Day: February 7, 2006

King Bush to Continue Horse Slaughter Despite Congressional Ban

Jon Ponder

Bastards: This says everything you need to know about George W. Bush:

Horse slaughter for meat will continue in the United States, despite votes in Congress to halt the practice, the Agriculture Department announced Tuesday.

American horse meat is sold mostly for human consumption in Europe and Asia, although some goes to U.S. zoos.

Congress didn’t ban horse slaughter outright. Instead, lawmakers used a tactic that is common in spending legislation. Horses must pass inspection by department veterinarians before they are slaughtered, so lawmakers voted to yank the salaries and expenses of those inspectors.

Department officials maintain the law requires inspections regardless. They announced Tuesday they will pay for live horse inspections by charging fees to slaughter plants…

“To end this practice, Congress, with widespread public support, passed this amendment by a landslide vote in both the House and the Senate,” said [Rep. John] Sweeney, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. “This action is a direct defiance of congressional intent.”

…Compared to the huge beef, pork and poultry industries, horse meat is a tiny business: Plants slaughtered about 88,000 horses, mules and other equines in 2005, according to the department.

Food Safety and Inspection Service: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

Pew Poll: Bush Got No Bounce from SOTU

Buck Banks

With a thud: George Bush’s State of the Union speech should have been his opportunity to improve his poll standings and push his agenda. But nobody watched; nobody cared.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 1-5 among 1,502 Americans, finds that President Bush received no bounce from his Jan. 31 State of the Union address. Bush’s approval rating stands at 40 percent ­ largely unchanged over the past month. Interest in Bush’s speech was fairly modest ­ about as many paid very close attention to the recent layoffs at the Ford Motor Co. (25 percent) as to the State of the Union (24 percent). The public continues to take a mixed view of Bush’s performance on issues ­ generally positive on terrorism (55 percent% approval) but negative on virtually every domestic issue. In two key areas, health care and the deficit, Bush’s ratings have declined markedly over the past year, to below 30 percent on each issue.

The public believes it is generally right for the government to monitor communications of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties without first obtaining permission from the courts.

But the president appears to be making headway with his defense of the government’s authority to conduct warrantless wiretaps of suspected terrorists. By 54 percent-43 percent, the public believes it is generally right for the government to monitor communications of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties without first obtaining permission from the courts. In early January, the public was evenly divided over this issue (48 percent generally right/47 percent generally wrong). Moderate and liberal Republicans, in particular, are now more supportive of the program. In January, moderate and liberal Republicans favored warrantless monitoring of suspected terrorists by 56 percent-41 percent; now by about three-to-one (71 percent-24 percent) they feel the program is generally right.

That’s disturbing. Having listened to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez smirk, obfuscate, evade and probably lie his way through yesterday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, I’m as alarmed as committee members of both parties are. But the public isn’t getting it. They are buying the GOP’s message that if the prez sez it’s necessary to “fat terrists,” it’s okay to flaunt the law. Oh yeah, and no warrant means no paper trail — see you in Romania, son.

Like Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, this program is a lot bigger and a lot scarier than Gonzalez and Bush want us to know.

Obama Posts the Letters; See What an Ass John McCain is For Yourself

Trish

First of all, the snarky, snarly, nastiness of Sen. John “Please W., Screw Me a Little Harder Just So Long As You Let Me Be President Next” McCain (R.-Ariz.) is way understated in the news reports about his attack on Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill).

Everyone that frames this as “an exchange” in which one side is just as bad as the other, ala the Refrickinpublican Abramoff scandal, is just flat wrong.

Second, everyone including NPR’s Day to Day, that frames this as “an exchange” in which one side is just as bad as the other, a la the Refrickinpublican Abramoff scandal, is flat wrong.

Don’t take my word for it. Sen. Obama has posted the actual letters for the world to see. If you don’t walk away from reading John McCain’s sarcastic, insulting, and belittling missive feeling like he’s a complete — forgive my French — shithead then check your voter registration card. It must say “Republican.”

Here’s what Obama said that Johnny evidently took such exception to:

I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support.

And here’s just a sample of “Hothead” McCain’s vitriol in return:

I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party’s effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn’t always a priority for every one of us.

Are you feeling it yet? Barack “Real Deal” Obama took all that and still turned the other cheek, in a new letter dated today.

I confess that I have no idea what has prompted your response. But let me assure you that I am not interested in typical partisan rhetoric or posturing. The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem.

Visit the site for updates, if McCain still has the heart for showing his ass to the world.

Greene: ‘Let’s Really Piss Off Them Towelheads!’

Buck Banks

Compassionate conservativism at work: A rightwing nutjob has come out saying that Americans should demand that the mainstream media reprint the cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed that have riled up the Muslim world as a demonstration of our freedom.

The cartoons were first published by a Danish newspaper in September — five months ago. They were reprinted in other European newspapers and have prompted rioting in the Middle East, burning of embassies and consulates, at least one death and numerous injuries, and even demonstrations in the United States.

And now this hothead wants to turn up the heat. I’m sure to some people this kind of rabid rhetoric has a twisted kind of logic:

Many Christians and Jews have had to endure the satirizing of their own religious figures.

“Americans need to see for themselves what has outraged Islamofascists in certain parts of the world,” said William Greene, president of the on-line organization, RightMarch.com. “Many Christians and Jews have had to endure the satirizing of their own religious figures. It’s called the free expression of ideas. We shouldn’t apologize for freedom — we’re trying to spread it, and an honest public debate is at the very center of that freedom.

