The Kentucky Democrat: January 2005

Monday, January 31, 2005

The Rumor Mill Revised

Please go here

I've updated it to be more accurate with the up to date news. Plus, I've gained a larger readership...

2006 Midterms
KY1
Bob Jackson (former State Senator)

KY2
Billy Ray Smith (former Ag Commissioner)
Reid Haire (Daviess County Judge Exec)
Shannon Morgan (attorney and lawyer in Warren County)
William S. Natcher (not related to the late Congressman William H. Natcher)
Steve Newberry (Barren County)
David Boswell (State Senator)

KY3
Jack Conway (2002 candidate)
Denise Harper Angel (PVA and State Senator)
Steve Henry (former Lt. Gov)

KY4
Heather French Henry (Lt. Gov Henry's wife)

KY5
Dr. Daniel Mongiardo (2004 US Senate Candidate)

KY6
Ben Chandler (incumbent)

2007 Statewide
Governor
Jonathan Miller (Treasurer)
Crit Luallen (Auditor)
Jody Richards (Speaker of the House)
Charlie Owen (Frequent Candidate)
Jerry Abramson (Louisville Mayor)
Greg Stumbo (Atty General)

Secretary of State
No idea

Atty. General
Greg Stumbo (incumbent)

If Stumbo runs for Gov:
Ed Hatchett (Former State Auditor)

Treasurer
Jean-Marie Lawson? (KYD President)
Steve Gold? (former Chairman)

Auditor
Crit Luallen (incumbent)
If Crit is running for Gov or Lt. Gov:
Jean-Marie Lawson? (KYD President)
Steve Gold? (former Chairman)

Agricultural Commissioner
Billy Ray Smith since the law allows for a 3rd term

2008 US Senate
Ben Chandler?
Jonathan Miller?
Charlie Owen?

I repeat this is all purely speculative based on statistics of prior elections and emails receieved. Leave your comments as you never know who reads this.

Letterman pays tribute, Wallace hates Bush

David Letterman pays tribute tonight. I'll have the scoop after the show so I don't spoil it for the loyal readers (over 200 of you I think).

ESPN reports that Detroit Pistons Coach Larry Brown plans to retire as a Pistons coach sometime down the road.

"I'm not going to coach anywhere but Detroit," Brown said after he and the Pistons met President Bush in an East Room reception. "It's my last pro coaching job."[...]

Asked if he would take a college coaching job, Brown said, "Oh, I don't look at that."

Speculation that the much-traveled, Brooklyn-born Brown was thinking about leaving the Pistons and taking over the New York Knicks began Friday, when he was quoted in a New York newspaper as saying the Knicks' job was one he had "dreamed about many times."

But Brown said there was more to it than that.

"I told [a reporter] what I'm telling you," Brown told the Detroit Free Press on Monday. "Did I say it was my dream job? Yes, I told him it once was. But they passed me over twice. I grew up in New York. I talked to the guy about that. I talked to him about Red Holzman... 've never been smart enough to say 'no comment.'"[...]

Bush joked that he had something in common with the Pistons, who defeated the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in June's NBA Finals.

"Nobody expected you to win," Bush said. "I know how you feel."[...]

One player who wasn't as enthusiastic about the team's White House visit was Rasheed Wallace. Asked on Sunday what he would say to President Bush when they met, the Pistons forward told the Free Press: "I don't have [expletive] to say to him. I didn't vote for him. It's just something we have to do."

Save American Dreams

From Arlen Escarpeta's Official Website:

Hey everyone i have some really bad news!!! American Dreams needs EVERY fans help!!!! American Dreams has been pulled for the last 2 episodes of the season. Which means AD will only be going to episode 17 which is only 4 more!!! The chances of season 4 right now are very slim right now so we need ALL of the fans to send postcards to NBC emails wont help only POSTCARDS saying you want American Dreams to stay!! As of right now if everyone doesnt go out and send postcards AD is going to be done!! So come on everyone we need your help to save American Dreams!!! Please put this around and tell your friends to send postcards too. The address to send to is:
Jeff Zucker
President
NBC Universal Television
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Kevin Reilly
President
NBC Entertainment
3000 West Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91523

Please do what you can do ASAP. This is one of my favorite shows and I don't know if Sundays would be the same without it.

Get well soon, Senator Clinton

Our thoughts and prayers are with President and Senator Clinton. Please get well soon so that you can keep fighting for Democratic values in the Senate.

Senator Clinton collapsed after making a speech in Buffalo.

LINK 1.
LINK 2.

Gov. Howard Dean on Republicans

This is not the way I want my party run. I believe in a big tent. I want to find common ground with Republicans. I disagree politically with them but, in the end, we are still Americans and need to get along together. This was in the New York Daily News:

"I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for, but I admire their discipline and their organization," the failed presidential hopeful told the crowd at the Roosevelt Hotel, where he and six other candidates spoke at the final DNC forum before the Feb. 12 vote for chairman.

But Dean said the Democrats should not change their beliefs to be "Republican lite."

I am a moderate-to-liberal Democrat and I paid my $25 to the DLC. However, I hate being labeled Republican-lite. Just the other day, I was labeled a neo-conservative for being pro-Israel. Do you not see what Bush is doing? Because he supports Israel, I get labeled a neo-conservative?!? That's not fair to me and any other Jewish Democrat.

Some food for thought...

You know how those Monday morning classes are? That's why the updates come late today.

Joe McQuaid: Johnny Carson's humor brought day to a peaceful end in times of turmoil. This is a very nice column.

Writer gives Johnny Carson credit for career success. Who wouldn't? He started EVERYONE'S career!

Hometown fans turn out for a memorial. Now why was there now public memorial?!?

Stephanie Herseth feels like she settled in:

By gaining six months in office last year, Herseth moved ahead of this year's freshman class of lawmakers and was given a larger office suite, gaining an extra 200 square feet but losing a window that gave her a view of the U.S. Capitol.

It was a trade-off she was willing to make, and the new office feels more like home, Herseth said.

"All of us have a little more elbow room, and we feel like we know we're here now for a full session," she said. "After the June election, things were a little hectic."

Hectic and uncertain enough that Herseth did not take the time to look for housing in Washington. Instead, she rented a motel room until recently acquiring an apartment.

Her new office in the Cannon Building is hardly spacious, but it is adequate. It also is a notch above offices given many of the true freshmen in the House.

"We got grouped with last year's class for seniority," said Russ Levsen, Herseth's press secretary.[...]

"I'm very pleased that 2005 doesn't include a campaign, and I'm sure most South Dakotans would agree with me," Herseth said, laughing.

"It's not in my personality to ever feel like I can take a break and relax," she said. "But now I've got time to breathe and develop a long-term strategy for advancing my legislative initiatives."

Herseth plans to focus on agriculture, American Indians, veterans, economic development and renewable fuels.

From the Indy Star:

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh described Sunday's elections in Iraq as one step in a long and difficult process that he's not convinced the Bush administration can handle.

"If this democracy is going to flourish and not wither in the Iraqi sun, it's going to take leadership that understands some of the subtleties and some of the difficulties that we face," Bayh said Sunday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "I'm concerned, given some of the past mistakes, whether this leadership team will be capable of that."

Bayh was invited on the show as arguably the most noteworthy of 13 senators -- all Democrats -- who voted against the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state last week.

Bayh was one of the earliest Democratic supporters of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, and pundits view his vote against Rice as a move to make his position on Iraq more acceptable to the core of the Democratic Party in case Bayh decides to run for president in 2008.

Bayh told ABC he would not "rule anything out or in" for '08. And he said his vote against Rice -- who he called one of the main architects of the administration's policy errors -- was about "principle, not about politics."

"I feel a special responsibility, as someone who believes that deposing Saddam (Hussein) was the right thing to do . . . to make sure that we have the kind of leadership that is secure enough and mature enough to acknowledge errors," Bayh said. "Why? So that we can do better and that we can win."

Bayh said in December that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign because of mistakes in Iraq.[...]

Bayh said Sunday that he does not support Bush's proposal allowing workers to divert part of their Social Security taxes to private accounts -- a restructuring Bush views as a priority.

Bayh also opposed a change to the formula for Social Security benefits so that they would rise with inflation instead of wages. That change would cause Social Security benefits to grow more slowly and could help extend the life of the trust fund, which is expected to run out of money by 2042. At that point, Social Security taxes paid by workers would finance only 73 percent of the benefits promised to retirees.

Bayh said he doesn't have a solution, but said he wouldn't call it a crisis, as Bush has.

This is bad. Tom Ridge is resigning and now nominee #2 is being doubted.

On Nov. 28, 2001, then-Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff took a seat before a Senate committee and offered reassurance on two fronts: The Justice Department was unrelenting in pursuit of terrorists. And none of its tactics had trampled the Constitution or federal law.

Every detainee has been charged, Chertoff told the senators. Every detainee has a lawyer. No one is held incommunicado.

