Republican Debate Wrap-Up

I feel a little guilty that I enjoy watching the Republican debates more than the Democratic ones. The Dem debates are essentially preaching to the choir for me, but at least the GOP provides for some entertainment.

Some thoughts:

• First of all, I think the Republicans proved once and for all that the term "Support the troops" really isn't anything more than a bumper sticker for them. Otherwise, how could you look a retired Brigadier General in the eye, someone who has defended the country for 43 years, and tell him that his service is somehow less worthy because of his sexuality? And then for some in the audience to have the gall to boo him? I've seen some shameful Republican moments in my lifetime, but this just about takes the cake. His being gay obviously didn't affect his military skills, so what does it matter? The "unit cohesion" argument is bogus too, because how do you know that most members of the military are necessarily conservative? And as Sean said, if you're so unprofessional that you physically can't serve beside a gay person even when ordered to do so, then perhaps you're the one who shouldn't be in the military.
  

• I can't decide how I feel about Mike Huckabee. When asked if he would accept the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans, his answer was essentially, "Sure, I'll take your support! I'll throw you under the bus as soon as I'm elected, but you should voted for me anyway!" But otherwise, Huckabee seems fairly likeable, and you get the sense that he's not just using the religion card as a cynical political ploy. I feel that if the Republicans could have all gotten behind him as the compromise candidate six months ago, they would be in a much better situation than where they are now. They were hoping for Grandpa Fred to re-energize the base, but he fell flat. The problem with Huckabee is that he's peaking too late, and even if he pulls off Iowa, he won't win anywhere else.

• Speaking of Grandpa Fred, I loved how he couldn't answer the question about what kind of guns he has in his house. If you only have two guns, how hard could that possibly be to remember? And in general, Thompson stumbled over any question that involved the slightest bit of specificity.

• Is it just me, or did Tom Tancredo basically admit that he's also against legal immigration as well? I know a lot of people who say they're against illegal immigration also say that they favor legal immigration, but it doesn't look good when your Fearless Leader is up there saying stuff like that.
  

• I couldn't figure out if the audience was booing or cheering for Ron Paul. Anyone know? The anti-war message worked, but he seemed to lose everyone when he started going on and on about the conspiracies.

• I still can't quite figure out where Romney stands on anything.

• Duncan Hunter built the wall WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!

• My original plan for the Debate Drinking Game was that you had to take a shot each time Giuliani referenced 9/11. Of course, if you did that then you wouldn't have made it to the first commercial break. It really is too bad that the deadline for these questions was a few days ago, I would have loved to see someone ask Giuliani about this or this.
  

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back To Blount County...

(H/t R. Neal and Mello. For background, see Parts 1, 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 on this story)

So last night, some friends of embattled Judge W. Dale Young held a rally to support him. And believe me, it was NOT a partisan event!

Before the gathering was called to order, Blount County Republican Party Chairman Dave Bennett — who is also the Blount County finance director — said the meeting was called so that Young could know people in the community supported him.

“I think he’s doing an absolutely wonderful job and I’m here in support of him,” Bennett said.

According to Bennett, the room at the Blount County Library where the meeting took place was paid for by the Blount County Republican Party, but that beyond that the two groups had nothing to do with each other. Bennett, as most other’s did, said he was attending the meeting not as an official, but as a private citizen.

But all that is circumstantial, it still wasn't a partisan event! Republican Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham, addressing the Ana Calixto situation:

“Now the liberal left, they don’t like you using those words,” the former U.S. Attorney added. “It’s supposed to be undocumented, or whatever the devil is politically correct, but if they ain’t legal, they ain’t legal.”

Nope, not partisan at all.

Never mind the fact that Mayor Cunningham's characterization of Ana Calixto as an illegal immigrant is, in fact, incorrect. According to the Daily Times from a month ago, her employment authorization doesn't expire until January of 2009. Which ever so slightly undermines that argument. If she has a valid employment authorization, then the status of her green card is irrelevant. Numerous legal experts have weighed in, stating that regardless of her immigration status, she has the right to due process in the American court system in matters like this.

But of course, the only ones who are making an issue of this are those nasty partisan bloggers:

“Judge Young’s not only been attacked by the unfair reporting, he’s been attacked by some of these bloggers,” he said. “And the bloggers that do the attacking — if you ever have time to look at that trash — are always anonymous.

But as R. Neal points out, most of the bloggers reporting to this are not entirely anonymous. I'm not, I've given away enough information about myself on this blog that it wouldn't be too difficult to figure it out if you really wanted to.

And then there's this:

Because Calixto did not claim she had been physically abused, or been subject to threats of physical abuse by her husband, she did not meet the criteria to receive a protective order, and that’s why Young dismissed the request, Cunningham said.

Because remember folks, it's not abuse if it wasn't physical, just stalking and harrassment. Sort of like how it's not rape if she was too drunk to say "no".

To The Comedians

Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you freeped my poll?

Did you really think I wouldn't notice that I got 7 "no" votes within ten minutes of each other?

Did you not realize that I have a SiteMeter at the bottom of this page and can therefore see that you all came in here from Daily Kos (UPDATE: or for some of you, from your little Google group)?

Did you not know that I do all my work between 10 pm and 1 am, and am awake at this time of night to catch stuff like this?

Maybe I'm just obsessive. But I caught it, and I took my poll down. This doesn't change anything, I will let everyone know my final decision on the matter sometime next month.

And to the people who did this, just know that once again, you have done absolutely NOTHING to help your candidate.

UPDATE: On second thought, however, I would like to thank you for upping my hits and page views for the day. I'm on a roll this week! But y'all aren't as fun as the Paulies.

Tortured Conservative Logic At Work

See if you can follow this logic:

The Daily Mail is a newspaper in the U.K. In terms of credibility, it's about a half-step below the New York Post. Like the NYP, their specialties are sensationalism and celebrity gossip.

The Mail runs a story about one woman who had an abortion, and one who got sterilized, under the belief that having children would conflict with their environmentalism.

