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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of February 24, 2008

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CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS

Updated on a regular basis

The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,           

640 Barret Avenue .

 

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VOTERS, YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT

 

DITCH MITCH

 

 

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REMEMBER, CHECK TO DONATE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY  

ON YOUR STATE & FEDERAL TAX RETURNS

 

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Outraged about Elaine? Tell her.

 

President Bush has appointed some real scoundrels over the years, but Elaine Chao has to be one of the worst.

As Secretary of Labor, she's done horrible damage to workers' rights – everything from slashing worker safety programs to jeopardizing overtime pay for 8 million workers.

With 11 months left in office, the worst could be yet to come. That's why we need YOU to let Elaine know you're watching her and tell her to clean up her act.

Send your letter now!

 

We've spent months researching Chao's deplorable conduct, and we're unleashing a major campaign to turn up the public pressure. Why now? Because the policies she could try to push through as she leaves would take years to undo – even in a new administration. Already she's:

Impeded the investigation of mine safety failures after the deadly Crandall Mine cave-in; 

 

• Allowed companies to avoid buying safety gear – contributing to 400,000 workers injured and 50 dead; 
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• Fast-tracked anti-union lawyers, executives, and shady lobbyists to positions of power, including one who wrote a report titled "How to close down the Department of Labor;"  and
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• Used taxpayers' dollars to order fake gold souvenir coins with her face on them.  I'm not kidding.
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To make sure Elaine knows America is watching, we want to collect 15,000 letters from people like you, and we'll personally hand-deliver them to her office.

Tell Elaine Chao that she needs to start protecting workers!

The more you learn, the clearer it becomes: the agency that's supposed to protect workers is screwing them over and over again. That's why we need you – and 14,999 other activists like you – to send a loud and clear message to Chao. She will not get away with undermining the rights of workers as she tries to leave her mark at the Department of Labor.

Click here to let Chao know you are watching – she WILL be held accountable.

When you're done, please forward this message to friends and family! Let them know what's going on at the agency that's supposed to protect workers.

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Sweeney: Nation Needs to Literally Build a Better Future  by Mike Hall

 

The best hope for creating an economic stimulus blueprint to rebuild the nation’s crumbling bridges, roads, waterways, rails and schools is aligning organizations with diverse interests behind a comprehensive plan, says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

 

“We all have a stake in this—every one of us—and we all have different motives for wanting action. For the AFL-CIO, it’s good jobs. For others, it is something different. We also depend on our infrastructure to keep our families and our communities, health, comfortable and safe, and to keep our country moving. We should be able to put some of our parochial concerns aside and come together behind a comprehensive long-range infrastructure plan.”

Sweeney’s address capped off a daylong conference on “Infrastructure: A Pathway to Prosperity” at Sweeney’s alma mata, Iona College, in New Rochelle, N.Y. Yesterday’s conference brought together unions, business, government and academic leaders to explore the hows and whys of revitalizing the economy by rebuilding an aging and failing infrastructure.

 

Says Ron DeFeo, chairman and CEO of heavy equipment manufacturer Terex Corp., which sponsored the conference:

We know that investing in our own infrastructure will produce prosperity. It will save lives from better roadways. And it will put people to work who want to live in this country and prosper as my family has. But there has to be a will to do this. It is hard work to build consensus.

 

During last month’s debate on a short-term economic stimulus package, the AFL-CIO urged Congress to include a job-creating infrastructure component, one aimed at bridge repair and school renovation. Such a measure could jump-start the nation’s much-needed long-term economic revival. Says Sweeney:

 

Call it an economic downturn, call it a cooling off or call it a recession. But we are dealing with an economy that needs both short-term and long-term stimulus, and what Congress and the president have agreed upon so far is tens of billions of dollars short of what’s needed…. We all know that infrastructure projects are the best way to create good jobs that stimulate the economy job and meet urgent needs at the same time.

 

One of the most dire areas of need is the nation’s bridges. Last summer’s collapse of the I-35W bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul that killed 13 people focused attention on the dangerous, deteriorating conditions of bridges around the country.