"Are we being aggressive and hard-nosed? You bet." Chertoff leaned into the microphone. "But let me emphasize that every step that we have taken satisfies the Constitution and federal law as it existed both before and after September 11th."

Out of the Fainthearted Faction

Senator Bayh is out of the Fainthearted Faction and I am very relieved to hear that. This is a key move for the Senator in my mind.

Here is the transcript from This Week:
STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Let's turn, then, to the president's agenda. In his State of the Union address Wednesday, of course the focus is going to be Iraq and Social Security reform.
And a lot of Democrats are wondering where you stand on Social Security reform. You've supported President Bush on his tax cuts. Let me ask you about these Social Security reform proposals, and there are three answers that could be: yes and no (ph).

Number one, would you support diverting the payroll tax into individual accounts?

BAYH: No, I would not, George.

And, look, the president is probably going to talk a lot about ownership and individual choice. I think those are great concepts, and I can support those -- but in addition to the current Social Security system, not as a replacement for it.

Look, you may own your home; a lot of Americans do. I bet you have insurance. Ownership and insurance have to go hand in hand.

Social Security is the insurance. Senior citizens in our country can always rely on it to make sure they're not desperately poor in their old age.

Should we have ownership and choice in addition to that? Yes, we should. But we should never do anything to undermine that insurance. That is one of the bedrock principles of our country.
-----------------
Was this enough to get the Senator out of the Faction? Josh's remarks

There was some further discussion of Social Security between the two men. One point Bayh raised was the possibility of a form of 'means testing' at the very high-end of the income scale, though it was framed around the question of whether benefits are indexed to wages or inflation. In any case, the whole exchange pointed clearly to the fact that Bayh just handed in his membership card in the Fainthearted Faction.

See the new updated Faction list here.
-- Josh Marshall

Sunday, January 30, 2005

I thought I would be first

I thought I would have been banned for being pro-DLC but it turns out if you question Kos, you end up getting banned.

A look at 2008

An Early Eye on 2008.

Have a fun night. I'm studying all evening until American Dreams at 8 PM while listening to the beat of Bob Dylan, Bobby Darin, Bob Seger, etc.

Bill O'Reilly's picture in my telecommunications book? Give me a break.

The Tonight Show

I just want to state that this past Thursday marked the one year anniversary of the death of Jack Paar, former host of The Tonight Show. The Tonight Show was briefly named The Jack Paar Show from 1959-1962.

History of The Tonight Show:
Steve Allen hosted from September 27, 1954 to January 1957.
Ernie Kovacs hosted on Mondays and Tuesdays from October 1, 1956 to 1957.
Jack Paar hosted from July 1957 to March 30, 1962, where the format switched from variety to talk. (He left for a few weeks but came back in 1960).
Johnny Carson hosted from October 2, 1962 to May 22, 1992.
Jay Leno started May 25, 1992 and is scheduled to end in 2009.
Conan O'Brien starts when Jay leaves in 2009.

On May 12, 2003, Leno and Today co-host Katie Couric traded spots for a day.

Other than Rob Smigel, who else is in the running as host of Late Night?

They Said it, Not Me

I am writing an argumentative essay on why Johnny Carson is the best host of all time in late night comedy.

It's good to see Congressman Ben Chandler in agreement with me on this. James Carroll's Notes from Washington:

Inauguration objection
While Democrat Chandler was praised by his GOP colleagues for giving them extra tickets for the Bush inauguration on Jan. 20, the congressman was upset over the cost and scale of the celebration.

"We are in the middle of a war, and we have the largest deficit in the history of this country," Chandler said in an interview last week. "I think it sends the wrong signal to do all this partying."

Also, in the notes is a recap from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

On Comedy Central
Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, had a little fun last week at McConnell's expense, and at the expense of the new secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice.

Stewart reported on the Senate debate over Rice's confirmation, saying, "Republicans like Kentucky's Mitch McConnell were quick to defend Rice with trivia."

On came a clip from McConnell's remarks on the Senate floor: "Her parents aptly named her Condoleezza, after the Italian musical term 'con colcezza,' which is a direction to play 'with sweetness.'"

Stewart picked up from there: "Her last name is a starchy side dish, often served with beans. I vote yes."

Iraqi Elections

Too close to call, my sources say. The exit polls are showing a marginal percentage difference of .5% between former USA Vice President Al Gore, Jr. and almost-Republican-but-still-a-Democrat from Georgia Senator Zell Miller. It's still close to call as to who won. Senator Miller caused riots at the 5 conventions he spoke at when delivering the keynote addresses. One sources says "It was so great he made us start dancing for joy."

Should be interesting.

Morning Update

I went to bed at 1:40 and was not up in time to watch This Weeek with George Stephanopoulos. I'm sure I spelled that wrong. Many Democrats want to save social security and Senator Evan Bayh is one of them. This comes in from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:

If Bush’s plan involves diverting money from the Social Security trust fund, it likely won’t get Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh’s support.

Bayh said he favors ways to encourage people to save more and is open to the idea of “having accounts in addition to Social Security funded by some other source.”

But taking money out of the system is too risky, he said, especially for people who rely solely on Social Security for their retirement income.

“Social Security is the bedrock. We want to maintain that guarantee,” Bayh said.

Jon Stewart puts his show on the road. He performed recently in Hartford.

Stewart's transition from straight-up comedian to comic social commentator and "anchor" of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" put him on a collision course with news-channel celebrity pundits. It was only a matter of time until he clashed with the likes of Tucker Carlson, on CNN's shout party, "Crossfire."

It happened in October. The conservative Carlson took a shot at the liberal Stewart for not asking tough questions when John Kerry visited on "The Daily Show." Stewart suggested that if "Crossfire" wanted to compare itself to a comedy show, maybe it should aspire to something higher, like "Seinfeld." Stewart also called Carlson a certain nickname for a male body part.[...]

While clearly leaning left (with most of his audience), Stewart lamented the lame state of Democratic leadership, including less-than-dynamic Kerry. U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman was another target.

"Even when he's enthusiastic," Stewart said of Lieberman, "it's like Droopy Dog running for president."

Still, he'd just as soon not see a Jewish president, Stewart said — "We're blamed enough as it is."

He's clearly not for Senator Russ Feingold.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California does watch NBC's Saturday Night Live. From the Indy Star:

Maybe character actor Paul Giamitti got bypassed for an Oscar nomination because the academy saw his portrayal of Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., on "Saturday Night Live."

Giamitti, who stars in the hit movie "Sideways," wore a gray wig but didn't shave off his beard when he played Lugar in a skit of the Senate confirmation hearings for Rice to become secretary of state.

The skit's main joke was Sen. Boxer's use of various props -- including a "lie volcano" -- to accuse Rice of having made false statements about Iraq.

Giamitti, as Lugar, tried to get Boxer to speed things along so he can attend inauguration parties and make the curtain for a showing of "The Lion King."

The real Boxer told Lugar he had to see a video of the skit, and by midweek he had.

So what did he think?

"He was laughing very hard," said spokesman Andy Fisher.

Senator Bayh makes the news with his vote against Condoleezza Rice in the Indy Star:

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., says his vote against making Condoleezza Rice secretary of state should not be viewed as an indication that he plans to run for his party's nomination for president in 2008. But that's how it's being viewed.

The online political journal "The Hotline" wrote about Bayh's vote under the headline: "Bayh the way, I'm still a Democrat."

Congressional Quarterly noted that Bayh isn't usually found in the company of such liberal Democratic stalwarts as Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, some of the 12 other senators who opposed Rice's confirmation.

The Washington Post noted that Bayh is "a possible presidential candidate in 2008 who voted to authorize the war."

Even the Christian Coalition of America singled out Bayh in a news release criticizing the 13 "no" voters. The group said it "condemns left-wing senators -- and a moderate running for president -- for their prejudice against successful American conservative minorities."

Late Night with Conan

Will Robert Smigel take over Late Night when Conan O'Brien moves to The Tonight Show? There's a good possibility so how will he do both him and Triumph at the same time?!? I did some searching through the countless pages on the internet and parked myself at Wikipedia and couldn't believe my eyes:

From the show's inception until May 2000, Andy Richter served as cohost alongside Conan O'Brien. O'Brien is currently the sole host of the show and is scheduled to leave in 2009 to take over The Tonight Show. Various sources have hinted towards comedy writer Robert Smigel as the replacement for Conan's 12:30 slot, with NBC possibly trying to repeat the success they had with Conan of ushering in another relatively unknown writer to the Late Night circuit, although nothing has been confirmed.[...]

In 1993, O'Brien replaced David Letterman, long time host of the Late Night with David Letterman, when Letterman left NBC to host the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. Since Letterman's new program was similar to his NBC show, many sources consider O'Brien's program to be a new and separate entity, although it is technically a continuation of Letterman's Late Night.

O'Brien's comic style was influenced greatly by the absurdist farce of Monty Python and the physical comedy and wild vocalizing of Robin Williams. Like his Late Night predecessor, David Letterman, O'Brien's humor also has a streak of biting sarcasm. O'Brien often playfully chides his audience for underwhelming or overly enthusiastic response to his jokes.