But according to conservatives, one woman having an abortion and one sterilization means that it's an epidemic, that thousands of women are "sacrificing their babies to the cult of global warming."

Does anyone follow that logic?

ARGH

I don't have any better words for it:

NashvillePost.com has learned that Mike McWherter, son of popular former Democratic Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter, will not challenge incumbent Senator Lamar Alexander (R) next year. Sources say that the Jackson, Tenn. businessman came to his final decision over the Thanksgiving holiday.

This was a costly tease, and not just in terms of money. There were other possible candidates for this race, Bob Tuke and Kevin Doherty, but neither of them were planning on challenging McWherter in the primary. Now that he's not going to run, one of them is going to have to quickly build up an operation and start raising money to run against an opponent who's got several months worth of activity on them already.

And of course, I now have to delete a Facebook group of almost 200 people.

ARGH!

UPDATE: Here's his statement.

Rationalizing Hillary

LeftWingCracker's candidate rankings from earlier today got me thinking about what my own list of preferred candidates would look like:

T-1: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama
3: Bill Richardson
4: Chris Dodd
5: John Edwards
6: Joe Biden
7: Dennis Kucinich
8: Mike Gravel

I know that I'm probably taking the easy way out by refusing to make a choice between Hillary and Obama. But as unlikely as it is, I really hope that the end result of this race will be a Clinton/Obama ticket. I'd add Bill Richardson as Secretary of State, Wesley Clark as Secretary of Defense, and Patrick Fitzgerald as Attorney General.

I hear the arguments. She's cold. Half the country hates her. She'll get the right-wing noise machine fired up regardless of whichever candidate the GOP gets stuck with. She'll hurt us down the ticket. She triangulates. She has too many ties to Wall Street. She's too hawkish. I hear all of that.

But...

What some people see as coldness, I see as strength. When you've gone through what she has, and have dealt with such vicious personal attacks throughout your career, what choice do you have but to develop a thick skin and do your best not to show any kind of weakness? Because if you didn't, you'd be eaten alive in the political jungle.

And although she may rile up the right, she's probably the candidate who's best able to deal with the attacks and the "swift-boating" you'll see this time around. She wouldn't underestimate the Right, she's been hit with their best shots and emerged unscathed, at least outwardly. I've said it before, but my greatest fear with Obama is that he hasn't dealt with this yet. I hate to be so cynical, but I can't help it.

And of course...

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that my support for Hillary WOULD NOT solely be because she's a woman. God knows I would never support a Marsha Blackburn-type. But there's simply no way to avoid the issue.

My mother doesn't work, but when I was little, she always took great care to introduce me to her friends who had interesting or unusual careers. She wanted me to know all of the paths open to me. I remember several different instances in middle school trying to explain to my teachers what "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" was and why my mother was pulling me out of school for that day, to send me to work with one of her friends. I suppose it was her contribution to the furtherance of women's equality.

We're not there yet. Just this past weekend, after telling a (male) friend of my grandmother's that I'm pre-law, I got in response, "Oh great, we need another little lady lawyer!" It took every ounce of restraint I had not to scream.

Electing a woman President would not completely solve the problem. But smashing that ultimate glass ceiling would be a huge step forward.

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However, I still find Obama to be the most inspiring of the candidates. I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to find out who I'm supporting, because even I don't know yet.

Ron Paul--Oy, What a Shande!

(H/t Nigh Seen Creeder via Kleinheider)

I realize I'm setting myself up for this...

"It doesn't SAY in the Constitution that you can insult people in Yiddish! In fact, it doesn't say anything about Yiddish in the Constitution! You can't speak Yiddish in America! You hate liberty! Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul!"

...but I don't care. It should provide for some amusement if nothing else. However, I must say that I do admire the sonar-like ability of the Ron Paul supporters to immediately know when someone, somewhere in the blogosphere, utters the words "Ron Paul", and to swarm that blog in an instant. Say, if I were to light a candle, look in the mirror and say "Ron Paul" three times, would I end up with a bunch of Paulies in my apartment?

But I digress. This is a story that gets weirder and weirder each time I revisit it.

So, initially, the National Alliance got all angry about the emergence of groups such as "Jews for Ron Paul" and "Zionists for Ron Paul." You see, the National Alliance is a neo-Nazi group, and they don't like the idea of their preferred candidate being sullied by the Jew Supremacists! (I'm obviously not linking to that filth, but it's on their website, Google it). Now, before I go any further, I'd like to remind you that while any other candidate would be crucified for not repudiating such reprehensible statements, Ron Paul is under ABSOLUTELY no obligation to do so. Because, you see, the concept of "decency" is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution and therefore it does not apply to Ron Paul. It's perfectly ok for him to hide behind such lofty phrases as "freedom of association" so that he can appease both sides here.

In other words, he's acting like every other politician in the country.

This story would be icky enough if that were the end of it. But according to Nigh Seen Creeder, the whole "Jews for Ron Paul" group is a scam.

The real Jim C. Perry [the founder of "Jews for Ron Paul"] though is not an Orthodox Jew, though he makes a point of dressing up like one until he's virtually a cartoon. He's gay and is currently married to a gay man and a self-identified Churchgoing Unitarian Universalist. Here he identifies himself as a Seminarian. He has another account where he calls himself Reverend Jim C. Perry H.P., M.D.A. (he also claimed to have a doctorate in English which he apparently modestly left off here all at the tender age of 22) and a Pagan Minister. Briefly he appears to have gone Ward Churchill and began calling himself Jim FlyingEagle. (He may have also used James L. Rush and posted at Cherokee Pride as James L. Rushing River pretending to be Cherokee)

To recap--the Orthodox Jewish founder of Jews for Ron Paul is actually a gay Unitarian Pagan Cherokee.

Now, of course it's impossible to say at this point whether or not the Ron Paul campaign had anything to do with it. This Jim Perry guy is obviously a world-class kook. But why would you take the time to do something like this unless you desperately wanted to deflect the charges of racism and anti-Semitism thrown at Ron Paul, while at the same time not pissing off the National Alliance types in your base?

