Part Two. Speech React

There will be much more tomorrow.  Dig through the earlier posts to find those who live-blogged it tonight. I'm off to bed.  Until morning.  Consider the speech. In the interest of fairness, this from Powerline Blog

Another Good Speech  

The Democrats tried to distract from the substance of President Bush's speech by planting Cindy Sheehan in the House chamber tonight--she was reportedly the guest of a Democrat Congresswoman--but Justice Samuel Alito's presence in the chamber was much more significant. Plus, he lasted longer, as Sheehan was hauled out of the chamber when she tried to unfurl a banner. She is clinging tenaciously to her fifteen minutes. On to the speech: The first question is whether anyone is watching. I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that ratings are low tonight, and that most viewers are  [...]

Speech React

Didn't take long. Even here in Arkansas.  Bloggers are debating the speech. Join in, if you're so inclined, with our friends at Arkansas Times and their blog. I don't usually copy an entire post, but they deserve your comments.  I'll follow up tomorrow.

Who needs the Daily Show? We have SOTU  

Early word on the State of the Union is that Bush will say the U.S. is addicted to oil and needs to break its dependence on foreign suppliers. What to do? Drill in Alaska? THAT's always been the preferred cure for our addiction before. But that's on the back burner now. Instead, he'll push for more subsidies for energy companies to develop alternative fuels that might be useful, or might not, somewhere down the line. Also more nukes. It's all supply side. Immediate conservation steps? No mention of those. He'll also talk about ending tyranny in the world. Do you think we could start at home? Cindy Sheehan, invited to sit in the gallery, was arrested by Capitol Police. Police state, anyone? STATE OF THE UNION THOUGHTS AND COVERAGE WELCOME HERE. [...]

The Speech

Written before the speech by our fellow Arkansas blogger, Matilda.  It's good.  On target. And, I'm guessing, it will ring true after all is said. 

State of the Onion Address

 

According to the pundits, President Bush is going to address the state of American health care as well as address our dependence on foreign oil tonight in his State of the Union address.
Will Bush call for universal health care in this country like many other developed countries have? Will he call for reworking Medicare since the new prescription drug choice abortion is impossible to figure out, is going to cause seniors to skip taking medicine, and will lead to more illness and deaths? Will he call for a veto of the upcoming budget bill that transfers higher payments to recipients of Medicaid, pushing our poorest folks further from medical treatment and good health? [...]

There is more.  Much more.  And it all is well-done.  Don't think Arkies aren't on top of things.

Addicted to Spying

And the telcos aren't happy.  They're facing lawsuits over the wiretaps.   Looks  like somebody MAY have a point!

ATT sued for conspiring with NSA to conduct illegal wiretaping on Americans  

Yes! This is good. Bush may be untouchable, for now, but big companies aren't. I was discussing this possibility a few weeks ago with a few other bloggers. Go after the telecom companies who violated their own privacy policies (that's a breach of contract with YOU) and possibly federal law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing ATT for [...]

Sheehan Arrested

Trying to follow the speech online tonight.  Others in the house don't want to watch.  But snagged this interesting bit online.  Sounds pretty quirky. Cindy Sheehan may polarize, but THIS?

BREAKING: CINDY SHEEHAN ARRESTED BY CAPITOL POLICE!  

CNN is now reporting... Invited by Lynn Woolsey to attend the State of the Union, reports are that she was arrested inside the Capitol chamber. ...DEVELOPING [...]

MSNBC report, Cindy Sheehan may have just been arrested going to attend the SOTU  

You want to know the State of the Union? The president is jailing his political opponents minutes before his big speech about how wonderful our democracy is. Whatever the reason, this doesn't sound good. UPDATE 1: Background on her invite [...]

Addicted to Oil

As the President's speech begins, some early thoughts about past speeches.  And past campaigns.

SOTU Deja Vu  

According to speech excerpts released by the White House, tonight President Bush will take the bold stand that America needs to be less dependent on foreign oil: "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology." Sound familiar? [...]

Iran Nukes

Nice timing. Leak this just hours before the State of the Union speech. 

Agency: Iran Document for Nuclear Weapons (AP via Yahoo! News) 

A document obtained by Iran on the nuclear black market serves no other purpose than to make an atomic bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency said [...]

Foot in Mouth

Unbelievable.  It's looking a lot like A.G. Gonzales might net a veterinarian to extract his foot from his mouth.  And, I really can't blame Senator Feingold for demanding an answer.  Wonder if (and when) he'll get it?  Maybe it'll be tucked in with Abamoff papers and pictures.

Russ Feingold Challenges Alberto Gonzales' Truthfulness on NSA Surveillance Program  

Sen. Russ Feingold Monday charged that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales misled the Judiciary Committee at his Senate confirmation hearing on January 6, 2005, when repsonding to questions about the President's authority to order warrantless surveillance. In a letter to the attorney general yesterday, Feingold demanded to know why Gonzales dismissed the senator's question about warrantless eavesdropping as a "hypothetical situation" [...]

Polls and Predictions

We're talking new polls and the State of the Union on today's 5:30 Report.  Jump on board and tell us what YOU think!  Make sure you vote in our new poll, it's at the top of the sidebar on the right side of the page.

Incumbents Still in Better Shape Than 1994  

From the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll: "In a sign of trouble for the incumbent party, a 46% plurality says it is time to give a new candidate a chance to serve in Congress, rather than the current representative. That predilection for change isn't as pronounced as it was in January 1994, 10 months before the Republicans swept away Democratic House and Senate majorities. But for now it erases the edge incumbents enjoyed when Republicans defended their majorities in the past four [...]

Can State-Of-The-Union Boost State Of Bush's Presidency? 

President George W. Bush tonight delivers what some think could be the most important State of the Union address of his presidency --one that could either jumpstart or further bog down the rest of his term and even, perhaps, his legacy. And, depending on your point of view, he will deliver it from a position of strength or weakness [...]

CNN's Amanpour on Iraq

She doesn't mince any words.  I'm thinking she just might have crossed that journalistic line in the sand between reporting and commenting.

CNN's Amanpour: "The War in Iraq Has Basically Turned Out to Be a Disaster"  

"The war in Iraq has basically turned out to be a disaster," Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, declared from London live on Monday's Larry King Live. In the segment in which journalists discussed the serious injury from a bomb in Iraq to ABC anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt, she lamented how "journalists have paid for it, paid for the privilege of witnessing and reporting that [...]

