraq war and the budget deficit, said James Torrey, chairman of the Torrey Funds, which manages about $1 billion. `∏`I'm finding people who are registered Republicans who are saying to me, `what can I do to help?''' The securities and investment industry is among the biggest sources of campaign cash in U.S. politics. The industry's 2004 contribution total to candidates and parties was higher than any group except lawyers, health professionals and the real estate industry, according to the center, which studied Federal Election Commission records.
create a bad situation, then be the white knight to the rescue
the American people can't be so dumb as to swallow this:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, his popularity sinking while gas prices soar, hopes to stave off a potential election-year problem for fellow Republicans with a drive to stop price gouging and push alternative fuels.
--story
incompetence defined
The NYT's off-lead looks at a key oil pipeline in Iraq that was supposed to be rebuilt as part of a Halliburton no-bid contract. The method planned was just a touch short of insane. "No driller in his right mind would have gone ahead," said one Army geologist who inspected the site. Halliburton didn't give the government a clear heads-up about the concerns, and the Army didn't seem to care much anyway. So, project went ahead ... and failed.
down in gitmo, where the military gets to play dictators
The Los Angeles Times leads with an official at Guantanamo Bay saying the Pentagon is planning to "release" 141 prisoners from there and bring charges against only about a dozen more. That would leave about 300 prisoners who "face neither imminent freedom nor a day in court." Reuters has a slightly different take, saying the military has suggested most of those being "released" will be transferred to prisons back in their home country—an issue this TPer raised in the Wash Post last month. Meanwhile, the LAT could have benefited from flagging a few recent studies and reports that strongly suggest, as Slate's Dahlia Lithwick put it, "most of the prisoners are guilty only of bad luck."
--today's papers
Letter Of The Day
the brownshirt brigade is alive and well.
attribution
On April 11 [the day of President Bush’s visit to Iowa], I walked on the sidewalk on Grand Avenue across the street from Wesley Acres carrying an “Impeach Bush” sign.
After the president arrived, Polk County officers told the spectators that the Secret Service wanted us to move east, away from the corner. We did.
A few minutes later the officers told us that the Secret Service wanted us to move back from the curb to the sidewalk. We did.
A few minutes later the officers told us that the Secret Service wanted us to move east to the next block. Some of us argued that this was the third contradictory instruction in five minutes.
Immediately the sergeant called for help on his radio. In moments an SUV arrived and four SWAT officers got out to confront us. They were wearing body armor and carrying assault weapons, although they did not point the weapons at the crowd. We were told “move or we will move you.” An 80-year-old man sitting in a lawn chair in his own front yard was told to move to the next block or go inside his house.
The president’s visit had been carefully planned, and it would have been simple for authorities to string yellow tape in advance, clearly marking areas where spectators were allowed.
— John Ousterhout, Windsor Heights.
attribution
Monday, April 24, 2006
in other words THEY LIED
The Central Intelligence Agency tried to warn the Bush administration on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein did not appear to have weapons of mass destruction but the warning was dismissed because the US political leadership was not interested in what the intelligence showed, according to a retired senior CIA operative.
--SOURCEΩ
saddam would be proud
The WP fronts the news that six joint U.S.-Iraqi inspections of Iraqi detention centers between November and February found abuse of prisoners at all of them. In the past, detainees have been removed from abusive sites, but this time, the detainees have remained in place, prompting concerns that they could be victims again. Two of the sites showed signs of "severe abuse," including "broken bones, indications that they had been beaten with hoses and wires, signs that they had been hung from the ceiling, and cigarette burns" at one and "scars, missing toenails, dislocated shoulders, severe bruising, and cigarette burns" at the other.--story
Letter of the Day
Richard Doak was spot-on in his criticism of massive CEO salaries when he suggests it has a negative effect on American morale ("CIETC Director and Most CEOs Have Quite a Bit in Common," April 16 column). The free-market economy is often used as a justification tactic by the rich to acquire more wealth at the expense of the poor.attribution
It is terribly unjust that CEOs make 431 times the salary of their employees (in addition to lucrative benefit packages and golden parachutes when they retire), while many of these workers are paying more for health benefits and losing pension plans.
Is it ethical for CEOs and entertainers to bring in dazzling salaries while many toil for the absurdly inadequate $5.15-an-hour minimum wage?
Has George Bush's corporate America lost all compassion for the have-nots? FDR twirls in his grave.
Sadly, many Americans — and most of the rest of the world — perceive the U.S. as the Land of Greed and Home of Excess.
- Rick Burns, Pella.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
the scuttlebutt in the halls of congress
REPUBLICANS are urging President George W Bush to dump Dick Cheney as vice-president and replace him with Condoleezza Rice if he is serious about presenting a new face to the jaded American public.--source
dept. of moral outrage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042101767_pf.html
this bothers me, but to say i'm surprised would be a lie
The Vatican has signaled that it is willing to break its ties with Taiwan in order to set up an official diplomatic relationship with China.
--source
pope benedict is a creep. he looks like one, and now he acts like one.
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