NO SURRENDER, NO COMPROMISE!

Look at this -- McCain is so confused about an easy question on education that Senators Martinez and Lieberman have to answer it for him -- and they didn't do much better.

Lieberman: You know a lot of candidates can give you a good answer on education or on health care or on any of the other things that you worry about….You gotta have a president that’s going to pull people in both parties together and say OK, you’re a Democrat, I’m a Republican, but do you know what’s more important? We’re Americans and we have a responsibility to deliver to the American people.

First, note the Freudian slip -- LIEberman is supposed to be a Democrat, right? MCCAIN is the Republican.

And here's my response:

LIEberman is wrong. We need MORE partisanship, not less. We need it from Democrats, who have failed to comprehend that the Republican standard operating procedure is to bait the Democrats into working with them, then take and take and take, but never give.

What’s the compromise between Democrats who think abortion should be safe, legal and rare versus Republicans who think summary execution of doctors who provide reproductive health services is acceptable?

What’s the compromise between Democrats who think Social Security should be a government run old age pension and catastrophic insurance plan, and Republicans who want to use that money to enrich speculating investment bankers and stock brokers while impoverishing senior citizens?

What’s the compromise between Democrats who want to leave Iraq and know we never should have invaded in the first place, and Republicans who think staying there for another hundred years is OK, and who can be counted on to ALWAYS, ALWAYS tell us everything in Iraq is “great,” and that if we stay just six more months (and six more months, and six more months, and six more months), they KNOW everything will be better.

What’s the compromise between Democrats who like the Constitution and the written law, and the Bush administration and its enablers, who believe warrantless wiretapping and searches and detentions are acceptable, and that the Geneva conventions are “quaint?”

What’s the compromise between Democrats who want to track down and kill Osama bin Laden, and Republicans who “just don’t spend that much time thinking about him?”

What’s the compromise between Democrats who appreciate the rule of law and Republicans who will rig elections and use the power of the prosecutor to jail Democratic candidates they regard as election day threats?

LIEberman wants compromise with Bush and his enablers? First let them acknowledge their wrongdoing. Let them be impeached and tried. Let them be convicted. Let them be punished. No truth, no acceptance of responsibility? Fine, then no reconciliation, NO SURRENDER, and NO COMPROMISE!

And if you don't know who's depicted in the photo at the top, you really should.

Disgraceful

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, was paid $100,000 to endorse a veterans charity that watchdog groups say is ripping off donors and wounded veterans by using only a small portion of the money raised for veterans services, according to testimony in Congress today.

I don't care that this "charity" turned out to be anything but. What the hell is a retired general doing taking money from ANY organization that purports to help veterans? If he REALLY cared about the military members a charity is supposed to help, he'd endorse it for nothing.

Disgraceful.

Well, DUH

Colorado Democratic Senator Ken Salazar claims the White House has NOT consulted with him on several appointments to the federal district court in Denver -- saying it's a requirement of the Constitution.

Salazar was one of 14 senators who broke a logjam of judicial appointments in a 2005 compromise known as the "Gang of 14." The lawmakers reached a deal to prevent a Democratic attempt to filibuster the confirmation of conservative appellate court candidates nominated by President Bush.

Well, no shit. I could have told Salazar that Republicans in general, and Bush in particular DO NOT negotiate in good faith. They are all TAKE and no GIVE. Salazar and his 6 "Democratic" colleagues -- Lieberman, Byrd, Ben Nelson, Landrieu, Inouye, and Pryor -- should have known better than to be part of this "gang of 14" bullshit. As soon as Bush go what he wanted, he kicked them to the curb, just like he alway does.

You know who else liked one party rule?

Trial judges in New York are selected in a way that allows the party in power to coronate whoever it wants -- the party leaders meet and cross-endorse each other's candidates, effectively enabling the judges to run without opposition. The system is corrupt and controlled by insiders, with judges beholden to their political bosses. Both the federal district court in Brooklyn and the US Court of Appeals found that this system was not democratic.

The Supreme Court disagrees:

"The reason one-party rule is entrenched may be (and usually is) that voters approve of the positions and candidates that the party regularly puts forward," Justice Scalia wrote.

You know who else liked one party rule? Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Saddam...

You know who wishes he could get one party rule, provided that he's the party? That guy in the above photo, who owes his current occupancy of the White House to Justice Scalia.

Karl Rove -- dumbing down hypocrisy

In an address at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting, Karl Rove attacked "the woman," Hillary Clinton, for not releasing records of her time in the White House. According to Rove, this "raises legitimate questions about what she’s hiding."

