Owner: Nick's Notes URL:http://www.nicksnotesblog.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:20:11 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: The Political World, commentary, and other news, seen through the eyes of a Liberal New York Twentysomething Site statistics:Click here
The Rise Of The Blue Dogs 2007-03-08 02:41:00 The Blue Dog Democrats, a coalition of moderate and conservative Democrats that has grown to 43 members in the 110th Congress has begun yielding a large amount of power within the Democratic majority, but despite the conventional wisdom, they have become strong defenders of the Speaker.The Blue Dogs are ideologically much farther to the right than Speaker Pelosi, they have become some of the strongest opponents of the President's Iraq policy and of reckless spending, which seems to have grown under Bush.The Blue Dogs see their coalition as important, as they have earned nine new members from the 2006 election;Mike Arcuri (D-New York)Joe Donnolley (D-Indiana)Brad Ellsworth (D-Indiana)Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York)Baron Hill (D-Indiana)Tim Mahoney (D-Florida)Patrick Murphy (D-Pennsylvania)Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina)Charlie Wilson (D-Ohio)Of the nine new members, only Murphy in Pennsylvania represents a district won by Kerry. In fact, of the 43 members, only 10 represent Kerry distr
No Dynasties...Except Here 2007-03-07 21:28:00 President Bush wants Cuba to elect it's next leader...a nobel conceptI want to see happens if they democratically elect Raul Castro.Bush said Cuba's future should not be based on the fact that "somebody issomebody's brother."So I suppose that means he's not going to let Jeb run for President...unless, of coure, that only applies to everyone else and not the US, as does most things.
Leave It To The Evangelicals 2007-03-07 19:05:00 The Republicans finally had a chance to get a candidate who would win in a landslide and abruptly halt the party's free fall.Leave
it to the evangelicals to try to screw it up.The rousing support Mitt Romney received at CPAC this weekend gives me poise to believe Giuliani may not have the support of the right we thought he did. I'm not crazy about Giuliani, but I'm sure the evangelicals are not going to let the man who wins everybody's hearts run away with the election if he doesn't believe our government should force gays into the closet, force woman back into corsets and give guns to kids.Because those are the most important issues right now...there's no war gone haywire, there's no healthcare crisis, there's no immigration problem, no, gays, guns and abortion, that's what we should be concerned with. Read more:Evangelicals
SD-Sen: Tragic Irony 2007-03-07 18:24:00 Has Tim Johnson's illness saved his political career? Quite possiblySouth Dakota is to many the GOP's best chance of picking up a Senate seat next year, but the GOP is having trouble recruiting a candidate and in fundraising. Seems the GOP doesn't exactly know how to attack a man when he's down (Quick, call Ann Coulter!)Aside from Governor Mike Rounds, there isn't really a Republican who stands out against the popular Johnson. If Johnson is about to return to work, which is likely before the summer, and fully recovers, his brave fight with overshadow any other issue in the race. Although, I would say that shouldn't be the case, that is the tragic irony.Johnson's vulnerability is not because of his illness, but rather his electoral history. Johnson defeated Republican incumbent Larry Pressler in 1996 by a 51%-49% margin and won reelection in 2002 by a few hundred votes.If the Republicans do not manage to target Johnson and defeat him, they leave GOP Freshman Senator John Thune at Read more:Irony
I SAID THIS WOULD HAPPEN! 2007-03-09 20:09:00 Is anyone really shocked?This is what we warned about, this is what we said would happen. We allowed them to scare the crap out of us enough that they were able to go and do this?Warrantless spying on American citizens is idiotic if you ask me. There are so few, if any, American CITIZENS who are tied to Al-Qaeda that this does not justify spying on Americans.The Patriot Act needs to go...or at the very least, needs to be restructured and reorganized. I can't fathom how anyone can stand for this.They're up to something else, and this is what we got for trusting the government with limitless powers. Have we learned nothing from history? Just because we're a democracy, doesn't mean we can stay that way (see: Pre-1933 Germany)
His Days Are Numbered 2007-03-09 16:41:00 "One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania). "But these [prosecutors] who were plastered across the newspapers all across the country, they will never recover their reputations."Specter believes it's possible Albert Gonzalez won't serve out the rest of his term. This entire administration is falling apart at the seems.Wait until you see the next post.
