Republican Ads-- So Desperate and Sleazy, They're Helping the Democrats

by Rob Kall

Republicans have overdosed on their own koolaid. Across the USA, the RNC is running ads that are filled with desperate, despicable lies, race baiting and false accusations. But they are so out of touch and so transparently bogus, I think they're actually hurting the Republican candidates.

DESPERATE!! Pulling out their hair, screaming, stripped to their underwear, running around like a chicken without a head wild, crazy desperate. That's how these spineless, gutless, characterless, no integrity sleazoids are handling the collapse of the facade of values, protection, conservatism and fiscal responsibility they've constructed.

The numbers of Americans who are stupid enough or totally blinded by the right wing propaganda koolaid keep dropping.

It's almost funny to watch these low-life, no class ads-- some deep voiced old man comes on in the background, along with ominous music, and then the no-solution, unable to change Republican leaders churn out the same out lame, extremely tired talking points on Democrats and taxes, Democrats and cut and run, Democrats weak on terror.

Read more @ Op Ed News.

It's Not Your Fore-Father's Polling Place

Malfuctioning Voting Machines are "repaired" within minutes.




















Tallys are monitored frequently.















Poll Workers watch for inelligible voters.



























Best of all: No Paper Trail

Dr. Rush Limbaugh V. Michael J. Fox

(Original cartoon courtesy of Fat Jon. See more of his insightful work at Oggtoons.)


Click here: Michael J. Fox commercial followed by Dr. Rush Limbaugh's diagnosis.

Click here for Michael J. Fox's response to Dr. Rush.

An official of the National Parkinson Foundation said movements like those exhibited by Fox are the result of taking medication to treat the disease, which would otherwise result in rigidity.

“When you see someone with those movements, it’s not because they have not taken medication but because they probably have taken medication for some time,” the official said. “If you don’t take the medication, then you freeze.”

Shhhh!! Don't Tell Anyone He's a Republican

You'd think that a candidate for WI State Assembly would be proud
to announce his party affiliation. But not REPUBLICAN John Murtha.
Check out his website. http://www.murthaforassembly.com/index.html
Bonus points if you find the word REPUBLICAN anywhere on that site.

Born On This Date...October 26, 1947

You go girl!


Happy Birthday Hillary Clinton

City's Lawsuit Against Gun Dealers, Manufacturers Allowed to Proceed

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
October 26, 2006

An Indiana judge ruled Tuesday that the city of Gary may proceed with its lawsuit against 16 gun manufacturers and six Indiana gun dealers, a gun-control group reported.

The case, which dates back to 1999, stems from a police sting of six Indiana gun dealers accused of selling firearms to undercover officers posing as straw purchasers.

The city of Gary also sued major gun manufacturers that sold handguns through the dealerships, accusing them of profiting from the diversion of guns to criminals, said the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

"This is an important victory for the citizens of Gary and the people of Indiana, who have long suffered from the steady supply of illegal guns from rogue gun dealers operating in our state," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center and the former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind.

"The gun pushers have long sought to avoid accountability for supplying the highly-profitable underground market. Hopefully, this ruling will lead to the gun pushers being held just as accountable as other industries who violate the law."

Read more @ CNSNews.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns' Preparing Their Assault

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
October 26, 2006

More than one hundred of the nation's mayors are breathing new life into the gun control movement.The "Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition," a bipartisan group of 109 mayors in 44 states, is meeting Thursday in Chicago to "share strategies in the fight against illegal guns."

According to the coalition's website, those strategies include "how to work with local law enforcement agencies and state representatives to maximize penalties for those who possess, use and traffic in illegal guns." The discussion also will focus on information sharing and "best practices on enforcement and legislative issues."

Read more @ CNSNews.com.

Fore!!!! - New Spin- Same Failed Strategy

Bush shanks another shot at terrorists ( Democrats ):

Banished from Bush's vernacular is "stay the course," which was his mantra for conveying America's resolve in Iraq until Democrats seized on the phrase as a sign that he and his fellow Republicans were unresponsive to mounting U.S. casualties.

Bush and his team are also insisting on a distinction between "tactics," which he is willing to change, and "strategy," which he isn't.

"Well, listen, we've never been stay the course...," Bush said. Liberal bloggers immediately flooded Web sites with video clips of Bush repeatedly vowing that America would "stay the course" until victory in Iraq.

