AK-Sen: Post-Indictment, Begich Up By Double
Digits

post from MyDD on 31 July 2008 03:15:29 PM. © MyDD

Alaskans are no strangers to corruption in their politicians, so it perhaps should come as no surprise that even after an ongoing investigation led the FBI to raid his home last year that Sen. Stevens continued to be seen as a viable candidate for[...]

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The Desire To Panic

post from Open Left - Front Page on 31 July 2008 03:11:07 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

Generally speaking, I am an optimistic person. Also, I strongly tend toward the analytical. As[...]

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Prayer-Gate

post from Taylor Marsh on 31 July 2008 03:11:00 PM. © Taylor Marsh

Guest post by Linfar--updated--Did you ever have this argument when you were a kid:You did too. I did not. Yes, you did. I did not. You did! No I didn-??t! Did toooooo!!!And then there is this saying by Sir Walter Scott told to kids who either may have[...]

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EFCA: Why The Republicans REALLY Hate Obama

post from Firedoglake on 31 July 2008 03:00:52 PM. © Firedoglake

The NRSC put together a commercial that's supposed to scare the bejesus out of everyone at the thought of EFCA (the Employee Free Choice Act) passing under an Obama administration, but I couldn't have made a better one myself.[...]

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A Labor Department that cheats labor

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 31 July 2008 03:00:46 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Original article by Elizabeth Schulte via socialistworker.org.I'm at work, so this will be short, but the key paragraph is here:According to two new reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division[...]

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Lieberman To Introduce Resolution Praising
Success Of Surge Against Enemies Who Attacked America On 9/11′

post from Think Progress on 31 July 2008 02:55:00 PM. © Think Progress

This morning, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) held a press conference to express their “pleasure” about President Bush’s statement this morning regarding what he described as “encouraging news from Iraq” and “the success of the surge.”

Lieberman then announced that he and Graham would do their part in celebrating the surge by introducing a resolution in the Senate “recognizing” its “strategic success” in “the central front in the war on terror.” Then, Lieberman went slightly off course, not seeming to recognize just who attacked the United States on 9/11 and from where:

LIEBERMAN: That’s why Senator Graham and I are introducing a resolution recognizing the strategic success that the surge has achieved in a central front — the central front of the war on terror against the enemies who attacked America on 9/11/01, and expressing our thanks to our troops who’ve made that success possible.

It would be an insult to anyone’s intelligence to point out the obvious fact that the terrorists who carried out the September 11, 2001 terror attacks operated out of Afghanistan, not Iraq. And despite the right wing’s insistence, even the Pentagon has confirmed that “no direct link” ever existed “between late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the Al-Qaeda network.”

But Lieberman’s claim indicates that he does not understand the wider problem — namely that the surge prevented the U.S. from sending more troops where they are needed, in Afghanistan. In January 2007, just one week after Bush announced his surge policy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that “U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have recommended an increase in U.S. force levels, in part to deal with an expected upsurge in Taliban violence.”

But the troops went to Iraq at the expense of Afghanistan and since then, the security situation there has become worse than its ever been since 2001. U.S. commanders and even Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen have recently acknowledged that they do not have the troops or resources necessary to combat the Taliban and Al-Qaida threat in Afghanistan because of Iraq. Morover, a new report directly links the troop shortages there to the Taliban’s comeback.

Instead of crafting resolutions declaring victory in “the central front in the ‘war on terror,’” perhaps Lieberman and Graham should spend more time figuring out where that “central front” is.

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The Associated Press Continues With Their
Hack-Style Journalism

post from Daily Kos on 31 July 2008 02:50:07 PM. © Daily Kos

After it was revealed that there was an undisclosed relationship between the Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier, Karl Rove and John McCain’s campaign, and the documented bias shown by the AP since Fournier took over, you would think they would at least make an effort to put out an unbiased story. You would be wrong.