Cheney Staying Put 2007-03-09 04:26:00 Despite the fact that it's perhaps better for them, Dick Cheney
doesn't appear to be ready to resign as Vice President.Dick Cheney is the gift that keeps on giving. Now one of the most unpopular vice presidents in history and enveloped by this Valerie Plame scandal, his staunch support for the war in Iraq, ties to Halliburton, and contempt for the Democratic Congress and any Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch makes him toxic for the Republican Party.Even should Dick Cheney resign, who would Bush appoint to serve out the rest of the term. It wouldn't be any of the GOP Presidential nominees. None of them are going to want to be attached to this administration and run on their record. For the first time since perhaps the Stevenson/Eisenhower race in 1952, we're going to see the presidential candidates from both parties run from the incumbent President.Former Congressman Martin Frost (D-Texas) speculated on Fox News that Bush would appoint Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecti
How Lazy Can We Get? 2007-03-09 01:35:00 It figures someone from Long Island would invent something like thisI mean, can we get any lazier? No wonder the Chinese are catching up to us.
Guns: Urban vs. Rural 2007-03-11 03:45:00 The DC Circuit Court overturned a 30 year-old law banning handguns in private homes in Washington, D.C. The NRA, libertarians, most Republicans, and gun-toting maniacs are celebrating, while gun-control advocates and probably Rosie O'Donnell cringe.Personally, I can understand both sides of the gun debate...and I think the gun debate is shaped more on where people live and what guns mean in their cities, towns and neighborhoods.I have always had pro-gun control views, and I believe that is primarily because of where I grew up...New York City. Here in The Big Apple, when a person owns a gun, it is in his or her possession for two primary reasons, either A.) To kill someone or B.) To kill someone before they can kill you. Therefore, when we see guns, we think violence, crime, murder, bad neighborhood and equate guns with evil and bad things.Had I grown up in, say, lovely Nampa, Idaho or Grundy, Virginia, in rural country settings, I might have viewed guns differently. Here, in Nampa-lik Read more:Urban
, Rural
Liberal Arguments Vindicated 2007-03-10 21:46:00 The Headline says it allFBI used Patriot Act to invade privacy, intimidate businessesAll it took to do this was to scare the living crap out of Americans long enough to enact this law. There is no reason for this, they did not gather this information. This country has been had...and you can hear the Democrats who opposed the Patriot Act and were called unpatriotic and defeatist screaming a rousing "WE TOLD YOU SO!"I can see right through Robert Mueller;“We strive to exercise our authorities consistent with the privacy protections and civil liberties that we are sworn to uphold,” Mueller said. “Anything less will not be tolerated. While we’ve already taken some steps to address these shortcomings, I am ordering additional corrective measures to be taken immediately.” translation: "Ah, you caught us, sorry, ok, we'll stop"The Patriot Act needs to be repealed, or at the very least, heavily altered. Read more:Liberal
This Is Going To Rile The Left 2007-03-10 18:15:00 Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) caught on video calling anti-war protestors "idiot liberals." This is going to go over well.The truth is, Obey's loss of control aside, the Democrats don't have the votes or the support to end the war tomorrow. Their majority isn't a large, stable one...especially in the Senate. These things take time. It may take all the political capital the Democrats have and the entire 110th Congress to put the war to an end.The point is, unlike before January 4, 2007, we're actually looking to end the war, the best way possible, and not just sitting idly by while the President continues a failed strategy. Democrats are putting the country on notice where Congress stands and where the people stand. They don't have the votes to cut the funding, they don't have the consitutional power to strip the President's authority...but they're working on it.Thank God it's David Obey, a known liberal anti-war Congressman. If this was Ellen Tauscher or Jim Marshall or Joe Li Read more:Going
Nevada Democrats to Fox: SIT ON IT! 2007-03-10 07:57:00 Nevada Democrats
decided, in an unpopular, yet good faith decision to hold a Democratic Presidential debate in Reno in August moderated by Fox News.Despite Fox's spineless attacks on anything Democratic, they still agreed to do it...until now...why?Well, the CEO of Fox News said this;"And it is true that Barack Obama is on the move. I don't know if it's true that President Bush called (Pakistani President Pervez) Musharraf and said, 'Why can't we catch this guy?' " It sounds like a jab at the stupidity of the President, but who thinks the dude who runs Fox would make fun of Bush? Even if that was the case, Fox has had a history of attacking Obama. The endless news stories about the fact his middle is name is "Hussein," the name of an American enemy (I distinctly remember another man who hated Americans, he was a King named George,) then of course there was the wall-to-wall coverage of Obama's smoking habit, because we've never had a smoking president before, and who can forget Read more:Nevada
