Month: July 2006

Poll: Sorry Muslims, Only Jews or Christians Need Apply for Prez

Buck Banks

God is my running mate: According to National Journal’s PollTrack, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows that both parties have work to do to secure the “religious vote,” whatever that is. Apparently a majority of Americans allow their superstitious reliance on an omnipotent imaginary friend to cloud their political affiliations.

And if your imaginary friend’s name is Allah, you can forget becoming the most powerful public servant on the planet.

Majorities of both Democratic (56 percent) and Republican (61 percent) respondents said they couldn’t vote for a Muslim for president, while a slight plurality (45 percent) of independents said they could.

Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated they’d have no problem voting for an evangelical Christian

The Mormon religion fared a bit better in the poll: A slim 51 percent majority said they could support a Mormon for president. That’s good news to Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), who is considering a presidential run; 61 percent of Republicans said they could vote for a Mormon. Democrats were evenly split, with 43 percent saying they could and 42 percent saying they couldn’t.

Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated they’d have no problem voting for an evangelical Christian, including 53 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of independents and 81 percent of Republicans. Of course, we’ve already had an evangelical Christian president in Jimmy Carter.

However, respondents were most receptive to voting for Jewish or Catholic candidates for president. Overall, 76 percent said they could support a Jewish candidate, but along party lines support was strongest among GOP respondents at 83 percent compared with 72 percent of Democrats. (Good news for Joe Lieberman — a Jewish senator from Connecticut — but bad news for the Democratic Party, unless he runs as an independent, then it’s bad news for everybody.)

Eighty-three percent of respondents said they could vote for a Catholic candidate, the highest of the five religions tested in the poll. But Catholicism already passed the test when John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960. Another Catholic senator from Massachusetts — John Kerry (D) — failed most recently in his 2004 attempt, but we all know that wasn’t because of his religion. It was because of his wife. And his flip-flop on the Iraq War. And his inept campaigning. Etc.

Maybe Kerry should consider converting to Judaism ….

Not Too Late to Wish Pres. Blowhard a Big Birthday

Trish

One Tampa-area T.V. station is still collecting birthday greetings for little Georgie. A few like-minded souls have made it there ahead of you.

Trust me on this one, Dubya’s birthday will never be a national holiday….. But I am sure there will be a lot of clowns at this Bozo’s birthday party. There is such a long list of them right there on his staff…

Happy Birthday Bush. I bet the troops in Irac (sic) would like to celebrate their birthday without having to be worried that their going to get shot at or bombed…

There are a bunch of dumbasses too. My favorite, because it really illustrates the thinking of the Others:

He ain’t perfect (there’s no such thing) but I can bet he’d do a better job than any of you and since I didn’t see any of your names on the ballot – guess that says it all!! Happy Birthday Mr. President! I’m glad to have a president with some balls, BRAINS, ethics and morals!

So there. I didn’t see your unknown, not part of a political dynasty name on the ballot.

Come on, PR readers, surely we can do better than these folks, and maybe even spell “Iraq” correctly. Give the president your regards on this happy occasion.

Update: Love this post from Greg Wilcox in Des Moines, Iowa:

Twenty-five other Americans born July 6, 1946 served and died in the Vietnam War.

Justin Marshall Lynch, Hezekiah George
Guadalupe B L Garibay, Brian Francis Gibbons
Lawrence Raymond Hagedorn, John Michael Henderson
Donald James Sheehy, Vins Ronald Hooper
John Patrick Collopy, Henry Robert Hocknell, Jr
Norman Ellsworth Fine, Jr, Robert Lee Stanek
Ronald Michael Obenour, Terry Lee Baxter
John Arleigh Nixon, William Henry Boswell
Samuel Reyna, John Joseph Cimorelli, Jr
William Henry White, William Joseph Oskilanec
Thomas Michael Casey, Jr, Lawrence Raspberry
George Joseph Fuerst, Nicholas Allen Berger
Raymon Horace James, Jr

John and Jeb in 2008: Dismally Possible

Trish

Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas makes a depressing case for a McCain/Jeb ticket in 2008.

Given his brother’s lagging popularity, the name that got Jeb where he is could stop him from going any further. Diluting that name with McCain’s makes it more palatable…

If he had any other last name, [Jeb] Bush would be a front-runner for the 2008 Republican nomination. But given his brother’s lagging popularity, the name that got Jeb where he is could stop him from going any further.

Diluting that name with McCain’s makes it more palatable for a Bush-weary nation. It gives Jeb a chance to get people to look beyond the name.

If they lose, that sets him up for 2012. If they win, Jeb would fit the new VP mold of an Al Gore or Dick Cheney, an active participant in the White House…

Playing second fiddle allows Jeb to stay engaged while we recover from the George hangover…

As for McCain, his problem isn’t beating Hillary Clinton as much as it is getting to that point. Jeb gets him there. Jeb’s presence eliminates any serious opposition within the Republican Party.

For McCain, the only drawback from Jeb would be if the Bush name penalizes him in a general election.

But come on. Jeb’s dad won with Dan Quayle.

