LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of September 19, 2008

The link to this electronic newsletter is being e-mailed to 6,500+

Jefferson County Democrats 

We hope you will forward the link to your own e-mail list.

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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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REMEMBER WHEN ANNE NORTHUP VOTED TO DE-FUND "BIG BIRD"?????

 

The Department of Homeland Security is enlisting Sesame Street in its family preparedness plans. "We all want our children to feel safe in this world," said Meryl Chertoff, wife of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "And who better to do that than our Sesame Street friends, Grover and Rosita!" The pamphlet's introduction has this message for kids: "I, your furry, blue friend Grover, have a story to share. Are you wondering what it is about? ...Do you want to get ready, too? You do? Oh, I am so pleased. Then read this story with me, and let us get ready together!"

 

 

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McConnell, Bunning make Washingtonian's lists

 

Both of Kentucky's U.S. Senators found spots on the Washingtonian's 'best and worst' lists with one receiving mention as a friend of lobbyists and the other getting branded as "clueless" and a "jock."

 



The magazine released the result of its survey of 1,700 Capitol Hill aides in its September 2008 edition. The annual survey asks staffers to vote for lawmakers in a host of categories, such as the hardest workers, most clueless, best and worst dressed and best and worst looking.

 

Here's the full results of the 2008 rankings. Both U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, and Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, a Hall of Fame baseball player, received mentions.

 

McConnell placed third in the "best friend to lobbyists" category behind Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was indicted on charges of trading political favors for personal gain, and Republican presidential nominee John McCain. (The magazine notes that Democratic staffers propelled McCain onto the list while Republican congressional staff members put in enough votes to land McCain third on the "enemies of lobbyists" list).

 

Bunning, meanwhile, was voted runner-up in the "biggest jock" category behind Republican Sen. Jim Thune of South Dakota. He also was selected as the most "clueless" senator while Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow placed second. The Washingtonian described the outcome as the result of "a partisan vote, with Dems fingering Bunning and Republicans pointing to Stabenow."

 

None of Kentucky's six U.S. House members received mention in the other chamber's best and worst lists.

 

- Ryan Alessi

 

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John McCain and Sarah Palin Are Still Republicans

  

Let’s go ahead and dispel the myth right now. McCain and Palin are still Republicans. They are still part of the Republican party. They have not changed their political party affiliation this year. Irrespective of their attempts to cast themselves as "reformers" and "mavericks", they still fully embrace the Republican party platform. They accept the Republican party principles of staunch conservatism permeating itself throughout the sole fabric of our society. Their political ideals reflect those of the Republican party.

There's no doubt that McCain and Palin will appeal to some Independent or undecided voters. And perhaps even some Democrats. In truth, there will always be a slice of the electorate that will find a particular candidate appealing. But that doesn't change the essence of who McCain and Palin really are. The fundamental dynamics of this Presidential election remain unchanged. McCain and Palin represent exactly what Republicans and conservatives believe in. Led by President Bush, the Republican party and neo-conservatives are the perpetrators of a disastrous Iraq war, an inept foreign policy, an economic downturn, a housing crisis, and failed domestic policies across the board. McCain and Palin can keep touting their experience as "reformers" incessantly. But they're still Republicans. McCain and Palin can tell us they're going to bring "change to Washington". But they're still Republicans. They can talk all day long about "shaking up Washington". But they're still Republicans.

McCain and Palin have rolled out their "Court Jester of Stupidity" who's only purpose is to create maddening distractions for voters. You know - things like "lipstick on a pig". But no matter how desperately they try to change the reality, the core truth remains the same. John McCain and Sarah Palin are Republicans who will unashamedly continue the domestic and foreign policies demonstrated by President Bush and the Republican party over the last 8 years.

 

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Gov. Sarah Palin "knows more about energy than probably anyone in the United States of America." --John McCain, ABC interview, Sept. 11, 2008.

 

"My job has been to oversee nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas." --Gov. Sarah Palin, Campaign event in Golden, Colorado, Sept. 15, 2008.