Hempstead Supervisor: A Conservative Democrat on Long Island? Where?! 2007-03-12 03:03:00 Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi has an idea...abandon his party's liberal base.The super genius who decided to waste half a year taking on the most poweful man in New York in last year's governor's race is trying to get his consumer affairs commissioner, Roger Bogsted, to run against popular Republican Kate Murray for town supervisor. The problem? Bogstead is the chair of the Nassau County Conservative Party.The Conservative Party and the Democrat
ic Party usually do not mix. In fact, sometimes, the Conservative Party and the Republican Party don't mix. The idea is smart on paper, take the Conservative voters, who usually number around 7,500 and pull them to the Democrats, and that may be enough of a margin to defeat the Republican candidate in a town that's trending toward the Democrats. Hempstead has been run by Republicans ever since the town's government was formed, but Democrats have carried the county in national, state and even county elections. More than 75% of the town Read more:Supervisor
, Island
, Long Island
Schumer: Gonzales Must Go 2007-03-12 01:13:00 Our own Senator Schumer
is the first member of Congress to call for Attorney Generral Alberto Gonzales
to resign.Gonzales has had a pretty bad week to say the least, thanks to, first of, the recent PATRIOT Act problem; Gonzales and FBI director Robert Mueller acknowledged the FBI had broken the law to secretly pry out personal information about people in the U.S. as part of its pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies. This does not bode well for those arguing the PATRIOT Act does not infringe on people's civil liberties.Then there's the recent federal prosecutor firing scandal. A group of federal prosecutors, all Republicans, were recently fired for "performance problems." These prosecutors complain they were fired for either bringing ethics complaints against Republicans or failing to do so against Democrats...political reasons...not a reason to be fired.Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) stated Gonzales is "better off" if he resigned, while Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) rema
And I Thought We Wanted Them To Stay Out 2007-03-12 01:04:00 Somebody is losing their political clout at the White House...cause this is not how Bush normally is.Wasn't only a few months ago when President Bush wanted Iran and Syria to stay out of Iraq...completely...now they can get involved, but under certain conditions.Still, if Iran sinks it's teeth into Iraq, which is likely since half of Iraq is Shiite and the only real Shiite power is Iran, expect to see some sort of Islamic state form in Baghdad...one that will make us yearn for the days of Saddam.No better way to defeat Islamic fundamentalist than essentially giving them a state...and we handed them Baghdad on March 20, 2003.
The Long Island Death Trap 2007-03-11 18:44:00 The Southern State Parkway is a death trap...this comes as no surprise to those most familiar with it...it's commuters (or former commuters)The road itself is problem enough, winding and curving through densely populated Nassau County and Western Suffolk County...it's only exacerbated by the speed demons who take to it when the sun sets on the weekends.I drove the Southern State between Exit 19 and the Queens border everyday for five years to commute to college. As a freshman and a new driver, the road scared me enough that if I drove after dark, I used the safer, more navigable Northern State Parkway. I used it fairly often to go to and from social events on the island. I never really thought of it as a death trap for myself, but I rarely drove in speeds exceeding 65 mph, especially at night and I was very aware of the people around me and of the turns and sudden changes in the road coming up.I did, however, notice other cars around me flying past me at 80-85 mph, drivers who would Read more:Island
New Blue States? 2007-03-11 16:03:00 States long out of range for the Democrats, may turn blue in 2008.It's usually the case after a two-term president's replacement is elected. States he won the previous election suddenly are in play.In 1964, Lyndon Johnson swept the entire country minus the Deep South and Arizona, but Nixon won a large amount of Johnson states in 1968, some (like Utah, North Dakota and Nebraska,) by huge marginsNixon swept 49 states in 1972, but his party's nominee lost in 1976, with Democrat Jimmy Carter sweeping the South, a region swept by Nixon. Like Nixon, Reagan swept 49 states in 1984, and even though Dukakis did not lose a close race four years later, eight states Reagan carried went to Dukakis, and many more were close.Of the states Bill Clinton won in his reelection in 1996, Bush carried 11 of them in 2000 and 13 of them in 2004. It should be no surprise more Red States in 2004 will be in play than Blue States.Take Colorado, a state where John Kerry received a rather surprising 47% in 2004. Read more:States
, New Blue
Iraq And The Left 2007-03-13 01:09:00 Democrats want to bring an end to the war in Iraq
, that's no secret. They're trying to, they're talking about it, they're exploring their options, which is more than the Republicans ever did in the majority.Many Democrats have come home to realility, that their majority doesn't give them the automatic power to bring a quick end to the war...even though that's what the people and especially many in the party, want.Take the "Out Of Iraq" caucus...made up of 73 Democrats who are looking to end the war in any way possible, including cutting funding. Most of them come from the most liberal of districts where the Iraq war has never been popular, like Lynn Woosley of Marin County, California, Jose Serrano of the South Bronx, New York, and Jim McDermott of Seattle, Washington. Some of the members however aren't the most liberal people. Case in point, Jim Oberstar of Minnesota and Nick Rahall of West Virginia, both socially conservative and overall quite moderate.The "Out of Iraq" caucus