Norquist Vs. McCain May the Best Loser Win

Jon Ponder
Possible next move: If there is more about Norquist’s involvement in the money-laundering scheme that the committee could have “stuck” in the report, it would not be surprising to find that it is leaked to the media within a week or so.

Anti-government rightwing activist Grover Norquist saysallegations emanating from the Senate’s Indian Affairs committee, chaired by Sen. John McCain, that Norquist laundered tainted money from Indian tribes in the Abramoff scandals are just political payback for Norquist’s anti-McCain activities in the 2000 GOP primaries:

Norquist says a Senate Indian Affairs Committee report last month outlining his efforts to funnel money from Abramoff’s tribal clients to former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed is riddled with half-truths and falsely implicates his nonprofit group, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), in wrongdoing.

The activist says McCain, chairman of the committee, issued the report in retaliation for Norquist’s efforts to thwart McCain’s 2000 presidential bid.

“He has exhibited personal animus toward me,” Norquist said. “McCain, who’s running for president and is ostensibly the front-runner, takes time and effort to throw a punch at me and Ralph Reed. Why? He has told people we stopped him in the presidential election last time, and he thinks we might do it again. He is delusional. George W. Bush Beat [sic] him in South Carolina. But that’s high praise of the taxpayer movement that he has told so many people this.”

McCain staffers said the 373-page report, the culmination of a two-year investigation, is a neutral, factual account of Abramoff’s movements. E-mails from Abramoff cited in the report indicate that the disgraced lobbyist used ATR — for a fee — as a conduit for moving money from the Mississippi Choctaw American Indian tribe to anti-gambling grassroots activists who would have been uncomfortable receiving money from gambling profits…

“If that was a personal attack they would have stuck more in there,” one McCain adviser said. “Grover’s fingerprints where all over this stuff. You would have to work hard to keep him out of it …”

Norquist is notoriously obnoxious and McCain is notoriously bad-tempered. This dust-up could play out as a terrific grudge match of the circular firing squad variety.

Possible next move: If there is more about Norquist’s involvement in the money-laundering scheme that the committee could have “stuck” in the report, it would not be surprising to find that it is leaked to the media within a week or so.

Plagiarist Ann Coulter in 2003 Accused NYT of ‘Making up Facts, Plagiarizing’ and ‘Lying’ in Jayson Blair Scandal

Jon Ponder
“[The New York Times] ought to claim all those front-page articles predicting a “quagmire” in Iraq were also written by Blair,” Coulter wrote just days after Bush declared “mission accomplished” in Iraq.

It appears certain now that Ann Coulter has widely and regularly plagiarized the writing of others, including work published both in the liberal media and by rightwing organizations:

[A] 25-word passage from a [chapter in Coulter’s current bestseller “Godless”] titled “The Holiest Sacrament: Abortion” appears to have been lifted nearly word for word from Planned Parenthood literature published at least 18 months before Coulter’s 281-page book was released.

A separate, 24-word string from the chapter “The Creation Myth” appeared about a year earlier in the San Francisco Chronicle with just one word change – “stacked” was changed to “piled.”

Another 33-word passage that appears five pages into “Godless” allegedly comes from a 1999 article in the Portland (Maine) Press Herald.

Plus:

[A] 2003 column that included “six passages, ranging from 10 to 48 words each, that appeared 15 years earlier in the same order in an L.A. Times article.”

And:

“Her June 29, 2005, column, ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Religion,’ incorporates 10 facts on National Endowment for the Arts-funded work that originally appeared in the same order in a 1991 Heritage Foundation report, ‘The National Endowment for the Arts: Misusing Taxpayers’ Money.’ But again, the Heritage Foundation isn’t credited.”

So has black-hearted Annie ever lashed out at her fellow cribbers-in-crime. You bet she has! In a May 15, 2003, column, titled “The Old Gray Liar,” about the the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal at the New York Times, Coulter wrote:

The New York Times is to be commended for ferreting out Jayson Blair, the reporter recently discovered making up facts, plagiarizing other news organizations, and lying about nonexistent trips and interviews. A newspaper that employs Maureen Dowd can’t have had an easy time settling on Blair as the scapegoat. Blair’s record of inaccuracies, lies and distortions made him a candidate for either immediate dismissal or his own regular column on the op-ed page.

A sentence or two later, Coulter proves how wrong she can be. Writing just two weeks after President Bush landed on the Abe Lincoln and declared “mission accomplished in Iraq,” she said:

They ought to claim all those front-page articles predicting a “quagmire” in Iraq were also written by Blair.

Poll: Some Columnists Say Writing Is Like Sex; Some Don’t

Buck Banks

The prurient pen: An article in Editor & Publisher discusses a recent survey of U.S. newspaper columnists and how they viewed their craft. It came up with some interesting findings:

The University of San Francisco’s J. Michael Robertson unveiled the results of his survey Saturday at the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) conference here. Columnists polled included salaried and freelance writers from 38 states and Canada who write in categories such as political, general-interest, humor, and metro.