Regardless of what happened here, I think we can now discard the notion that Ron Paul is somehow different from any other politician in the country, saying one thing but acting in the complete opposite way.

Ok Paulies, have at it. Tell me why I hate America.

UPDATE: The story that couldn't get any weirder just did. Apparently, Dennis Kucinich would ask Ron Paul to be his running mate. It's scary to think how Ron Paul would actually be the sane one on that ticket.

UPDATE 2: I've had 60 hits so far today, more than almost any other day since the mayoral election. I love you Ron Paul sheep with your sonar!

Fox News is Biased? No Way!

There's no way this could be true. There's just no way that Fox News could be biased against anyone. They're the "fair and balanced" network! They even have this place where you're not allowed to spin and you can only tell the truth, called the "No-Spin Zone."

So Fred Thompson is clearly wrong!

In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," host Chris Wallace pressed Thompson on how some conservatives have lambasted Thompson's campaign and showed clips of Fox conservative commentators Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes criticizing the former senator.

Thompson said, "This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth." He noted that other conservatives have praised his bid for the GOP nomination and took issue with a Fox promo that focused on polling in New Hampshire, where Thompson is registering in the single digits.

He said he is running second in national polls and has been leading or tied for the lead in South Carolina for "a long, long time."

Thompson, in a firm, but measured tone, scolded Wallace: "...for you to highlight nothing but the negatives in terms of the polls and then put on your own guys who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it, kind of skew things a little bit. There's a lot of other opinion out there."

In all seriousness, Senator, you say that Fox News is biased against you and against people whom they don't perceive to be "conservative" enough? I'll say the same thing to you that hockey fans say to the announcer when he says "We're underway in the first period"...

Thank you Mr. Obvious!!!

Programming Update, 11-20-07

Tomorrow morning, I'm heading out to Brunswick, GA, to my grandmother's for Thanksgiving. Right now, I'm the only one left in my apartment, as all of the New Yorkers have already left. It's a little eerie, but I did manage to get a six-page paper written tonight (in three hours, natch. Three and a half years of college and I'm pleased to report that my procrastination skills are as sharp as ever!). This will most likely be my last post until Sunday or Monday, as I don't plan on bringing my computer with me (although I will have my trusty iPhone if there's an emergency).

So, wherever you are, I'd like to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving! Good luck to those of you like me who are travelling on the busiest travel day of the year, and remember that if your plans involve U.S. Airways or O'Hare airport, be sure to pack a change of clothes in your carry-on!

No Recess Appointments For You!

In a rare show of spine, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that the Senate will officially stay in session over the Thanksgiving recess to ensure that President Bush cannot make any recess appointments during that time:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said he would schedule "pro forma" sessions during the two-week break, even though lawmakers will be absent and no business will be conducted.

**********************

The Constitution gives a president the power to fill vacancies without the Senate's confirmation when the legislative body is in recess. Such appointees can serve without confirmation through the rest of the current session of Congress, which ends in January 2009.

Bush has used the power before to install nominees whose confirmation Senate Democrats had blocked. The most notable instance came in August 2005 when he angered Democrats by naming John Bolton as U.N. ambassador.

"My hope is that this will prompt the president to see that it is in our mutual interests for the nominations process to get back on track," Reid said in a statement.

First of all, I can't wait to see how the Republicans spin this one. "How dare we not have an OFFICIAL two week recess? By not allowing the President to go around the Senate, you're being obstructionist!"

But in all seriousness, if Bush can't make recess appointments, then he'll actually have to make them up front and out in the open. And he'll have no choice but to allow the Senate to advise and consent.

(H/t Hat Thief)

Memo to ESPN

Dear ESPN,

You don't have to repeat it to us 100 times in every broadcast. We get it, ok?

Tom Brady is superhuman. Tom Brady is the Messiah. Tom Brady's touch can cure AIDS. Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer both fear Tom Brady. Superman's only weakness is kryptonite, but Tom Brady laughs at him for having any weakness at all. Tom Brady can win a game of Connect 4 in three moves. Tom Brady never throws an incomplete pass (and if he does, that was simply because he was throwing at a receiver 12 miles away). Tom Brady does not get sacked, he simply puts himself into a disadvantageous situation to make his next three touchdown passes so much more dramatic. If Tom Brady had been a Spartan, the movie would not have been called "300", it would've been called "1". When life hands Tom Brady lemons, he throws it 50 yards to Randy Moss for a touchdown (Tom Brady HATES lemonade!). But really, life usually asks Tom Brady which kind of fruit he prefers first.

We get it. You can stop talking about it so much now.

Monday Night Number-Crunching

According the conventional wisdom, Hillary Clinton is unelectable in the South, and is unpalatable to the Democratic base here. According to a recent poll conducted by Elon University, Hillary crushes the rest of the Democratic field in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina:


What I would really like to know is how this poll breaks down for the Carolinas specifically. Because if John Edwards is that far behind in what is supposed to be his own backyard, he's in a lot of trouble no matter how well he does in Iowa. I believe that Edwards is in a similar situation to Fred Thompson--if he doesn't do well in Iowa or New Hampshire, and then fails to outright win South Carolina, he's done for no matter what happens on Super Tuesday. Putting all your resources into one primary and hoping to gain momentum off of that is just too risky of a strategy, whether it's John Edwards in Iowa or Thompson in South Carolina/Super Tuesday.

Therewas another interesting poll today out of an important swing state, Missouri:

"If the 2008 election for president were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choice were between [see below], the Democrat, and [see below], the Republican?"

Giuliani 39
Clinton 47

Romney 38
Clinton 47

Thomspon 38
Clinton 46

McCain 41
Clinton 46

Giuliani 42
Obama 46

Romney 38
Obama 46

Thomspon 38
Obama 47

McCain 40
Obama 46

Giuliani 40
Edwards 47

Romney 38
Edwards 47

Thomspon 37
Edwards 47

McCain 41
Edwards 46

So as of now, no matter who the Republicans nominate, the Democrat still wins handily. I'm very much looking forward to see how many Swing States swing blue next year!

