Home > Newsletter Archive  > Current Newsletter

 

LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of September 16, 2007

The link to this electronic newsletter is being e-mailed to 4,000+

Jefferson County Democrats 

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

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

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 .

 

Notice to our Readers &  2007 General 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@louisvilledem.com

Divide and conquer failed the GOP in the long run, By Marc Dunkelman 

The dual resignations of Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales in August probably marked the effectual end of the Bush administration. The two aides came to typify the Bush administration's way of doing business, and without them, the president may be more aptly labeled a lame duck.

But to the extent that their departures have sparked debate about their legacies, their tenures also may have something to teach Democrats, many of whom are often caught uttering questions akin to, "Where is our Karl Rove?"

The truth is that the Rove/Gonzales style of politics has proven a failure. Simply contrast President Bush's record with that of his predecessor. President Bill Clinton balanced the budget, presided over a growing economy, reduced inequality, expanded health-care coverage, slashed crime rates, and reformed welfare - all during a decade of unprecedented peace and prosperity. He left office with the highest approval ratings awarded a departing president in the modern era.

Rove and Gonzales leave office having been at the core of an administration that will be blamed for fomenting what one Republican senator called "the worst foreign policy mistake in U.S. history."

When he was elected to his second term, the president said, "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it." It didn't buy much.

So what was the hallmark of the Rove/Gonzales style of politics - and how does it compare with the Clinton strategy?

Rove set out to segment the electorate, determine which constituencies would support the president, maximize their turnout, and damn the rest to the political hinterlands. And much as Rove was the architect, Gonzales was the practitioner. He took Rove's flare for partisanship and translated it into policy - first at the White House and then as attorney general.

Their strategy failed because whatever advantages "divide and conquer" proffer a candidate, it makes governing next to impossible.

Sept. 11 offered President Bush an opportunity to unify the country. But Rove chose instead to demonize those who opposed the war and the national security strategy generated by partisans in the White House - to imply that Democrats were not up to the task of defending our national security.

That left Bush impotent to cut deals and make the types of broad alliances necessary to cut through the morass in Washington. The president's second term has been without a major domestic policy achievement. His high-priority efforts to reform Social Security and immigration have been scuttled by partisanship.

That strategy - and the results - stands in stark contrast to Clinton, who instead of dividing the electorate, took pains to expand his party's political appeal to a broader spectrum of voters.

And while the important measure is how effectively a strategy allows a leader to govern, it should be noted that the Rove and Gonzales model also proved to be a failed political strategy. While the president's difficulties in Iraq may be the single biggest influence on the political landscape today, that quagmire is inextricably tied up with the partisanship that has run rampant in Washington since George W. Bush took office. The U.S. attorney scandal and the deep sense of worldwide alienation rooted in Gonzales' position on torture are among the litany of issues that have contributed to a political landscape that makes Democrats ripe for victory in 2008.

Democrats should learn from Rove and Gonzales' failures. We don't need our Karl Rove. Leaders who embrace a strategy that brings more Americans under the umbrella of a governing coalition will be rewarded not only with the presidency, but also with the opportunity to make our country safer, cleaner, less divided and more hopeful for the future.

If Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales teach Democrats nothing else, let them teach us that.  SOURCE

****************************    

Yarmuth Announces Nearly $1 Million for Louisville’s ‘Family & Children First’

Funding will provide services for Louisville families in need

Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) announced that Louisville’s Family & Children First, a non-profit dedicated to helping families find solutions to difficult and traumatic situations through counseling and education, will receive $998,379 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  The organization annually serves more than 3,500 families through neighborhood based centers, outreach services and a crisis treatment center.

“We are very fortunate in Louisville to have a place for families to get the help and compassion they need to make it through their toughest times,” Congressman Yarmuth said.  “Family and Children First offers our community indispensable resources to ensure that parents can stand on their own and give their children the love, care, and attention they need to thrive.”

The services Family & Children First offers include New Parent Support Service, a starting point for young, overwhelmed first time parents; Family Counseling Service, which addresses a host of family, child, couple, and individual problems; and Family and School Service to help strengthen families’ relationships and improve their students’ success; a Child Advocacy Center, which provides child sexual abuse trauma response and offers a haven for children and families overcoming horrific personal experiences; and a Homeless Prevention Service that also reacts during crises as families are threatened by enormous disruptions to their lives.