Critics dismiss the shift in rhetoric as a smokescreen to hide a failed Iraq policy from voters, but analysts say it could be more than just semantics if it leads to a significant change of course.

"It shows political desperation," said Martin Medhurst, professor of rhetoric at Baylor University in Waco. "The question is whether Bush's rhetoric will come into alignment with reality in Iraq, which has not been the case before."

Read more:

"Words get in the way for Bush in Iraq debate"

or
How Borderliners learned English from their mentor.

If You Feed Kitty, Will She Purr For You?

As the 2006 election approaches, we will continue to investigate the politics of Wisconsin state assembly representative for the 30th District -- Kitty Rhoades. The cliche often used in politics is "follow the money." Does it apply for Kitty?

Below is a breakdown of contribution totals and percentages to Kitty from various interests for elections years 2000, 2002 and 2004. For comparison purposes, we'll compare how Kitty rates from business endorsements v. labor endorsements. Contributions for the 2006 are still coming in and are not being considered in this comparison.



Let's see how Kitty gets rated by various Business groups:

2005-2006 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the The Wisconsin Prosperity Project 100 percent in 2005-2006.

2005-2006 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin National Federation of Independent Business 100 percent in 2005-2006.

2003-2004 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce 94 percent in 2003-2004.

2003-2004 On the votes that the The Wisconsin Prosperity Project considered to be the most important in 2003-2004, Representative Rhoades voted their preferred position 94 percent of the time.

2003-2004 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin National Federation of Independent Business 75 percent in 2003-2004.

2003-2004 On the votes that the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce considered to be the most important in 2003-2004, Representative Rhoades voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.

2001-2002 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce 100 percent in 2001-2002.

2001-2002 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin National Federation of Independent Business 100 percent in 2001-2002.

1999-2000 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce 89 percent in 1999-2000.

1999-2000 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin National Federation of Independent Business 88 percent in 1999-2000.

Now let's see how Kitty rates with labor groups:

2005-2006 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO 20 percent in 2005-2006.

2003-2004 Representative Rhoades supported the interests of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO 10 percent in 2003-2004.

2001-2002 On the votes that the Wisconsin AFL-CIO considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Representative Rhoades voted their preferred position 31 percent of the time.

1999-2000 On the votes that the Wisconsin AFL-CIO considered to be the most important in 1999-2000, Representative Rhoades voted their preferred position 43 percent of the time.

You can draw your own conclusions from these numbers. I think it is interesting to note the inverse ratings between the AFL-CIO support and the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Likewise, it's also interesting to note that Kitty's endorsements correspond to the contribution levels she receives from these various donor groups.

It looks like Kitty will purr for cash...

Do your own research @ Project Vote Smart.

Republicans and the Culture of Stupidity

by Randolph T. Holhut

DUMMERSTON, Vt. - For the second year in a row, Vermont was ranked the smartest state in the union by the Kansas-based research group Morgan Quitno.

Rankings such as these are always in the eye of the beholder, but the Morgan Quitno study measured school spending, graduation rates, standardized test scores, dropout rates, student-teacher ratios and the percentage of students in public schools.

The study gives more weight to test scores than to school spending, so spending more on public schools doesn't necessarily count for more than actual performance by students.

Vermont has smaller class sizes and higher per-pupil expenditures than most states. Our students usually do well on standard tests and the overall quality of secondary education is good. That's why Vermont hasn't finished lower than third in the five years the Morgan Quitno study has been done.

Again, money doesn't always mean educational excellence. But it's no secret that states such as Vermont that are willing to back their support of public education with real money usually reap the benefits of such spending.

It might also explain political differences. The states in the top five - Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Maine - are "blue states" that supported the Democrats in the 2004 elections. Four of the bottom five states - Alaska, Mississippi, Nevada and Arizona - were "red states" that supported Republicans.

Read more @ OP ED News.

Citizen Joe says, "This wouldn't happen if we had conceal and carry."

2 stabbed, 5 arrested in Somerset bar brawl

BY KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
A Sunday night bar fight involving 10 men resulted in two Minnesota men being stabbed and the arrest of five other patrons, Somerset Police Chief Doug Briggs said Monday.

