• Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2010-09-16

    • Translation: Knowing how much Democrats hate Palin, it’d be silly to hand them a club in a state as blue as Delaware by appearing there frequently. If anything, it’d probably do more to alienate pro-Castle fencesitters, who likely blame her for Castle’s defeat, than to fire up Christine supporters who are already fired up. Krauthammer knows that, of course, but he’s making a point here about true belief in “true conservative.” If demographics don’t matter and it’s just a matter of preaching the right-wing gospel to convert the liberal heathens, let’s send our best preachers down there and let it rip. What could go wrong?
      ++++++
      They won't go for obvious reasons. But, they will be called out on it.
    • The following Democrats have come out in support of extending all of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts. A full extension of the tax cuts would include those individuals making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000. This list will be updated as more members make their position known.

      House:
      Mike Ross (Ark.)
      Ann Kirkpatrick (Ariz.)
      Harry Mitchell (Ariz.)
      Jim Costa (Calif.)
      John Salazar (Colo.)
      Jim Himes (Conn.)
      Allen Boyd (Fla.)
      Ron Klein (Fla.)
      John Barrow (Ga.)
      Sanford Bishop Jr. (Ga.)
      Jim Marshall (Ga.)
      Walt Minnick (Idaho)
      Melissa Bean (Ill.)
      Joe Donnelly (Ind.)
      Brad Ellsworth (Ind.)
      Frank Kratovil (Md.)
      Gary Peters (Mich.)
      Travis Childers (Miss.)
      Mike McIntyre (N.C.)
      Earl Pomeroy (N.D.)
      Harry Teague (N.M.)
      Mike McMahon (N.Y.)
      Zack Space (Ohio)
      Dan Boren (Okla.)
      Jason Altmire (Pa.)
      Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.)
      Jim Cooper (Tenn.)
      Lincoln Davis (Tenn.)
      Jim Matheson (Utah)
      Rick Boucher (Va.)
      Glenn Nye (Va.)

      Senate:
      Liberman, Bayh, Ben Nelson and Webb

    • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday renewed her pledge to pass an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, but now she’s leaving the door open to extending the tax cuts for upper-income Americans.

      The California Democrat, speaking in the same room House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) appeared in earlier in the day, said that the “only thing I can tell you is the tax cuts for the middle class will be extended this Congress,” leaving open the possibility that cuts for people making more than $250,000 could be extended at some point, too.
      +++++
      Raising taxes in time of this recession is idiotic.

      (tags: Nancy_Pelosi)
    • Gay rights advocates went on high alert Thursday afternoon after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a key proponent of repealing the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, said that he believes Senate Republicans can kill the defense authorization bill containing the repeal if they choose to filibuster it – a step Sen. John McCain has already threatened to take.

      “The question is whether the Senate leadership can negotiate an agreement with the Republicans that will allow the bill to come up and get them to feel that they can introduce amendments that they want to introduce as well,” Lieberman said in an interview with Kerry Eleveld of the Advocate, a web site and magazine for the gay community. “But until that happens, I don’t think the votes are there to break the filibuster, which would be a shame.”
      ++++++
      Good for John McCain – if he stays the course.

      (tags: gay_politics)
    • But that was soooooo nine months ago. On Thursday, Shultz will co-host a "garden party" fundraiser in Woodside for Fiorina…who, after initially balking, supports Prop. 23 (She calls it "a Band-Aid fix and an imperfect solution.") Not to mention she opposed/drubbed George's pal Campbell in the U.S. Senate primary.

      Oh, but Carly's Prop. 23 support was sooooo two weeks ago. Now, apparently George has no problem co-hosting a $5,000-$10,000-a-head sitdown at the home of mogul/philanthropist Tad Taube for someone who opposes one of his pet initiatives — AND who opposed his chosen candidate in the primary.

      Yes, that's called being a good Republican Team Player, as there is no "i" in Shultz. But by our count, George has his left foot on red, his right hand on blue and his ear on yellow. Twister!
      ++++++
      Politics makes strange bedfellows

  • Barbara Boxer,  Carly Fiorina

    CA-Sen Video: Barbara Boxer is a FAILURE

    Carly Fiorina’s latest video, a web ad for now but soon to be on television

    It did not take long for Carly Fiorina to respond to Barbara Boxer’s attack ad that was released yesterday afternoon. The ad is based on the failure of Senator Boxer’s career in the U.S. Senate.

    From the Fiorina campaign press release:

    “For the last 28 years, Barbara Boxer has done nothing but foster a hostile work environment for our nation’s job creators and help destroy jobs across California. While the Golden State struggles under the weight of an unemployment rate that has soared to 12.3 percent and with more than 2 million Californians out of work, Barbara Boxer is living off the spoils of elected office, having watched her salary more than double, become a millionaire and paid her family members hundreds of thousands of dollars out of her special-interest-funded political committees,” said Carly for California Press Secretary Andrea Saul. “Her record of failure includes voting for more than $1 trillion in higher taxes and trillions more in wasteful spending. It’s clear that Barbara Boxer has completely failed to deliver results for the people of California, and that’s why voters will fire her come November 2.”