Family & Children First will use the funding to better assess needs and craft programs more suitable to local realities, enhance group education to reach a larger segment of the community through faith-based and community organizations, and create more focused prevention programs for systemic reforms in health and social service institutions.  They will work with faith based and community organizations to decrease child victimization and delinquency.

Yarmuth serves on the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, where he is developing a reputation for confronting issues facing at-risk youth.  This summer, the Congressman brought Louisville witnesses to Washington to testify at a hearing on runaway, homeless, and missing children, and he hosted more than 100 regional organizations at a forum on disconnected youth in Louisville. Yarmuth is also lead sponsor of the expansion and reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.

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

Health Premiums Jump Again for Workers and Employers, by Mike Hall

A new survey confirms what workers with employer-provided health insurance know every time they check their pay stub; health insurance premiums get bigger every year—providing even more evidence that it’s time to fix our broken health care system.

In 2007, premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 6.1 percent. Today, the average annual premium for family coverage is $12,106. The worker’s share of that bill is $3,281, according to the 2007 Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.

The climbing premium costs mean employers are paying more, too, making it more difficult for them to compete with businesses that don’t offer coverage.

About 158 million people rely on employer-sponsored health care and the study shows that premiums for family coverage are eating a bigger part of workers’ real income. The Kaiser study finds that since 2001, premiums have jumped 78 percent while wages have risen just 19 percent, barely outpacing the 17 percent inflation rate over the past six years. Says Drew Altman, president and CEO of Kaiser:

Every year, health insurance becomes less affordable for families and businesses. Over the past six years, the amount families pay out of pocket for their share of premiums has increased by about $1,500. The number of options for low-wage earners is limited and the greatest burden of all health care costs falls to this segment of the population.

Of course, premiums are not the only costs working families shoulder for their health care. The Kaiser study reports that deductibles under employer-provided plans can range from $400 to as high as $1,700 a year and that average co-payments for prescription drugs can run from $11 for generic drugs to as high as $43 per prescription for name brand drugs.

The report warns that workers’ health care costs will continue to increase:

Many employers indicate that they expect to make significant changes to their health plans and benefits in 2008. Overall, 21 percent of firms say they are “very likely” to raise workers’ premium contribution next year. Some firms also say they are “very likely” to increase office visit cost-sharing (13 percent), increase deductibles (12 percent) and increase prescription drug cost-sharing (11 percent). Very few firms say they are “very likely” to restrict eligibility for coverage or drop health coverage altogether.

As workers with health insurance pay more and more for coverage, tens of millions of American have no health insurance at all. The latest figures from the federal government show in 2006 there were 2.2 million more Americans, including children, without health care coverage than in 2005—a record 47 million with no coverage.

On Labor Day, the AFL-CIO launched a massive national drive to fix our broken health care system and secure high -uality health care for all by mobilizing and educating union members, building key alliances with businesses and progressive groups and making the 2008 elections a mandate on health care reform.

Many of the presidential candidates have outlined their health care plans and there are several health care bills in Congress. Many of the plans and bills contain important pieces of the puzzle to bring health care to all. The AFL-CIO has not endorsed a particular plan, but a health care blueprint must:

• Control rising and irrational costs.
• Provide comprehensive, high-uality health care to all.
• Give every family the opportunity and responsibility for preventive care.
• Preserve the right to chose and use your own doctor.
• Ask the government to play a strong role to curb corporate greed and incompetence and ensure more fairness and efficiency.
• Lower employer costs and,in turn, ask them to pay their fair share.
• Build on what’s best about American health care, while drawing what works from other countries.

For more information on the AFL-CIO’s mobilization click here, and click here for more information on the Kaiser study. 

*********************************** 

Giuliani Attends 9/11 Event with Author Who Attacked 9/11 Widows

The NY Daily News reports that Rudy Giuliani is attending a 9/11 event tonight in New York City, with right-wing radio host Sean Hannity and provocateur Ann Coulter. As Greg Sargent over at TPM Café points out Coulter has a history of attacking the families of the 9/11 victims.

Last June she attacked the 9/11 families by saying,"Do I have to kill my mother so I can be a victim, too?"

She claimed that 9/11 families would not give up their “celebrity and notoriety” to “have their husbands back.”