Cheney's Company; Screw You America 2007-03-12 17:17:00 Halliburton is moving to Dubai...a slap in the face of every America
n.I'm not sorry to see them go and I wish they would take their former CEO with them, but for a company to gets millions in no-bid contracts from the US Government to up and leave and go to a country that supported the Taliban until we invaded and has knowingly supported terrorism a nuclear Iran is to step on our faces.Meanwhile, Dick Cheney
continues to spew venom about how the Democrats hate the troops and how they want America to lose, while Mr. Patriot watches his former company up and tell America...Screw
You, we're going to Dubai.Whether or not it's tax related, it's just dick
Hagel Waits 2007-03-12 16:38:00 Senator Chuck Hagel
(R-Nebraska) was expected to announce if he would run for the Presidency today...he's announced he's waiting a little while longer.Hagel would be the only major anti-war Republican in the running (sans a run by Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.)Meanwhile, Hagel is raising money for a reelection campaign for the Senate. Not that he'd need it. He won 85% of the vote last night and unless he faces a pro-war Republican in the primary (which probably would've happened already,) he's pretty much a shoo-in. Read more:Waits
Prosecutor Firings: My Political Mind At Work 2007-03-14 07:35:00 I believe the firings of the seven prosecutors were truly a political move. At least some of them seem to have obvious political rationales in my mind. Here are my opinions on what might have happened here;Bud Cummings- Eastern District of Arkansas-Fired and replaced by Tim Griffin, 37, a close friend of Karl RoveMY OPINION: Republicans hold NO statewide elected office in Arkansas. The only Republican of note in the whole state at the moment is Rep. John Boozman of Fort Smith. Boozman is not considered too strong statewide. My belief is that the White House is trying to build the Republican bench in Arkansas (a state Bush won twice,) and nothing does that better than a 37 year old Republican who could be the next Governor, Senator or could challenge the liberal Vic Snyder for his Little Rock congressional seat. Federal Prosecutors do sometimes run and get elected to public office (see: Rudy Giuliani)Carol Lam- Southern District of California-Fired on December 7th because of "performanc Read more:Firings
Beyond Damning Evidence 2007-03-14 04:45:00 Someone's head is going to roll for this;On March 2, 2005, in an e-mail to Harriet Miers, AG Gonzales' Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson wrote this;To be clear, to put aside the question of expiring terms, the analysis onthe chart I gave you is as follows;Bold= Recommend retaining, strong US Attorneys who have produced, managedwell, and exhibited loyalty to the President and AttorneyGeneralStrikeout= Recommend removing, weak US Attorneys who have been ineffectualmanagers and prosecutors, chafed against Administration initiatives,etc.US Attorneys are non-partisan and loyalty to President and party should not and is not supposed to be a factor in their firings. Among those with a strikeout were Bud Cummings of Eastern Arkansas, Carol Lam of Southern California, and Margaret Chiara of Western Michigan, while Kevin Ryan of Northern California and David Iglesias of New Mexico were listed as bold, they were all later fired. Kevin Ryan had been listed as a candidate for removal as early as Januar Read more:Evidence
9/11 Commission Recommendations Passed 2007-03-14 01:26:00 The Senate, after two months, has passed the bill to implement 9/11 Commission
Recommendations. If you remember, the House passed this bill on January 9, 2007. Like in the House, all 50 Senate Democrats voted aye. (Tim Johnson is still recovering.) The bill won the support for 10 Republicans;Senator Kit Bond (R-Missouri)Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota)Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina)Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon)Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania)Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio)Interesting Note: John McCain was absent for the vote...AGAIN
Yet Another Screw Up 2007-03-13 22:15:00 Doesn't it feel like this administration is always screwing up lately. I've already heard them say twice today they screwed something up. Let's compile a list now; The Best of Bush's Screw
Ups1.) "Bin Laden Determined To Attack The United States"- August, 20012.) "Bin Laden Dead or Alive"- September 2001-Present3.) Saddam's Yellow Cake Purchase From Niger- January 20034.) "We'll Be Greeted As Liberators"- March, 20035.) "Mission: Accomplished"- May 20036.) "Insurgency Is In It's Last Throes"- Summer 20045.) Hurricane Katrina- August 20056.) Post-War Iraq- April 2003-Present7.) Guantanamo Bay- January 2002-Present8.) Illegal Unwarranted Wiretapping- October 2001-Present9.) Prosecutor Firing Scandal- March 2007-Did I miss any?I love how Gonzales admits he's a horrible AG by saying he doesn't know what goes on in the office...so either the AG is incompetent and a criminal...great.It's a sad day when our government's only defense is "I had no idea what was going on."