Prayer Feather

Keeping the courts busy, aren't we?  Follow the link to the Arkansas Times blog to read the full story.

Church and state   

Benton County jail officials violated Billy Joe Wolfe Jr.'s constitutional rights when they wouldn't let him have a prayer feather, a federal judge ruled [...]

Speech News Updates

Both ABC and NBC have announced rather interesting coverage plans as sidebars to the President's State of the Union speech tonight.  As we noted yesterday, ABC is welcoming video comments from viewers.  NBC will have White House correspondant, David Gregory, live-blogging the speech and responding to comments.

Resetting the presidency  

There used to be a joke around this White House that every speech was the most important of the President's political career. He's given many of them that matter. Tonight's ranks right up there for different reasons. In a way, President Bush must hit the reset button on his presidency [...]

Newsweek Oooops

Just a SMALL little change, isn't it? 

Secular Media Watch   

Newsweek interviewed Jerry Falwell about the Liberty University debate team recently and made a wee transcription error:Correction: In the original version of this report, NEWSWEEK misquoted Falwell as referring to "assault ministry." In fact, Falwell was referring to [...]

Alito Confirmation

Judge Samuel Alito is now Justice Samuel Alito.  The vote went down in the Senate just as predicted by most.  So, the question everybody is chatting about today is quite simple: Did Alito opponents gain or lose with all of the "filibuster" talk over the weekend and yesterday?  Here's a well-written piece from a blogger on the left.  It's long and detailed.  But, worth reading.

"It Is The Only Way We Can Live" by digby So we...   

only got 25 Senators to vote for a filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee who, if defeated, would be replaced by someone just as bad by a president in the pocket of his radical right wing. Well.  Do you know how many votes the Republicans managed to get when uber wingnut Antonin Scalia was confirmed? 98. And Democrats had a majority. We didn't have to even think about a filibuster. We couldn't defeat Clarence Thomas and we had a majority, a huge push from women's groups and a very dramatic set of hearings that went into the wee [...]

Let's Ask the Iraqis

What do they think about the United States?  What about our plans?   They are, quite frankly, not very happy or optimistic.

New PIPA Poll Has Disturbing Message about "Real State of the Union In Iraq": By TWN's Count, 62% of non-Kurdish Iraqis Support Attacks on U.S. Troops  

Today, the Program on International Policy Attitudes is releasing a new World Public Opinion poll on Iraqi public opinion. Here are the poll results. Among the findings: The poll has found that 80% of Iraqis believe that the U.S. plans [...]

A Mexican Invasion in the Works

Where the heck did THIS come from?  I'll be looking for some more references to support it, beyond MSNBC.

DHS Hides Planned Mexican Invasion of US  

Monday night, Jan. 30. Scarborough Country. Sara Carter of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin is interviewed, and she alleges that there are plans for a major invasion of the US by Mexican drug gangs in order to control the border, and that they plan to kill border and local police wholesale. What is really appalling is that Homeland Security knew and didn't even bother to tell - anyone [...]

Final Day Funnies

It's the last day of the month.  I don't know if this has been out for a while, but it was new to me.  The latest from the guys over at JibJab.  2005 in the President's world.

Latest JibJab video: Bush in 2005  

SOTU Speech and Health Savings Accounts

This blogger does a good job of outlining why they are NOT a good idea.  Don't know that I totally agree, since I know some people who have them (and like them). See what you think.

The Truth About Health Savings Accounts  

President Bush will use tomorrow’s State of the Union address to promote “health savings accounts” as a solution to America’s health care crisis. Multiple studies have shown that HSAs are likely to increase the number of uninsured and increase health care costs, all while costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. In other words, President Bush is proposing to do for health care what he’s already tried with Social Security — placing more of the cost burden on individuals, while making the system more attractive to the wealthy but less effective [...]

Quote of the Day

Just think about it.  All in the family.

Bush's New Brother  

President Bush says Bill Clinton "has become so close to his father that the Democratic former president is like a member of the family," [...]

The Abramoff Documents

Now they're juggling the State of the Union speech and the Abramoff documents.  It's looking like the White House is caving to pressure from both parties, but not until releasing something won't take the attention away from the speech.

White House may release Abramoff contacts post-SOTU. 

The White House has withheld information out of  "concern about diverting attention from President Bush’s message in Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech" and a "post-speech release appears increasingly likely." [...]

Oil Company Profits

Through the roof.  At least for Exxon.  And none of them want to talk about it. 

Why Not Just Subpoena Them?  

This is rather interesting: Officials from six major oil companies have refused to testify this week at a Senate hearing looking into whether oil industry mergers in recent years have made gasoline more expensive [...]

And, then, there is this little tidbit, first passed along from our on-air market analyst, Eric Britt on today's programs:

Exxon Mobil said on Monday it earned $10.7 billion in the fourth quarter of last year and $36.1 billion for all of 2005 -- bigger than the economies of 125 countries [...]

Interesting SOTU Speech Concept

Kudos to ABC news for trying something different during the State of the Union speech.  Might be worth keeping an eye on, even if you don't plan on watching the speech.

CALLING VOX POPULI  

NEW YORK NY -- Tuesday night, President Bush will deliver his fifth State of the Union address. He will be followed by the Democrats -- newly-elected Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Then, on ABC News at least, we'll be hearing YOUR state of the union address. With videos you can make with your video-cellphone or webcam and submit [...]

How about that! Be your own critic!

Military Tragedy in Iraq

This is not from the MSM, but it does seem to be well-sourced.  If, indeed, it's been happening, it needs to be fixed. I know it's a war, but our female soldiers shouldn't be dying because they're afraid to go to a latrine. Afraid of being raped.  By other American soldiers.

Marjorie Cohn | Military Hides Cause of Women Soldiers' Deaths  

In a startling revelation, writes Marjorie Cohn, the former commander of Abu Ghraib prison testified that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former senior US military commander in Iraq, gave orders to cover up the cause of death for some female American soldiers [...]

Spinning the Polls

Yes, indeed.  Both sides can spin, when they want to.  Let's talk about the latest polls.  First, this from the Right side of the blogosphere.