In her book and on television, she’s attacked the widows of 9/11 families by saying, "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths."

As the NY Daily News points out this morning, Giuliani has decided to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 with Ann Coulter tonight

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

Nothing this week.

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

 DAILY GRILL      

"Rather than mandate arbitrary timetables for troop withdrawals or micromanage our military commanders, this legislation enables our servicemen and women to follow the judgment of commanders on the ground." -- President Bush, 5/26/07, on valuing the judgment of his military commanders

VERSUS

"My reaction...was, 'No military guy is gonna tell a civilian how to react.'" -- Bush, 2006, rejecting retired generals' calls for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation as Defense Secretary

***********

We're "kicking their ass."  -- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on the Iraq war, 9/7/07

VERSUS

Every month in 2007 has seen more U.S. military casualties than the same month in 2006. -- icasualties.org

***********

Osama bin Laden "is a man on the run in a cave who is virtually impotent other than his ability to get these messages out." -- Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend, 9/9/07

VERSUS

"U.S. intelligence and law enforcement chiefs and a Cabinet member said Monday that Osama bin Laden remained the most dangerous terrorist threat to the United States six years after the 9-11 attacks." -- McClatchy, 9/10/07

***********

"It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing." -- President Bush, 5/2/07, vetoing a bill to set a withdrawal timeline from Iraq

VERSUS

In a "nationwide, prime-time television address tomorrow," President Bush "will endorse the broad outlines of a plan to bring home 30,000 troops from Iraq by the middle of next year if conditions are favorable." -- The Boston Globe, 9/12/07

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

"No, benchmarks were something that Congress wanted to use as a metric." -- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, 9/12/07

VERSUS

"It was the White House and the Iraqi government, not Congress, that first proposed the benchmarks for Iraq that are now producing failing grades, a provenance that raises questions about why the administration is declaring now that the government's performance is not the best measure of change." -- New York Times, 9/5/07

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

"[F]ew if any members of Congress are shifting their position [on Iraq]."  --Washington Times, 9/13/07

VERSUS

"Before I went, I was not prepared to say it's time to start bringing our troops home," Walsh said. "I am prepared to say that now. It's time."  -- Rep. Jim Walsh (R-NY), 9/11/07

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

Quotes of the Day      

"We're kicking ass." --President Bush, on the security situation in Iraq, to Australian Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile

"I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch." --President Bush, on his post-presidential ambitions, as quoted by author Robert Draper in Dead Certain

"I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president." --President Bush, as quoted by Draper

"We Bushes cry easily." --President George Bush Sr., in 1989
 

TOP     

Recent Senate Votes 

 

Military Construction/Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, FY2008 - Vote Passed (92-1, 7 Not Voting)

Senate lawmakers passed this bill increasing medical assistance to veterans.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES

Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES

State/Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (81-12, 7 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this measure that would provide $34 billion to fund foreign aid and U.S. diplomacy for the upcoming fiscal year.

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

 

College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (79-12, 9 Not Voting)

This bill will trim over $20 billion in federal subsidies to institutions that create student loans in order to increase financial aid to college students.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO

Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO

 

Recent House Votes 

 

Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act - Vote Passed (333-75, 24 Not Voting)

House lawmakers easily passed this bill re-authorizing housing assistance for Native Americans.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

 

Patent Reform Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (220-175, 37 Not Voting)

The House passed this legislation that would revise patent laws.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

 

College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (292-97, 43 Not Voting)

The House gave final approval to this bill that would cut over $20 billion in federal subsidies to institutions that create student loans in order to increase financial aid to college students.

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

TOP

HUMOR    

"Earlier today was the big Iraq report. General Petraeus said the troops can start coming home next summer. ... I believe his exact words were, 'And then it's Hillary's mess.'" --David Letterman

"Another big day on Capitol Hill. General Petraeus testified again today before Congress about the Iraq war. Some Democrats are claiming that Petraeus' answers are scripted by President Bush. Which explains Petraeus' use of the word 'surgerrific.'" --Conan O'Brien

"I guess the Secret Service had a little scare yesterday. ... For a couple of hours, they could not find President Bush. Turns out he was just hiding behind General Petraeus." --Jay Leno