The incident began about 8 p.m. Sunday in Mac Daddy's and turned violent outside the Main Street bar.

The knife wounds to the two men were not life-threatening. The five men remained in the St. Croix County Jail on Monday.

Read more @ St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Who Makes Kitty Rhoades Purr?

With her assembly seat in grave danger of being taken from her this Fall by the young Democratic upstart Dan Gorman, Kitty Rhoades is pulling out all the stops on her cash collection machine. She is busy stroking the big-cash fat cats.

See who heads up Kitty's list of top individual contributors:

Williamson, David Hudson, WI $1,000
Derrick, Ron New Richmond $500
Schulte, Wayne Ellsworth, WI $500
Kutz, Lawrence Hurley, WI $450
Gagnon, Ronald Huddson, WI $300
Osbeck, Carolyn Hudson, WI $300
Williams, Jeffrey Mequon, WI $275
Cloutier, Kenneth Harshaw, WI $250
Drevnick, Michele Hudson, WI $250
Edge, Daniel E Belleville, WI $250
Rennes, Debra Peshtigo, WI $250
Rennes, Tim Peshtigo, WI $250
Richie, Michael Faribault, MN $250

Of course there are special interest groups and PAC that contribute to Kitty. Here's a list of contributors grouped by category:

Prosecutors Civil servant/public employee
Association State $500

Health Services/Institutions
Bev Pac-WI $500
GlaxoSmithKline $500
Managed Health Services/Center PAC $500
WI Health Care Association $500
WI Dental PAC (WIDPAC) $500

Construction
Building a Better WI/Wisconsin Builders Association Construction $500

Transportation
CAR PAC/Council of Auto & Truck Retailers $500

Natural Resources
KochPAC $500

Insurance
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance $500

Education
School Administrators Alliance $500

Banking & Finance
Wells Fargo Bank $500

Agriculture
Cooperative Outreach for Objective Politics $250

Apparently, Kitty has so much cash in her purse she can contribute to the other candidates. For your followers of the friendship between Republicans Mark Green and Tom Delay, you will remember this goes on a great deal between Republicans.

Kitty's PAC Rhoades for Assembly Political/Ideological has contributed $1,453 so far this election season. Here's who Kitty is giving to:
Davis, Brett H $500
Murtha, John $603
Underheim, Gregg $100
Wanggaard, Van H $250

Even though Kitty is on the Assembly Fiance Committee and the Joint Senate/Assembly Finance Committee, we are not suggesting there are any strings attached to any of this money coming to Kitty.



Investigate where the money comes from @ Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

The Democratic Party is Toast By Grover Norquist

The modern Democratic Party cannot survive the reelection of President George W. Bush and another four years of Republican control of both Congress and the White House.
No brag. Just fact.

The modern Democratic Party is the party of government. Its growth is the health of the state--and vice versa. Over time, all the party's building blocks are dependent on continuous support and reinforcement by the power of the central government. Trial lawyer money is now a major part of the Democratic Party, but it is wholly dependent on legislators and courts maintaining the present tort laws that allow lawyers to interject themselves into any and all contracts and relationships.

They siphon off some $240 billion a year--$40 billion of which stays with a few thousand lawyers. Labor unions, once the godfather of the Democratic Party but now displaced by the richer and more photogenic trial lawyers, cannot maintain their $8 billion in compulsory union dues without the laws that make such payments mandatory. Both wings of the dependency movement--those locked into welfare dependency and the bureaucrats who get paid well to manage others' dependency (and make sure none of them get jobs and become Republicans) are wholly dependent on legislators halting further welfare reform. Big city political machines thrive on federal grants and state-granted powers. And the coercive utopians--the radical environmentalists, animal-rights activists, feminists, and others who would use state power to force on us tiny non-flushable toilets and cars too small to hold families, take away the circus and our pet cats, and otherwise impose more fussbudget impositions on our lives than Leviticus--all depend on government grants to use and misuse federal and state power.

Read more @ Washington Monthly.

Note To Aunt Max Fill At www.ontheborderline.net

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
President George W. Bush
9/13/01

"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"
President George W. Bush
9/17/01



"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
President George W. Bush
3/13/02

"I am truly not that concerned about him."
President George W. Bush
3/13/02

A Christian Armey?

Armey Lashes Out Against Dobson, Values Voters


by Pete Winn
associate editor

Conservative Christians take it on the chin from an unexpected source.