The Brothers of Phi Omicron Chi

I realize that "Phi Omicron Chi" spells ΦOX and not FOX, but work with me here.

It's long been known that Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and Fox News chairman Roger Ailes are old friends. As Mayor of New York City, Giuliani personally intervened to help Ailes get a cable station in NYC when Fox News was first starting out. Over the last few months, this close relationship has raised questions of whether it would affect Fox News' coverage of the Republican primary (Fox News can be biased? NEVER!).

But now, it appears that the Fox News bias in favor of Giuliani goes far beyond extra Hannity interviews. Former ReganBooks publisher Judith Regan is suing News Corp., alleging that Roger Ailes urged her to lie to prosecutors about her affair with another Giuliani crony, Bernard Kerik....to protect Giuliani.

Regardless of whether this story is true or not, does anyone else see a problem with this? That a leading Presidential candidate has such a cozy relationship with the head of a huge media company, and that no one cares about the conflict of interest in maintaining such a relationship during the campaign?

I'm going to link this whole thing to a personal experience that, when I first start relaying it, will make many of you slap your heads and say "OY!" But humor me, this does have a connection.

I'm in a sorority at Cornell. I know I don't seem like the "sorority type," but I actually enjoy it. My house has a reputation for being made up of spoiled Long Island Jewish girls who only like to get drunk and party (but that's totally not me, I'm not from Long Island. And there are plenty of girls in the house from Westchester and New Jersey, so that reputation is COMPLETELY undeserved).

Right now, we're gearing up for rush. Rush at Cornell is done during the last week of winter break, in the middle of January. Starting from the last day of classes in December until the last day of rush, we're required by the Panhellenic Council to observe a "strict silence" towards freshman girls. Unless we're directly related to them, we're not allowed to talk to them or hang out with them, so as not to gain an unfair advantage during rush. If you break the silence, girls in other houses will accuse your house of "dirty rushing." The punishment for getting caught breaking the silence is pretty severe, ranging from fines to being put on probation.

So, my question is this--why are a bunch of spoiled college girls in Uggs and black leggings being held to a higher standard than a leading Presidential candidate?

I Object To This Resolution Because...

There was a very nice article in the Tennessean today about the YMCA Model UN conference that took place this weekend. High chools from all over the state participated, including my own. For those of you who don't know, in a Model UN conference, each school is assigned one or more countries to represent, and the kids have to draft resolutions and argue them before the General Assembly. The YMCA conference follows this basic format, but at other conferences, like the annual one at Vanderbilt, the kids will be divided into the specific UN committees and will have to argue for their country's interests in that committee. At many conferences, they'll have "crisis comittees" like the Security Council, where you'll have a crisis unfolding throughout the weekend, and the conference staff will change the crisis direction based on what the committee decides to do.

On the whole, it's a valuable educational experience. It gives the kids a chance to learn about countries other than their own and to meet like-minded people from across the state. Really, they get more accomplished at these conferences than the real UN often does.

But in typical fashion, the conservatives couldn't resist a chance to make a swipe at the conference, calling it un-American, and accusing the kids who participated of being brainwashed.

Now, before I go any further, before any Ron Paulies start screaming about how we need to get out of the UN--I'm not talking about the actual UN. I'm talking about Model UN. I really don't care what you think about the UN, but your disagreement with it is no reason to take this experience away from the high schoolers.

But there's another, more practical, reason why you shouldn't take Model UN away from the kids.

Let's say you have a kid who goes to School A. For our purposes, let's call this kid "Ilissa." Ilissa is really sweet and smart, but she's also quiet and very socially awkward. She only has a few close friends, and basically just floats from clique to clique because she doesn't fit in any of them. She knows a lot about politics and current events, but no one else at School A cares about any of that, and they all think Ilissa is extremely weird for wanting to learn all about it. Ilissa is very sad.

But then one day, one of the teachers at School A suggests that Ilissa sign up for Model UN. Ilissa goes to the conference, and discovers that there are kids at Schools B, C, and D who are just like her! She's not weird anymore, she's normal to these kids. And because the conference is centered around something that she's passionate about, she doesn't have to be quiet, but can voice her opinions--and everyone listens! Ilissa has now found a place where she belongs, and she's happy! She goes back to School A and signs up for Mock Trial and Youth Legislature as well. And Ilissa's parents are very happy, because she now has SOMETHING to put down on her college applications!

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The athletic kids have their sports. The "popular" kids have their wide social circles. The artistic kids have their projects. The nerds have their computers and their D&D games. But what do the political geek kids have? Model UN and Youth Legislature gave me something to look forward to every year in the Hell that was high school. Don't take something so valuable away from the future generations of political geeks just because it disagrees with your particular political ideology.

Reports Of The Predators' Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The Freeman group took Mayor Dean's final offer, and we now have a signed agreement between Metro and the investors on the Predators and the arena lease:

"We are excited to reach an agreement with the Mayor's Office on lease changes to keep the Predators in Nashville under local ownership," said David Freeman, head of the local investors group.

The local group essentially signed off on the same terms Mayor Karl Dean presented a week ago.

See here for more details on what those terms were. They got a deal together that doesn't screw the city over--the Predators have to stay here for five more seasons or they'll incur a huge fine, they have to keep ticket prices below NHL averages, and the city will still get half of the revenue from other arena events. As angry as the whole issue made me, I still maintained hope that Mayor Dean would pull this off in the end, and he did not disappoint me.

The best part about all of this? The Predators have gone 8-1-1 over the last 10 games after a six-game losing streak, and are now 10-7-1. Jim Balsillie, meanwhile, is now 0-3.

Also, on Monday, it seems that they're going to have a press conference and a rally at the Sommet Center at 11 a.m. to celebrate the deal. Mayor Dean AND Governor Bredesen will be speaking. Be there if you're in town!

I'm Just Pissing Off Everyone Today

I got in another letter to the Cornell Daily Sun, written in response to this column.