"The general testified yesterday before the Senate. After listening to him, Senator Larry Craig said, 'I'm feeling a surge of my own.' ... Senator Craig from Idaho is blaming the media for his guilty plea, especially that cute guy from the Associated Press." --David Letterman

"In this new video, Osama bin Laden makes a pitch to America by attacking the Democrats. And then he says we should all convert to Islam 'cause there are no taxes. He's now running third in Iowa. ... Is it me or is bin Laden getting more Western in these videos? Like in this new one where he wants us to convert to Islam, he says if you act now, he'll throw in a free prayer rug." --Jay Leno

"Restroom enthusiast Senator Larry Craig said today the only reason he plead guilty to that incident in the Minneapolis airport bathroom was because he was being hounded by reporters investigating rumors that he was gay. And what better way to shoot down those rumors, really." --Jay Leno

"It's not just the Republicans. In Tennessee, Democratic state Representative ... Rob Briley, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, got drunk, fled the scene of the accident, led police on a 100-mile-per-hour chase, and when the cops pulled their guns on him, he demanded he finish his drink. He's now being charged with impersonating a Hollywood celebrity." --Jay Leno

"Rosie O'Donnell also has a brand new book. ... In the book, there's three chapters about Bush, and there's another one about the president." --David Letterman

TOP

        IRAQ -- O'HANLON RIPS GAO REPORT, CALLS IT 'FLAT-OUT SLOPPY': Last week, Gen. David Petraeus alleged a 75 percent reduction in "sectarian violence" in Iraq and is expected to say the same before Congress. In contrast, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office recently reported that daily attacks in Iraq have "remained unchanged" throughout the escalation. The Washington Post reports today that national security analysts are questioning the military's statistics. National Intelligence Estimate authors, Iraq Study Group members, intelligence officials, and academics now "accuse the military of cherry-picking positive indicators." Brookings Institution analyst Michael O'Hanlon, however, attacked the GAO and lauded the Pentagon's distortions. In an analysis only he could offer, O'Hanlon rips the GAO report for being both "overly rigorous" and "flat-out sloppy." Ironically, while O'Hanlon bashes the GAO when he doesn't like what it says, his very own Iraq Index borrows heavily from GAO research to report on the situation on the ground. A senior military intelligence official attributed the Pentagon's citation of the drastic reduction in violence "to a desire to provide Petraeus with ammunition for his congressional testimony." 

TERRORISM -- ON ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11, BIN LADEN STILL AT LARGE, AL QAEDA RESURGENT: Recently, Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend called Osama bin Laden "virtually impotent" after he released a tape threatening attacks against the United States. But in a congressional hearing yesterday, intelligence officials said that bin Laden "remained the most dangerous terrorist threat to the United States," contradicting the White House line. "[W]e are not safe, and nor are we likely to be for a generation or more," said John Scott Redd, National Counter Terrorism Center Director. In reality, al Qaeda "retains the ability to organize complex, mass-casualty attacks and inspire others." Bin Laden, who "already has a safe haven in Pakistan" and "may be stronger than ever," is behind much of this resurgence. He has been "able to fill in the gaps between their megaplots with a rising stream of smaller-scale, homegrown attacks." Some Bush administration officials recently conceded that they overestimated the damage done to al Qaeda since 2001. 

AFGHANISTAN -- RUMSFELD PROCLAIMS AFGHANISTAN A 'BIG SUCCESS': In an new interview with GQ magazine, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insists that in Afghanistan, "28 million people are free. They have their own president, they have their on parliament. Improved a lot on the streets. ... It's been a big success!" In reality, the country has been abandoned by the United States. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said recently that security there had "definitely deteriorated," an assessment one former national security official deemed "a very diplomatic understatement." Yesterday, two suicide bombings killed more than 20 Afghans, representing the rise of terrorist attacks in the country. The Taliban has carried out "103 suicide bombings in Afghanistan in the first eight months of 2007, a 69 percent increase over the same period last year." The resurgence of Taliban power has also led to record production levels of opium for the second year in a row. Rumsfeld, meanwhile, insists that he continues to receive "hundreds and hundreds" of letters "complimenting" him for his service to the country. 