Former Texas Congressman Dick Armey, once a stalwart ally in the culture wars, appears to be turning his back on Christian conservatives and their leaders.

The former majority leader of the House of Representatives reportedly told Ryan Sager, author of a new book on the Republican Party, that values voters and their leaders — especially Focus on the Family Action Chairman Dr. James Dobson — are "nasty bullies."

In the interview, Armey responded pointedly when Sager asked why he thought Christian conservatives seemed more powerful now than in the 1990s.

"To a large extent, because Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies," Armey said. "I pray devoutly every day, but being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid. There's a high demagoguery coefficient to issues like prayer in schools. Demagoguery doesn't work unless it's dumb . . . These issues are easy for the intellectually lazy and can appeal to a large demographic."

Read more @ Focus On The Family.


More original cartoons by Fat Jon @ Oggtoons.

Bringing new meaning to the ballot box...

Alabama Candidate Campaigns on Cleavage

By PHILLIP RAWLS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Loretta Nall, the Libertarian Party's write-in candidate for governor of Alabama, is campaigning on her cleavage and hoping that voters will eventually focus on her platform.

"It started out as a joke, but it blew up into something huge," said Nall, a 32-year-old with dyed blond hair.

Her campaign is offering T-shirts and marijuana stash boxes adorned with a photo of her with a plunging neckline and the words: "More of these boobs." Below that are pictures of other candidates for governor - including Republican incumbent Bob Riley and Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley - and the words: "And less of these boobs."

Nall, who spoke in an interview Friday on the Capitol steps, realizes that is about as close as she is going to get to the governor's office. But her outrageous antics have helped her attract attention not normally enjoyed by write-in candidates.

See more @ Las Vegas Sun.

No solution in sight for U.S. gun violence

By Bernd Debusmann
Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It's an American way of death. More than 30,000 people die from gunshot wounds every year, through murder, suicide and accidents.

That is an average of 82 a day, and prospects for reducing the toll are dim.

The debate between gun control advocates and the pro-gun lobby was reignited briefly this month by four school shootings between September 26 and October 9.

In one, a man carrying a pistol, a shotgun and 600 rounds of ammunition shot 10 girls execution-style at an Amish school in Pennsylvania, killing five of them, and then killed himself. In another, a 13-year-old took an AK-47 assault rifle to his school in Missouri, pointed it at administrators and other students and fired it into a ceiling.

At a hastily arranged White House Conference on School Safety on October 10, panelists covered topics ranging from metal detectors and school bullies to the value of religious beliefs and good communication between parents and schools.

Read more @ Reuters.

China moves toward "real name system" for blogs

Hudson's OTBL blogger Luke admits he is the illegitimate son of Chairman Mao and Nancy Pelosi...details at 6:66

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Internet Society of China has recommended to the government that bloggers be required to use their real names when they register blogs, state media said on Monday, in the latest attempt to regulate free-wheeling Web content.

The society, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Information Industry, said no decision had been made but that a 'real name system' was inevitable.

"A real name system will be an unavoidable choice if China wants to standardize and develop its blog industry," the official Xinhua news agency quoted the Internet Society's secretary general, Huang Chengqing, as saying.

"We suggest, in a recent report submitted to the ministry, that a real name system be implemented in China's blog industry," Huang said.

Read more@ Reuters.

Vote Early...and now you know the rest of the story.

Wisconsin Elections Board members contribute to campaigns they regulate

"You didn't give up your First Amendment rights when you joined the board. You didn't give up your freedom of association."

Kevin Kennedy
Wis. Elections Board executive director



Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - State Elections Board members donate to political campaigns, even though the board is responsible for overseeing the elections process in a nonpartisan manner.

Records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show four of the board's nine members have made campaign donations while serving on the board.

Chairman John P. Savage, the state Republican Party designee, gave $6,800 to campaigns, including $1,000 to Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green on May 4. Just weeks later, he voted against the panel's order that Green return $468,000 in donations from out-of-state political action committees. Green has appealed that order.

Savage, a Milwaukee lawyer and parliamentarian for state Republican Party conventions, said he doesn't take contributions into account during board votes and doesn't see a conflict.

But state Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, said allowing board members to donate to the candidates they regulate is a "charade."

Read more@Mercury News.