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted for a contempt citation against presidential confidants Karl Rove and Josh Bolten on Thursday, the latest move in an inquiry into possibly politically motivated firings of federal prosecutors.

The 12-7 vote sent the citation against the two to the full Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters afterward that he will consider whether to bring it to the floor next year.

Rove, the architect of President Bush's two campaigns for the White House, and Bolten, the president's chief of staff, have refused to comply with subpoenas demanding testimony and documents in the congressional probe.

-----

A lawyer for the Republican National Committee told congressional staff members yesterday that the RNC is missing at least four years' worth of e-mail from White House senior adviser Karl Rove that is being sought as part of investigations into the Bush administration, according to the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

-----

This idiot doesn't even tell plausible lies.

Mitt Romney lies -- business as usual

A well-publicized weekend photo-op for Mitt Romney turns out to have been staged -- the unemployed single mom at the center of the event was the mother of a Romney staffer.

After all of the fuss made over Hillary Clinton’s campaign coaching of a questioner in Iowa, I wonder if this will get anywhere near the attention? Somehow I doubt it.

Mike Huckabee should read his Constitution

Mike Huckabee, yesterday:

“I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And thats what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.”

Mike Huckabee, December 31, 2007:

“The key issue of real faith is that it never can be forced on someone. And never would I want to use the government institutions to impose mine or anybody else’s faith or to restrict.”

First, there's the issue of Huckabee's flip floppery. Apparently even ordained ministers don't have a requirement to be honest or consistent if they're Republican politicians.

More importantly, apparently this jackass doesn't read the Constitution or is choosing to ignore it. Either way, he has no business serving as President.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

John Solomon shows his true colors

Yesterday John Solomon was named Executive Editor of the Washington Times. Solomon previously worked for the Associated Press and, most recently, The Washington Post.

The Washington Times is well known for its conservative slant and pro-Republican propaganda being passed off as news.

Solomon is a hack of the highest order, and amazingly, his misstatements and fabrications always favor Republicans and make Democrats look bad.

I'd say The Washington Times and John Solomon are a perfect match.

It depends on what the definition of "success" is

BILL KRISTOL, earlier today: McCain advocated the surge, defended the surge. It was unpopular; people thought…two-thirds of his own campaign wanted him to abandon his position on Iraq. He stuck with it. He showed guts, he showed intelligence. The surge is now working, very, very well. And McCain, Republicans, like it.

The Surge, by definition, has FAILED — the stated intent was to create a situation where the factions in Iraq would negotiate an arrangement that would permit the government to operate effectively and democratic reforms to take root — that has NOT happened. Therefore, anything else going on in Iraq is irrelevant — if there were ZERO US troops and Iraqi civilians being killed, the surge would still, by definition, be a failure, because the factions have not even attempted to settle, the government is ineffective, and the democratic reforms can’t take place.

If you enter the Daytona 500, the obvious intent is to finish 500 miles and be in first place at the end of the race. If you finish 495 miles, you can’t claim victory. If you finish 499.99999 miles you can’t claim victory. If you finish second, you can’t claim victory. Why, then, is this administration allowed to keep changing the definition of success and claim the surge is working, when the stated intent has not come close to being realized?

Sweeney in trouble AGAIN

CLIFTON PARK - Former Rep. John Sweeney had another brush with the law recently. Sweeney narrowly avoided being charged with theft of services after refusing to pay a cab fare for a ride from a strip club.

A law enforcement source tells NewsChannel 13 that the former congressman summoned a cab for himself and two friends while at a club in Clifton Park early on the morning of Dec. 27. When the cab arrived, Sweeney wasn't ready to go. So he asked the driver to bring two of his friends home and come back and get him.

The source says Sweeney still wasn't ready to leave when the taxi returned. The driver waited 45 minutes and then Sweeney got in the car and the driver brought him to his Clifton Park home.

The source says Sweeney refused to pay the $80-plus cab fare. The cab company called police. State troopers showed up at the Sweeney home, but he didn't answer the door. The source says troopers called Sweeney's attorney and asked that Sweeney come to the barracks to be formally charged.

However, according to the law enforcement source, Sweeney's family brought payment and "something for the driver" to the cab company. The company then notified state police that they wanted to withdraw the complaint.

-----

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Former Rep. John Sweeney apologized after being charged with drunk driving in Clifton Park, N.Y., with allegedly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

Sweeney was driving his 2004 BMW sedan when officers noticed him abruptly swerving out of the lane, the Albany Times-Union reported Monday.