 

The woman touted by John McCain as the most knowledgeable person in America on energy issues has been having a lot of trouble getting her basic energy statistics straight. Last week, Sarah Palin told Charlie Gibson of ABC News that her state, Alaska, produced "nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy." Yesterday, she told a campaign rally in Golden, Colorado, that she had been responsible for overseeing "nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas." Both claims are way off.

 

The Facts

 

While Alaska is a leading producer of crude oil, it produces relatively little natural gas, hardly any coal, and no nuclear power. Its share of oil production has been declining sharply, and now ranks lower than Texas and Louisiana. As the following table shows, Alaska is the ninth largest energy supplier in the United States, accounting for a modest 3.5 percent share of the nation's total energy production.

 

State	Total production	Percent of U.S. Total
Texas	10,829 Trillion Btu	15.6
Wyoming	9,154	13.1
Louisiana	6,760	9.7
West Virginia	4,061	5.8
California	3,198	4.6
Kentucky	3,097	4.5
New Mexico	2,752	3.9
Pennsylvania	2,694	3.8
Alaska	2,417	3.5

 

SOURCE: Energy Information Administration

 

After the non-partisan Factcheck.org pointed out Palin's error in her interview with Gibson, the Alaska governor revised her claim somewhat, limiting it to oil and gas. But data compiled by the Energy Information Administration contradict her claim that she oversees "nearly 20 percent" of oil and gas production in the country. According to authoritative EIA data, Alaska accounted for just 7.4 percent of total U.S. oil and gas production in 2005.

 

It is not even correct for Palin to claim that her state is responsible for "nearly 20 percent" of U.S. oil production. Oil production has fallen sharply in Alaska during her governorship. The state's share of total U.S. oil production fell from 18 percent in 2005 to 13 percent this year, according to the EIA.

 

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AMERICA’S MIDDLE-CLASS REALITY,  Posted by Jim Hightower

 

 Among the media and political elites, there has been an anguished outcry against Sen. Barack Obama’s call for ending the Bush tax giveaways to people making more than $250,000 a year. Wait, they wail, that’s us! We’re not rich, we’re the middle class. Give us our tax breaks!

 

Some, especially Washington Republicans, go so far as to insist that no monetary figure can measure who is wealthy in America, so there should be no upper limit on who gets the goodies. Sen. John McCain – who married into a vast inherited fortune and ardently supports continued tax breaks for the rich – rushed forth to claim that some people are “poor,” even “if they are billionaires.” The difference between billionaires and bus drivers, they say, is merely a matter of attitude, not of income and assets.

 

Time to get a grip on reality. What would you guess is the median income for American families? Is it $250,000, or even a hundred thousand? No. It’s just $50,000 – meaning half of our households struggle to make ends meet on less than that. Indeed, those pulling down more than $250,000 a year are among the wealthiest two percent of American families, enjoying incomes five times greater than the typical family.

 

But … but… but… stammer the offended punditry and politicos, we live in Washington, DC, where it takes much more to be rich. Actually, not that much more. Even in that land of millionaire lobbyists, median family income is $83,000 a year.

 

A quarter-million bucks a year certainly doesn’t put you in the same zip code as billionaires, but neither are you living in the same world as bus drivers. Obama’s tax policies are rightly focused on benefiting America’s real majority. Why should the richest two percent of families – including billionaires – be getting tax breaks?

 

“Sorry, Pal, You’re Rich,” www.newsweek.com, August 27, 2008.

 

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Cheney Turned Down Request To Oversee Katrina Recovery Because ‘He Doesn’t Do Touchy-Feely’

 



Just after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney refused President Bush’s request to head up a “cabinet-level task force” aimed at speeding the recovery effort, writes the Washington Post’s Barton Gellman in a still-embargoed section of his new book, “Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency.”

 

When asked by Bush if he would “at least go do a fact-finding trip for us,” Cheney responded saying, “That’ll probably be the extent of it”:

 

Days after the storm had passed, when he finally returned to Washington from Crawford, Bush assembled his senior staff in the Oval Office. He was going to set up a cabinet-level task force, he said.

 

“I asked Dick if he’d be interested in spearheading this,” Bush announced. “Let’s just say I didn’t get the most positive response.” Bush nodded ironically toward the vice president, putting on a show for the others: Card, Rove, Bartlett, Condi Rice. His expression, the tone of voice, had a hint of edge. Can you believe this guy? […]

 

“Will you at least go do a fact-finding trip for us?” Bush asked.