Bush Approval at 50%  

According to Rasmussen... But, since this doesn't fit the agenda of the MSM, don't expect to hear much about it [...]

Allow me to point out that Rasmussen is ONE polster.  A single voice.  If you don't hear much about it in the MSM, perhaps it's because a report that was more fairly presented might point out that most polls are going the OTHER direction.

Bush inching up...  

Boy, that press sure wants to talk about Bush "inching" up in popularity. They can't bring themselves to talk about Bush being "unpopular", as it would violate their very carefully constructed media narrative for the guy.  So we get stories about Bush's rebound, and Chris Matthews waxing poetic about how illegal NSA wiretaps are paying off politically for Bush, etc.  But what's the reality? [...]

Controlling What We See

Quite the compelling argument here that the White House really wants to keep close reign on what we see in photographs of some events.  If this is to be believed, it's bad practice.  REALLY bad.

Photographers balk at White House's heavy-handed control  

In every president's White House, there will be reporters who want more access and officials who want less. With Bush, this is a problem that's become intensified. It doesn't come up as often, but photo journalists are struggling with being shutout as well. For example, under eight years of Clinton, the White House distributed 100 handout [...]

Previewing the Big Speech

On-air blogs from today's 5:30 Report focus on tomorrow night's State of the Union speech.  The White House says it'll be a big speech.  An important one.  Our first blog has some poll numbers that indicate a lot of Americans just really don't care.

State of the State of the Union   

As we prepare ourselves for George Bush's sixth State of the Union address, here's your chart of the day, courtesy of the Pew Research Center. Bottom line: if you think this year's speech is [...]

And, then, there is the advance word on some of what the President will say.  And, criticism of it from - guess where?  The Federal Government!

Millions of poor to pay more or have nothing in GOP Medicaid plan  

Well, those poor and young people can't really give very good political donations so what good are they anyway? If people want to participate in the new GOP America they better have deep pockets. Forget about what Bush is saying, look what he's doing together with the GOP in Congress. If only we saw cuts like that for Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Insurance, etc. In his State of the Union address on [...]

The Best Debaters

Sometimes life is just unbelievable.  You read, and read, and still can't believe all of what you're seeing.  Case in point, this article that I missed while skimming Newsweek yesterday.

Evangelical's Debating Skills Are The Best  

Now this is some frightening news from Newsweek. The debate team from Liberty University, Jerry Falwell's fundamentalist Baptist college is ranked number 1 among college debating tournaments. Falwell and the religious right figure that if they can raise a generation that knows how to argue, they can stem the tide of sin in the country. Seventy-five percent of Liberty's debaters go on to be [...]

FEMA Incompetence

There will be extensive reporting out of Washington as these hearings continue.  But, you probably won't hear much about it in the President's State of the Union speech Tuesday night.  It's a stretch to think anyone could really put a positive spin on the Katrina debacle.

Even more documentation about FEMA incompetence after Katrina  

Just more of the same and a glimpse of what the US should expect with any attempt by this administration to manage anything. Whether it's Iraq, Medicare, FEMA, whatever, it is always the same mess. As Hurricane Katrina victims waited for help in flooded houses or in looted neighborhoods, hundreds of trucks, boats, planes and federal security officers sat unused because FEMA failed to give them [...]

Drug Costs

More evidence of just how confusing (and costly) the new Medicare Prescription Drug plan really is.  If you - or someone you know - is involved with Medicare, this is must-read information.

New Medicare Program: Drugs More Expensive Than Retail  

To put the ineffectiveness of the new Medicare prescription program into perspective,  needymeds.com has compiled a list of common medications and compared the cost to numerous other sources. Of the ten drugs listed (including Lipitor, Plavix, Prevacid and Zocor), Medicare-D offers the highest price [...]

The Democratic Agenda

Interesting new polling numbers.  Strong support for Democratic ideas. 

Voters may not know the Dem agenda, but they like it anyway 

The WaPo's Dan Balz noted a couple of interesting results in the latest Post/ABC poll, particularly about the public's desire for a change in the national direction. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Bush with a lower approval rating than any postwar president at the start of his sixth year in office — with the [...]

Blogging Baghdad

There's so much good writing on the NBC Baghdad blog today, you really need to spend some time checking it out.  Here are snippets from a couple of the pieces.

Serious professionals just doing their jobs  

Cameraman Doug Vogt had it all figured out. He was set, settled, snug. Doug looked relaxed as we were having a drink at our bureau in Baghdad a few months ago.  He told me how much he loved his house in southern France and that he was working less and spending more time with his family, finally.  Doug had arrived at that elusive place in his life where he wanted to be, spending about half the year as a gentleman farmer (fixing his house, playing with his kids), and the other half paying for it by working in the worst [...]

Thoughts & Prayers 

Sgt. 1st Class David Salie arrived in Iraq on Feb. 10, 2005. He was a career soldier, a combat veteran, fiercely American and ready to take the fight to the enemy.  He was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) on Feb. 14, 2005 - Valentines Day. He'd been in Iraq four days. He's my touchstone to the reality of this war. Salie was my first thought when I heard ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were injured in an attack by an IED. In fact every time Americans are hurt or killed here, I think [...]

Very Much Local Chatter

Another Little Rock blogger.  I have no idea who he is (at least I don't think I know him).  But his posts are outstanding.  True, he writes about local newspaper sportswriters (Wally Hall), but it's just so damn good that I'm sending you there to read it.  And, he is right.  We had marvelous weather.  My son and I took his dog and our two dogs for a walk, including even the elderly Scottie.  He hipped and hopped around the block like a puppy!  Slept for three hours once we got back to the house, but it made his day and it made my day!  We all should have little "smile events" like that.  At least once a weekend.  Now, read. And enjoy.

My Sunday Feeling  

It is another insanely unseasonable day here in the People's Republic of Hillcrest. We finally got a good soaking rain all day yesterday. But the sun is back out today. Rick and I played golf Friday afternoon in our shirtsleeves. Birds are singing. A guy was out running without a shirt while I was out there earlier. Girls are riding bikes in shorts.  This is late January and the trees are trying to bud. I spent most of last week without a voice after suffering my spring allergy attack 2 months early. I guess this means that I can look forward to maybe one or two more of these episodes before the summer. One of my old musician friends is trying to get me to start singing again. We shall have to see how the old throat does the next couple of months. This is the craziest winter [...]