The show's first three years under O'Brien were generally considered mediocre, but by 1996 he had found his comic voice and it quickly returned to the cult status it had enjoyed under Letterman's tenure.

I'm relatively unknown and I'll be 25 in the fall of 2009. I'll have plenty experience behind a desk by then depending on when I take over the as-yet-to-be-named-late-night-comedy-show-at-NKU.

NBC doesn't own Johnny!

When NBC aired the tribute to the late Johnny Carson this past Monday on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, they had to contact someone in Kansas to get the tapes to compile clips. It turns out Carson Productions owns the rights for at least 21 years worth of footage so they have the tapes. When NBC wanted to put together a tribute to Johnny Carson after he died last week, a call was made to Hutchinson.

The tapes that were needed were stored in Underground Vaults and Storage in Hutchinson, where about 5,000 tapes from "The Tonight Show" have been stored for 10 years.

Carson's nephew, Jeff Sotzing, called on Monday, the day after Carson died, to say that the tapes were needed in Burbank, Calif., as soon as possible, said Margaret Easter, vice president for sales with Underground Vaults and Storage.

Five tapes were retrieved and Wichita's NBC affiliate transmitted them to Burbank. The tapes were immediately returned to the former salt mine.

The clips were used in a tribute that Jay Leno paid to Carson on "The Tonight Show" Monday night.

Carson Productions, of Santa Monica, Calif., controls the rights to all "The Tonight Show" tapes recorded from 1971 to 1992.[...]

"The Carson Film Library is in a pristine, locked, secure, undisclosed location," Easter said. "It's environmentally sound and temperature- and humidity-controlled."

Undisclosed location? With Dick Cheney? The locked box?

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Jewriffic?!? Your moment of Zen

Some of this comes via Marty at American On Line:

On the November 10, 2003 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Will Ferrell was out promoting Elf, his Yuletide-themed film. "I loved this movie, and I'm a Jew," Stewart said. To which Ferrell responded: "Not only are you a Jew, you're Jewriffic." And a term was born."

I went over to the link and found out from Jewsweek that the

Best magazine with a Jew on the cover (besides ours, of course):
The February issue of Esquire featuring the lovely Scarlett Johansson. Yes, she's Jewish.

Interesting. Most interesting.

Scott Blakeman may be the reason how Jon Stewart got his start. Scott is a political comedian as well.

E.J. on John Edwards

Is former Senator John Edwards trying to get back in the fray? E.J. Dionne writes in the Washington Post:

Edwards is well positioned to offer Third Way 3.0. He's a young southerner, a working-class kid made good whose dad was a deacon in his church. He speaks admiringly of Clinton's skills, particularly the former president's ability to make others feel that he identifies with their struggles.

But Edwards's instincts tell him that tepid politics are exactly what the Democrats don't need now. "I don't think this is about moderate, conservative, liberal," he says. "Americans are looking for strength, an idealistic strength. They want to know what we'd do on Day One if we ran the country."

Moral issues matter, Edwards says, but Democrats won't look moral by getting into a bidding war over how often they can invoke the name of G-d. Instead, Democrats should speak with conviction about an issue that has always animated them: the alleviation of poverty. "I think it is a moral issue; it's something we should be willing to fight about and stand up for," he says.

Those who counsel caution, he says, would let calculation push Democrats away from their historical commitments. "They think it's associated with some political label," he says, carefully avoiding the L-word himself. "They think that a lot of people who live in poverty don't vote and don't participate and so they don't think there's a lot of political capital there."

Edwards, who is planning to set up a center to study ways to alleviate poverty, is enough of a politician to insist that he wants to advocate not only on behalf of the destitute but also for those just finding their footing on mobility's ladder. But he offers the unexpected claim that the very voters who have strayed from the Democrats would respond forcefully to the moral imperative of aiding the poor.

"The people who love their guns and love their faith, they care about this," Edwards says. "There is a deep abiding feeling of moral responsibility people have about those who are doing everything right and are still having a hard time."

I like John Edwards but what hurt him this year is what will hurt him in 2008. He does not have the neccessary executive experience needed to run the White House. He really hurt himself by not running for re-election like Senator Joe Lieberman did in 2000.

On Sammy Sosa going to the Baltimore Orioles:
I could care less. I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan. I will say that my favorite team in the American League is the Boston Red Sox. I was neutral in the World Series.

Boston is doing good this past year. The New England Patriots. The Boston Red Sox. John Kerry. Okay, so two out of three wasn't that bad, was it?

Not a Good Shabbas today

This is a lengthy post so please bare with me. A lot when down since yesterday that needs to be covered here.

What I had hoped would be a good Shabbas and one where I would not be on the computer turned into one where I had to take some precautions dealing with my computer. I hate to delete posts and comments from others but I had no choice but to do so or risk something bad. I believe in the freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, and of assembly. But I get awfully pissed off when I have to violate constitutional rights of others (and vice-versa). I certainly don't like violating other people's rights by censoring what they said. Deals went down and I'm taking the words of my sources for granted. I most certainly don't want a state party that is making deals in the backroom or giving patronage to their supporters. I want a party that embraces the netroots and grassroots. The Kentucky Democratic Party, as I said before, does not have a blog and I don't think that they have the technology to wage modern campaigns.

What's up with President Bush's new Education Secretary Margaret Spellings? Is she going against the gay and lesbian community like there is no tomorrow? Really, who is it for our govermment to decide what programs should be on television. Sure, I support Senator Joe Lieberman for getting violence off television but this goes way too far!! Dobson's going after a sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea?!? Are they serious?!? Give me a break! Will they go after the O.C. and Mischa Barton for her character developing a lesbian relationship?

From the Americans for Democratic Action:

She started her job this Monday and won't even be sworn in until next week and already she's prompted two outrages from us. Who would have thought that Rod Paige who dubbed the NEA a terrorist organization would begin to look rational?[...]

According to Boston public TV station's vice president of children's programming, people from Ready-to-Learn were looking for a series that would, "help children understand and respect differences and learn to live in a multi-cultural society." Apparently, not that diverse![...]

Her assessment is as illogical as it is homophobic. If the Education Department truly wants to promote the importance of tolerance in a multi-cultural society, isn't Ms. Spellings teaching precisely the opposite values to the nation's youth (not to mention adults)?

Ms. Spellings needs to be told that bigotry in any form is intolerable and her objections to portraying families with two mommies is simply that - blatant bigotry.

This administration does not want diversity and it is looking clear that the gays and lesbians in society are, sadly, no longer welcome in the United States of America. Get the government out of the bedroom!

Omaha Reader's reaction to the death of Johnny Carson. How could someone my age not know who Johnny Carson is?

Reaction to our helicopters being made overseas:

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, praised the decision in a written statement, saying Lockheed's victory would bring hundreds of new jobs to its Owego, New York plant.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat, said the determination was "outrageously wrong," and he would raise questions about the fairness of the decision-making process.

"I am committed to do everything in my power to right this wrong," Lieberman said in a statement.

Another Connecticut lawmaker, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, vowed to introduce legislation requiring the new helicopters be made entirely in the United States.

"We're sending our jobs overseas. We're sending dollars overseas, and we are sending our research and our technology overseas," DeLauro, a Democrat, said of the decision.

Virginaia legislative members must hate Governor Mark Warner. They won't even let him run or anyone else run for re-election. It's been 13 years since the first proposal and no one wants the governor to serve two terms.

Is Senator Russ Feingold running for President? Frankly, he's a better candidate for VP due to his lack of executive experience. Who was the last non-Governor or non-Vice President to win as a Democrat and when?

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., told the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County on Friday that he'll decide whether to run after "going around the country" working to return a Democrat to the White House.

In Bush's first term, Feingold opposed the president's policies on the Iraq war, USA Patriot Act, Medicare reform, education policy, environmental regulation and abortion rights. He made clear he was leaving his own presidential options open after a club member asked if he plans to run.

For now, Feingold said, he wants to be "part of the process" of identifying a candidate likely to succeed George W. Bush in 2008. That involves helping to create "national organizations of people to make that happen," he said.

A decision to run hinges on "whether I feel I'll be the best candidate to win," he said, adding, "I'm not going to even worry about that right now."

Do people really get the news from late night shows? Is it really the hip thing to do?!? I watch Nightly News with Brian Williams to get my news.

The UN gives money to terrorist organizations. Where was our vote on this?!?

Like I said, it's a lengthy one so if you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back...

Brownback at World Bank?

This breaking news comes from the World Bank:

Brownback – you heard it here first. Speculation reaches us from a well-placed source that President Bush’s thoughts may be turning to his buddy, Sam Brownback, as a possible next Bank president.

Brownback, a Republican Senator for Kansas, is a prominent Catholic, compassionate conservative and soldier in the US’s culture wars.

His foreign policy is trademark neo-conservative. As the world’s dominant power, he argues, the US has a responsibility to export political, economic and religious freedom.

Imagine Kansas with a Democrat in the Senate!

