Tim RussertRIP

post from The Strange Death of Liberal America on 14 June 2008 12:45:49 PM. © The Strange Death of Liberal America

To the family of Tim Russert I express my condolences. The circumstances of his sudden death are especially tragic since he had just returned from a trip celebrating his son’s graduation.As is so often the case these days with media figures, separating the man from the image becomes extremely difficult, but by all accounts there [...]

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ussert-rip.html

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Maybe the Bible is Right: Pigs Aint Kosher, or
Halal

post from Kmareka.com on 14 June 2008 12:13:00 PM. © Kmareka.com

When my sister-in-law was a teenager she explored some of the militant Black Liberation literature and stopped eating pork. This was heresy in Louisville, KY, home of the best barbecue on the planet, and must have caused some suffering to her. But then she could always go with beef. There were no Hindu influences around at the time.

Lately, vegetarianism is looking better. I?ve always felt that if you put some first-rate barbecue sauce on it and grill it, an eggplant will do just fine. But if you want to keep eating pork, and you are worried about food-borne illnesses, here are two studies that point in completely opposite directions to confuse and worry you.

My advice is to do what you?ve probably been doing all along — cook it completely and wash your hands and utensils. Bon appetit.

From the Seattle PI?

Federal food safety and public health agencies are being urged to begin checking meat sold across the country for the presence of MRSA, a potentially fatal bacteria. Scientists have found the infection in U.S. pigs and farmworkers.
Members of Congress and public health advocates are demanding that the government determine whether highly infectious MRSA has entered the food supply.
MRSA ? methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — can be extremely dangerous, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Monina Klevens examined the cases of the disease reported in hospitals, schools and prisons in one year and extrapolated that “94,360 invasive MRSA infections occurred in the United States in 2005; these infections were associated with death in 18,650 cases.”

Are terrorists sneaking around at night injecting pigs with dangerous infections?

Long before MRSA was identified as a potential killer in the early 1960s, public health professionals anguished over the excessive use of antibiotics because they believed it caused bacteria to become resistant to the very medications used to control them.

Farm animals are fed antibiotics by the bucketful. But if you go to that hippy-dippy store, the one that takes your whole paycheck, because you are willing to pay more for antibiotic-free meat, you are a sap — according to a study funded by the National Pork Board. From Yahoo News?

A comparison of pigs raised outdoors without antibiotics and swine reared in conventional pork production settings revealed that antibiotic-free creatures had higher rates of three food-borne pathogens compared with pigs on conventional farms, which remain indoors and receive preventive doses of antimicrobial drugs.

The study cites higher rates of Salmonella, Toxoplasma and roundworms.

Well, that?s why we cook our food. In my utopian dream, we support our local farms, keep it smaller, change regulations so that factory farms have to pay for the damage they do — and eat meat in moderation. Without government subsidies and unwise farming practices it will get more expensive, and needs to be. The bird flu threat is partly fueled by massive poultry farms in Asia, so the American model adopted worldwide is not only unsustainable, it?s imminently dangerous.

But I?m not staying up at night worrying about it. There?s a Farmer?s Market every Saturday at Hope High School. See you there.

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"Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part
Guide"

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 14 June 2008 12:09:54 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part GuideBy Elizabeth de la VegaThe Public RecordSaturday, June 14, 2008 It is entirely possible to be a reasonably well-informed citizen of the United States and not know that on June 9, 2008, Representative[...]

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UPDATED With Part II - "Kucinich's Articles of
Impeachment: A Three-Part Guide"

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 14 June 2008 12:09:54 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Part I itemizes the Articles of Impeachment with a subheading and a longer descriptionPart II itemizes U.S. and international laws that are implicated by the charges in the Articles of Impeachment. Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part GuideBy[...]

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Sorry About That — Pass the Grey Poupon

post from Kmareka.com on 14 June 2008 12:09:00 PM. © Kmareka.com

An amazing interview with Rep. Dennis Kucinich by Meg White is at Buzzflash. Kucinich recently introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush for lying us into war. This would have gotten press coverage, except that Angelina Jolie was doing something last week and the press has to prioritize. Luckily, you can go to Buzzflash and read this–

“Where’s our heart here? What is going on that we can’t connect with the suffering of other people?” he asked. “We can’t say, ‘Oh, yeah, we went into a war, they didn’t tell the truth and all these people died. Sorry about that. Pass the Grey Poupon.’ We can’t do that. We cannot become so callous that we don’t care that innocent people are killed. This is what’s driving me.”