“That’ll probably be the extent of it, Mr. President, unless you order otherwise,” Cheney replied.

Gellman writes that White House counselor Dan Bartlett “came to see Cheney’s demurral ‘quite frankly as pretty good judgment.’ Cheney ‘doesn’t do touchy-feely,’ Bartlett said.”

 

Cheney’s refusal to lend the weight of his office to the Katrina recovery effort is not surprising, as he has a record of underestimating the seriousness of Katrina’s devastation. As the storm hit, Cheney was reluctant to cut his vacation short. In September 2005, Cheney commented dismissively, “I think we are in fact on our way to getting on top of the whole Katrina exercise.”

 

During his fact-finding trip to the affected region, Cheney was famously insulted on live television. As 2005 came to a close, Cheney scrambled to take advantage of the Katrina tax relief act, which was aimed at spurring Katrina-related increases in charitable donations. When his tax returns were released, however, it appeared that “none of [Cheney’s] charitable contributions actually went to Katrina-related charities.” Since then, Cheney has reportedly “tried to kill proposals to increase…aid for Hurricane Katrina victims.”

 

Murray Waas has more here.

 

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Who Needs Unions? Not Big Business

Click Here 

Today’s disastrous economic headlines have been brought to you by Bush-McCain-style economic policies. They prove that an economy built on Wild West behavior without legitimate government oversight brings disaster.

Beyond the government bailouts of financial giants like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG, we need to restart our economic engine by fixing our real economy - where real people live and work.

We need immediate action by Congress to provide relief for working families, create new jobs and rebuild our economy from the ground up. The AFL-CIO is calling for fast-track congressional approval of a new economic stimulus plan that includes:

• A moratorium on home foreclosures to allow for a restructuring of subprime mortgages.
• Extended unemployment benefits for jobless workers.
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• Fiscal relief to states and funding for food stamps to make sure all Americans can provide for their families.
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• A jump-start for ready-to-go construction projects to repair schools, roads and bridges—construction that will help create good, family-supporting jobs in many communities where currently there are none.
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Join us by calling your member of Congress today and tell them to take action: (202) 224-3121

We need to fix the real economy because families like yours remain our true economic engine. It is clear that our economic system is out of whack and we need to get to work fixing it right now, not just bailing out huge corporations.

Tell your member of Congress to pass a new economic stimulus bill that will help working families in the real economy as much as the speculative economy. We need to restart America’s real economy.

Comments:  

If you're a minority and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates you're a "token hire."
If you're a conservative and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates you're a "game changer."

Black teen pregnancies? A "crisis" in black America.
White teen pregnancies? A "blessed event."

If you grow up in Hawaii you're "exotic."
Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're the quintessential "American story."

Similarly, if you name you kid Barack you're "unpatriotic."
Name your kid Track, you're "colorful."

If you're a Democrat and you make a VP pick without fully vetting the individual you're "reckless."
A Republican who doesn't fully vet is a "maverick."

If you spend 3 years as a community organizer growing your organization from a staff of 1 to 13 and your budget from $70,000 to $400,000, then become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new African American voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, then spend nearly 8 more years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, becoming chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, then spend nearly 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of nearly 13 million people, sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you are woefully inexperienced.

If you spend 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, then spend 20 months as the governor of a state with 650,000 people, then you've got the most executive experience of anyone on either ticket, are the Commander in Chief of the Alaska military and are well qualified to lead the nation should you be called upon to do so because your state is the closest state to Russia.

If you are a Democratic male candidate who is popular with millions of people you are an "arrogant celebrity".
If you are a popular Republican female candidate you are "energizing the base".

If you are a younger male candidate who thinks for himself and makes his own decisions you are "presumptuous".
If you are an older male candidate who makes last minute decisions you refuse to explain, you are a "shoot from the hip" maverick.

If you are a candidate with a Harvard law degree you are "an elitist-out of touch" with the real America.
If you are a legacy (dad and granddad were admirals) graduate of Annapolis, with multiple disciplinary infractions you are a hero.