Johnny Carson died this week and Dave Letterman and Conan O'Brien had reruns?!? Jay Leno and Jon Stewart were all new this past week. SNL is a rerun and won't be live until February 5th, I believe. I wonder what type of tribute they will have when they return.

Ed McMahon went right on with the show.

Friday, January 28, 2005

This Week with George Stephanopoulos

This Week with George Stephanopoulos will feature Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indiana Junior Senator Evan Bayh. This is his second sunday morning appearance since the elections in November. This is from George's recent email:

The voting has begun among Iraqi expatriates and will begin in earnest in Iraq Sunday morning. There, the turnout will be a measure of how courageous or intimidated the electorate is. By any measure, it's an important milestone in a country that hasn't had a free election since it gained independence as a kingdom in 1932. The big question is: What happens next? Is Iraq on the road to democracy or a civil war?

On Sunday morning, Peter Jennings in Baghdad will have the latest on the voter turnout and whether insurgents have made good on their promise to disrupt election day.

We'll then turn to the newly sworn-in secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, for reaction to the voting and a sense of where U.S. policy is headed amid fresh calls for a U.S. exit strategy in Iraq. Rice will fly to Europe and the Middle East next week on her first diplomatic mission. The tensions that have plagued the Israeli-Palestinian divide still run deep, but the new Palestinian leadership may hold some promise. We'll get a preview of Rice's trip.

Then, a senator who was one of 13 to vote against Rice's confirmation. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., a member of the Armed Services Committee, will explain his vote and where the U.S. Iraq policy should go. His name is often listed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2008.

Following the single deadliest day for U.S. forces in Iraq, there has been increasing debate over U.S. policy there. Peter Jennings joins Cokie Roberts and George Will in our panel to discuss the Iraq vote and what lies ahead.

And we'll remember two giants in their fields and a woman who was loyal to the end.

See you Sunday.

Johnny Carson? Woods? Who else?

More Breaking News

Due to phone calls and certain comments made to me, the earlier part of this post has been deleted. Also, I had to remove certain comments made through haloscan earlier the day because pissedoffdemocrat and Pedro got under the skin.

I hope this is my last thing on the matter, and this goes out to anyone considering running for office, you need thick skin to thwart off allegations whether they be true or false.

In other news, Terry McBrayer endorses Donnie Fowler. Fowler, for the life of him, does not seem to know how format a hyperlink from his posts at MyDD.com.

From WKYT:

Back in charge of the Kentucky Democratic Party, Jerry Lundergan wants any naysayers to judge him on performance.

Lundergan, by his own admission, has taken over as chairman at a time when the state's Democratic Party is in debt, and morale among its faithful has dipped.

Democrats have suffered a series of recent political defeats: they lost their decades-long stranglehold on the governor's office, lost ground in the House and have been unable to regain control of the state Senate. Lundergan wants to reverse those fortunes.

"The finances are gone, there's no money here. Now, if my critics want to run the party that way, then so be it," Lundergan said last week. "But myself, as a lifelong Democrat, I'm not going to allow my party to be run that way."

If anything should have been brought back from the 1980's, I'd go with the popularity of sitcoms and some better music. I can't listen to some of the crap out there these days.

Sid Caesar: Sketch Comedy Genius

Before Saturday Night Live, there was Sid Caesar's two shows: Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour.

Who made it big from the two shows? Several people that are well-known. Here are short bios from Sid's All Stars:
Cast Members:
Sid Caesar - Sid has conquered every medium. A multiple emmy award winner, Sid went on to win the Tony Award for the Broadway production, "Little Me," and starred in such classic films as "Grease" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

Nanette Fabray - An accomplished Broadway star, Nanette has appeared on countless TV shows, including "One Day At A Time," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Coach."

Howard Morris - Went on to become Ernest T. Bass on "The Andy Griffith Show," as well as becoming a successful television director.

Carl Reiner - Created "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and director Rob Reiner. He has directed many films including, "The Jerk," "Oh God," "All of Me," and "The Man With Two Brains."

Writers
Woody Allen - "Annie Hall", "Manhattan", "Hannah and Her Sisters"... where do we stop?

Mel Brooks - "The Producers", "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein". Nuff said.

Larry Gelbart - Created the television series, M*A*S*H, wrote the play "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and won an Oscar for the screenplay of "Tootsie."

Danny Simon - An accomplished theater director, Danny was one of the premier writers during TV's Golden Age. Woody Allen is often quoted as saying, "Danny Simon taught me how to be funny."

Neil Simon - Broadway's most accomplished playwright, penning "The Odd Couple," "Brighten Beach Memoirs," "Biloxi Blues," "Barefoot in the Park." He has adapted many of his plays for the screen.

Mel Tolkin - Mel was the head writer for "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." He went on to help change the face of TV sitcoms with, "All in the Family."

Robert Redford's not going anywhere

Robert Redford is staying put for now:

Movie veteran Robert Redford never contemplated leaving America if George W Bush was reelected in November, because he believes in standing up and not shying away from his political beliefs. The actor - a staunch Democrat supporter - was reported to have vowed he would move to Ireland if Republican Bush beat Senator John Kerry to win a second term in the White House. But Redford contends, "It wasn't true... I love Ireland, I have family heritage in Ireland, but I'm an American. I love it here and I'm not leaving just because of some barking dog on the TV. I'm not going to do that. We are who we are and we're not going to shy away from something we need to stand up for."

I love Israel and have family there. Security is good there...

Dick Clark is out of the hospital...I hope he is feeling much better:

Legendary American TV presenter Dick Clark has returned to his Malibu, California, home following a stroke which left him hospitalized for more than seven weeks. The 75-year-old was unable to host his Times Square, New York New Year's Rockin' Eve spectacular for the first time in 32 years - but he was able to watch the show hosted in his absence by Regis Philbin. During the holiday broadcast, celebrities including Madonna, Janet Jackson and John Travolta were seen in recorded messages urging Clark to get well soon, while fans held up 'Get Well Dick' signs. Publicist Paul Shefrin says, "He was very touched by the outpouring of support, not only from the celebrity world but from the people on the streets of New York."

The name's Bond. James Bond:

Actor Clive Owen has become favorite to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond following his Oscar nomination on Tuesday. British bookmakers William Hill have stopped taking bets on who will be the next 007, because customers have staked so much money on Owen following the announcement he's up for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in Closer. The odds on Owen getting to grips with the suave superspy have been slashed from 4/1 to 5/2, with Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor second favorites with odds of 4/1. A spokesperson for William Hill says, "Owen's nomination sparked a betting frenzy from James Bond fans. They feel his heightened global recognition will have done his chances of being the next Bond a world of good."

Chris Rock needs help hosting the Oscars so he calls some of the best comedians (for now) that are out there:

Funnyman Chris Rock has called in some expert help as he prepares to host the Oscars for the first time next month - comedy masterminds Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno. Rock, Seinfeld and Leno met up with American comics Garry Shandling and Bill Maher to pay their respects to late TV icon Johnny Carson at Carson's favorite Hollywood restaurant, Dan Tana's, earlier this week. But the night of mourning quickly turned into a round of quickfire jokes as Rock's friends reportedly helped him create his opening monologue for the big show on February 27.

Not the behavior that I would expect from someone studying Kaballah.

Blocking consumers from suing

Promoted from comments because of the importance! -- Daniel

President Bush, Sen. Frist and the Republicans are pushing a class action bill to limit the ability of consumers to have their day in court. Bush will talk about it next week during his state of the union address, the bill will be voted on Feb. 3 in Senate Judiciary Committee without even a hearing on it, and an opportunity for consumers to testify, and then it is scheduled to be the first bill voted on in the Senate on Feb. 7. Consumers will have a much harder time suing large, out of state corporations under this bill because the Republicans are shutting off the state courts and insisting that all consumer class action cases go to federal court where the judges are much more industry friendly.

Also, Mandy Moore is another actress that can sing or is it vice versa? Oh, well. She's better than Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson.

Kentuckians for Simon Rosenberg

In his latest email, Simon Rosenberg lists more Kentuckians who have endorsed him.

DNC Voting Members:
Moretta Bosley - KY
Jo Etta Wickliffe - KY

Also, joining Jonathan Miller and Ben Chandler is current State Auditor Crit Luallen. Who is Attorney General Greg Sumbo for? Jerry Lundergan? Terry McBrayer?

NJDC Speaks

And I want to know what the RJC, Corey, and the President have to say about this? And why did Vice President Dick Cheney dress down for the occasion by thinking he was attending the eskimo conference?!? That was intended to be a joke at his clothing selection

From NJDC:

Myron Kuropas was selected by the White House to fly to Ukraine with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of the American delegation. Mr. Kuropas wrote in 2000, "Big money drives the Holocaust industry. To survive, the Holocaust industry is always searching for its next mark. Ukraine's turn is just around the corner." He has argued elsewhere that Jews played a driving role behind Soviet leader Josef Stalin's murderous policies in Ukraine. Mr. Kuropas' has demonstrated his hostility towards Jews for some time; Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, explained to the Chicago Tribune, "This is not new stuff. ...If you go back over the decades, he's taken these kinds of positions highly antagonistic to the Jewish people and Jewish interests and causes."