 

More than 21 percent of U.S. bridges are rated structurally deficient or obsolete, while some 17,000 are behind on mandated inspections, and many others are nearing the end of their projected life spans while carrying far more traffic than ever predicted.

 

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it will take $1.6 trillion over five years to bring roads, rails, bridges water ways, transit systems and other infrastructure components into “good condition.”

 

Investing in infrastructure makes good fiscal sense. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that every $1 billion invested in transportation infrastructure generates $2 billion in economic activity. Most estimates also say that every billion dollars spent on infrastructure creates between 40,000 and 50,000 jobs.

 

Sweeney says it will take a new administration in Washington before any significant action is taken because for seven years, the Bush administration has refused even to consider using infrastructure spend as a job-creation vehicle.

 

In their economic proposals, Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) both address infrastructure financing and rebuilding as a way to create jobs and boost the economy. Republican Sen. John McCain, on the other hand, didn’t even bother to show up to vote on an economic stimulus plan to help working families and help the economy.

 

 

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Comments to the Editor:  

 

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DAILY GRILL  

 

"Because Congress failed to act, it will be harder for our government to keep you safe from terrorist attack."
-- President Bush, 2/16/08, on the expiration of the Protect America Act

VERSUS

"Some of the [surveillance] authorities would carry over to the period they were established for one year. That would put us into the August, September time-frame...that's not the real issue." -- Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, 2/16/08

 

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T]his congressional game-playing by Nancy Pelosi will end up killing Americans." -- CNN's Glenn Beck, 2/17/08, on the expiration of the Protect America Act

VERSUS

"Some of the [surveillance] authorities would carry over to the period they were established for one year. That would put us into the August, September time-frame. ... [T]hat's not the real issue." -- Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, 2/16/08

 

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Quotes of the Day  

 

New York Times story on Sen. Joe Lieberman (I), he offered some candor on his feelings about the current battle between Barack Obama (D) and Hillary Clinton (D):

"It's less intense because I'm not involved in that family fight," he said. "I went over to the other family."

 

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Mitch McConnell at the RPK Lincoln Day Dinner:

"Senator Obama has won four primaries in a row. I hear Senator Clinton hasn't been this worried since a Hooters restaurant moved in two blocks from where she and Bill live."

 

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Karl Rove: “But I think that people will look back at the Iraq war and say ‘Thank God, he had the courage to do what he did.’  Source

 

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Recent Senate Votes 

 

FISA Amendments Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (68-29, 3 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this intelligence bill that would revise U.S. surveillance laws and grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the government conduct warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES

 

 

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Recent House Votes 

 

 

To extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days - Vote Failed (191-229, 9 Not Voting)

The House rejected this bill that would have extended the current FISA law for 21 days and given Congress time to resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

 

Providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 and H. Res. 980, contempt of Congress resolutions - Vote Passed (223-32, 1 Present, 173 Not Voting)

The House passed this resolution finding former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas issued by the Judiciary Committee.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted Not Voting

 

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HUMOR     

 

"Things aren't looking good for Hillary. Like a lot of women in Washington, I think she's just starting to realize she may have slept with Bill Clinton for nothing." --Jay Leno

"The New York Times is claiming that John McCain, who is 71 years old, had an inappropriate relationship with a woman who is a Washington lobbyist. The good news is there's no footage…Political experts say this could be a huge scandal because the woman is 31 years younger than he is. In a related story, today McCain was endorsed by Bill Clinton." –Conan O'Brien

"John McCain seems reinvigorated. He has a new campaign slogan, 'He'll lead you into the 21st century.' I like it better than the old slogan, which was 'He'll lead you into assisted living.'" --David Letterman

"Former President George H.W. Bush will endorse Senator John McCain for president. They have been close friends since the Civil War and the former president says that John McCain is the only candidate who has the strength, the leadership and the vision to dig America out of this giant hole his son has put us in." --Jimmy Kimmel

"Experts believe that now that Fidel has resigned, he will either be succeeded by his brother, Raul, or by his idiot son, Fidel W. Castro." --David Letterman