If you manage a multi-million dollar nationwide campaign, you are an "empty suit".
If you are a part time mayor of a town of 7000 people, you are an "experienced executive".

If you go to a south side Chicago church, your beliefs are "extremist".
If you believe in creationism and don't believe global warming is man made, you are "strongly principled".

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.
If you have been married to the same woman with whom you've been wed to for 19 years and raising 2 beautiful daughters with, you're "risky".

If you're a black single mother of 4 who waits for 22 hours after her water breaks to seek medical attention, you're an irresponsible parent, endangering the life of your unborn child.
But if you're a white married mother who waits 22 hours, you're spunky.

If you're a 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton, the right-wing press calls you "First dog."
If you're a 17-year old pregnant unwed daughter of a Republican, the right-wing press calls you "beautiful" and "courageous."

If you kill an endangered species, you're an excellent hunter.
If you have an abortion your not a Christian, you're a murderer ( forget about if it happen while being date raped.)

If you teach abstinence only in sex education, you get teen parents.
If you teach responsible age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If you're a Republican senator who solicits gay sex in an airport bathroom, you get to return to your job in the Senate and are encouraged to run for re-election.
If you're a Democratic Senator who is out of public office and have an affair, your political career is over and your wife who has terminal cancer is to blame.

And finally:

Quiz question for the RNC, specifically those on the Religious Right.

Who is one of the most revered, and famous community organizers in history?

JESUS CHRIST

DAILY GRILL

"Americans are not addicted to oil. Americans are addicted to freedom." -- Former senator George Allen, 9/15/08

VERSUS

"America is addicted to oil." -- President Bush, 1/31/08

Quotes of the Day   

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Recent Senate Votes 

 National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2009 - Vote Agreed to (83-0, 17 Not Voting)

The Senate voted to take up this bill authorizing defense spending for the next fiscal year.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES
Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES

Recent House Votes 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore the Highway Trust Fund balance - Vote Passed (376-29, 28 Not Voting)

On Thursday the House voted to restore $8 billion to the Highway Trust Fund Account.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

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HUMOR    

"Everybody is trying to find out more about Sarah Palin. Everybody is trying to find out who she is. This is the latest. This week, true story, someone was able to hack into Sarah Palin's Yahoo! email account because she hadn't taken the proper security measures. Yeah. So, folks, it's official. No one in the Palin family uses protection. This is a problem. It starts with mom." --Conan O'Brien

"Barack Obama had a big night last night. Last night, Barack Obama attended a fundraiser headlined by Barbra Streisand that raised $9 million. $9 million. Yeah. It's big. This was historic. This was historic, this is the most money raised in one night, and it's the first time a black man has ever attended a Barbra Streisand concert." --Conan O'Brien

"John McCain's wife, Cindy, is angry. She lashed out at the ladies of 'The View' after the McCains appeared on the show. The McCains were on the show and then Cindy McCain is mad now. In response, Barbara Walters said, 'She's just mad because I dated her husband during the Civil War.'" --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush is keeping busy. Yesterday in Washington, President Bush met with the cast of the Broadway musical, 'The Lion King.' This country is going down the toilet and he's meeting with them. No, he did. He met with the cast of 'The Lion King,' yeah. Yeah, there was an awkward moment when Bush called Simba his favorite African leader." --Conan O'Brien

"The big news story today is Sarah Palin. Every day, Sarah Palin. And it is not exactly hard-hitting stuff. I haven’t seen the media fawn over a celebrity this much since -- Barack Obama." --Craig Ferguson

"But the dirt is beginning to come out. Apparently, one of Sarah's first acts as Governor of Alaska was getting a tanning bed installed in the governor’s mansion. The Republican Party is okay with it, which is weird, because usually they ask themselves, 'How can we make our candidate more white?'" --Craig Ferguson

"President Bush has a plan to get us out of this financial mess. It takes place in January when he leaves office, that's the first step." --Jay Leno

"The stock market crashed this week, but market analysts are not calling it a crash. They're calling it a 'correction.' Oh, shut up! A correction. You never hear that at NASCAR. 'Oh, we had a fiery correction on turn three. Four men are dead.'" --Jay Leno

