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TrooperGate Report: Palin Abused the Power of Her
Office

post from TalkLeft on 10 October 2008 09:32:00 PM. © TalkLeft

TrooperGate report is out. Findings: Gov. Sarah Palin abused the power of her office.

The report by investigator Steve Branchflower found that Palin violated the state's executive branch ethics act, which says that "each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."

The full report is here (pdf.) The vote to release it was unanimous. I'll update as I read it.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/417317365/00

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FL-18: IRL thinks people don’t like Social
Security

post from Daily Kos on 10 October 2008 09:30:51 PM. © Daily Kos

(From the diaries. Bush was in Florida raising money to help defeat Annette Taddeo, among other great South Florida Democrats. Let's do our part to help her fight back -- kos)

On Wednesday, O2B Better Democrat Annette Taddeo and Bush Rubberstamp Ileana Ros-Lehtinen met in a forum at Miami’s Chamber of Commerce. Ros-Lehtinen refuses to debate Annette head to head, and insisted on getting the questions in advance. But it was still quite a show.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/8XLycEeU2UI/625830

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FL-18: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen thinks people
don’t like Social Security

post from Daily Kos on 10 October 2008 09:30:51 PM. © Daily Kos

(From the diaries. Bush was in Florida raising money to help defeat Annette Taddeo, among other great South Florida Democrats. Let's do our part to help her fight back -- kos)

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/8XLycEeU2UI/625830

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Greetings from Wyoming

post from Daily Kos on 10 October 2008 09:30:04 PM. © Daily Kos

Just to get you situated, here's a snippet of my Wednesday afternoon drive into Wyoming (If you get carsick, you might want to skip this, it's a little bouncy. The soundtrack is James McMurtry, "Choctaw Bingo.") Just a look at the mountains, the meadow, the aspens, willows, and cottonwoods. This is why this the mountain West will always be home, why it is such a draw for me.

video details and more

I arrived on a beautiful afternoon in Jackson, ready to meet up with Gary Trauner for another afternoon of canvassing. I'd hoped to have a repeat of the front-porch magic I had witnessed when I met up with him for a canvass in Cheyenne in 2006. Here's what I wrote then:

Gary Trauner has front porch mojo that you really have to see to believe. We met him in Cheyenne for a very chilly few hours of block walking in an "undecided" precinct. Undecided my ass. It was the middle of the day, Tuesday, so I wondered how much luck we'd have finding people at home. About half the houses were empty, but at the others the most remarkable thing happened. "Gary Trauner! How're you doing? You've got my vote. My husband's/wife's too! And we're Republicans!" At door after door people bounded out to say hello and to tell him how sick of Barbara Cubin they are. All but maybe three people he met reacted this way--not only recognizing him, but offering their support.

But it wasn't to be this time around. Mostly just because few people were home. The woman here, with her daughter, was an exception. She's a stay at home mom that volunteers in early childhood education. And she wanted to talk about the economy, which is probably the number one doorstep conversation candidates are having these days. We met a few more folks while walking the precinct--a plumber who bounded across the yard of the house he had just finished working in to say hello and let Gary know he had his vote. On the whole, there were probably six or seven people, a few undecided, but the balance seeming firmly decided for Gary. All of them concerned about the economy.

When I was here in 2006, the topic going door-to-door was Iraq. After Iraq, it was health care. There was a great sense of unease in 2006, the beginnings of the tidal wave that nearly swept Gary into office that year. Just one vote per precinct, and Gary would be in Congress today. That narrow margin is one of the reasons why Gary is one of our Orange to Blue candidates again this cycle, after having been a Blue Majority favorite in 2006.

That unease is still there, and in a big way, but the real anger hadn't seemed to reach Wyoming yet. The difference this year seems to be the added layer of fear because of the economic meltdown. Wyoming has huge oil and gas wealth, and the economy here hasn't been hit as hard in some states. Though it also has the highest number of people working multiple jobs to get by, so that wealth doesn't necessarily get spread around. The foreclosure crisis is more of a real estate slowdown in much of the state, but that doesn't stop people from worrying as they watch the markets tumble.

But that's a topic for my next missive, from a candidate's forum in Laramie Thursday night. To foreshadow a little, just compare that picture from Wednesday afternoon's canvass to what we (my trusty Focus and me) woke up to in Jackson on Thursday.