MEDIA -- STUDY INDICATES 'CONSERVATIVE COLUMNISTS GET MORE SPACE' IN NEWSPAPERS: A new study by Media Matters found that "in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts." Sixty percent of daily newspapers print more conservative than progressive syndicated columnists every week; only 20 percent of the nation's daily newspapers maintain a balance between the two. In a given week, conservative columnists reach a circulation of 152 million, versus progressives' 125 million. "In three out of four broad regions of the country -- the West, the South, and the Midwest -- conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists." This study serves as a conclusive counter to the claims of conservatives voices like Bill O'Reilly, who asserted that "there's no question the media in America is heavily liberal -- every study shows that," and Michelle Malkin, who wrote off the "liberal media" when some newscasters refused to wear Iraq ribbons on their lapels.

ETHICS -- LAW SCHOOL DEAN FIRED FOR LIBERAL VIEWS: On Sept. 4, the new law school at the University of California at Irvine hired Erwin Chemerinsky, a well-known constitutional scholar, as the school's inaugural dean. Less than a week later, Michael V. Drake, Irvine's chancellor, fired him, "saying that he had not been aware of how Chemerinsky's political views would make him a target for criticism from conservatives." The law school, which recently sold the rights to its name to Donald Bren, billionaire real estate broker and long time Republican donor, for $20 million, will restart its search for a new dean this week. Chemerinsky expressed regret about the situation: "Obviously I'm sad because it's something I was excit[ed] about. I'm angry because I don't believe anyone liberal or conservative should be denied a position like this because of political views." Last year, Chemerinsky was named one of the "top 20 legal thinkers in America," and his hiring was initially considered a major accomplishment for the fledgling law school.

'OUTRAGEOUS AND OFFENSIVE': The cost of employer-provided health insurance jumped 6.1 percent this year, well above the increase in wages and consumer prices. Premiums have risen 78 percent since 2001, more than four times the 19 percent increase in employee pay over the same period, and the number of Americans covered by employer-provided health insurance dropped almost 5 percent from 2000 to 2006. As Drew Altman, the president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said, "Every year health insurance becomes less affordable for families and businesses." As the number of uninsured adults jumped to 47 million in 2006, the number of uninsured children rose to 8.7 million, over one in 10. Despite this sobering fact, Bush has threatened to veto the proposed renewal of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which would cover five million children in addition to the seven million already in the program. The expansion would be paid for by an increase in the tobacco tax, a proposal Bush's own Cancer Panel recommends. Even conservatives are frustrated by Bush's stance on the SCHIP renewal, arguing that his actions "will reverse longstanding agreements with the states and reduce the number of children who receive health care." As Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) put it, "I just think it's outrageous and offensive that this President would threaten to veto this legislation." It is hardly surprising that 64 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.

TOP  

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. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  

Think Fast        

At a White House meeting this week, President Bush told Democratic leaders said he planned to "start doing some redeployment." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) immediately interjected: "No you're not, Mr. President. ... You're just going back to the presurge level."

Citing remarks about troop withdrawals by Gen. David Petraeus, "Democrats began a fresh campaign Wednesday to woo centrist Republicans on Iraq." "Petraeus assured me that he favors continuing reductions beyond the pre-surge levels," Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) said.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) blasted Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell yesterday for taking political orders from the White House. Harman ended her comments by saying, "Jane to Mike: please stop. You're undermining the authority of your office."

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is poised to reexamine "the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in coming weeks." Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) "issued letters to a range of Abramoff associates seeking information about his contacts with the White House."

78 years: The life expectancy for Americans, according to new government figures from 2005. While the span is the longest in U.S. history, it is still "lower than the life span in more than three dozen other countries." 

16,306: Number of species "near extinction" according to the World Conservation Union, up from 16,118 last year. Experts attributed the jump in endangered species to habitat loss, climate change, and infectious diseases.

At a Senate hearing yesterday, lawmakers investigated the influx of toys from China with lead paint and other defects. The Washington Post writes that instead of showing contrition, Nancy Nord -- the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- "treated lawmakers as if they were impertinent children."

"A carefully constructed compromise on a draft law governing Iraq's rich oil fields, agreed to in February after months of arduous talks among Iraqi political groups, appears to have collapsed. The apparent breakdown comes just as Congress and the White House are struggling to find evidence that there is progress toward reconciliation and a functioning government."

"A bomb ripped through a crowd of civilians at a public square in eastern Baghdad on Thursday," shattering the calm on the first day of Ramadan -- the Muslim month of fasting -- and killing at least four people, Iraqi officials said.