When I was younger, I never outright lied to my parents, but rather committed what my mother called the "sin of omission." I would come home from school and tell my parents that I made an A on an English paper, and leave out the part about getting a C on a Math test (a fairly common scenario for me in high school, but I kept doing well on the standardized tests so they made me stay in the "advanced" math classes despite my grades). What I attempted to point out in my letter was that the columnist also committed the "sin of omission", leaving out key facts that could change one's whole understanding of the story.

And for the record, I'm not defending the whole "conscientious objectors" program, it was probably well-intentioned but ultimately a bad idea. I just wanted to point out how much the columnist in question distorted the story to make it fit his ideology.

The Question Republican Candidates Never Get Asked

I don't have too much to say about the Democratic debate from tonight, I could only catch about the last 30 minutes. From what I heard, I didn't miss much. Two points though:

• The last question was directed to Hillary Clinton, about whether she preferred pearls or diamonds. First of all, I'm pretty sure that if there was a "planted question" at this debate, that was it. Second of all, by saying she wanted both pearls AND diamonds, she waffled more blatantly than she ever has in any of these debates. Senator Clinton, there is only one correct answer to that question--always, ALWAYS go with the diamonds. Pearls are pretty, but diamonds are forever.


• The second-to-last question was about how each candidate would "unite the country" and work for bipartisan solutions. Now, working together in perfect harmony is all well and good, but just out of curiosity, have ANY Republican candidates been asked a similar question at any of their debates? Have they been asked how they're going to work with the Democrats to unify the country? It takes two to tango, does it not?
  
  Of course they haven't been asked that. The reality is that the Democrats are the only ones who are expected to be bipartisan. The Republicans are permitted to call us terrorists and America-haters and commies all they want, but God forbid we fight back--then we're just being hyper-partisan!

Don't Mess With...The Netroots

Netroots Nation, the convention formerly known as Yearly Kos, will be descending on Austin, TX next summer. I was hoping for "Netroots Nation Nashville," but I guess that'll have to wait. I've never been to Austin, but I've heard it's awesome. I can't wait!

Personally, I Liked "DemocraticPutz" Better

My good friend from Daily Kos, DemocraticLuntz, has started his own blog, aptly titled "Hat Thief", after an incident at Yearly Kos where he stole a certain well-known blogger's hat for everyone's amusement (really, if you're so self-centered as to put your own username on a hat, you're just asking for that). Go check it out if you can get through his lists of vote comparisons.

Also, definitely check out this post about how many Israelis, even those within the Likud party, are more in agreement with the Democrats than with the Republicans on Iran.

Symbolic...How, Exactly?

According to MSNBC, the bill just passed by the House that ties $50 billion more for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to a goal of ending combat by 2008 is "largely symbolic."

Symbolic...how, exactly?

Yes, the President is going to veto it. This bill just gives him a "goal", not a firm end-date, and even that's not open-ended enough for him. But just knowing that it's going to be vetoed makes it "symbolic"? Last time I checked, Congress still has the power of the purse, the executive branch hasn't been able to claim that for themselves yet. Congress exercising a constitutional check on the President is not symbolic, it's WHAT THEY WERE ELECTED TO DO.

Does anyone in the media understand the Constitution anymore?

On another note...look at how the Tennessee Dems voted on this. Cohen voted Aye, as expected. But look at who else voted Aye...Bart Gordon and LINCOLN DAVIS! Meanwhile, Jim Cooper and John Tanner voted Nay.

Really, Congressman Cooper? For all your talk about "fiscal responsibility," you really want to pour more money into Iraq without ANY conditions attached? Doesn't fiscal responsibility require SOME accountability?

And it's not like you had anything to risk with your constituents by voting Yes. Really, Lincoln Davis probably had far more to risk, but he still voted correctly. The Fifth District hasn't elected a Republican to Congress since the Reconstruction, you really think this one vote would throw that into doubt?

I just don't know. I like Congressman Cooper, and primarying him would be an exercise in futility at this point. But how else to remind him what his constituents really want?

UPDATE: Couldn't help but notice that our hero Ron Paul, who's going to ride in on his ice cream horse and end all our problems, also voted against.

Putting "The Plant" Into Perspective

Every time I've turned on the news over the last few days, I've heard about the "Hillary plant", where a Clinton staffer allegedly told a student in Iowa to ask about global warming at an event in Iowa, and whether this means that her campaign is stumbling. But I'd like to put this whole thing into perspective.

I'm not defending what they did here, but as someone who's worked on several political campaigns, this is pretty much standard operating procedure on the campaign trail. I've never been on a campaign where I've witnessed staffers directly plant questions like this, but all of the campaigns do their best to ensure that their supporters get into the forums and debates, and from there, they can ask friendly questions. Everyone does this--Democrats, Republicans, on every level of politics.

Does that make it ok to plant questions? Probably not. But it's a non-issue, ultimately. I really feel that the media, after saying for so long that Hillary's nomination is inevitable, finally realized that having a true race is more exciting, and is now looking for instances where Hillary is "stumbling."

But no one is going to remember this a week from now.

UPDATE: Southern Beale makes a very good point in her own post on the subject. The "plant" in Hillary's case asked a substantive question, while the "plants" that were in Bush's audiences asked the worst kinds of softball questions.

Would You Let Hillary Have the Same Powers?

This question was posed earlier this morning on DailyKos, but it bears repeating. To those of you who believe the President should have the right to spy on Americans without a warrant, to monitor the phone calls and e-mails of American citizens--would you feel comfortable if Hillary Clinton were to have the same authority?

It's not really a hypothetical, it's a very real scenario. You, the Republicans, have argued for years now that the executive branch MUST have broad authority to fight the terrorists. But what if the person in charge of the executive branch is not George W. Bush, but Hillary Clinton? Would that logic apply to her as well?

An Offer They Can't Refuse

Mayor Dean has made the Freeman Group his final offer on the Predators:

• Ticket prices for Predators games would have to stay below NHL averages.

• The city would continue to provide $3.8 million a year in operating support for the arena for five years, matching the funding level in 2006.