The Knight Ridder news service confirmed that "three State Department officials said the delegation was assembled by the White House."

"It is astounding that on the eve of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, President Bush's staff would not even bother to look into Kuropas' regular attacks on Jews and what he terms the 'Holocaust industry' before sending him to Ukraine with our Secretary of State, to represent the United States of America," said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "His voluminous writings, which repeatedly trade in classic anti-Semitic canards, are easy to find; he has engaged in such rhetoric in countless forums ever since he started working to raise money for the defense of John Demjanjuk.

"This deeply embarrassing incident shows a lack of judgment on the part of the White House and, frankly, a lack of basic competence. That the Bush White House put this man on a plane to Ukraine with our Secretary of State, even as Europe was commemorating the Holocaust, is inexcusable," Forman added.

This President owes an apology to this country for not reading anything other than cartoons!

In the Mailbag

This just had me laughing out the apartment:

The President, the First Lady and Dick Cheney are flying on Air Force One.

George looks at Laura, chuckles and says, "You know, I could throw a $1,000.00 bill out the window right now and make somebody very happy." Laura shrugs her shoulders and says, "Well, I could throw ten $100.00 bills out the window and make 10 people very happy." Cheney says, "Of course then, I could throw one-hundred $10.00 bills out the window and make a hundred people very happy."

The pilot rolls his eyes, looks at all of them, and says to his co-pilot, "Such bigshots back there..... hell, I could throw all of them out the window and make 56 million people very happy."

Weird Search of the Day

"Jerome Armstrong" Biography (Yahoo)

Also, shame on the NKU Student Government Association for failing to send a representative to the meeting held at UK for the Cradle to College Initiative. NKU is one of the, if not the most, underfunded colleges in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

No Codey, Corzine wins

Call him Governor-elect Jon Corzine. Acting Governor Rob Codey (who just attacked a disc jockey) is not running for a full term. Corzine is scheduled to win the primary and the general election.

The decision clears the way for Sen. Jon Corzine to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination without a divisive primary fight.

"It's a shame," said one source familiar with the situation. "The numbers were good. The message was right. What we can't overcome is the money Corzine has. Even if we raised $8 million we couldn't do it. We'll focus on having a good year and getting things accomplished."[...]

State GOP Chairman Tom Wilson said Codey's decision not to run makes things easier for Republicans.

"If Dick Codey's not running, that makes Jon Corzine the head of the Democratic Party and basically makes him governor," he said.

"He'll have to say whether he agrees with budget decisions or whether to lease the New Jersey Turnpike," Wilson said. "He can't hide behind process anymore. He has to deal with the nitty-gritty of governing, which is what we've been waiting for."

Codey is considering leasing the Turnpike to a private company for a one-time payment to help close a $4 billion hole in the upcoming state budget, which takes effect July 1.

Ray LaHood, you've got company! Keyes is coming back for a return.

Rumble is former Republican U.S. Senate candidate/nightmare Alan Keyes is eyeing a bid for governor.

Any other carpetbaggers running?

Before there was Jon Stewart...

...there was Johnny Carson's political legacy as CNN's Judy Woodruff explains:

Before politicians rushed to book face time with Jon Stewart or announced their candidacy on David Letterman or Jay Leno...there was Johnny Carson.

Carson played host to seven United States Presidents and "thankfully for comedy," he said, eight vice presidents of the United States.

Often called "the king of late night," Carson was an equal opportunity needler, mocking politicians from Dan Quayle to the Kennedy family, and everyone in between.

He even gave former President Richard Nixon a second chance at making a television debut.

He welcomed the powerful, making them seem a little more like the rest of us.

"The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson was the venue for Bill Clinton's mea culpa after his poorly received too-long convention speech in 1988.

In just one week, then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton went from being the butt of jokes to a media darling, after his appearance on The Tonight Show where Carson gave him a chance to show some self-deprecating humor.

In no small part thanks to Carson, CNN at the time cited Clinton for the "fastest turnaround ever" on its weekly "Winners and Losers."

But, Carson's sharp wit could also contribute to a candidate's downfall.

As The New York Times reported on Monday, it certainly did not help former Sen.Gary Hart when Carson began including him in his monologues.

"Mr. Carson's jokes about Mr. Hart's extramarital activities were surely not the only reason his political fortunes evaporated in 1988, but they were repeated often enough to have played some part," said the Times writers.

But for the most part, Republicans and Democrats alike appreciated Carson's equal opportunity jokes. And not even Carnac the Magnificent could say where Carson's own politics lie.

Along with his biting humor, Carson also brought grace and civility to the often competitive world of television entertainment and the even more competitive world of politics. And, perhaps that is his political legacy.

I try to be an equal opportunity offender.

Johny Carson served in the navy where he missed tragedy by two days. Just thing had he reported the two days earlier how much entertainment would have been changed. There's a part of Johnny Carson in everyone of us. For some readers, he was apart of their childhood. Sadly, I only got to know him through the clips they have shown on television since 1992. Or through Dana Carvey of SNL as this article reminds me. From Carson to Conan? Who will take over for Conan O'Brien when he moves up to The Tonight Show in 2009 when Jay Leno retires? I'm not even well-known so that takes me out of the running. I don't think they'll move Jon Stewart over to NBC in 2009. I can't even stay up that late unless I'm in the central time zone.

Senator Evan Bayh, a potential contender in 2008, has endorsed a bill that is anti-meth.

Bayh is backing SB103, that would require medicines with pseudoephedrine -- an ingredient used to make the illegal stimulant -- be kept behind pharmacy counters. People would have to show photo identification, sign a log and be limited to 100 cold tablets.

"Your ordinary law-abiding citizen I don't think is going to object," Bayh said.

Charles Krauthammer's take on Rice and Democratic politics:

Regardless of the sincerity of Kennedy's assertion, it carries heavy political risk. Kennedy, however, is long past aspirations for higher office. Among the 13 senators who opposed Rice are some thinking seriously of running for the presidency in 2008. Most prominent are Evan Bayh and John Kerry. And Barbara Boxer clearly used the hearings to raise her national profile. By using Rice to vigorously oppose the war, they all vie for the 2008 Howard Dean role -- albeit played calm and composed -- of unequivocal antiwar candidate and favorite of the party's activist left.

There is at least one even more prominent Democrat who clearly considers that calculation wrong. Among the list of Democrats who did vote for Rice is Hillary Clinton, steadily moving to the center with her relatively hawkish work on the Armed Services Committee, her recent conciliatory speech on abortion and now her unwillingness to go over the cliff in opposing the Rice nomination.

Was Johnny Carson the Frank Sinatra of comedy? Johnny Carson's great-aunt is still alive and they last saw each other 40 years ago? I don't know about you but 40 years is a long time to not even attempt to see family members.

The Great Carsoni I think this might actually say it all about the current late night television shows:

Today's late-night TV still pays homage to Johnny Carson. The format is essentially the same: an opening monologue; banter with an Ed McMahon–like straight man and a colorful Doc Severinsen–like band leader; a few skits and comic bits; interviews with guests who scoot down on the couch to make room for the next guest.

The major late-night players today are like individual fragments of Johnny Carson. His successor Jay Leno has his ordinary-guy accessibility. David Letterman has his surreal humor. Jon Stewart has the political satire (though the pseudo-news format of "The Daily Show" derives from another late-night pioneer, "Saturday Night Live").

Mr. Leno, under criticism for being soft on Republicans due to his friendship with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, felt constrained, like Galileo before the Inquisition, to come out publicly and swear fidelity to the one true liberal faith. "I'm not conservative," he pleaded to Nikki Finke of the LA Weekly. "I've never voted that way in my life." He said he had no Republicans among his writers, some of whom worked as speechwriters for Democratic candidates. His advice to the Kerry campaign: "Make Bush look as stupid as possible."

Mr. Letterman is also openly liberal in his politics, but his barbs are defanged somewhat by his comic style, where everything is presented with ironic detachment. Mr. Letterman manufactures much of his humor, taking a live camera to order something in a delicatessen and inviting ordinary people to do "stupid human tricks." The hip cynicism—a pose appealing to young adults—has its own irony, weakening the cutting-edge cultural elite who can't take their own ideas all that seriously if they don't take seriously anyone else's.

Jon Stewart, of "The Daily Show," does. His format, a parody of network news, gives satirical commentary on current events and politics. Unlike the network anchors, Mr. Stewart is quite open about his bias. Instead of his usual schtick, Mr. Stewart gave a serious critique as a guest on CNN's conservative debate program "Crossfire" as "someone who watches your show and cannot take it." He said the shouting heads are "hurting America."