"Have you heard about this phenomenon that keeps happening at Barack Obama rallies? Apparently women have been fainting. They're so taken by his speeches that they're passing out. Well, today it happened at one of Hillary's speeches, and luckily Bill ran into the crowd and gave her mouth to mouth." --Jay Leno

"There's already trouble down there in Texas in the primary. Bill, of course, got into a shouting match with an oil well…But here's the deal: Hillary is worried about Bill wandering off in Texas, so today she had him branded and gelded…But the United States military is thinking about shooting down Hillary's campaign before it falls to earth and hurts somebody." --David Letterman

"How about that John McCain, though? He looks like the guy in front of you at the movies whose wife has to repeat everything, doesn't he a little bit? He looks like the guy who backed over his own mailbox. He looks like the guy whose sweater is always misbuttoned - you know that guy? He looks like the guy that always tells you he's 72 years young. He looks like the guy who's bragged that oatmeal has lowered his cholesterol." --David Letterman (Read more of Lettermna's McCain riffs)

"The founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream are endorsing Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton, which makes sense because Baracky Road is a catchier name for an ice cream than Pantsuits and Cream." --Conan O'Brien

"Hillary Clinton out on the campaign trail. She's very sly. You know, she's been campaigning about Black History Month, and she said today that America has come so far that a black man could one day grow up and possibly be vice president of the United States." --Jay Leno

"As you know, Hillary has lost the last eight primaries in a row. So, any crying you see from now on is going to be real." --Jay Leno

"This campaign is kind of fascinating, because the three major candidates have to be very careful when they criticize each other. Like, you can't criticize Hillary. Ooh, that's sexism. You can't criticize Barack. Ooh, that's racism. And you can't go after McCain, because that's elder abuse." --Jay Leno
 
 

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IRAQ -- LACK OF ARMORED VEHICLES COSTING MARINES THEIR LIVES: The AP reported last Friday that, according to a study written by a Marine Corps civilian official, "Hundreds of U.S. Marines have been killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq because Marine Corps bureaucrats refused an urgent request in 2005 from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles," known as mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles or, MRAPs. The study said that the delayed delivery of MRAPs to the battlefield resulted from "gross mismanagement" within the Marine Corps' ranks. While the study's author, Franz J. Gayl, recommended that the Marine Corp's inspector general conduct an inquiry to determine any culpability, Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Kit Bond (R-MO), both of whom have, in the past, urged the Pentagon to send more MRAPs to Iraq, echoed Gayl's recommendation. Biden called for an "official investigation to figure out why this happened and to make sure it never happens again." Bond added that the government shouldn't have to "explain to the families of American troops that a cost effective solution capable of saving lives was not deployed because of bureaucratic delays or insufficient funds."

 

ECONOMY -- BUSH SAYS IRAQ WAR HAS 'NOTHING TO DO WITH ECONOMY': Yesterday on NBC's Today Show, President Bush denied any connection between the struggling economy and the $10 billion a month being spent on the Iraq war. When host Ann Curry asked Bush if he believed "spending on the war" had impacted the economy, Bush replied, "I don't think so." He added, "I think actually the spending in the war might help with jobs...because we're buying equipment and people are working." He blamed the economy's troubles solely on the housing market, saying the economy is "down because we built too many houses." But the national unemployment is going up, increasing 13.6 percent in seasonably adjusted terms from December 2006 to December 2007. Sixty-eight percent of the American public believes that redeployment from Iraq would fix the country's economic woes.

 

MILITARY -- MAKER OF SUBSTANDARD HELMETS GRANTED ADDITIONAL CONTRACT FOR ARMOR: Earlier this month, the military contractor Sioux Manufacturing agreed to pay a $2 million fine for producing over two million substandard Kevlar helmets. According to Brandon Friedman of VoteVets, even while the manufacturer was the target of a federal investigation, the Department of Defense awarded the company one of three U.S. government contracts to provide armor for the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs). According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the Department of Defense granted the contract to Sioux Manufacturing just 12 days before the suit over Kevlar helmets was settled. CREW is requesting that the House and Senate Armed Services Committees investigate the $74 million contract granted to the company.