"And another day, another federal bailout. This is unbelievable to me. The Federal Reserve has just loaned the AIG Insurance Company $85 billion to keep it afloat. $85 billion. That is almost as much money as Barack Obama raised last night in Beverly Hills." --Jay Leno

"Let me ask you, why are we bailing out an insurance company? I mean, what's the first thing an insurance company does when you have a loss? They cancel your policy, right? That's what we should do, cancel their policy. 'Ooh, sorry, you're too much of risk.'" --Jay Leno

"And AIG has assets of over $1 trillion. Not billion, $1 trillion. How do you have $1 trillion and still get into financial trouble?" --Jay Leno

"You know? I mean, I understand if you're living in a dumpster, rooting through trash cans, you need a couple bucks, okay. But if you have $1 trillion, don't hit me up for a loan. Think about it. Has anybody ever had $1 trillion and still failed? Okay, besides the New York Yankees." --Jay Leno

"You know, what happened to the old days when we had corporations we could trust, like Enron and WorldCom? Where are those blue chip companies?" --Jay Leno

"I had a great dinner last night. Put on a Barbra Streisand CD, ordered Domino's, saved $28,488. Last night, Barack Obama hosted a dinner with Barbra Streisand singing. It was $28,500 a plate. $28,500 a plate! But, to be fair, that did include an all-you-can-eat salad buffet. That was included. I guess the food was pretty exotic. The main course was roasted pig in a lipstick glaze." --Jay Leno

"See, that's the problem in this country. You see, Washington is out of touch with the common people. They have no idea what regular people are doing or thinking on a regular basis. You know, just this morning, I was telling that to my valet, Alejandro, as he was putting the toothpaste on my brush for me." --Jay Leno

"Stock prices are down, major companies are being purchased by the government. It is a bear market and, I have to say, Sarah Palin is just the lady to shoot it for us." --Jimmy Kimmel

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has spent much of his general election campaign for president trying to distance himself from President Bush's failed policies -- even though the policies he has outlined and would pursue as president mirror those of the last eight years. McCain's strategy so far has been to make the public forget he is offering Bush's policies. During the Republican National Convention earlier this month, McCain and his fellow conservatives seemingly refused to acknowledge that the current administration even exists: Bush's name was mentioned once while Vice President Dick Cheney's name was not mentioned at all. Convention speakers also ignored many key issues that face Americans today, such as health care, environment, and the economy. Yet at times, McCain's surrogates will let the truth slip out. In June, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) admitted that McCain's economic policies would "absolutely" be an "enhancement" of Bush's. He's right. McCain's economic policies are rooted in the same supply-side economic theories that give huge tax cuts to the rich and the most profitable corporations, which will ultimately expand the already ballooning federal deficit. Indeed, as New York Times columnist and Princeton University economics professor Paul Krugman noted, McCain's economic proposals are "Bush made permanent" and "would leave the federal government with far too little revenue to cover its expenses."
 

THE WEALTHY WILL CASH IN: If elected president, McCain plans to double down on Bush's corporate and individual tax cuts. His plan calls for reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, a plan that would save corporations $175 billion per year, with $45 billion going to America's 200 largest companies as identified by Fortune Magazine. The five largest U.S. oil companies would save a grand total of $3.8 billion per year. The wealthiest Americans would also cash in. McCain's tax plan will increase after-tax income of the richest 3.4 percent by more than twice the average for all households -- and offer no benefit to the poorest taxpayers and minimal savings for the middle class. At the same time, McCain has not offered any specifics on how he would pay for these massive cuts. In fact, McCain's plan would produce the highest federal deficit in 25 years. After inheriting Bush's $407 billion deficit, yearly deficits under McCain would increase sharply, beginning with at least $505 billion in FY2009. 
 