A measure of hope on the horizon for a return to the Carson-style grounding in broader American culture might be found in Conan O'Brien, who has been announced as Mr. Leno's heir to the throne of Carson as host of "The Tonight Show." Mr. O'Brien, whose show "Late Night" comes on after "The Tonight Show" on NBC, is also liberal politically. And though he makes a point of cultivating "irreverent" and sometimes crude humor, he is a practicing Roman Catholic who sometimes serves as his church's lector, reading the Scriptures in the service. And of all the current late-night hosts, he is the least afraid of violating the tenets of political correctness—unleashing a hand-puppet named Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on French-speaking Quebec.

But none of the current late-night hosts holds a candle to Johnny Carson, as they themselves admit. "All of us who came after are pretenders," said Mr. Letterman. "He was the best, a star and a gentleman." The other fly-by-nights, the crude Jimmy Kimmell and wannabes like Craig Ferguson and Craig Kilborn, just are not in his league. The political commentary has grown more partisan than Mr. Carson's, and the humor more "lavatorial."

And yet late-night TV remains one of the few national meeting grounds. For all of the audience segmentation and the multitude of television choices in this era of cable TV, the major broadcasters still command a huge and diverse audience late at night. Late-night TV is the prime source of political information for 8 percent of the public and a whopping 21 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds. But most of them have never watched Johnny Carson.

Six ways Johnny Carson reinvented television.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Atrios joins the Fray

Atrios believes that Paul Newman will run for Senate in 2006. Now, I ask, who was the last Hollywood liberal to get elected? I see too many Hollywood conservatives in office!

Update: Bull Moose adds his two cents:

Democrats must also realize that this is a fairly conservative country. Self-identified conservatives far outnumber liberals.[...]

As is self-evident, the Moose values the blogosphere. But, despite all the recent hype, the internet and the blogosphere is not a mass phenomenon. At best, a few million people regularly visit political blogs on the right and the left. God bless them. And the internet has proven to be an effective fund raising tool. Yes, the blogs have occasionally broken through to the mainstream media and have broken stories. But most people don't spend the day focused on what the latest word is from the Corner or Daily Kos (and certainly not the Moose, alas). Appreciate the usefulness of the net, but don't over inflate its importance.

The Moose has also observed a certain cannibalistic tendency emerging on the left that is attempting to purge fellow Democrats who don't follow the party line. The latest example is the suggestion on some prominent lefty blogs to run a primary opponent against Senator Lieberman to punish him for his support for Rice's nomination and the war.

Here's some breaking news for the lefty Democrats - you should be adding to your numbers rather than decreasing them. Democrats must be about the politics of addition rather than subtraction. Democrats do not enjoy the luxury of driving centrists and even conservatives from their ranks.

Lefties may have their differences with Senator Lieberman, but he has loyally served the party as its vice presidential nominee and he is a deeply honorable and decent man. Don't succumb to the temptation to become just a mirror image of right wing Freepers. Left-wing cannibalism - an infantile disorder.

Some Joe Lieberman News

What do the Kossacks say now?!?

Senator Lieberman is helping to ensure that D.C. residents get full voting rights!

Iraqi-American Joins Fight for D.C. Voting Rights:

Shallal joined Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (website - news - bio) , D-D.C., and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, DConn., to introduce a bill aimed at giving District residents full voting rights.

"The voting rights in our bill are literally available to citizens of Iraq because of the service of D.C. residents and other Americans," said Norton, who can vote in committee but not on the House floor.

Lieberman said 1,000 district residents have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and three have died.

"Yet to our profound shame, these patriots do not have a say in electing representation to Congress," Lieberman said.

He warned of an uphill battle on Capitol Hill, noting resistance is strong among his Republican colleagues, who control both the House and Senate. He described that resistance as mostly "silence" because "there are not good arguments against it they would dare make in public."

Still, Lieberman plans to seek a GOP cosponsor.

"If I can get one Republican colleague to step forward on this and say, 'I want to be part of this because it's right' ... maybe we can get through this wall," Lieberman said.

He said Republican strategy is to simply not allow a vote on the bill. If legislators don't see the light, he plans to turn up the political heat - possibly by attaching an amendment to the 1965 Voting Rights Act up for reauthorization this year.

Blogshares

Any of you use BlogShares? You can purchase fantasy stock in The Kentucky Democrat!

My rant on Payola, Hillary moves to the center

Armstrong Williams. Maggie Gallagher. Michael McManus. Who isn't being paid [UPDATE: to write articles] by the government?

Hillary moves to the center, Evan moves to the left. Did I not get the memo and missed something?

A moment of silence

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In memory of all the victims of the Holocaust.

Hillary Clinton is Vulnerable

She's not a New Yorker but I'd rather see the primary in the state! The New York Daily News reports:

When Sen. Hillary Clinton runs for reelection in 2006, her opponent might just be another high-profile attorney from Westchester.

Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro is considering challenging the former First Lady, according to political insiders.

Senator Joseph Lieberman is running for re-election. Kossacks are demanding a primary candidate and there is a Draft Dick Blumenthal site already out there.

The popular three-term Democrat has begun hiring campaign staff to raise money for his re-election race in 2006, and he will attend one of his first fund-raisers Thursday night in Washington.

And while he has spent a significant chunk of the last five years running for the White House, Connecticut residents — by an enormous margin — approve of the job he is doing.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month, 73 percent of the registered Connecticut Republicans surveyed gave him a thumbs up — a percentage point higher than the approval rating he got from Democrats, but within the margin of sampling error.

Of all registered voters surveyed, just 15 percent said they disapproved of his work, and 12 percent didn't know or didn't answer.[...]

So far Lieberman has hired four full-time fund-raisers. And his former chief of staff, Michael Lewan, now a Washington, D.C., lobbyist, is hosting a fund-raiser for Lieberman Thursday that is expected to collect about $25,000.

According to his latest campaign finance report, Lieberman had about $312,000 as of last Sept. 30. Historically, Senate incumbents have raised between $5 million and $7 million for a Connecticut race.

Fake news with real success?? Hmmm...

He may no longer be with us but his shows are back in syndication!

He'll be back on television tonight, his old comedy routines are selling large on DVD, and he'll be saluted by the United States Senate.[...]

TV Land, the cable channel dedicated to TV's golden oldies, at 10 tonight will air "TV Land Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews featuring Johnny Carson." It will be the interview that Mike Wallace did with Carson in 1979.

In the interview, Carson discusses his own shyness and his off-camera pastimes, including tennis, card tricks and playing the drums.

Carson's DVD package, "The Ultimate Johnny Carson Collection – His Favorite Moments From The Tonight Show," long advertised in commercials on various cable channels, leaped after his death Sunday from No. 1,590 on Amazon's best-seller list to No. 1.

Nebraska's two U.S. senators, Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Ben Nelson, are co-sponsoring a Senate resolution honoring the late-night talk-show host.

Classic Humor

Does anyone know if there is video footage of the finale anywhere? I might just have to order the DVD's (reminder: penniless college student)

Chris Matthews is talking about Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Jon Stewart delievers commencement speech at William and Mary.

So I thought I’d talk a little bit about my experience here at William and Mary. It was very long ago, and if you had been to William and Mary while I was here and found out that I would be the commencement speaker 20 years later, you would be somewhat surprised, and probably somewhat angry. I came to William and Mary because as a Jewish person I wanted to explore the rich tapestry of Judaica that is Southern Virginia. Imagine my surprise when I realized “The Tribe” was not what I thought it meant.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Is this for real?

In the mailbag today...btw, Jay Leno wants the Patriots winning 85-13 against the Eagles.

DEAR ABBY,

My husband has a long record of money problems. He runs up huge credit card bills and at the end of the month, if I try to pay them off, he shouts at me, saying I am stealing his money. He says pay the minimum and let our kids worry about the rest, but already we can hardly keep up with the interest.

Also he has been so arrogant and abusive toward our neighbors that most of them no longer speak to us. The few that do are an odd bunch, to whom he has been giving a lot of expensive gifts, running up our bills even more. Also, he has gotten religious in a big way, although I don't quite understand it. One week he hangs out with Catholics and the next with people who say the Pope is the Anti-Christ. And now he has been going to the gym an awful lot and is into wearing uniforms and cowboy outfits, and I hate to think what that means. Finally, the last straw. He's demanding that before anyone can be in the same room with him, they must sign a loyalty oath. It's just so horribly creepy!

Can you help?

Signed,
Lost in DC

Dear Lost: Stop whining, Laura. You can divorce the jerk any time you want. The rest of us are stuck with him for four more years!

More votes for the Kentucky Democrat

I've been visiting the site lately. Please don't forget to vote for the Kentucky Democrat.

The latest votes come in for me:
The Kentucky Democrat's comments are usually thoughtful. He doesn't believe in every conspiracy theory that some blogger came up with.

And he is just unbelievably active in always getting you up to date with the latest news.

[does he believe in any "conspiracy theory that some blogger came up with"? which ones? i believe you know. ebw]

Posted by: temporary Iowan at January 25, 2005 07:29 PM

kentucky democrat

swing state project

Posted by: Jamie VW at January 25, 2005 09:16 PM

I'll keep you posted but please don't forget to vote!