The Marlboro Man From Iraq

So sad.  Create an icon.  And then destroy him.

Narratives  

Some people get to pick and choose.  Some don't: The photograph hit the world on Nov. 10, 2004: a close-cropped shot of a U.S. Marine in Iraq, his face smeared with blood and dirt, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke curling across weary eyes. It was an instant icon, with Dan Rather calling it "the best war photograph in recent years." About 100 newspapers ran the photo, dubbing the anonymous warrior the "Marlboro Man."...He's quieter now -- easier to anger. He turns to fight at the sound of a backfire, can't look at fireworks without thinking of fire raining down on a city. He has trouble sleeping, and when he does, his fingers twitch on invisible triggers. The diagnosis [...]

 

NBC on ABC

I'm sure you've heard by now - an ABC news anchor and photographer were seriously injured when an IED exploded near Baghdad.  Read now, this post from their NBC News colleagues.

Our thoughts are with ABC News  

Obviously, we've all been consumed with thoughts of and prayers for our ABC News colleagues all day. I won't be satisfied until both men are home safely with their families. Until then, we all are left with the same fragmentary scraps of information, and we all feel completely helpless. The Fourth Infantry Division is a superbly-trained combat unit, and while Bob and Doug were traveling apparently with a mixed U.S.-Iraqi group, I'm quite sure they were well cared-for. The Air Force hospital facilities in Balad are equally good at treating trauma.  There will be much to say [...]

Why Not Filibuster

I'll give John credit.  His arguments are well thought out and well made. 

Why I Oppose the Filibuster  

Before you post any searing criticism of me in response to this post, I ask you to at least give me the decency of actually reading my analysis below. Then go for it. Thank you, JOHN I understand that my friend Cenk at the Young Turks radio show is taking me on, on the air, about why I have concerns about the effectiveness and wisdom of John Kerry's filibuster of Alito. Now, if I were going to [...]

Stop-Loss Numbers

The numbers sound high, although the Army says they're really quite small when you look at the total number of those serving.  Still -- 50,000 is 50,000.  And that's a lot of people.

Army forces 50,000 soldiers into extended duty (Reuters via Yahoo! News) 

The U.S. Army has forced about 50,000 soldiers to continue serving after their voluntary stints ended under a policy called "stop-loss," but while some dispute its fairness, court challenges have [...]

Which Direction? Dem? GOP?

These new numbers ought to put a smile on some Democratic candidates across the nation.  I'm surprised at how strong these numbers are for the Democrats.  Are you?

Poll: 51% Prefer Country Go In Dem. Direction vs. 31% For Bush's Direction...  

Bush's problems clearly benefit the opposition: Americans -- by a 16-point margin, 51 to 35 percent -- now say the country should go in the direction in which the Democrats want to lead, rather than follow Bush. That's a 10-point drop for the president from a year ago, and the Democrats' first head-to-head [...]

Revolt at the White House

Looks like a good read.  It's on my list to peruse this evening.  Have this little thing called "taxes" that demand attention, too!

The Revolt of Comey and Goldsmith on Torture  

Newsweek has a five page article, The Palace Revolt, on how former prosecutor James Comey and former Office of Legal Counsel head Jack Goldsmith bucked Cheney and Addington over [...]

Flood Insurance, Anybody?

Now, this is gonna hurt.  Badly.  A lot of folks who counted on it.  Another governmental drop-kick for Katrina victims.

Flood insurance program runs out of money  

The National Flood Insurance Program doesn’t have enough money to continue functioning, according to a Government Accountability Office report, and the program is flawed by design and would have gone broke even if not for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Private insurers in the U.S. do not provide insurance against floods, and this coverage is only available through NFIP, a government program run by the Federal [...]

Looking Forward to Tuesday

And the State of the Union speech.  Sunday papers and pundits are writing and talking about it.  Will you be watching?

The Pre-SOTU analysis is in full swing -- time to watch the Bush team spin  

The Washington Post notes Bush's precarious standing: Tuesday's speech, with its massive prime-time audience, may be the most important forum Bush has all year to try to seize the initiative from the Democrats and frame the election season on his terms. But he will be standing in the House as a far less formidable politician than when he stood on the same podium a year ago. A new Washington [...]

Koppel Writes About TV

First, it was Aaron Brown (formerly CNN), stepping forward to criticize the TV news industry.  Now Ted Koppel's speaking out.  Strong words from both men.

Ted Koppel Rips TV News In NY Times Debut...  

In his first contribution after being named a New York Times columnist, former ABC newsman Ted Koppel declares, "I cannot help but see that the industry in which I have spent my entire adult life is in decline and in distress."  Koppel raps the new "calculated subjectivity" and forced empathy of cable news, and adds [...]

Hand Over the Documents

Even Republicans are saying the White House needs to come around and release the Abramoff documents.

Thune: White House Should Release Records of Contacts With Abramoff  

Mike Pence (R-IN), appearing on Fox with Thune, agreed...Meanwhile, the White House describes people who want to these records released as “engage[d] in partisan attacks.” [...]

Bush Economics

Comparing Bush with Clinton.  Keep in mind, the author is NOT a raving liberal.

Bruce Bartlett's Broadside at Bush  

James Wolcott quotes some of Bruce Bartlett's new book which finds Bush II a horrible president for the economy and reflects on how good Clinton was as a president in comparison. For those who don't remember, Bruce Bartlett, was part [...]

Silenced

No paper trail, apparently.  I'll leave it to you to decide if you believe the reports. 

Bush to NASA Climate Scientist: Play Ball on Global Warming!  

The Sunday New York Times is reporting a senior NASA Climate Scientist is claiming he was pressured by the Bush Administration to stop talking about issues surrounding global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.  [NYT Link] The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming [...]

Over-Insured

Preview of the President's SOTU speech Tuesday.  I'm a bit baffled.  I've been thinking lately that I was UNDER-insured, since my out of pocket costs continue to climb.  Hmmm.

Bush thinks we're "over-insured"  

Bush is preparing to address health care in the State of the Union. That won't be good. Josh Marshall explains why: But the core premise of the policies the president is about to lay out is that Americans are over-insured when it comes to health insurance. Over-insured. Got too much insurance. These aren't my words. These are the words used by the conservative policy-wonks who came up with the [...]