ENERGY -- NO ENERGY EXPERT AT SENATE HEARING WILLING TO SAY THAT OIL DRILLING IS AMERICA'S MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE: Last Friday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a Bipartisan Energy Summit featuring experts from MIT, Google, Shell, and others. At one point in the hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) tore into the energy protest House Republicans have been holding for the past several weeks. This political stunt was meant to demand a vote on oil drilling and "attack Democrats for leaving town" in August "without doing something to lower gas prices." After listing problems facing the country, including the war in Iraq, debt, to name a few, Whitehouse asked the experts whether anyone thought drilling was the top issue right now. "Do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today," asked Whitehouse. Almost nine seconds went by with complete silence. "No, it doesn't seem so," said Whitehouse after the silence. House conservatives have spent the past month claiming that their political stunt was "America's greatest hour" and the "2008 version of the Boston Tea Party." Not only are they out of step with energy experts, but according to recent polls, the majority of the American public believes that the economy -- not drilling -- is the most important issue facing the nation. 
 

THE 'ECON BRAIN,' PHIL GRAMM: Former senator Phil Gramm is known as McCain's "Econ Brain." Recently, he has called America "a nation of whiners" who are in a "mental recession." While in the Senate, he was behind the Commodity Futures Modernization Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The former made legal "the mortgage swaps distancing the originator of the loan from the ultimate collector," while the latter "destroyed the Depression-era barrier to the merger of stockbrokers, banks and insurance companies." As The Nation wrote, "those two acts effectively ended  significant regulation of the financial community." After leaving Congress, Gramm worked for the Swiss bank UBS. Politico reported that while at UBS, "Gramm lobbied Congress, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department about banking and mortgage issues in 2005 and 2006. During those years, the mortgage industry pressed Congress to roll back strong state rules that sought to stem the rise of predatory tactics used by lenders and brokers to place homeowners in high-cost mortgages." McCain has also voted against discouraging predatory lending practices.

Think Fast  

Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. credit squeeze has brought on a "once-in-a-century" financial crisis that is likely to claim more big firms before it eases. "Indeed, it will continue to be a corrosive force until the price of homes in the United States stabilizes," Greenspan said.

A new poll released by the AP and National Constitution Center finds that "Americans strongly oppose giving the president more power at the expense of Congress or the courts, even to enhance national security or the economy." Two-thirds of Americans oppose altering the balance of power to strengthen the presidency.

The government announced yesterday that "it would not allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay their departing chief executives the separation payments, known as 'golden parachutes.'" The decision deprives the departing chiefs of Fannie and Freddie of $9.8 million and $14.9 million respectively.

The Dow Jones industrial average "dropped 504.48 points, or 4.4 percent, as a record volume of more than 8 billion shares traded hands on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the biggest decline since Sept. 17, 2001 -- the day the index reopened after the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- when it fell 7 percent, or 684.81 points."

The House is expected to vote today "on a comprehensive energy package that would open most of the U.S. coastline to offshore drilling." A proposal offered by Democrats "would give states the option to allow drilling between 50 and 100 miles off their shores."

Are Americans too addicted to their BlackBerrys? A new poll of 6,500 traveling executives finds that "35 percent of them would choose their PDA over their spouse." One person interviewed responded, "That’s a tough call."Approximately 84 percent said they check their e-mails right before they go to sleep, and another 80 percent said they check them as soon as they wake up.

President Bush canceled a planned fundraising trip to Jupiter, Florida and Huntsville, Alabama so that he can "consult with his economic advisers." In his place, "Vice President Dick Cheney will attend the Huntsville fundraiser."

"Democrats in Michigan are trying to block what they call a Republican effort to deny voting rights to people facing foreclosure," filing "for an injunction to prohibit the GOP from challenging Michigan voters whose homes are on foreclosure lists." The tactic is a form of "voter caging."

Even in the midst of a trial over concealing more than $250,000 worth of improper gifts, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) continues to rake in earmarks for his state. According to an analysis by The Hill, "Stevens's earmark share in the defense bill is more than $200 million," which includes $10 million for a coal-to-liquids facility and "$2 million for hibernation genomics."

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INTERESTING     

Buy American Mention of the Week            

GOOD NEWS

The House passed legislation directing courts toward a more generous application of the Americans With Disabilities Act's "definition of disability, making it clear that Congress intended the ADA coverage to be broad and to cover anyone facing discrimination because of a disability."

VIDEOS  

McCain Revealed: The Briefing Book

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CLICK HERE FOR LATEST ISSUE OF THE "FRIDAY ALERT"

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. 

Notice to our Readers &  2008 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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