Lt. Scott Coburn said officers smelled alcohol on Sweeney's breath and gave him a field sobriety test, which he allegedly failed.

A test of his blood-alcohol content showed 0.18 percent, more than twice New York's legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.

Now, the 52-year-old Republican faces misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and aggravated DWI. The second charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

"I regret the occurrence," Sweeney said in a statement given to the New York Daily News. "I deeply apologize to my family and friends. I take full responsibility and I am hoping to work for a fair resolution."

-----

According to a New York State Police document unofficially obtained by the Times Union [pdf] Corporate Republican Congressman John Sweeney's wife told police last year that he was "knocking her around the house."

-----

Congressman John Sweeney (R-NY) went to a frat party. Drunk. And allowed a number of pictures to be taken. Which immediately showed up on the internet.

-----

Questions are hovering over John Sweeney's car crash on Vly Mountain Road like fruit flies over a stale glass of wine.

Let's ask a few of them. It was 9:50 p.m. Jan. 23 when Mr. Sweeney, our congressman, went off the right side of the road on a curve and took out a power pole, dumping live wires across the road. Donna English, who lives nearby, ran out to help and ended up standing uphill from the crash, turning back cars approaching the crash site.

From about 10 p.m. to nearly midnight, no state police officer came to help her or relieve her, she said, although another neighbor, Edward Lundberg, did carry up some flares. Then, she said, Mr. Lundberg told her he was going to get someone to help direct traffic.

Easton Fire Chief Steve Bott, who lives nearby, said Lundberg came to his house. Bott called the dispatcher. But when the dispatcher got in touch with state police, Bott said, state police said they had things covered.

Why did the state police allow Mrs. English to stand in the roadway directing traffic for nearly two hours? Is it customary for the state police to rely on neighbors to direct traffic at crash sites, at night and in the cold and when live wires are involved?

Why did the state police reject the help of the fire department? Trooper Kevin Saunders, who was on the scene, has said he did not conduct any field sobriety tests on Mr. Sweeney. But Chic Wilson, the owner of the Willard Mountain Ski Center, has said that Mr. Sweeney was in his bar that night and the bartender remembers him having one or two glasses of wine.

Did Trooper Saunders ask Mr. Sweeney if he'd been drinking? If Trooper Saunders did ask, why didn't he test Mr. Sweeney? I cannot imagine that any trooper, coming upon a one-car crash with no obvious cause, would be willing to take the word of a driver that he'd had just one or two drinks.

Originally, Trooper Saunders said he didn't call a supervisor from the scene. But then state police Captain Frank Pace said Trooper Saunders did call a supervisor from the scene. If he did make a call, what was he told about how to handle Congressman Sweeney?

Since that night, Mr. Sweeney has said nothing about the crash publicly. He has refused to take numerous phone calls from the press and has not issued a statement. Why hasn't he explained what happened?

Why have his spokesmen said repeatedly that the crash was no big deal? It was a big deal to the skiers stranded on the Willard Mountain chairlift when the power went out. It was a big deal to the homeowners and the farmers along the road who lost their power all night. And it was a big deal to Donna English, who stood in the cold for nearly two hours to make sure no one got hurt.

But I guess Mr. Sweeney's spokesmen aren't thinking about anyone else's inconvenience. I guess they're thinking only about Mr. Sweeney and how they can manage things so his reputation survives this crash along with his good health.

-----

BALLSTON SPA-- No jail time for the son of Republican Congressman John Sweeney despite him pleading guilty to felony second degree assault as the result of a fight which seriously injured the victim.

In a rare action, Fulton County Judge Richard Giardino reversed his earlier decision to sentence John J. Sweeney, 19, of Schaghticoke and John J. Manupella of Troy, also 19, to jail for a brutal assault of another teen last year that left the victim with long-term vision damage and recurring nightmares. He will also have to undergo reconstructive dental work after losing one tooth and having three other teeth chipped in the assault.

The pair had pleaded guilty to second degree assault last month in a plea bargain negotiated with the Montgomery County district attorney's office in exchange for a sentence of four months of weekends in jail or 45 consecutive days in jail plus probation and community service.

-----

Why isn't Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., being held accountable for his alleged role in starting the Miami mayhem that may have cost Al Gore the election?

Yeah, it's guys like this who passed judgment on Bill Clinton, and this is what we have to look forward to if Republicans regain power.