    Let’s see:  Senator Barbara Boxer has fiddled while the California economy has burned.

    Former California Democrat Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown once called Boxer one of the luckiest, if not the luckiest POL he has seen.

    I think this election cycle her luck has run out.

  • Disneyland Half Marathon

    The Disneyland Half Marathon Race September 5, 2010

    As most of you recall I ran/walk/ran the Disneyland Half Marathon on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The above certificate acknowledges the finish – not a fast finish but a qualifying finish.

    Alice and I stayed in Anaheim over the weekend at the Anaheim Marriott, attended the Run Disney Expo on Saturday, raced on Sunday, and went to the Magic Kingdom and California Adventure on Monday.

    Here are some photos of the weekend:

    Flap & Alice @ runDisney Expo w/Mickey

    Outside the Expo with Mickey

    The Expo was Ok, and smaller than the one at the Los Angeles Marathon. But, Alice, Maria Elena and I were able to listen to Jeff Galloway and do the obligatory shopping for shirts, hats, et al.

    The Start Line – the day before:

    In a few hours Disneyland Half Marathon starts

    The next photo is the day of the race. After grabbing the shuttle from outside the Anaheim Hilton, hitting the porta-potties, we made our way through the massive throng to our Corral.

    Maria Elena Cleave and Alice
    Maria Elena, Cleave and Alice – Cleave was finishing his Coast to Coast Medal having run the Disney World Marathon and Half Marathon earlier in the year – Wow!

    The slow walk to the Start Line:

    To the start line

    Look it is Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Start Line:

    Mickey and Mini

    The race started and I run/walk/run with Maria Elena, Cleave and Alice for a while and then fell back into my pace. I felt fine during most of the race but it did get HOT at the end. Salt Sticks and my Camelback were definitely my friends this race day. I didn’t take any photos during the race (since I was racing) and the copyright provisions of purchased photos are unclear – so, I may put some of those up later – probably on Facebook.

    Ok, so I finished the race. Here are photos of Alice and Maria Elena after finishing:

    Maria Elena

    They finished 30 minutes ahead of me and promptly found a seat on the ground, since there were few chairs or benches anywhere.

    Alice

    After I finished I found a place to sit down near the AV booth for the center stage area. There were a whole row of chairs and I made avail of them.

    Note to the Run Disney folks: Place some benches or places to sit at the finish line. Sitting on hot pavement in a parking lot is not too cool after 13.1 miles.

    Anyway, here is the money shot:

    Disneyland Half Marathon Certificate and Medal web

    The Disneyland Half Marathon Certificate and Medal

    We all went to eat afterwards and happily replaced the lost carbs at Chubby’s – a fitting name for the post race meal.

    Monday we went to Disneyland. Yay!

    Alice and Greg

    Space Mountain:

    Space Mountain

    Will I race the Disneyland Half Marathon next year?

    You betcha. It was loads of fun.

  • Barbara Boxer,  Carly Fiorina

    CA-Sen: Barbara Boxer Goes on The Attack Against Carly Fiorina

    California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s latest television ad: Outsourcing

    Well, we all knew that it was just a matter of time that Babs Ma’am Boxer was going to attack Carly Fiorina on California television. This is pretty standard for a long time POL who is pretty much tied or behind in the polls with the newcomer Carly Fiorina.

    I mean, after all, President Obama has been out to California a few times to pump up the over $11 million campaign war chest of Boxer. Guess somebody is worried that Boxer is going down so spend the money, Ma’am. I mean Senator.

    But, really, criticizing Fiorina on buying airplanes and a $ million boat (I think she has two actually) with money she earned. Kind of stupid, if you ask me but people do get envious, I suppose. Boxer doesn’t mention all of the money – hundreds of thousands of bucks her own family made on her campaigns for public office. Or the fact that Boxer is a filthy rich millionaire in her own right.

    Oh well.

    With regards to outsourcing of jobs and Hewlett-Packard during Carly’s term, this has been debated for years in business circles. Fiorina even wrote about it in her autobiography, Tough Choices. If anyone is interested in the facts about Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina has put up a new website that pretty much debunks the criticism. 

    I like this graphic which pretty much sums up the success at Hewlett-Packard.

    I am positive that the Fiorina campaign will be responding soon to Barbara Boxer’s attacks. My guess is that they will attack her abysmal record as a Senator while California’s economy has collapsed.

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  Tea Party

    Day By Day September 16, 2010 – Back to Formula

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The Republican Party establishment had its hat handed to it with the election of Christine O’Donnell over RINO Mike Castle in Tuesday’s Delaware U.S. Senate election.

    What both Democratic and Republican Party apparatchiks don’t understand is that Americans are very angry at their government which has been UNRESPONSIVE to them. Voters do NOT care what party, but how they vote on the issues.

    Americans voted for President Obama in 2008 because they were tired of the duplicity of the George W. Bush years and the corruption of the GOP in the Congress. Now that Obama, Pelosi and Reid have been exposed as “Big Government” frauds, voters will show them the door as well.

    “Do you hear us now?”

    Sincerely, Your Tea Party.

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