Political news for the evening

News from Dr. Ted Schlechter's the Bridge:

Hot rumors: Denise Bentley will soon leave the Metro Council. She is looking for a job in D.C. I also heard
that she may have some legal problems. I hear that Marget Harris and Reginald Meek's daughter are the favorites to replace her.

Jean Marie-Lawson of Bowling Green has the inside track for the Kentucky Democratic Party's Vice-Chair.[...]

Heather French Henry is thinking about a run for Congress. The question is it going to be against Annie or against the newly elected congressman in Northern
KY. Heather and Steve just bought Rosemary Clooney's old home in Maysville.

Tony Miller is considering NOT running for another term as Clerk of Jefferson County Circuit Court. If this happens, Russ Salsman, a long-time aide of Tony's, will be the Dems candidate for this position. Rusty will make a good Clerk of the
Jefferson Circuit Court.

How does Dr. Ted feel on Jerry Lundergan as state chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party?

Jerry Lundergan was not my first, second, or third choice for the Ky State Chair. My first choice would
have been the charismatic Jack Conway; my second choice would have been Ed Hatchett, who is one of the most decent people that I have ever met in politics; my third choice would have been Audrey Haines who withdrew after the nominating committee couldn't decide between Jerry Lundergan and her. The political philosophy of these three people is much closer to mine than is Mr. Lundergan's.

Yet, I have no problem with the election of Mr. Lundergan to the State Chair. This election was a fair and open process. The nominating committee requested information from all interested Democrats. THE BRIDGE contained articles delineating this
nominating process. It also provided the names and e-mail addresses of members of the nominating committee.

I also believe that Mr. Lundergan deserved to win this election. He represents the Stumbo wing of the Democratic Party, which worked real hard for candidates throughout the State. In fact, many of Dr. Dan's key advisors were Stumbo associates. Bill Garmer, the former Chair, was more aligned with Crit Luallen and Jonathan Miller than Stumbo. And, Democrats did not fare so well in 2004.

Who knows, Mr. Lundergan might just be what the KY Democratic Party needs. Like Greg Stumbo, he will get in the Republicans' face. I also believe that Mr. Lundergan's political philosophy represents the typical Democrat outside of Jefferson County and
Lexington. I also agree with Mr. Lundergan that Democrats need to do much better in Western Kentucky if they are going to win state-wide races. Let's then give Mr. Lundergan a chance...

Nationally, Senator Evan Bayh is beginning to look like the presidential contender I want him to be when he joined the brave 13. MSNBC explains:

The big political news in Wednesday’s Rice vote was that strongly pro-Iraq war Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana voted against her confirmation.

“She has been a principal architect of policy errors that have tragically undermined our prospects for success in this endeavor,” Bayh told the Senate. “Those in charge must be held accountable for mistakes; we must learn from them, correct them, so that we may succeed in Iraq.”[...]

Looking to 2008?
But just as likely, it was the next election in 2008, not last November’s, that set the background for the vote on Rice and the one next week on Gonzales.

In electoral terms, Bayh’s vote seemed confirmation that he is running hard for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

“If Bayh is calculating that a vote against Rice would sit well with Iowa Democrats, he would be correct,” said Iowa Democratic activist David Loebsack, who teaches politics at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

“Opposition to the war has grown here as well across the country, especially among Democrats.”

Loebsack added, “There is a palpable concern among activists that Bush will drag America into more and deeper conflicts in his second term. It clearly would behoove any potential ’08 Democratic candidate to be very aware of these concerns.”

Last May, Bayh, who voted for the 2002 Iraq war resolution, said, "our cause is morally superior to our adversaries’," a statement many on the left of his party would find hard to accept.

Intriguingly, the woman who may be Bayh’s chief rival for the 2008 nomination, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, voted to confirm Rice.

Senate Democrats find themselves divided over Rice and Gonzales: 32 Democrats voted for Rice, while only 12 voted against her.

GO EVAN GO!

Fraud in Ohio?!?

The recount in Ohio is proving to be worth it even if it does not overturn the election. Check out Raw Story for the scoop.

1/26/2005
Ohio recount volunteers allege electoral tampering, legal violations and possible fraud
‘Why were there stickers on ballots in Clermont County, Ohio?’

Some of the affidavits cited and linked in this story are still in processing. Watch the main Raw Story page for active links as they become available.

By Larisa Alexandrovna
RAW STORY Staff

Serious new election tampering allegations have emerged from an Ohio county, where witnesses allege that stickers were placed on presidential election ballots, RAW STORY has learned.

Several volunteer workers in the Ohio recount in Clermont County, Ohio have prepared affidavits alleging serious tampering, violations of state and federal law, and possible fraud. They name the Republican chief of Clermont’s Board of Elections and the head of the Clermont Democratic Party Priscilla O’Donnell as complicit in these acts.

These volunteers, observing the recount on behalf of the Greens, Libertarians and Democrats, assert that during the Dec. 14, 2004 hand recount they noticed stickers covering the Kerry/Edwards oval, whereas the Bush/Cheney oval seemed to be “colored in.”

Some witnesses state that beneath the stickers, the Kerry/Edwards oval was selected. The opti-scan ballots were then fed into the machines after the hand recount.

Allegations of ballot tampering in Ohio – which decided the outcome of the presidential election by some 100,000 votes – find particular resonance in Clermont, one of three Ohio counties which saw the biggest increases in votes for Bush from 2000 to 2004. The other counties were Butler and Warren; Warren County had a lockdown after an alleged terror threat that the FBI later denied.

These counties “increased their support of Bush by only a few percentage points each,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Monday. “But in the raw numbers of votes, they made the difference.”

In a sworn affidavit, Clinton County Democrat Stephen Spraley, a retired plumber from Springboro, Ohio, saw the stickers on at least ten opti-scan ballots. Spraley brought this issue to the attention of Deputy Director for the Clermont Board of Elections, Kathy Jones, who is a Democrat. He says he was rebuffed by the Republican Director of the Board of Elections Daniel Bare.

“I had asked Kathy Jones – where did these stickers come from and who put them on the ballots?” Spraley said. “She was interrupted by Dan Bare, and he told me that the board would have another meeting and that is where questions about ballots would be determined.”

Spraley had one of the stickered ballot pulled as an example for the board meeting. Board members, including Bare, O’Donnell and Jones, as well as volunteer workers and county employees, discussed this particular ballot, he says.

“A Republican board member said the stickers were put on election night,” Spraley added. He says Clermont’s Democratic Party chief O’Donnell “said she knew nothing about the stickers.”

Another observer, University of Cincinnati math professor Bob Drake, corroborated Spraley’s allegations. “One person offered that [the stickers] must have been placed on the ballots by someone at the precinct on Election Day, and that no one could be responsible for that… Everyone, including the Executive Director Danny Bare, denied having ever seen them before or having any knowledge of them,” Drake said.

Eric L. Gifford, a Green Party volunteer who was also present at both the recount and the board meeting said that “Mrs. O’Donnell proceeded to nominate this ballot for a vote, and none of the other members would second the vote. The ballot was then counted for Bush.”

Jeanine Tater, a California resident who had volunteered to observe in Ohio on behalf of the Democratic Party, stated in her affidavit “a Kerry witness named Steve [Spraley], discovered white oval shaped stickers on some of the ballots during the 3 percent hand count. I personally observed these stickers during the machine recount.”

This will certainly be interesting. Every legal vote should count.

Howard Dean for Senate 2006

This was in the comments of a diary I had on MyDD:

Go Dick Durbin! (none / 0)

Jeffords too, who, word is here in VT, is not going to run again.

by Jerome Armstrong on Wed Jan 26th, 2005 at 04:02:49 PM EST

So how does Howard Dean for Senate sound? It sounds darn great to me! If Governor Dean does not run, will Congressman Bernie Sanders run?

If Senator Jeffords retires, I will endorse former Governor Howard Dean for Senate in 2006.

No on Gonzales (AGAIN)

I hope someone that knows Senator Lieberman can reach out to him. I know there are a few of you out there. I would be truly disappointed in Senator Joe Lieberman if he votes to confirm Al Gonzales for Attorney General.

The following was in reply to a comment I made somewhere on Daily Kos:

I think if we really concentrate on reminding Joe about this week being the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it can reach his conscience.

Tried with my email to him on Rice, but that failed. Not giving up, though...will email him again when Gonzales comes up.

"It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence." Martin Luther King, Jr.

by grannyhelen on Wed Jan 26th, 2005 at 15:44:46 PST

Al Gonzales wrote the memo that said to ignore the Geneva convention. Please tell Senator Lieberman to take advice from Sen. Bayh and vote against Al Gonzales.

The 13 Good Guys

For the first time that I can recall, I am disappointed in both Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator Russ Feingold.