• The owners would cap the city's liability for arena operating losses at the 2006 level, $3.8 million, plus up to 5 percent a year in adjustments for five years.

• Metro would provide another $3 million a year for five years in management fees, rent reduction and other lease changes.

• As an incentive, the owners would receive half of all arena revenues above 2006 levels for five years, capped at $2 million a year. The revenues would come from sales taxes, seat use charges, rent, food and drink, advertising, parking, merchandising and Ticketmaster royalties. The buyers had wanted all of the additional revenue generated by arena events as an incentive for booking more concerts and other events. They have said that money would not exist if not for the team. But city officials said the 50-50 revenue split would prevent the arena from becoming too much of a private facility in the eyes of the IRS, which could take away the tax-exempt status of the bonds used to pay for the building.

• The Predators would have to pay the city $20 million if they left after three years and $25 million if they left after four years, allowing the city to recoup its $6.8 million a year in operating support and management fees. After five years — when the team could leave if ticket sales were below 14,000 a game, regardless of its financial losses — leaving would cost the owners $10 million.

This is, IMHO, a really good deal. The city doesn't give up all of the revenue from other arena events and gets a guarantee that the team stays here for now, in return for continued support for the arena. I particularly like that first part about requiring ticket prices to remain low...that's going to be the best way to attract more people to the games and keep attendance above the 14,000 threshold.

So now, we have to ask the question. Freeman Group--deal, or no deal?

Jim Cooper, Fighting For East Tennessee When Their Own Congressmen Won't

Congressman Jim Cooper, a co-sponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act, today sent out a "Dear Colleague" letter along with two other Southern Congressmen urging support for the legislation:

I hope you will join us as proud co-sponsors of this legislation.

Mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian region produces a tremendous amount of toxic waste that is often recklessly shoved into our headwater streams. In recent years, these "valley fills" have buried hundreds of miles of our waterways, jeopardizing the health of the environment and the people in Appalachia.

...

To date, at least one million acres of Appalachia's mountains have been destroyed by mountaintop removal mining, and more than 1200 miles of streams are buried and destroyed by waste. The EPA expects that mountaintop removal will double in the next decade.

If Congress does not intervene, we will lose even more of Appalachia's precious communities and culture, long term economic potential, natural beauty, and abundant ecological resources and services.

This mountaintop removal is doing more than just damaging the scenery in Appalachia. It's literally poisoning the water and putting all of the residents there in jeopardy.

Glad to see that Congressman Cooper is doing something about it. It's just too bad that Congressmen Davis, Duncan, and Wamp--you know, the Congressmen whose districts actually ARE in Appalachia--will most likely vote to protect the President's cronies in the mining industry rather than to protect their own constituents.

I've Heard Denver Is Lovely That Time Of Year...

As you may have noticed, I've added a poll to the side of my blog. Since the TNDP announced this summer that they would set aside a certain number of seats for youth delegates to the Democratic National Convention, I've been wondering "Hey, why not me?"

I'd like to do it, but I want to know that people would come out and support me.

So please vote and let me know what you think.

Interviewing To Be Vandy Chancellor Maybe?

Quick question--as you all probably know by now, the Senate Democrats just capitulated once again and confirmed the nomination of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. Waterboarding isn't torture, it's actually a lot of fun!

Here's my question though...looking at the roll call vote, there were seven Senators who were not present for the vote. Among them were the four Presidential candidates in the Senate--Clinton, Obama, Dodd, and McCain (which really is shameful of all four of them). But another Senator was missing as well:

Alexander (R-TN), Not Voting

But he was apparently around earlier today to override the veto on the water bill. So where did he go? Did he suddenly realize today that being Lockstep Lamar! might not be the best campaign strategy this time around?

Someone really needs to ask Mike McWherter how he would have voted on this.

UPDATE: Kleinheider points out that Lamar! was at a UT reception that night, but that he is all in favor of allowing waterboarding to not be considered torture.

Libertarianism Works!

Ladies and gentlemen of the blogosphere, I have had a "Come to Jesus" moment.

I used to think that all the Ron Paul-worshipping libertarians over on Volunteer Voters and other blogs were out of their minds.

But now, I've seen the truth. Libertarianism works. Government regulating everything doesn't.

Case in point:

Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises, are beads that can be arranged into designs and fused when sprayed with water. The toy was pulled from shelves in North American and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into the so-called date rape drug when eaten. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads can metabolize into the drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound — made from common and easily available ingredients — can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

This, to me, is a clear example of the government interfering with the private market. Where in the Constitution does it say that the government has any right to regulate consumer products? You see, I'm a libertarian now, so I don't think the government should regulate ANYTHING! First they'll try to keep dangerous toys away from kids, then they'll tell us we can't pollute the rivers, and then it'll be our guns!

And it goes agianst the whole idea of personal responsibility--it's the kids' responsibility to not swallow the beads, why should my taxpayer dollars go towards preventing stuff like this from being on the shelves in the first place? I just hope that more kids aren't going to need HEALTH CARE as a result of this, that will cause even more government SPENDING!

It also goes against the whole notion of the free market. The date rape drug was on these Aqua Dots--do you have any idea how much money those kids could have made by selling the beads to frat boys? But no, the government insists on REGULATING everything, preventing hard-working kids from making a living!

The government CLEARLY should stay out of regulating consumer products, because government intervention only leads to worse results. Thank you, Aqua Dots, for helping me see the light. Ron Paul Revolution y'all!!

Where Obama Might Be Vulnerable

If Barack Obama wants to make any headway in the primaries, he's going to have to find some way to differentiate himself from Hillary Clinton and to present himself as a credible anti-Hillary candidate. I thought that he could use the Iran issue to do just that. But something he said yesterday presents an issue on which he's vulnerable and Hillary is at her strongest.

Here's what he said:

"I think there's no doubt we represent the kind of change that Sen. Clinton can't deliver on and part of it is generational. Senator Clinton and others, they've been fighting since the '60s, and it makes it very difficult for them to bring the country together to get things done."

It's not the first time he's said something like it, but this was the first time there was a significant backlash.