The Young Turks Filibuster

They finally decided to get some sleep.  After more than 24 hours. I've done telethons. Not easy. Not healthy. But they have some great folks lined up. If you can get to their internet stream.  It's bogged down. Overwhelmed.  Says a lot about the campaign to force the filibuster.

Young Turks  

The Young Turks are having a live, on-air "filibuster" until the Democrats get the 41 votes they need to support it. Brad Friedman of Brad Blog will be hosting from 5pm-8pm PT, and I'll be a guest at 7:00 PT. You can listen online here. Update: John Amato of Crooks & Liars will be on the Young Turks at 9:30.

Clinton and the Future

For your Saturday night.  Bill Clinton sounding, well, like Bill Clinton.  Smart. On the environment.

Bill Clinton At Davos: Climate Change Can "End The March Of Civilization As We Know It"...  

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton told corporate chieftains and political bigwigs Saturday that climate change was the world's biggest problem -- followed by global inequality and the "apparently irreconcilable" religious and cultural differences behind terrorism. Clinton's comments provided something a freewheeling and philosophical finale -- ahead of Sunday's formal wrap-up -- to several days of high-powered discourse [...]

Just for Reference

In case you really want to join the campaign to force the filibuster against Alito.  Some fax numbers and the updates on who's on board. By the way, in case you think this whole thing had no potential, consider that fact that The Young Turks radio show that started the filibuster push has overwhelmed, by my count, three servers tonight.  They have two mirrors posted, but both are overwhelmed.  That, in itself, should say something. At least three servers.  Too many people trying to listen. And comment.  They just may have something here!

UPDATE:  Main site seems to be back up. It's just after 8 pm Central Time. But there's no streaming video or audio.

For the sake of our Children... Kos is keeping us...

For the sake of our Children...

Kos is keeping us up to date in their great war room on the filibuster. Here is the list of fax numbers:

AR: Lincoln(D) (202) 228-1371
AR: Pryor(D) (202) 228-0908 [...]

Katrina Confusion

New York Times has a scorching article today about the White House response to Hurricane Katrina.  And it's based on information from a White House briefing!

"Hurricane Investigators See 'Fog of War' at White House"  

WH dazed and confused when Katrina hit: Probe may have sufficient information to pinpoint institutional fault at WH, but Bush's refusal to permit witnesses/documents will prevent ability to assign [...]

Filibuster Fight

Looks like the phones/faxes could likely be ringing this weekend for Arkansas' Senators, Lincoln and Pryor.  Assuming the blogosphere really DOES have some degree of power and influence on the filibuster idea.

And Away We Go....  

Just got off a conference call with Ted Kennedy and others, and we got a better idea where the Dems are on all of this. Some notes: Maria Cantwell is reportedly quite wobbly, and might be succeptible to pressure. If Cantwell falls, Murray will potentially fall too. Levin, Harkin, Bayh, Lautenberg, Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor and Lieberman (who has not in fact committed) all need pressure. As do Baucus [...]

The Challenger Disaster

20 years ago today.  And it's a key event in my career.  It happened on my first day on the job at KARK, here in Little Rock.  I was sitting in News Director Bob Steel's office when it happened.  20 years ago.  Our kids have grown up here.  And it seems like yesterday.

73 SECONDS AFTER LAUNCH  

Remembering the Challenger disaster: Dr. Sanity, a former NASA flight surgeon, was at Cape Canaveral in Florida on that fateful day 20 years ago assigned as the Crew Surgeon for Mission 51-L. Below the Beltway remembers. Mike's Noise has a [...]

Remembering Challenger  — 

Lessons learned 20 years after space shuttle disaster  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) — Twenty years ago, space shuttle Challenger blew apart in jets of fire and plumes of smoke, a terrifying sight witnessed by the families of the seven astronauts and by those who came [...]

UPDATE:  Great collection of articles about the day. Grab something to drink.  Whatever your poison. And read. And remember.

America Remembers Challenger Crew On Tragedy's 20th Anniversary

It was 20 years ago today. A sunny, blue sky day, but a dark day when family members, school kids, people on the ground at the launch and those in front of TVs were watching a major space event. The spacecraft was off! Then the smoke. And for a moment several seconds that seemed like a lifetime they were stunned.  20 years ago today, space shuttle Challenger took off amid hopes and exhilaration since it carried citizens in space with it, into a highly -touted new era. Space travel had become almost routine. Almost [...]

Cutting Reserves and National Guard

This ought to raise an eyebrow or two among our readers.  One of those little things that appears late on Friday, to avoid much media attention.  Darn those bloggers.  They started chatting about it and now the cable news folks are all over it, too.

Bush Budget To Cut Size Of Army Reserve....  

President Bush will use his new budget to propose cutting the size of the Army Reserve to its lowest level in three decades and stripping up to $4 billion from two fighter aircraft programs. The proposals, likely to face opposition on Capitol Hill, come as the Defense Department struggles to trim personnel costs and other expenses to pay for [...]

The Alternate State of the Union

It's just nice to see that the voices from the "other" side will have a chance to be heard.  Note that Arkansan Wesley Clark is at the top of the list of speakers.  Should be interesting to tune into.

January 27, 2006 C-Span Will Cover "Real State of U.S. Foreign Policy 2006" Conference -- LIVE on Monday, 30 January

Here is the final schedule for Monday's forum that my colleagues and I have organized titled "The Real State of U.S. Foreign Policy 2006".  The meeting will take place from [...]

Public vs Private Schools

The Arkansas Times blog gang has been scanning the New York Times and came up with a most interesting report on the public schools vs private schools debate.

Score one for public schools   From today's NY Times: 

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 — A large-scale government-financed study has concluded that when it comes to math, students in regular public schools do as well as or significantly better than comparable students [...]

Bloggers' Impact

Interesting piece on how bloggers are pushing the Democratic Party to be more active.  And how, together, they could impact the elections.

WP: Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center 

Washington Post:  Democrats are getting an early glimpse of an intraparty rift that could complicate efforts to win back the White House: fiery liberals raising their voices on Web sites and in interest groups vs. elected officials trying to appeal to a much broader audience. These activists -- spearheaded by battle-ready bloggers and making their influence felt through relentless e-mail campaigns -- have denounced what they regard as a flaccid Democratic response [...]