Here are the 13 Good Guys (and Gals) to vote against the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice:
Daniel Akaka (D-HA)
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Robert C. Byrd (D-WV)
Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Jim Jeffords (I-VT)
Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
John Kerry (D-MA)
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Jack Reed (D-RI)

Why did the Democrats one would expect to vote against Condoleezza Rice vote in favor of her confirmation? Senator Bayh has increased his stock with regards to a run in 2008

Rise of the Empire

So it begins.

Here is my original post dealing with Star Wars and reality.

The Senate Judiciary Commitee panel voted to send Al Gonzales name to the floor of the Senate. The vote was on party lines.

divided Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) on Wednesday approved Alberto Gonzales as U.S. attorney general, rejecting concerns about his role in formulating administration policies blamed for contributing to the torture of suspected terrorists.

On a party-line vote of 10-8, the Republican-led panel sent President Bush's nomination of Gonzales to become the nation's highest ranking lawman to the full Senate for anticipated confirmation, possibly as early as next week.

Gonzales, now Bush's White House counsel, would replace John Ashcroft, who submitted his resignation after Bush was elected to a second term in November.

The United States should not use torture to get the truth out of detainees. Another reference that I forgot in my original post. Governor Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader use a probe droid on Princess Leia to find out where the rebel base is. She does not tell them where the base is. She gives a different answer.

I want the terrorists gone as much as the Republicans do but there has to be ways other than torture. I don't care if Al Gonzales is pro-choice. Although Roe may be at stake in these next few years, whats more important is how we are seen in the world. We are already at war in Iraq and Afghanistan (where is that schmuck anyway? We had him cornered and outsourced the job to the people fighting against us just days before!!!)

Tell the President to get our troops out of Iran:

Even as matters go from bad to worse in Iraq, there is increasing evidence that the Bush administration has already begun military incursions into an additional ten countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Most prominent among these countries is Iran, where the stated goal appears to be identifying targets related to Iran's nuclear program that could be subject to a preemptive attack.

According to an explosive article by renowned investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, President Bush has signed a series of executive orders and Presidential findings authorizing the Pentagon to send in reconnaissance teams into a number of countries to prepare for military action. Underlying the mission in Iran appears to be the prediction that an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would lead to regime change, throwing out the fundamentalist mullahs who largely control the country. The only analysts who share this view also predicted that our troops occupying Iraq would be greeted with flowers.

The human, financial and moral costs of attempting regime change in Iran through a preemptive military strike are likely to dwarf those we are already suffering from Iraq.

These are dark times and Democrats must use Jedi-like instincts to prevail. With the brain that President Bush has, he can easily succomb to the mind tricks.

In 2008 election news, people are registered Bill Richardson for President domain names on the internet. Bill Richardson has nothing to do with it at all, it appears.

More Entertainment and Political News

Monday's tribute was 4th in the ratings!

Monday's Tonight Show With Jay Leno on NBC, which was a tribute to Johnny Carson, yielded the fourth-highest ratings for that show since it began in 1992, according to numbers gathered from Nielsen's local markets. The broadcast featured highlights from Carson's Tonight show run, as well as appearances by Ed McMahon, Don Rickles and Bob Newhart. David Letterman's Late Show, which might have offered a tribute, was a repeat on Monday night. Unlike the overnight ratings for prime-time programs, the complete results for the Tonight show, including the number of viewers, will not be available until next week.

Just to think, Paris Hilton would have been on. For the life of me, I just don't understand how a hotel heiress gets her own show when she can't even act worth a darn. She's worse than Hilary Duff who can't even act at all. She only has one character that she portrays over and over. Advice to Hilary Duff: Improvisation!

Rolling Stone pays tribute to Johnny Carson. Park Overall remembers Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson was remembered at the Oscar nomination announcements.

"I want to say on behalf of all of us at the Academy, to the man who was our voice for so many years on the Academy Awards, Johnny Carson, goodnight and sleep well," said Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Carson was ringleader of the Oscar broadcast repeatedly in the 1970s and 1980s, and along with the late Bob Hope, was considered one of the program's most capable hosts.

Bob Hope: Or as I calll it--Passover.

If you didn't think that Johnny Carson was generous, think again after reading this!

Carson gave back to Corning three years ago when kids there complained there was no place to play. Parents wrote Carson for help to build a new skate park, and they got it. "I had to look at the zeros. At first, I thought $7,500. No, it was $75,000. We were shocked, shocked to death, it was great," one parent remembers.

Thanks to Johnny Carson, Corning opened the Carnac Family Skatepark, named after Carson's famous Tonight Show character, "Carnac The Magnificent".

SNL is gearing up for a new anniversary show following Lorne Michael's contract extension.

NBC will celebrate “Saturday Night Live” with the two-hour special on “Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live” on Feb. 20.

The special will look at the franchise’s nascent years and will feature new interviews with Michaels; original stars, including Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris; and the early hosts such as Candice Bergen, Elliot Gould, Buck Henry, Eric Idle, Steve Martin, Penny Marshall and Lily Tomlin.

NBC also plans to air classic shows from those first five years in the “All-Night” time slot after “SNL” on Sunday mornings.

The Blues are Back!?!

The classic-soul cover band the Blues Brothers, featuring Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi, will don their trademark sunglasses for a concert at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Caesars in Atlantic City. The show is a benefit for the Positive Impact Foundation, devoted to using positive images to bolster self-esteem among New Jersey youths. PIF founder Joe Piscopo -- like Aykroyd and Belushi, a "Saturday Night Live" alumnus -- will host.

Piscopo created PIF in 1997, the same year that Belushi began co-fronting the Blues Brothers with Aykroyd (who originally partnered with Jim's late brother, John). In their original incarnation, the goofy R&B group had some unlikely hit singles (1979's "Soul Man") and persuaded stars like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and James Brown to cameo in their boisterous 1980 movie, "The Blues Brothers."

Does Johnny Carson want his house sold on ebay?

Is Evan Bayh running for President?

Bayh's criticism of the war's handling suggests his interest in running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, said Thomas Mann, a political scientist at the Brookings Institution.

"Defending the Bush administration's record on Iraq is the kiss of death for a Democratic presidential candidate," Mann said.[...]

But Bayh said the mistakes in Iraq couldn't be ignored. In his view, they include not planning for the aftermath of the war, not having enough U.S. troops, disbanding the Iraqi army and disqualifying members of Saddam Hussein's political party from serving in the new government.

"This is no ordinary incompetence," Bayh said Tuesday on the Senate floor. "Men and women are dying as a result of these mistakes."

Johnny Carson DVD's are hitting the top of the charts. I might buy one myself as soon as I get the funding.

But the longtime host of NBC's The Tonight Show, who died Sunday at 79, remained a shrewd if conservative businessman, friends say, and even in retirement stayed active in one pet project. Between trips around the world, Carson supervised video and DVD compilations of his most memorable bits, designed to keep his legacy alive. On Monday one of those anthologies — The Ultimate Johnny Carson Collection — His Favorite Moments From The Tonight Show (Vols. 1-3) (1962-1992), originally released in 2000 — zoomed to No. 1 on the Amazon.com DVD sales ranking. Four other Carson compilations, representing a fraction of the more than 5,000 hours of existing “Tonight Show” tapes, spiked to top 10 positions on the chart.

Give me a break

Bush edits tapes of MLK speech. Recommend this diary if you use Kos. I clicked on the Common Dreams link and couldn't believe my eyes.

Arguing that the Bush Administration is illegally withholding documents on its plans to cut scenes of gay rights, pro-choice and anti-war demonstrations from an educational video shown at the Lincoln Memorial, People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a lawsuit in federal court today to force the National Park Service to release the documents.[...]

These far-right organizations reportedly complained that brief seconds of footage showing gay rights, pro-choice and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations implied that “Lincoln would have supported homosexual and abortion ‘rights’ as well as feminism.” In response, the Park Service is reported to have promised to develop a “more balanced” version of the videotape that has been playing at the Lincoln Memorial since 1995.[...]

The Park Service has reportedly spent nearly $200,000 making two new versions of the video. The first version is a wholly new video that, according to other Park Service documents, “revise(s) and update(s) the Lincoln Memorial video [including] off-line and symphony picture editing, the acquisition and addition of commercial and public domain stock footage and specialized captioning.”

This June, a second version of the video was ordered. This version would make “three minor picture changes to the Lincoln’s Living Legacy Video. This work includes purchasing new stock footage, edit [sic], mastering and captions for the video.”

“We are simply trying to unearth the history of an attempt by the Bush Administration to rewrite history,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization represents Park Service employees. “Our tax dollars are being spent so that images of feminists, war protestors and gays can no longer be glimpsed at what is supposed to be a shrine of democracy.”

Throughout the controversy, the original videotape has been showing at the Lincoln Memorial, except for a brief shutdown for projector repair. The Park Service has not shown its proposed replacement videos to members of the public and has also resisted requests for copies to be released.

President Lincoln would indeed be a Democrat in today's age. He was a Kentuckian and Kentuckians should know better (those of us who are still blue and voting blue. I think a reason why Democratss in Kentucky have been going red is because of the ethical problems that Democrats have shown lately.