ADMINISTRATION -- BUSH'S BORDER FENCE TO BYPASS PROPERTY OF WEALTHY DONOR: In October 2006, President Bush authorized the construction of a 700-mile border fence between the United States and Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing strong opposition from Texans who don't want the fence cutting through their land. Unfortunately for these homeowners, DHS gave them only "30 days to change their mind or face legal action," and now U.S. attorneys "have begun filing lawsuits against the holdouts." While DHS has no problem pursuing elderly and struggling homeowners, it will conveniently leave untouched the border property of Dallas billionaire Ray L. Hunt. In 2000, Hunt was a Bush-Cheney "Pioneer," and more recently, he "donated $35 million to Southern Methodist University to help build Bush's presidential library." Daniel Garza, a 76-year old man who might lose his home to the border fence's intrusion, noted, "I don’t see why they have to destroy my home, my land, and let the wall end there." Pointing across the street to Hunt's land, he added, "How will that stop illegal immigration?"

 

ADMINISTRATION -- CHRISTIE, ASHCROFT REFUSE TO TESTIFY ON NO-BID CONTRACT: Last fall, New Jersey U.S. attorney Christopher Christie awarded former attorney general John Ashcroft, his one-time boss, a lucrative no-bid contract "to monitor a large corporation willing to settle criminal charges out of court." In  December, the Justice Department's discovery of the contract given to Ashcroft's consulting firm, The Ashcroft Group, "prompted an internal inquiry into the department's procedures for selecting outside monitors to police settlements with large companies." Christie -- once a top fundraiser for President Bush -- and Ashcroft were supposed to appear before a House Judiciary subcommittee next week to testify about the deal. The hearing, however, has been postponed until next month. Christie has said he would testify only if asked by the Bush administration, but "Justice Department spokesman Paul Bresson did not say whether his department had asked Christie to testify, or whether they were refusing to do so." The committee has also "still not heard back from the Justice Department regarding its request for Christie to testify." Marcy Wheeler at the site Emptywheel noted that "it sure does look like they're trying to avoid Congressional scrutiny" of their cronyism.

 

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Think Fast           

 

Last week, "scores of Hill staffers" -- and a couple of senators -- snagged "all-star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens' coveted John Hancock last week." Yet none of these staffers or lawmakers is now confessing to receiving an autograph after reports that it may "be a violation of the Senate and House rules that ban gifts worth more than $50." A Clemens signature reportedly goes for about $75, and "a signed baseball can garner upwards of $450."

 

A McClatchy analysis finds that "jobless Americans are spending more time looking for work and that those who can't find work now make up a greater share of the unemployed." As of January, "almost one in five unemployed workers" had been jobless for six months or more.

 

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency misspent millions of dollars it received from selling used travel trailers," according to a draft report by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security. "Instead of buying more trailers," FEMA paid for "sport utility vehicles, travel expenses and purchase card accounts."

 

In "a radical change to its financial aid program," Stanford University will announce today that it will no longer charge tuition to students whose families earn less than $100,000 a year.

 

Brent Wilkes, "a California defense contractor and prominent GOP campaign contributor," was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison yesterday for lavishing former Rep. Duke Cunningham (D-CA) with money and other bribes "in exchange for nearly $90 million in work from the Pentagon."

 

 Federal agents are investigating whether former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) "knowingly played a role in an alleged conspiracy in 2006 to influence a Mississippi judge presiding over a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against" his brother-in-law, "famed plaintiff attorney Richard 'Dickie' Scruggs." In November 2007, Scruggs was indicted for bribing the judge

 

It's no secret that House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) enjoys golfing. Harper's, however, reports that in 2007, Boehner "used money from his political funds to pay for food or lodging at least 16 resorts or country clubs. His combined spending between 2005 and 2007 at the Wetherington Golf & Country Club alone came to nearly $60,000," roughly "equivalent to the median family income (for a three-person family) in Boehner's home state of Ohio."