An Atheist in Congress 2007-03-13 19:17:00 Religiosity is an issue no more if you wish to run for federal office...we at least if you're planning on running in the California 13th district. The district's incumbent, Congress
man Pete Stark, admitted today that he is, in fact, an atheist. Stark told the Associated Press that he is "a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being."Stark has been in Congress since first being elected in 1972, so essentially there's been an atheist elected since then. I believe there are probably more, but they refuse to admit it and pretend to believe in God to appease the obsession in this country over religion. Personally, I think it's worse to fake your beliefs to win votes than to lose votes telling the truth.Anyway, I believe in God personally and can't imagine living a life where you just didn't believe in it, but I don't think it makes you a less caring person or a person to be less respected. I firmly believe the fear people have of allowing atheism to exist (and this goes with h Read more:Atheist
Military Chief: I’m a Bigot, therefore Bigotry is OK 2007-03-13 17:58:00 Peter Pace says homosexuality is immoral, and because the Chairman of the Joint Chief
s of Staff is the king of all things moral and righteous, he must be correct.As efforts continue to end the gay purge in America, it is not helped by the comments of the highest ranking military officer in the country. General Pace effectively likened homosexuality to adultery and pretty much said homosexuals have no place fighting for their country. Says Pace,"I do not believe that the armed forces are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way, not just with regards to homosexual acts"Homosexuality and adultery is immoral, but they overlook torture, abuse and other crimes of war. I think it is entirely clear the reasons why the military feels the need to purge homosexuals. One reason is the same reason why they didn’t let women in combat until recently; testosterone. The military teaches men to be manly and tough, which is great because they fight bravely and Read more:Military
, Bigot
, Bigotry
100 Posts 2007-03-13 16:33:00 100 Posts and counting.lots to talk about today, so stay tuned
Coming In October: Ann Coulter's Latest Pointless Piece Of Crap 2007-03-15 05:33:00 Ann Coulter
is writing a new book...and what is the spoiled rich brat from Connecticut whose idea of debating is to call people names calling her new book;"If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans."Sounds like something a girl said to me in the third grade. Welcome Ann to age 8.I'm sure it will sell millions to all of those who are not interested in learning anything, just interested in hearing or seeing someone agree with their own idiotic views...you know, Republicans.(Two can play at this game, Ann) Read more:October
, Pointless
, Ann Coulter
Is Sudan Next? 2007-03-15 02:09:00 So apparently it was Sudan
that was responsible for the USS Cole bombing.Perhaps now our government will suddenly become interested in the genocide in Darfur.
Sununu: Fire Gonzales, Not Me 2007-03-14 21:18:00 Well, looks like Senator John Sununu
(R-New Hampshire) has finally decided to try and save his skin by asking for the firing of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
over the attorney firing scandal.Sununu is perhaps the most vulnerable Senator in 2008. He won 51%-48% in a controversial campaign against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in 2002, a Republican year, and he was the only vulnerable Republican to vote in favor of the troop surge.So far Sununu has yielded two Democratic challengers. Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchant and Katrina Swett, the wife of former Democratic congerssman Dick Swett of New Hampshire and the daughter of Congressman Tom Lantos (D-California). Last year Republicans were slaughtered in New Hampshire, losing the Governor's race in a 74%-26% landslide, losing control of the Executive Council and the State Legislature for the first time in over a century, and seeing both GOP Congressmen defeated. Sununu must know if he was running for reeleciton in 2006, he would've went dow
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