I don't know whether this "generational" thing is true or not. I wasn't around in the 60s, and my own parents are closer to Barack Obama's age than to Hillary Clinton's. These statements bother me for a different reason.

Obama has said all along that he intends to be the candidate who's going to "bring people together" and run on a more hopeful message. That's all well and good, as long as you don't let your guard down. Because once the primaries are over, the Republicans are going to bring out the big guns. Should Obama win the nomination, we'll all be treated to hearing "Barack OSAMA (oh, and did you hear his middle name is HUSSEIN!)" every time we turn on the TV. The not-so-subtle racism will be there, in every single campaign commercial. You thought the "Hey Harold, call me" ad was bad? What they'll try to do to Obama will make Bob Corker look like a racial justice crusader by comparison.

He can decry the fighting of the 60s all you want, but in many ways those battles were never resolved. He can say that he doesn't want this election to be about those issues, but the Republicans will try their best to make it that way. They can't win on Iraq, they can't win on the economy, they can't win on healthcare, and if yesterday's local elections proved anything it's that they can't even win on immigration anymore. Pretty much all they have left to run on is the fear that the gays are going to steal your guns and use them to perform abortions.

The audacity of hope is a great thing to have. But you also have to have the audacity to fight back. Because otherwise, Senator Obama, you'll get run over by the right-wing noise machine.

Admittedly, this is probably where Hillary is the strongest Dem candidate. Almost no one except for maybe Bill has borne the brunt of rabid right-wing foaming-at-the-mouth hatred as she has. Her campaign has to be preparing for the worst political attacks this country has ever seen should she win the nomination. You know that she won't underestimate the right.

I just hope I can trust Obama not to either.

Conservatives Police Their Own and Pigs Fly

Via a commenter in my Daily Kos diary making fun of the many "Rah Rah John Edwards" diaries that get posted there every day, we have this interesting story from the New York Times:

Senator Charles E. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six prominent evangelistic ministries to determine whether they have illegally used donations to finance opulent lifestyles.

****************************

The inquiry focuses on some of the flashiest preachers now popular on television and the Internet, many of them proponents of the prosperity gospel — that God will reward believers who open their hearts and wallets.

Mr. Grassley, of Iowa, said in a telephone interview: “Jesus comes into the city on a simple mule, and you got people today expanding his gospel in corporate jets. Somebody ought to raise questions about is it right or wrong.”

Now, Senator Grassley is hardly some godless liberal who's trying to persecute evangelicals and force religion out of the public sphere. In fact, he's probably one of the most conservative in the Senate.

So what we have here is a conservative who actually realizes that other conservatives are doing something wrong, and rather than trying to shrug it off or cover it up, he's actually calling them out for their wrongdoing. I, for one, am scanning the sky to find the pigs. But, I give credit where it's due--I applaud Senator Grassley for this.

Twenty years ago, several prominent and corrupt televangelists were brought down by scandals. Let's make sure that everything these people do by exploiting religion is exposed for what it is.

God's Not Too Busy

I have the CMA's on right now, for the hour in between Keith Olbermann and the new episode of South Park. I tuned in just in time to hear Brooks and Dunn perform their new song, "God Must Be Busy."

Now, I always try and pretend that I don't like country music, but I do like Brooks and Dunn. When other five year olds were listening to Disney cassettes in the car, my mother played "Boot Scootin' Boogie" for me. But the lyrics to this new song seem a little strange in light of the circumstances.

For example:

And the Bloods and Cripps are at it,
and theres a killer drought down south,
and old folks can't afford the drugs
they can't live with out.
God must be busy.

After hearing that, I remembered reading an article in the Tennessean last week about which country singers are supporting which candidates, so I went back and took a look. Sure enough:

Fred Thompson's campaign has drawn the most interest and support from Music Row. In addition to Rich, Cowboy Troy, Gretchen Wilson, Ronnie Dunn and Trace Adkins have donated the maximum, $2,300, to his primary campaign.

I don't mean to make a political issue out of everything, but if you don't like the fact that there is poverty and climate change and a health care crisis, why would you support the people who are going to try their hardest to keep it that way? Why would you chalk up the bad results to a supernatural occurence when it could have been prevented in the first place?

God's not too busy. You're just too lazy to really consider the consequences of your actions.

P.S. I loooooove Keith Urban. And I love Carrie Underwood's dress. But I still don't get why everyone is so obsessed with Kellie Pickler. She's so stupid and nowhere near as talented as Carrie. I'm really glad Taylor Swift won that award instead of her.

But I don't like country music, I swear!

Take That, Sooners!

Good news everyone! Tennessee has now risen above Oklahoma in America's Health Rankings, from 47 to 46, meaning we are now only the fifth least healthy state in the country!

The Obligatory Upstate New York Shout-Out

Tomorrow they're having crucial local elections in several parts of the country. I can't wait to see how badly the Democratic candidate for Kentucky governor, Steven Beshear, beats incumbent Ernie Fletcher. But up here in upstate New York (they insist it's called "Central New York," but one thing I've learned from the NYC/Long Island kids up here at Cornell is that if it's in New York State and it's not in NYC, Westchester, or Long Island, then it's just "upstate", no other qualifier needed), they're having local elections as well. You can't turn on the TV lately without being bombarded by political commercials. For those of you back in Nashville, imagine the Mayoral race from this summer, only with a lot more offices being contested, candidates with funny accents, and a whole lot of Italian last names, and you have Central New York elections.

It's all pretty much the same--"I grew up right here in (Auburn/Syracuse/Ithaca/Cayuga County/Onondaga County), I want to be your (mayor/county executive/State Supreme Court justice/D.A.), and I promise not to raise tayaxes!"

Some of them are pretty funny. The guy who's running for Auburn mayor got John Walsh from "America's Most Wanted" to endorse him in the commercials. Apparently John Walsh is from this area. You learn something new every day.

But others are pretty disingenious. There's one where someone is running for D.A. (I forget where), and complains that the incumbent D.A. wasted taxpayer money on a new building and more staff. All I could think was, "Maybe, but if you're elected you'll still take advantage of all of that, won't you?"