Wal-Mart Health Concerns

This can't be good news for the folks up in Bentonville.  They have another pesky state to deal with on the health care issue.

Wal-Mart's health care problems reach Washington  

Earlier this month, Wal-Mart lost a key political battle when lawmakers in Maryland overrode a gubernatorial veto and effectively required Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care. The retail behemoth's biggest concern was how many other states would follow suit. The fears are well-founded — Wal-Mart now has to worry about Washington state. More than [...]

New Orleans Promises

Promises made. Promises broken. 

Wash. Post documents the Bush failings in New Orleans  

The Washington Post examines the lack of progress in New Orleans compared to what Bush promised. If we all didn't know how incompetent Bush was, this article would be shocking. Instead, it's expected:While the administration can claim some clear progress, Bush's ringing call from New Orleans's Jackson Square on Sept. 15 to "do what it takes" to make the city rise from the waters has not been [...]

Reporters' Thoughts. From Iraq.

Just more good stuff from the NBC crew in Baghdad.  Enjoy.  The inside story.

Guarded Optimism in Baghdad  

It's easy to forget there's humanity here. Looking just at the daily video of car and suicide bomb aftermath, or yet another funeral, it's easy to conclude that there's no saving this place. Baghdad is lost, pack up and get out.  But my time here has shown me that there are some wonderful people in Iraq. There are smart, funny and kind people here. And, there are beautiful children here with big dark eyes and quick smiles. And there is optimism here too, guarded optimism [...]

The Abramoff Money Trail

Memories. Memories.  Did the money go to Democrats?

Abramoff Steered Tribes Away From Giving To Democrats  

The American Prospect shows us today that it is a lie for the GOP to suggest that Jack Abramoff steered his tribal clients to give money to the Democrats on the same scale as those clients gave to the GOP [...]

Oops. New study...   

by non-partisan research firm says no dice to claims Jack Abramoff was steering tribal money to Dems like he was to Republicans. In fact, the study suggests opposite. Some nuggets ... The analysis shows that when Abramoff took on his tribal clients, the majority of them dramatically ratcheted up donations to Republicans. Meanwhile, donations to Democrats from the same [...]

Filibuster Updates. Again.

Things keep changing.  The liberal bloggers are slightly hopeful.  Conservative bloggers are just a bit worried.

Democrat Support for Filibuster Grows, Just Not Enough

Sen. Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Dick Durbin, Russ Feingold, Debbie Stabenow , Ted Kennedy all have come out in support of John Kerry's filibuster plan.  Email them your appreciation. Keep working on the rest. Sen. Feinstein said last week she'd oppose a filibuster and yet changed her mind. Others can [...]

Iraq. Updates.

Optimistic?  Pessimistic?  You decide.

"Documents Show Army Seized Wives As Tactic"  

Military documents show US at least twice kidnapped and imprisoned the wives, including nursing mother, of suspected insurgents to force husbands to surrender [...]

"The situation in Iraq is truly quite bleak" 

US draft report on Iraq reconstruction did not give US anything "even close to passing grades": Response after draft leaked to media was that final report would be different - "If it is, everyone will know that it has become simply another item of evidence in the Bush administration's pervasive record of scrubbing reports of anything critical [...]

Do I Know You?

Sex, Lies and Videotape.  Well, Lies and Videotape, anyway.

Santorum and Norquist video: Thank You Grover

 

Today Santorum said this to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette:   "I had absolutely nothing to do--never met, never talked, never coordinated, never did anything -- with Grover Norquist and the -- quote -- K Street Project." 

Guess what the old video clip shows?

NBC vs Arianna

Well, isn't this turning into a nasty little fight!?!?  Arianna Huffington has been blasting Tim Russert lately and now the NBC public relations machine has been turned on high speed to support him.

Tim Russert, Arianna Huffington And News Media Conflicts Of Interest

  

A new controversy has broken out: it's NBC's Tim Russert Versus Arianna Huffington, who is accusing Russert of a conflict of interest and says Russert's camp is now trying to discredit her with charges long proven [...]

Filibuster Flip-Flop

Seems the Conservative bloggers are getting just a wee bit worried now.  We're seeing some Senators solidly align with Kerry's filibuster plans; Senators who HAD been waffling on the cloture half of the deal.

There's Something Happening Here...  

...and what it is, is a little weird. Now Dianne Feinstein has reneged on her pledge to vote for cloture on Judge Alito, and announced that she will support a filibuster instead. I don't know how to interpret the Democratic Senators who are lining up for a filibuster, except as a manifestation of the power of the crazy left [...]

Leading the charge to pressure Senators - radio hosts, The Young Turks.  Now into the second day of their non-stop filibuster in support of the filibuster.  You can watch a live video stream from their website. Keep tabs on them.

All Those Polls

We focused on fresh polling information in our on-air blog segment today.  And there are a ton of new numbers to chew on.

Americans think the Bush/Abramoff links are relevant  

Yesterday, during his press conference, Bush was dismissive answering questions about Jack Abramoff. His talking point for that issue was "not relevant." Today, the Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that for most Americans, the Bush/Abramoff connection is quite relevant:A strong bipartisan majority of the public believes President Bush should release records of meetings between disgraced [...]

Pre-SOTU polls  

Pollsters have been busy the past few days, pulling together data on the electorate's views in advance of the president's State of the Union address. Here's a summary of what the various news outlets found: * New York Times/CBS poll — Bush was viewed favorably by 42% of the respondents, statistically the same as in the [...]

Friday Funnies

Oh, go ahead.  You know you want to! Laugh a little!  It's Friday and it's almost quittin' time around these parts!

Psssst...  

Matt Stoller at MyDD has a preview of the SOTU up...seems he found a "training video" at the local Starbucks. I always thought Denny Hastert looked like a cheesy popcorn kinda guy. (NOTE: Not for those with beverages in their mouth. Do not drink liquids while watching. You have been [...]

Iran. You KNOW It's Next.

The push appears to be underway.  Courtesy of Newt Gingrich.

Drum-beating.  

Newt Gingrich says a military invasion of Iran should be one of President Bush’s “top priorities.” (UPDATE: [...] 