On the Web:
Gary Trauner for Congress
Orange to Blue

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/I1hqilyTlhU/626794

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Paulson finally agrees to invest and buy into US
banks

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 10 October 2008 09:30:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Waiting until the end of October made no sense at all. Do it now and stop the bleeding, or at least lessen it. Buy preferred positions in the banks so when the economy settles and turns around, taxpayers have something to show for their sacrifice.

In remarks to the media just concluded, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said the federal government will use the authority it has been granted by the $700 billion Wall Street bailout/rescue law to buy actual stakes in U.S. banks, in addition to merely buying troubled assets off their books.

The move is notable because it will give the federal government and, by extension, U.S. taxpayers, an actual ownership position in banks, effectively nationalizing them to a degree.

Under the original bailout/rescue plan, taxpayers would be only temporary owners of the troubled assets, which will be sold back into the private sector. And, indeed, the newly announced ownership stake may be temporary, as well.

"We can use taxpayer money more effectively, more efficiently, it will go farther, they will get more for their dollars and more protection if we develop a standardized program" for buying equity stakes, Paulson said.

Paulson was asked if Treasury will spend more money buying the troubled assets or buying equity stakes.

"I'm not willing to say anything today relative to the size of the two efforts," he said.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/417503217/paulson-finally-agrees-to
-invest-and.html

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Troopergate Report: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power

post from Open Left - Front Page on 10 October 2008 09:22:20 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

The Palin "Troopergate" report has been released by a totally partisan, unanimous vote.[...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OpenLeft-FrontPage/~3/417348308/showDiary.do

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Monegan: Todd Palin Was "Venting"

post from TPMMuckraker on 10 October 2008 09:22:00 PM. © TPMMuckraker

About that meeting between Todd Palin and Walt Monegan, arranged by Todd Palin:

Monegan described to investgators that Todd Palin recounted to him the evidence against Wooten that had came out in the 2005 internal trooper probe -- including that Wooten tasered his stepson and drank while driving a patrol car.

Said Monegan: "He told me ... this guy shouldn't be a trooper."

Monegan added:

"My impression initially was that he's venting. I mean, there was a complaint, the troopers investigated it and they came up with a conclusion, and that he was not happy with he conclusion.
And often, having been a cop for a long time, that actually happens a lot in divorce cases."

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TPMmuckraker/~3/xAjLZxE7-A0/monegan_todd_palin_was
_venting.php

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Hannity invited McCain to criticize Obama for
proposing to "slow" a program McCain has said "should be ended"

On the October 9 edition of FoxNews' Hannity & Colmes, inpart two of his "exclusive interview" with Sen. John McCain andGov. Sarah Palin, co-host Sean Hannity falsely asserted that Sen. BarackObama "said, very specifically, that he would cut tens of billions ofdollars in defense spending," and invited McCain to criticize Obama forproposing to "slow the development of Future Combat Systems" withoutnoting that the McCain campaign itself has said that the program"should be ended."During the[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200810100020

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Cheers and Jeers: Pick Yer Poison FRIDAY!

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

BiPM's Weekend Rescue Plans

Rescue Plan 1---Bourbon Highball: Mix two ounces of bourbon with your choice of ginger ale, club soda or water. Add lemon peel and ice cubes. Stir.
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Rescue Plan 2---Screwdriver: Pour one-and-a-half ounces vodka and five ounces of orange juice over ice cubes. Stir.
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Rescue Plan 3---Rusty Nail: Pour three quarters of an ounce of scotch into a glass with ice cubes. Float Drambuie on top.
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Rescue Plan 4---Beer: Pull tab or remove cap. Drink. Repeat as needed.
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Rescue Plan 5---Whiskey Sour: Mix juice of half a lemon, half a teaspoon of powdered sugar, and one-and-a-half ounces of blended whiskey. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add cherry. When glass is empty, dazzle friends by popping cherry into mouth and tying the stem into a knot with your tongue.
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Rescue Plan 6---Flip: Mix one cup beer [a stout like Guinness works best], two tablespoons of molasses, and one ounce Jamaican-style rum into mug or tankard. Heat loggerhead to red hot in an open fire [a fireplace poker knocked clean of ashes will do], then thrust into drink. Keep loggerhead in place until foaming and sputtering ceases. Drink hot.