On Monday, House members held candles to commemorate the 9/11 anniversary. All was "well and good" until House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) candle-card "caught on fire in the middle of her remarks. Ever the cool customer, the speaker threw it to the ground and stomped it out with her foot, never once breaking stride in her speech." Rep. Steve Cohen's (D-TN) candle-card also caught on fire. See pictures HERE.

In an "effort to show that the Justice Department engaged in political prosecutions," House leaders "are beginning an investigation this week of the prosecution of Don Siegelman, the former Democratic governor of Alabama who was imprisoned in June on federal corruption charges."

46: Number of senators, including six Republicans, who yesterday called on President Bush "to rescind new administrative restrictions that will make it harder for states to expand their popular State Children's Health Insurance Program."

The "highly anticipated hearing before the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees" yesterday was marked with "outbursts from CODEPINK protesters and snafus with witnesses' microphones." "That really pisses me off, Duncan," said chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), not realizing his mic was still on. When Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) "leaned in" to talk about the protestors, Skelton could be heard stating, "Those a--holes."

"President Bush is expected to name an attorney general soon - perhaps this week. The five finalists: Michael Mukasey, Theodore B. (Ted) Olson, Laurence H. Silberman, George J. Terwilliger and Larry D. Thompson." Olson appears to be emerging as the frontrunner.

60 percent: Americans who say we "should set a timetable to withdraw forces 'and stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Iraq.'"

The White House's decision to send Rosh Hashanah greetings a week early elicited "a quizzical reaction around town among the president's Jewish friends and supporters." Former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, who, like White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, is Jewish, "sent Bolten an e-mail asking why the White House had seemingly flubbed the date."

Barry Jackson, one of Karl Rove's key replacements in the White House, is seen as a "highly partisan go-getter." An acquaintance of Jackson's said he isn't interested "'let's get along' kind of stuff."

The Pentagon is preparing to build its first base for U.S. forces near the Iraqi-Iranian border, a major new effort to curb the flow of advanced Iranian weaponry to Shiite militants across Iraq. "The base will be located about four miles from the Iranian border and will be used for at least two years."

In a new study of the neurobiology of politics, "scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work. " The study found that "liberals were 4.9 times as likely as conservatives to show activity in the brain circuits that deal with conflicts."

"US regulators will on Monday present results of a year-long inquiry into investment scams that are fleecing retirees out of their life savings. The Securities and Exchange Commission will report on the growing phenomenon of 'free lunch' seminars that financial advisers offer to older people."

9/11 Commission co-chairs Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton write: "Two years ago, we and our colleagues issued a report card assessing the U.S. government's progress on the bipartisan recommendations in the 9/11 commission report. We concluded that the nation was not safe enough. Our judgment remains the same today: We still lack a sense of urgency in the face of grave danger."

 At an event promoting children's health insurance legislation, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) "noted that the bill would insure 12 million more kids and pointed out that President Bush 'used to be for this.'" "But let me tell you something about him," Dingell continued. "I knew him before he was a virgin." Dingell provided no further context for his "virgin" comment.

Though Gen. David Petraeus has told President Bush "that he wants to maintain heightened troop levels in Iraq well into next year," a senior U.S. official says the general is willing to consider a slight drawdown of "between 3,500 and 4,500 U.S. troops from Iraq early next year."

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) lashed out at Senate Republican leaders yesterday over their efforts to force Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) to resign. "I hope I never stub my toe and they throw me under the bus," said Simpson. "It kind of makes you wonder what party you want to be a member of," he added, noting he has no intention of switching parties.

"American intelligence agencies are expecting Osama bin Laden to issue a triumphant message to Al Qaeda followers on the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks boasting of Al Qaeda's growing numbers and success in the Middle East and Southeast Asia." The al Qaeda leader has not appeared in new video footage since October 2004.

"Seven U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq, including four in the western province of Anbar, the U.S. military said on Friday." The deaths increase to more than 3,750 the number of U.S. soldiers killed since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Yesterday, the head of the Justice Department's civil division announced that he will be leaving in two weeks. His departure "will leave only two of the department's six key litigation divisions headed by Senate-confirmed officials." Once Alberto Gonzales steps down, all three of the Justice Department's top positions will also be filled by "acting" officials. 