Yesterday Associated Press writer Charles Babington wrote what was ostensibly an article critical of John McCain, but in reality Babington bent over backwards to minimize and explain away McCain’s problem with “details.”

At times McCain can appear to be short on details. In some instances, he has made misstatements or eyebrow-raising comments during the long days of campaigning in front of cameras and microphones. Sympathetic listeners call them understandable slips of the tongue and question whether any candidate can know everything. Opponents call them gaffes, or worse.

Babington follows with a statement from McCain’s spokesman and the news that there are websites dedicated to making lists of Obama’s misstatements before getting back to the point of the article.

Some of McCain's remarks seem to stem from his generally breezy nature and occasional tendency to leave details to subordinates.

I’ll skip Babington’s six paragraphs about McCain’s position on an affirmative action referendum in Arizona and go right to McCain’s breezy take on Viagra versus birth-control pills.

"I don't know what I ..." McCain said. He rubbed his face while looking thoughtful. "I'll look at my voting record on it. But I have — I don't recall the vote right now. But I'll be glad to look at it."

McCain was looking thoughtful? You be the judge. At this point a journalist might mention what McCain's voting record on the issue is, but apparently Babington has a breezy nature too. Instead he does a packed little paragraph of other details McCain has been short on, mentioning his Czechoslovakia gaffes, and:

He also implied that the so-called "Sunni Awakening" in Iraq occurred after President Bush announced plans in 2006 for a surge in U.S. troops, when in fact it began several months before.

Now I'll give McCain a pass on his Czechoslovakia problem...after all, he spent the first 57 years of his life calling it that, but I won't give Babington a pass on that dismissive, revisionist description of McCain's mistake about the timing of the Anbar Awakening and the surge. McCain didn't imly that the Anbar Awakening happened after George Bush announced the surge in 2007 (not 2006...details, Charles, details), he said it:

Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history.

And when McCain was called on it? He defended his remarks and to this day maintains that he wasn't wrong. And of course Babington forgets to mention the three separate occassions where McCain showed that he either forgot, didn't know, or lied about Iran, Shiites and Sunnis. Those are two examples where McCain has shown an appalling lack of understanding about fundamental elements of the war that he claims to be an expert on, yet Babington ignores one, downplays the other and tells us that John McCain has a breezy nature.

Babington finishes with thoughts from a professor at George Washington University, who is "amazed" that politicians don't misspeak more often and warns that Democrats need to be careful about making McCain's age an issue. And while it's tempting to mock that concern for Democrats, I'll instead point out that Babington dug up a speechwriter for EISENHOWER to warn the Democrats not to make an issue of McCain's age. It's the only funny thing about this article.

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Hubert VoThe Accidental Refomer

The Houston Chronicle has another story today about safety violations in apartment buildings. There have been a been a number of apartment complex related issues around the city that have spurred this focus. A big spur to public attention on this issue were slum-condition apartments owned by Democratic Texas State Representative Hubert Vo.Mr. Vo has now, after the attention, [...]

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McCains Rick Davis goes on the attack against
Andrea Mitchell and Obama like a pit bull

The McCain camp is losing it. They are acting flat out mean and nasty. They are now saying that Obama is using the race card. How desperate they must feel for attention. Yes, Obama is black and he will make observations that are true and not racist. This is a ploy to try [...]

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Obama asks McCain: Is that the best you can come
up with Is that really what this election is about

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 31 July 2008 02:31:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Answer those questions, John "Paris/Britney" McCain:

video details and more

Team Obama should turn this into an ad. Be much better than that usual pablum being produced by GMMB. The campaign's ads, including that new one, "Low Road," look like every other political ad run by every other candidate - including first time congressional candidates. Given that's all the D.C. media consultants know how to do, it's not surprising. But, this campaign can't be like every other political campaign. The ads need to reflect Obama. Shouldn't be that hard. He gives plenty of great material -- like the speech in the video above.