Wal-Mart Job Rush

Conservative bloggers are touting this story.  Consider THIS question as you read the report - isn't it somewhat shocking that there are that many people looking for work in one area? Even if it IS near Chicago. I doubt that most of them are currently employed and just "want" to move from their current job to Wal-Mart.

Americans Want to Work for Wal-Mart  

If you listened to Democrats, you'd believe Wal-Mart to be the most evil corporation mankind has ever known.  On Thursday, Wal-Mart announced that its new Evergreen Park, IL store received more than 25,000 applications for 325 positions – a majority of which are full-time. Evergreen Park (and the store itself) border Chicago. The new store is set to open on Friday morning. Wal-Mart will soon announce that it created 20,900 new jobs [...]

Money Talks

And pictures walk.  This really does explain a lot about the Bush/Abramoff "missing pictures" matter. A lot.

The Raw Story: Studio removes Abramoff/Bush photo  

A photograpy studio which admitted to scrubbing at least one photograph of President George Bush and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid more that $140,000 by the Bush/Cheney campaign [...]

Filibuster Update

First of all, kudos to the crew at the Young Turks radio program.  They are filibustering in support of the Senate filibuster proposed by John Kerry.  They're into their 20th hour ( maybe a little longer).  They have a live video stream up, too.  You can watch it from their website.  It's an interesting exercise. I'd suggest you might want to drop in periodically and see how they're doing.  Apparently, they're getting some support from big-name talkers who are volunteering to pull a shift or two over the weekend.  Their regular program airs on Sirius Satellite radio from 5-8 pm Central Time, so they're closing in on a full day on the air, with the promise to stay at it until the Alito vote or filibuster next week.  Now, here's a blog post that would raise their blood pressure.  Nasty stuff, my friends. Nasty.

The Filibuster Threat  

What have the Democrats become, but a bunch of unsuccessful cat herders under the command of Kossacks and PFAW members.  The Democrat strategy in the Alito hearings FAILED. The Democrats FAILED to stick together. The Democrats FAILED to halt the United States Supreme Court shifting to the right. And now they are making last ditch moans to placate the left that they "would filibuster and should filibuster if only they could filibuster."  Is their base so pathetic that it will give credibility to John Kerry from Switzerland and now Harry Reid trying to kiss them after a one night stand of self-flagellation or do Reid and Kerry view their base so pathetically, thinking that with the game lost, they'll still say they're going to filibuster to keep the base happy [...]

New Orleans Future Face

Striking numbers.  Then again, perhaps it's just part of the "master plan".

80% Of New Orleans' Black Population May Not Return... 

New Orleans could lose as much as 80 percent of its black population if its most damaged neighborhoods are not rebuilt and if there is not significant government assistance to help poor people return, a detailed analysis by Brown University has concluded. Combining data from the 2000 census with federal damage assessment maps, the study provides a new level of specificity about Hurricane Katrina's effect on the city's worst-flooded areas, which were heavily populated by low-income black people [...]

Fight Over Alito

Interesting.  Read.  Think. Comment.

Senator Jeffords Recognizes His Responsibility  

Democratic Leader Harry Reid won't support a filibuster: "There's been adequate time for people to debate," Reid said. Contrast that lame surrender argument with the principled position of retiring independent Senator James Jeffords: "While others will disagree with my assessment [...]

The Future Budget

Oh, it's just so beautiful. Just watch the $$$$$ roll up.

The Era of Massive Deficits Is Just Beginning  

Today, the Congressional Budget Office issued its ten-year budget outlook. According to their report, the 2006 federal budget deficit will be at least $337 billion, and deficits from 2006-15 will total $1.2 trillion. If we continue with President Bush’s economic policies the actual deficits will be much, much higher.  First, the CBO numbers exclude tens of billions of dollars in expected spending for [...]

Millitary Situationer

Follow the reports. Who knew what. When.  And who could discount which report? 

Report Finds Future of Army In Danger; Rumsfeld Responds By Blaming Clinton  

Yesterday, former Defense Secretary William Perry released a study that found that "the strain of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan is endangering the nation." A copy of the report is available here. The Perry study came on the heels of an official Pentagon study that came to a similar conclusion. Even the top U.S. commander in Iraq recognizes the military is overstretched. Everyone seems to acknowledge the problem except  [...]

But, Wait. There's More.

I've used the line before.  But it's most appropriate tonight. More news conference. More questions. More Abramoff.

Bush doesn't quite know how to answer Abramoff questions  

Dan Froomin noted today that the president's press conference "was a frustrating experience for journalists whose specific questions were largely answered with imprecise comments related to their general topic." It's an entirely fair description, particularly when it came to questions about Jack Abramoff's connections to the White House. Q: Mr. President, you talked about Jack Abramoff [...]

Pictures. Pictures. Who's Got the Pictures?

Not the place that's BEEN selling them, apparently.

PEEK: Bush-Abramoff photos 'scrubbed'  

A White House request? [...]

Here's another little...  

Here's another little detail about Reflections Photography and those scrubbed Bush/Abramoff photographs. We only know about one Bush/Abramoff photograph at the Reflections photo library. That is, until this morning. When I was speaking with Reflections President Joanne Amos, our conversation started with my pressing her about the disappearance of the single photograph. After she admitted [...]

Bush News Conference. Part 1

Oh, I could probably find enough transcripts and clips to run all night.  Here's just one to start.

Bush and the Hamas Victory

Watch Bush tap dance around the first question to him today regarding Hamas winning big in the election. WTF did he mean by calling it a  "wake up call to the leadership?" What does it say about the job Condi Rice has been [...]

The TV News Biz

Wow!  One of the better speeches I can recall from a past or present television news person.  Aaron Brown, formerly of CNN, pretty much smacked down the industry and paints a pretty bleak picture.  Here's hoping he's a bit more pessimistic than he needs to be. 

Aaron Brown: "Truth No Longer Matters... In The Context Of Cable News"...  

The anchorman whose boss once characterized him as ice compared with his successor's fire was anything but chilly in the impassioned speech he delivered Tuesday at The Society of the Four Arts.  "Truth no longer matters in the context of politics and, sadly, in the context of cable news," said Aaron Brown, whose four-year period as anchor of CNN's NewsNight ended in November, when network executives gave his job to Anderson Cooper in a bid [...]