"The Arctic ice cap is melting faster than scientists had expected and will shrink 40 percent by 2050 in most regions, with grim consequences for polar bears, walruses and other marine animals," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"More than 260 doctors from around the world have launched an unprecedented attack on the American medical establishment for its failure to condemn unethical practices by medical practitioners at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba."

"Even for someone as gaffe-prone as U.S. President George W. Bush, he was in rare form on Friday." He thanked Australia for hosting the OPEC -- instead of APEC -- summit, even though Australia has never been a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. He also brought up the "Austrian troops in Iraq," even though there are Australian, but not Austrian, troops serving there.

TOP  

INTERESTING      

Business group endorses Lee for attorney general

Stan Lee, Republican nominee for state attorney general, has picked up an endorsement from Associated Builders & Contractors of Kentuckiana, Inc.

A news release from the Lee campaign today said, “ABC believes Stan Lee will be an attorney general that will serve Kentucky without a biased agenda.” Billy Parson, a listed contact for ABC, was not immediately available for comment.

The campaign noted that Lee as a state representative from Lexington has sponsored legislation supporting right to work and repeal of prevailing wage.

It also said Lee’s opponent, Democrat Jack Conway, has the endorsements of the Building and Construction Trades Councils and the Central Labor Councils as well as 40 other endorsements from state and national union organizations, brotherhoods and federations.  (Editor:  Which endorsement would you rather have???)

The ABC Web site said it  represents the interests of merit shop contractors, suppliers and associates and their employees in the policy making process of government, protects and enhances the free enterprise system within the construction industry and provides educational, marketing and informational programs for the benefit of member firms and their employees.

****************************     

CORPORATE AMERICA’S “CHEAP” IMPORT ADDICTION,  Posted by Jim Hightower

Goodness gracious, China – clean up your act!

The news is filled with horror stories of China’s nasty exports coming to our shores – toy ovens that burn our children, seafood laden with toxics and antibiotics, tires that come apart on the highways, pet food that kills pets… and the list goes on. China must stop the exportation of these horrors, scream our corporate, political, and media leaders.

But who are the real culprits here? You can’t have an exporter without an importer. Chinese businesses are not shipping billions of dollars worth of products to our shores uninvited. U.S. manufacturers and retailers are the ones importing this stuff and selling it to us. It’s Wal-Mart, Hasbro, Black & Decker, Red Lobster, Toys R Us, Target, and other big brand names that have built this dependency on Chinese imports and profiting phenomenally from it.

These special interests are the ones that abandoned American producers and communities, transferring their investment capital to China. They leapt at Chinese labor that could be had for pennies an hour and made to toil in brutal sweatshop conditions that are legally and morally abominable to our people. These importers also cynically wink at the vile environmental contamination caused by the factories in China making products bound for American stores.

Let's be honest. China’s trillion-dollar-a-year export economy is based squarely on the country’s deliberate lack of humane standards. That’s precisely why our CEO’s rushed over there – every corner cut, every penny taken from workers and the environment, every product made on the cheap is pure profit for importers sitting so comfortably in their executive suites.

If you’re outraged by shoddy, dangerous, and deadly products from China, don’t point at the Chinese – point at America’s corporate elite… and start saying “no” to their “cheap” import addiction.

"Hidden culprit of product scandal made in China,” USA Today, August 2, 2007

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

VIDEOS    

Keith Olbermann special comment  Watch Keith Olbermann's commentary on Bush's latest "visit" to Iraq...it's very powerful and filled with strong emotion.

Brian Williams Calls Out Petraeus on Al Qaeda Fearmongering; Frank Rich Would Approve

TOP     

                

 

CLICK HERE FOR LATEST ISSUE OF THE "FRIDAY ALERT"

TOP

 

If you plan to change your e-mail address, please let me know at rcrider@louisvilledem.com

Your contributions of news, comments and/or events are invited. Please e-mail such items to

Ray Crider at rcrider@louisvilledem.com . If you know someone who would like to be on the newsletter e-mail list, please have him or her supply the following information to the same

e-mail address: Name, address, phone numbers ( home , work, fax, cell), and e-mail address.  

 

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

TOP

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Contributions or gifts to the Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Party

are not tax deductible.