BREAKING: Three college teammates say George
Allen used the N-word frequently, wanted to go to a college where blacks knew their place

post from AMERICAblog on 24 September 2006 10:19:00 PM. © AMERICAblog

Three former college football teammates of Sen. George Allen say that the Virginia Republican repeatedly used an inflammatory racial epithet and demonstrated racist attitudes toward blacks during the early 1970s.

"Allen said he came to Virginia because he wanted to play football in a place where 'blacks knew their place,'" said Dr. Ken Shelton, a white radiologist in North Carolina who played tight end for the University of Virginia football team when Allen was quarterback. "He used the N-word on a regular basis back then."

A second white teammate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retribution from the Allen campaign, separately claimed that Allen used the word "nigger" to describe blacks. "It was so common with George when he was among his white friends. This is the terminology he used," the teammate said.

A third white teammate contacted separately, who also spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being attacked by the Virginia senator, said he too remembers Allen using the word "nigger," though he said he could not recall a specific conversation in which Allen used the term. "My impression of him was that he was a racist," the third teammate said.

Shelton also told Salon that the future senator gave him the nickname "Wizard," because he shared a last name with Robert Shelton, who served in the 1960s as the imperial wizard of the United Klans of America, a group affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. The radiologist said he decided earlier this year that he would go public with his concerns about Allen if a reporter ever called. About four months ago, when he heard that Allen was a possible candidate for president in 2008, Shelton began to write down some of the negative memories of his former teammate. He provided Salon excerpts of those notes last week.

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mmates-say.html

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C&L Late Nite Music Club with The Commitments

post from Crooks and Liars on 24 September 2006 10:14:35 PM. © Crooks and Liars

This is one of my all-time favorite Rock & Roll movies.A little bit of trivia: Andrew Strong, who plays the crude lead singer, Deco, and has a voice any blues singer would die for, was only 16 at the time of filming. And if you are really observant, you will see members of the Irish [...]

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http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/24/cl-late-nite-music-club-with-the-commitm
ents/

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MT-Sen: This Is How A Patriot Acts

post from Daily Kos on 24 September 2006 10:07:14 PM. © Daily Kos

A tasty highlight from yesterday's Tester-Burns debate:

When it came to the USA Patriot Act, Burns called it a useful tool, saying it lets law enforcement fight terrorism with the same tactics used against organized crime. He said that people "need to be able to go to the movies or football games without worrying about being blown up. I don't think Mr. Tester understands the enemy," he said.
Burns said he also supported programs monitoring international telephone calls against those suspected of terrorism.
"He wants to weaken the Patriot Act," he said of Tester.
Tester sought to clarify:
"I don't want to weaken the Patriot Act, I want to repeal it. What it does, it takes away your freedom ... and when you take away our freedoms, the terrorists have won," Tester said.
He came back to the subject near the end of the debate, when Burns tried to link him to New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is, Burns said, pro-gun-control.
"With things like the Patriot Act," Tester said, "We'd damn well better keep our guns."

More on the debate--and Burns's refusal to answer any Abramoff questions--from the WaPo.

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/26853445/8359

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Open thread

post from AMERICAblog on 24 September 2006 09:57:00 PM. © AMERICAblog

Well that was a long dinner. Are we any safer now than we were when I left?

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Election Race Diary Roundup (9/24 - 44 Days to
Daylight)

post from Daily Kos on 24 September 2006 09:56:25 PM. © Daily Kos

(From the diaries -- kos)

This Roundup Diary covers the period from 1:00 PM Saturday, 9/23 to 1:00 PM EDT Sunday, 9/24.

Volunteers still needed! - The time to act is now. We could still use a few folks to help out; the diary miners have become quite the team and it's an experience you'll be glad you were a part of. (Incredible thanks to volunteers Nightprowlkitty, Alma, Sevah, suejazz, randallt, edgery, cdale777, mkrc98, turbonerd, evap and newcomers eeff and drchelo.)

Today's Menu Includes:
58 Diaries Overall
- 26 On House races
     - With 20 covering individual Districts in 15 states
- 16 On Senate races
    - Representing 10 different states
- 12 On Various election races
    - Encompassing Governor, Secretary of State, Local, and more
- 4 General election-related diaries

Over 2,100 diaries served to date!!!

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/26853446/658

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October Surprise: War With Iran

post from TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime on 24 September 2006 09:52:49 PM. © TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime

Former Senator Gary Hart, writing at Huffington Post today, opines that the October surprise may be that Bush launches a pre-emptive war against Iran before the November elections.

The steps will be these: Air Force tankers will be deployed to fuel B-2 bombers, Navy cruise missile ships will be positioned at strategic points in the northern Indian Ocean and perhaps the Persian Gulf, unmanned drones will collect target data, and commando teams will refine those data. The latter two steps are already being taken.
Then the president will speak on national television. He will say this: Iran is determined to develop nuclear weapons; if this happens, the entire region will go nuclear; our diplomatic efforts to prevent this have failed; Iran is offering a haven to known al Qaeda leaders; the fate of our ally Israel is at stake; Iran persists in supporting terrorism, including in Iraq; and sanctions will have no affect (and besides they are for sissies). He will not say: ...and besides, we need the oil.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/26852257/015810.html

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Bill Clinton on Fox News

post from Gun Toting Liberal on 24 September 2006 09:24:00 PM. © Gun Toting Liberal

Crooks and Liars have the video of former President Clinton blasting Fox News for being a manipulative one sided tool of the Republican Party.Fox News tried to set up former President Clinton and blindside him and he beat the day lights out of the folks over at Fox News. What they were counting on [...]

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http://guntotingliberal.com/archives/13

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If you aren't reading Michael Klare, you should
be

(Posted by John.) Michael Klare, one of the best political scientists writing about resource issues and geopolitics, has a piece at TomPaine.com about America's unseemly reliance for oil on the same terror-states we nominally oppose:...[...]

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http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/if_you_arent_re.html

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Arianna Has A Few Words About Big Dog

My original title for this post, "Arianna on Big Dog," was abandoned for obvious reasons.Anyway, Crooks and Liars has a clip of Arianna discussing the Chris Wallace drubbing that Clinton delivered on Fox News today, and she also writes about it[...]

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http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/09/24/arianna-has-a-few-words-about-big-dog/

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Arianna on Clinton vs Fox

Arianna, who has been very critical of the Clintons in the past makes a great point: The way the Republican WH and Congress is being run it’s very evident that they do not want to work with Democrats and she believes this was a wake-up call for Bill Clinton.Video-WMP Video-QT He’s a terrific speaker and thinker [...]

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http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/24/arianna-on-clinton-vs-fox/

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