Check out the rest of the interview for details of the impeachment, who else signed on, and what the next step will be.

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Republicans Remain Unhappy... And Unenthused

post from Daily Kos on 14 June 2008 12:05:01 PM. © Daily Kos

There's a reason you look at the polls and see a close race (driven in part by McCain's Southern strength masking weakness elsewhere), and figure this is a 'big' three-to-five point lead for Obama, and not a small one.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Survey:

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Survey out Friday indicates that 2008 may not be a good year for Republicans up and down the ticket, even though most national surveys indicate the race for the White House between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama is quite close right now.

Sixty-three percent of Democrats questioned say they are either extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this year. Only 37 percent of Republicans feel the same way, and 36 percent of Republicans say they are not enthusiastic about voting.

"Republicans are far less enthusiastic about voting than Democrats are, and enthusiasm has plummeted among GOPers since the start of the year," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director. "There was already an 'enthusiasm gap' in January, when Democrats were 11 points higher than GOPers on this measure. Now, that gap has grown to 26 points."

"Bottom line: After eight years of the Bush presidency, Republicans are demoralized," said Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst.

Eric Kleefeld at TPM notes:

The [Hotline/Diageo] poll, conducted in the wake of Obama's clinching the nomination and including sampling dates from before Hillary Clinton's final concession, found that 68% of Democratic primary voters were satisfied with Obama as the nominee, with 30% preferring someone else.

By contrast, only 52% of Republican primary voters were satisfied with John McCain as their nominee, with 45% preferring someone else. And this is despite the fact that McCain sewed up his nomination months ago, while Democratic emotions were still raw when this poll was conducted.

As for the Senate and House, this is not a good year to be a Republican.

CNN:

In the battle for Congress, 54 percent of those questioned say they would vote for the Democrat in their congressional district, with 44 percent saying they'd vote for the Republican candidate.

"Democrats lead Republicans by 10 points in the congressional vote. At this point in 2006, the Democratic lead was seven points. Democrats went on to win a landslide in 2006," Schneider said.

In the NBC/WSJ poll, it's Dems 52 Republicans 33 for Congress. And as for enthusiasm:

Another Obama advantage: his supporters' satisfaction and excitement with his candidacy. While half of pro-Obama voters say they are motivated mainly by support for him, rather than opposition to Sen. McCain and Republicans, fewer than 40% of McCain voters are motivated by support for him personally. That is a measure of voter energy that could translate into greater turnout for Sen. Obama in November.

It couldn't happen to a nicer minority party.

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McCain Caught Stealing Democratic Music

post from Crooks and Liars on 14 June 2008 12:00:19 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Down With Tyranny!: If my memory serves me well, the first time I spoke with John Hall was when I found out Joe Lieberman was using his classic smash, “Still The One,” as a campaign song in his fruitless primary campaign against Ned Lamont. Knowing John is a committed progressive, I called to warn him that [...]

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WI Clinton Delegate Will Vote McCain - WI Dems
Challenge Her Delegate Status

Hope this lady didn't already have plans for Denver... looks like she'll be staying home.

Bartoshevich told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, as reported on its Web site Friday, that Clinton was treated unfairly by the party and she has deep reservations about Obama's experience, so she'll vote for McCain.

Those comments prompted Democrats to support a complaint asking the national party's credentials committee to refuse to seat her at the convention. The resolution said Bartoshevich violated a Democratic National Committee rule requiring delegates to support the party's nominee and not any other candidate.

If the move is approved, Democratic aides said she would be replaced by an alternate that had already been elected.

"It's extremely important that we send a message that Democrats in the state of Wisconsin will never support somebody who supports John McCain for president," state party chairman Joe Wineke said to cheers among the hundreds of party activists.

Maybe she can cross the river to St Paul for the RNC. I'm sure she can share a room with Joe Lieberman.

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WEEKEND FOOD BLOGGING: SPANISH-STYLE GARLIC
SHRIMP.

I am totally goddamn delicious.This recipe is largely adapted from Cook's Illustrated, though I've added jalapenos for a bit more kick and changed around some other minor elements. It's by far my favorite way to prepare shrimp. Also, for garlic lovers[...]

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=weekend_food_blogging_spanishs

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William Shatner for President

A Boston Legal gem. Snoring for McCain and farting for Clinton, this Republican ain’t afraid of no prostitute.©2008 Garling Gauge. All Rights Reserved..

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