The worst, though, are the commercials for Cayuga County D.A. The Democratic candidate is running ads saying that the Republican incumbent has been involved in some serious ethical issues, while the incumbent has run ads right back criticizing the Democrat for what he did as a defense attorney. Gee, it's like deja vu all over again...

I'd Rather Listen To "Jay-Z Nation"

I have Sirius Satellite Radio in my car. Of all of the gadgets I've ever bought in my life, my radio ranks up there with my iPhone in terms of how addicted I am to it. I love the variety of stations and the lack of commercials. I particularly love "The Pulse", a station that plays all 90's music (all those songs that were overplayed when I was growing up but I get a kick out of hearing again). And this week, the "Hip-Hop Nation" channel has become "Jay-Z Nation," which is just awesome.

I don't listen to the talk stations that often, I prefer music when I'm driving. But I noticed something today that I hadn't realized before. Sirius has two political talk stations, one left and one right. The left-wing station is simply called "Sirius Left". So by that logic, the right-wing one should be called "Sirius Right," shouldn't it?

No, it's called "Sirius Patriot."

Is Sirius trying to imply that those of us who would rather listen to Sirius Left are NOT patriots? This has of course been a Republican talking point since 9/11, but it's still pretty surprising for the company that also broadcasts Howard Stern, Cosmo Radio (complete with the "Cosmo Sutra"), and all the uncensored hip-hop and alternative music you could ever need.

So what gives, Sirius?

In All Fairness

I know this is just the desperate Vanderbilt fan in me trying to make lemonade out of really sour lemons. But in all fairness, five years ago we would have lost the Florida game 49-0 rather than 49-22. For whatever that's worth.

I doubt we'll beat Kentucky, so now what we need is to beat UcheaT.

The Completely Unrelated Friday Roundup

• I keep seeing ads for this new movie called "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". But this movie confuses the hell out of me. Let me get this straight--it's directed by Tim Burton, it stars a very Goth-looking Johnny Depp, and Johnny Depp's character has a thing for sharp objects? I'm sorry, but didn't they already make that movie?

• In the latest example of jumping the shark, my dad went ahead and bought tickets to the Music City Bowl, hoping that it'll be Vanderbilt versus UMiami (where my brother goes). Of course, I think that buying the tickets while we're 5-3 dooms us to 5-7. However, now they're saying that Vandy could very well go 6-6 and NOT get a bowl bid, seeing how strong the entire SEC is this year. But I don't see how Vandy could go 6-6 and not get into the Music City Bowl. I don't see how they could justify giving the bid to, say, Mississippi State over the hometown team. And do you have any idea how many people would come in town to see the first Vandy bowl game in 25 years? Every alumnus who is still alive will be in town. But of course, the best way to kill all this speculation would be for Vanderbilt to walk into the Swamp and pull off another glorious upset. And then pray for Mississippi State to start losing like they're supposed to.
  

• Good article about "#53, Keeeeith....BULLUCK!" on Espn.com.

• But the biggest sports story (to me anyway) that I heard about today is the very real chance that Cornell basketball has of winning the Ivy League and thus getting our first invitation to the NCAA Tournament since 1988. For the last 20 years, the Ivy League champion (which is to say the regular season champion, we don't have a post-season conference championship) has always either been Princeton or Penn. But Princeton's not that good anymore and Penn graduated most of their starters. You heard it here first...Cinderella's wearing a Big Red Dress to The Dance this year!

Fun With Maps

Via Daily Kos, we now have word that all 50 states have had a poll in which Bush's approval rating is under 50%. In other words, we have a completely Blue map!

Check this out:

Here's the link in case the text is too small for you to see.

While some of the numbers may be questionable, particularly in the Western states, this has some very important implications for us in Tennessee. Tennessee's numbers fall into the same range as two of the most important swing states, Ohio and Missouri. When you take into account the very good chances of a Democrat beating any Republican except for Fred Thompson here, I think that should Grandpa Fred fail to get the Republican nomination, the Democrats should absolutely treat Tennessee as a swing state. They should treat Arkansas as such too, especially if Hillary's the nominee.

And if the numbers hold up, Freddie may already be dead in the water by Super Tuesday. He now faces the very real possibility of losing to Mike Huckabee in Iowa, to Ron Paul in New Hampshire, and then only winning South Carolina by a small margin. By Super Tuesday, he'll have proven that he has no real support outside of the South, and not even the whole South.

Also, this shows why Mike McWherter needs to hurry up and announce. Look at it...Lamar! votes in lockstep with Bush, and Bush's approval numbers are lower than almost anywhere else in the South. You have a very nice frame here, Mr. McWherter, now run with it!

How Obama (Possibly) Gets His Groove Back

It has not been the best week for Barack Obama. Between the Donnie McClurkin incident and his less than stellar performance at Tuesday night's Democratic debate, the events of the past week have exposed serious flaws in his campaign.

That's why it is so important that he take the lead on this issue and bang it over Hillary's head:

Democrat Barack Obama introduced a Senate resolution late Thursday that says President Bush does not have authority to use military force against Iran, the latest move in a debate with presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton about how to respond to that country's nuclear ambitions.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the Illinois senator drafted the measure in an effort to "nullify the vote the Senate took to give the president the benefit of the doubt on Iran."

Even though the only thing that last month's Kyl-Lieberman amendment (which Hillary voted for) does is specifically designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, it caused a great deal of concern that the amendment would allow Bush to use it to justify going to war with Iran. The bill that Obama is sponsoring would clear that up and say that actually, Kyl-Lieberman does NOT give him that authority.

Obama is showing leadership on the Iran issue. Hillary is not. Hillary tried to claim in the debate that her vote on Kyl-Lieberman did not mean that she supported a war with Iran. If that's the case, then she should have been the one proposing this bill.

I don't know if Hillary is inevitable or not, but as of now I see no reason to treat her as such. I'm certainly not adverse to the idea of her as the nominee, but she needs to be held accountable for this vote.