 

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INTERESTING  

 

 

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Buy American Mention of the Week                  

 

Toys, Terror-Free Oil, Art, Pillow Cases, Politics, and Glenn Beck

 

            In case you thought our problems with dangerous Chinese imports was over, we now learn that we can’t even buy Valentine’s Day candy without surprises of the wrong kind. Click here to read the article about how pieces of metal were found in Valentine’s Day lollipops imported from, you guessed it, China. Or did you hear about the Chinese maker of blood-thinner medicine heparin whose imports weren’t inspected by the FDA and resulted in hundreds becoming ill and four deaths? You can read about that one here. These articles and many others can be found on the www.howtobuyamerican.com website.

 

            I still maintain that unfortunately we are at the tip of the iceberg on the problem with Chinese recalls. The issue may have seemed to disappear from the top news stories, but once the nominees of the two major parties are decided, news on the Chinese recalls will surface once again and the candidates will have to deal with the issue. If John “I’m the biggest free trader you will ever know” McCain gets the republican nod, he’s sure to tell us why we need to continue to engage China, why more and freer trade is vital to our economy, and we’ll just have to spend more tax dollars beefing up inspection of the ever-increasing volume of Chinese goods. I’m not endorsing the democrats here, just giving you a little straight talk about McCain’s free trade zealotry.

 

            Most of us haven’t forgotten about the massive numbers (over 22 million in 2007 alone) of imported toys Chinese toys that posed dangers to America’s children. The most recent website of a toy company I’ve discovered that makes their toys in the good ole USA is www.younameittoys.com where you will find educational puzzles for developing minds. You’ll find name & picture puzzles, alphabet & maps, clocks & dinosaurs, and rocking horses, all made in the U.S. You can look at my entire list of American-made toys and companies by clicking here.

 

            What might be even worse than a nation like China amassing more power than the United States? Try the Middle East. I would encourage you to visit www.terrorfreeoil.com to find out which gas stations use oil from countries that sponsor terror.

 

            On the lighter side, try www.dreamsak.com for 100% American-made personalized pillow cases. If you’d like to support American craftsman, visit www.artfactory.com where you’ll find American manufacturers of custom doors, gates, furniture, lighting and hardware.

 

            I really enjoy writing these “Buy American Mention of the Week” articles and dispelling the myth that nothing is made in America anymore. After watching Glenn Beck the other day and hearing him talk about the money we’re going to receive from the economic stimulus package, he quoted Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke who said, "You'd hope that [consumers] would spend it on things that are domestically produced so that the spending power doesn't go elsewhere." Glenn Beck then commented that nothing is domestically produced anymore. So I sent him an email telling him how this was incorrect and asking him to visit www.howtobuyamerican.com as proof. You can do the same by emailing Glenn Beck at me@glennbeck.com.

 

Roger Simmermaker is the author of How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism. He also writes “Buy American Mention of the Week” articles for his website www.howtobuyamerican.com and is a member of the Machinists Union and National Writers Union. Roger has been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC and has been quoted in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal and US News & World Report among many other publications.

 

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VIDEOS    

 

 

Kristol: It’s ‘Unbelievable’ That Congress Won’t Give Bush ‘The Benefit Of The Doubt’ On Spying

 

Lies, Damned Lies, and National Security

 

See How the Bush Budget Affects You

 

 

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NEED COMPUTER ASSISTANCE?? 

Democrat Activist Mike Bailey is now providing “Professional Computer Support.”  He can be contacted at 502-558-4026, or mikebailey2000@usa.net. 

 

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Notice to our Readers &  2008 Primary Election Candidates:

This newsletter will carry, in this space, any Democratic candidates' notice of events or communications (250 words or less) to our readers that the candidate provides to the editor at rcrider@insightbb.com

 

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Publication of Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Party Tim Longmeyer, Chairman Ray Crider, Editor 640 Barret Ave Louisville, Ky  40202 502-582-1999   Paid for by the Louisville/Jefferson Co Democratic Party Charlie Horton, Treasurer Produced & Printed In-House

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