Writing for PR was like sex insofar as it left them “sweaty, exhausted and slightly nauseous”

When asked “what writing a column is like,” 26 percent of salaried columnists called it a job and 17 percent likened it to sex. But Robertson explained that this wasn’t necessarily a positive thing; he said some columnists feel like they’re “married to a nymphomaniac” because they have to start working on another column as soon as they’re finished with the previous one.

Of the columnists who call themselves political, 22 percent identified themselves as Democrats, 44 percent as independents, and 20 percent as Republicans.

Since the poll dealt only with columnists for tree-killing newspapers instead of surveying the more environmentally friendly on-line columnists like those who write for Pensito Review, we conducted a nonscientific poll at PR World Headquarters and found that all of our responses fell within the margin of error.

Thirty percent of Pensito Review columnists likened writing for the site to sex, but said “it’s like the worse sex I ever had.” Another third said writing for PR was like sex insofar as it left them “sweaty, exhausted and slightly nauseous.” The remaining 30 percent of columnists said writing for PR was exactly like sex because they “do it naked at the computer.”

As to the political leanings of the columnists, 30 percent described themselves as “angry, embittered Democrats,” 30 percent as “crushed, hopeless Democrats” and 30 percent as “insouciant, indifferent independents.”

Asked why they contributed to Pensito Review, 100 percent of respondents said they do it for the glory, not for the money.

Next Hot Spot: Gulf of Guinea

Buck Banks

About the oil: Yeah, I didn’t know where it was, either. It’s on the southwestern Atlantic coast of Africa, and our military presence there is growing dramatically. Why? Because about 15 percent of our oil comes from southern Africa (not to mention timber, iron ore, copper and other useful stuff). And where there’s oil, there’s U.S. military might to protect it.

I found out about this from the Department of Defense, which is so proud of our enhanced military presence in the Gulf of Guinea that it sent out a press release about it. Here are some highlight excerpts:

U.S. military engagement along southwestern Africa’s Atlantic coast has increased exponentially, Navy Capt. Tom Rowden, commander of Task Force 65, said during a Pentagon interview last week. It’s increased from almost no activity in 2004 to 130 “ship days” in 2005 to even more planned ship days this year, he said. The goal is to build long-term relationships that promote greater security and stability in the region, Rowden explained.

The focus is on helping African nations increase their naval capabilities

The region faces several potentially destabilizing factors: narcotics trafficking from South America, smuggling of illegal aliens into Europe, about $1 billion a year in illegal fishing, and pollution that threatens the coast and the local food supply, among them.

“We’re looking at building the capacity and capability of the nations down there to secure the maritime domain to address these destabilizing activities,” Rowden said.

Basically, we need to make sure we can get all that oil and raw materials out of Africa cheaply and efficiently, so we’re helping the Africans help themselves. Helping — kind of like what we’re doing in Afghanistan and Iraq, but with fewer bulets and bombs — so far.

The focus is on helping African nations increase their naval capabilities, with help from the United States, [Rowden] said.

Toward that end, the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land recently wrapped up a three-month deployment to the region, where its crew conducted a series of security cooperation activities. The deployment included port visits to Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Ghana, Angola, and the Republic of the Congo.

U.S. Navy training teams helped their West African counterparts increase their capabilities in damage control and ship maintenance. They provided survey teams to help develop more accurate navigational charts. They also helped the African navies build leadership within the ranks and strengthen their noncommissioned officer corps.

But it’s not so much a military operation as it is a diplomatic mission, which leads to the most over-the-top quote in the whole hyperbolic release:

“There’s no better ambassador for the United States of America than the sailor of the United States Navy,” Rowden said. “I was absolutely blown away by their ability to go out and make friends and the willingness on their part to give.”

Well, given our recent military-industrial-oil-protection history let’s hope that the Africans get it together, otherwise we know who’s going to really get “blown away.”

Bushworld Roundup

Trish

Oil, Gas Prices Rising But U.S. Keeps Pedal to Metal

Oil closed at a record high above $75 a barrel Wednesday on strong U.S. demand and ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program…

Gasoline futures rose on forecasts that U.S. demand increased last week ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend…

European motorists have adjusted their habits as prices soar, however…”The large European countries, for the first half of this year, the consumption of motor fuels has declined,” [one expert said].

Oil also rose as geopolitical tension heightened after North Korea, labeled by President George W. Bush as part of an “axis of evil,” launched a series of missiles into the Japan Sea.

Law Does Not Apply to Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh will not face charges in Palm Beach County for the bottle of Viagra found in his luggage that appeared to have been prescribed to someone else, prosecutors said Wednesday…

Charges in the Viagra case could have nullified a deal Limbaugh reached with prosecutors last month in which a single “doctor shopping” charge was deferred for 18 months, so long as Limbaugh does not get arrested for any reason.

Black Republicans Could Find Recruiting Tougher

African-Americans’ share of U.S. national income has narrowed in recent years as a weak job market helped unwind earlier strides, according to a report published on Wednesday.

A black family’s median income was 62 percent of the earnings of their white counterparts, down from 63.5 percent in 2000, the Economic Policy Institute said.

“The racial gap widened by 2004 as a result of the recession and the jobless recovery that followed,” said Jared Bernstein, economist at the Washington think-tank.