“After 9-11, Americans didn’t take to the streets to burn down embassies, attack civilians and spark riots. We showed great restraint and courtesy to the foreign dignitaries living as guests in our nation. It’s not weakness; it’s strength, and the ultimate test of freedom, which is God’s gift to man,” Green said.

Sounds real Christian-like, don’t it?

Next Election Fraud Explanation Already in the Works

Trish

A.P. is reporting on what will no doubt be the excuse used to conceal fraud in the next election.

Fewer voters will cast their ballots by punching a card or pulling a lever in this November’s elections as the country continues to turn to newer, electronic machines, according to a study released Monday…experts also note that means many Americans will be voting on unfamiliar equipment this fall.

…The widespread push to modernize means that, in the six years between November 2000 and this fall’s elections, nearly 82 million people in a nation of 170 million registered voters will have cast ballots on new equipment…

See, it’s not that we rigged things, it’s that the voters cast their ballots the wrong way because they didn’t know what they were doing. Yeah, that’s it!

Jeb Criticizes Those Who Do the Same Thing as Him Only Better

Trish

Gimme a H! Gimme a Y! Gimme a P! Gimme an O! Gimme a… Aw never mind — just yell, “Jeb!”

Tallahassee Democrat:

”Democracy is imperiled a little bit when big donors that can’t get their way through the traditional way of creating policy through the Florida Legislature, (and) secret donors who do not disclose who they are, come into our state from out of state to advance in many cases a left-wing political agenda,” Bush told the crowd, ”to put things on the ballot that sound good but create long-term challenges for us.”

The executive director of Common Cause Florida…noted Bush had no problem with raising Florida cash for another state’s redistricting drive last year when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came calling.

The governor’s remarks were directed in part at Common Cause, a government watchdog group that has gathered enough signatures to put a redistricting ballot question before voters this year.

Common Cause raised $2.6 million from its national membership to cover the $2.8 million spent to gather the 611,000 signatures needed. Bush has been critical of the group over the last week for not volunteering the names of its donors.

Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause Florida, said it is a nonpartisan effort and noted Bush had no problem with raising Florida cash for another state’s redistricting drive last year when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came calling.

Jeb also didn’t mind the Republican Party of Florida contributing $150,000 of the $193,000 raised to put an anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot, despite the fact that the aforementioned Florida Legislature already passed a law years ago outlawing such unions. He also didn’t have a problem with the fact that the amendment’s sponsors passed the move off as a grassroots effort until the St. Petersburg Times exposed the funding last month.

Election Analysis: Dems Could Pick Up Six to 14 Congressional Seats

Buck Banks

Laying odds: Charlie Cook of the National Journal and a colleague developed a method of statistically evaluating election odds that provides insight into how the mid-terms might play out. Cook notes that a year ago, following Republican victories in the 2004 elections and with President Bush’s job-approval ratings still above 50 percent (remember the “mandate” and “political capital”), the Democrats’ chances of taking back the House looked slim to nil. But with Bush’s approval rating stagnating at 42 percent, Cook says the odds of a Democratic takeover, while less than 50-50, are real.

House Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats in November to have a majority. Cook notes that the battle will be tight because “few House Republicans are retiring, and few of the Republican incumbents who ought to be vulnerable are in districts that actually are competitive.” Nonetheless, his statistical model suggests the race will be close and could be impacted by a “wave” effect among the electorate.

Here’s how it works:

On an Excel spreadsheet, we gave each of the 435 House districts a numerical score based on our assessment of the chances of its going Republican this November. The score is computed by taking into account the historical voting patterns of that district, the caliber of this year’s candidates, the strength of the campaigns, and the political atmosphere in the district.

If a district looks solidly Republican, we give it a score of 1.0. If a district is rock-solid Democratic, we assign it a score of 0.0. If the parties have an equal chance of winning in a given district, we give the district a .5 score. Very few districts are in the toss-up territory; the vast majority fall close to the partisan extremes — 1.0 or 0.0.

The GOP’s resources might not be sufficient to douse all the anti-Republican fires that could erupt around the nation.

The current model predicts a net Democratic gain of 10 seats. When we factor in a four-seat margin of error, the model projects that as of today, under current conditions, and without speculating about what the national political environment may do between now and November, Democrats will make a net gain of six to 14 seats. With a bit of luck — or a wave of any size — Democrats might even grasp their gold ring: 15 seats.

Factors that could sway the Dems’ prospects include whether they can field strong candidates, whether there’s a groundswell of support for Democrats or a backlash agsinst Republicans, whether the Dems can raise enough money and how effective the Republicans’ nasty attacks are on Democratic challengers.

The not-so-secret weapon of the National Republican Congressional Committee in recent elections has been its use of money to rip into Democratic challengers and Democratic open-seat candidates early and often. Early attacks have thus enabled the NRCC to create negative impressions of those contenders before they could define themselves positively.

In the past few campaign cycles, the NRCC had enough money to go on the attack very early and very effectively. The danger for Republicans this time is that while the committee has much more money than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — $19 million at the end of 2005, compared with $15.7 million for the Democrats — the GOP’s resources might not be sufficient to douse all the anti-Republican fires that could erupt around the nation.

If it’s just a question of money, it’s likely that the Republicans will prevail, but if such issues as the warrantless surveillance of Americans, unchecked executive power and assault on civil liberties continue to dog the GOP, the people’s desire for change could win back the House.

Carter: Bush’s Domestic Spying Is ‘Illegal’

Jon Ponder

“Under the Bush administration, there’s been a disgraceful and illegal decision — we’re not going to the let the judges or the Congress or anyone else know that we’re spying on the American people. And no one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act.”

— Pres. Jimmy Carter, speaking yesterday at an event launching his son Jack’s bid for senator from Nevada