The Money Trail

It runs right to Pat Robertson.  And not in a small way.  Makes you wonder how THIS happened.  Remember, it's your money.  Your taxes.

Robertson's Charity Has Been Big Winner Under Bush  

Under President Bush, conservative Christian leader Pat Robertson's international "charity" Operation Blessing has increased its annual revenue from government grants from $108,000 to $14.4 million.  Ironically, Robertson expressed public misgivings about the Bush Administration's "faith-based initiatives" back in [...]

 

Go, David, Go!

Bush and McClellan must have nightmares about David Gregory. He's become the real "pit bull" among reporters covering the White House.  The amazing thing is that he's only doing what reporters are SUPPOSED to do - ask questions and demand answers.  When you don't get them,  you ask again.  Until a video clip comes along, you'll have to live with a transcript. 

Stephen Kaus: Three Cheers for David Gregory  

One of the most exasperating things about watching Bush's press conferences is that he can get off the hook by calling on the next reporter. They never follow up on their colleagues' questions, but instead ask their own pre-prepared question on some other topic. Bush is never pinned down when he does not respond. So, three cheers for David Gregory. Fresh off his dogged, but so far futile, insistence Tuesday that Scott McClellan disclose Jack Abramoff's contacts with the White House, Gregory pressed the President this morning [...

Wiretap Turnaround + Hillary's Campaign

On on-air blog segment today focuses on a solid score for the blogosphere - a blooger breaks a story that becomes frontpage news!

This is huge. In 2002, Bush administration OPPOSED legislation to make it easier to wiretap under FISA  

The Bush Administration opposed legislation that would have given them the very power they now claim they needed, power they now claim they didn't have under FISA. It's because they didn't have this power, they now claim, that they had to break the law and spy without a warrant. But this law would have given them much of the legal power they wanted. Yet they said they didn't need it, and worse [...]

Our second blog today focuses on the "Hillary for President" debate.  By the way, join in the game by casting your vote in our online poll.  It's near the top of the sidebar, over on the right. 

Hillary Cannot Be the Democratic Nominee  

It's just that simple. She's not going to win. A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll pitting Clinton against Condi Rice found that more registered voters might consider voting for Rice (38%) than might consider voting for Clinton (32%). Rice polls stronger among Democrats than Clinton does among Republicans, as well [...]

Conspiracy Theory?

Well, you must admit it DOES look more than just a little bit suspicious.  And it does involved the President. And the Abramoff scandal.

 Abramoff prosecutor to get a promotion  

I'm not one to buy into conspiracy theories, but the timing of this nomination is a little odd. President Bush on Wednesday nominated one of the Justice Department's lead prosecutors in the Jack Abramoff corruption probe to a U.S. District Court seat in New Jersey. Noel Hillman, chief of the department's public integrity section, was nominated for [...]

Border Corruption

Indeed.  There seem to always be a few "bad apples" who manage to make a bad name for themselves.  The problem is, that "bad name" can spread.

A Culture of Corruption?  

Not in Congress, but at the U.S.-Mexico border: Six additional current and former U.S. soldiers and law enforcement officials and two civilians have agreed to plead guilty to participating in a [...]

Santorum's Tap-Dance

They just never learn, do they?  You can't go changing what you say, without it coming back to bite you in the backside.  Eventually.

Oh, this is...   

good stuff. Sen. Santorum categorically denies any ties to so-called 'K Street Project'. "I had absolutely nothing to do -- never met, never talked, never coordinated, never did anything -- with Grover Norquist and the -- quote -- K Street Project," Santorum said yesterday. Last November he told the same paper: "The K Street project is purely to make sure we have qualified [...]

Fillibuster Talk Heats Up

Seems Kerry is leading the charge now. Things still may get interesting!

Kerry Backing Filibuster per William Pitt  

William Pitt is reporting at Democratic Underground that Kerry is supporting a filibuster. Pitt writes: “Kerry is now publicly in support of a filibuster and he is currently working with colleagues in the Senate to get the necessary support - 41 votes.” Kerry has previously pledged to support a filibuster if Row v. Wade was threatened. In [...]

Couric vs Dean

Some days you just HAVE to wonder.  Did you watch the Today Show this morning?  The bloggers caught Katie trying to get Howard Dean to buy into some GOP talking points.

Couric Caught On Tape: ‘Democrats Took Money From Abramoff Too, Mr. Dean’

On this morning’s Today Show, Katie Couric falsely claimed that Democrats took money from Jack Abramoff. Howard Dean tried to set her straight, but she stuck to the right-wing talking points:

COURIC: Hey, wait a second. Democrats took — Democrats took money from Abramoff too, Mr. Dean.

DEAN: That is absolutely false. That did not happen. Not one dime of money from Jack Abramoff went to any Democrat at any time.

There's more.  Read it.  Watch it. 

Barney, The Scottie, Speaks

As the proud parent of an (aging) Scottie, I had to snag this one. Even in their elder years, they still like those....oh, you just have to read this to find out.

Bill Diamond: The White House's Dog and Pony Show

As part of the White House's aggressive campaign to defend President Bush's domestic wiretapping policy, Barney the White House Dog was sent out to meet with reporters earlier today. Some analysts interpreted the first-of-its-kind press conference [...]

Go For It, NBC

Yes, it's another email-based post, but it's deserved.  Being on our end of this business can be difficult.  For this very reason. You go home at night (assuming you actually get to leave work for a while) and wonder if you're doing the right thing.  The NBC crew argues correctly:

A WORD ABOUT OUR KATRINA COVERAGE

I wrote the following for broadcast tonight. We have omitted the names from the e-mails, and they are just a representative sample of what we receive every day:

A necessary word about our coverage of the storm zone -- specifically, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the City of New Orleans. Lately, a lot of viewers have felt the need to tell us what they think of our coverage, and we like that and we read them all. And while most of the e-mails we get are from folks wanting to thank us for our coverage, an increasing number do not.

Here are just a few from the past few days: [...]

Voting Machines. More Tests

Yes, indeed.  Somebody put more electronic voting machines to the test.  Guess what happened.?

Voting Machines  

Missed this a few days ago: As Elections Near, Officials Challenge Balloting Security,Four times over the past year Sancho told computer specialists to break in to his voting system. And on all four [...]