Glen Casada Smacked Down By Courts

Glen Casada's efforts to have the Federal Courts declare the President an illegal alien and strip him of his Presidential powers, have failed. Judge David O. Carter, in dismissing the case filed by Orly Taitz, names Glen Casada specifically as one of the State Reps. who signed on to this xenophobic fishing expedition, and says that he and his rightwing cohorts have no standing in challenging the President's legal authority:

In effect, Plaintiffs allege that the State Representatives have standing because they could be held liable for theft or conversion should they accept federal funds pursuant to an unconstitutionally elected president. The threat of liability for theft or conversion against these representatives is highly speculative. See City of South Lake Tahoe, 625 F.2d at 238 (exposure of plaintiffs to civil liability was wholly speculative where no lawsuit was currently threatened); see also O’Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488, 497, 94 S. Ct. 669 (1974) (“attempting to anticipate” whether respondent will be charged with a crime which will possibly lead to them suffering a constitutional violation takes the Court into “the area of speculation and conjecture”). The State Representatives’ liability for theft or conversion is speculative because it takes multiple logical leaps to assume that the representatives would be prosecuted criminally for theft and conversion for taking funds from the President who has been elected and sworn into office. Because the alleged harm faced by the State Representatives is highly speculative and conjectural, this group also fails to satisfy the standing requirements.

Moreover, to the extent that Plaintiffs allege State Representatives have standing based on an oath to uphold the Constitution, the allegation is insufficient to establish standing under the reasoning of City of South Lake Tahoe, as discussed above.

Irrelevant Organization Seeks To Remove Member from Irrelevant Position

Some teabagger Ron Paul aficionado is in the process of being pushed out from his position as Vice-Chair of the Davidson County Republican party because he's a bit too coo-coo for their cocoa puffs:

In a statement released on the party’s website Wednesday, the party stated that the reason for the motion to remove were Collins’ “unprofessional actions and words” as well as his use of his title when expressing opinions “derogatory to and disrespectful of Republican candidates or elected officials.” A spokeswoman for DCRP chairwoman Kathleen Starnes would not elaborate on the statement.

The DCRP has a spokeswoman? Hahahaha. Seriously, they have what, one member who is an elected official (maybe three if you count some of the wingers who have a tiny sliver of Davidson County in their district portfolio)? Is that spokeswoman her mom or something?

Let's Opt Out of the Opt Out Debate

All over America, would be politicians are weighing in on Washington's debate over the "Opt Out" clause in Harry Reid's reconciliation of the various Senate Committee health care reform packages. Paula Flowers, who has something on her website about supporting a public option so long as it isn't Government run, is opposed to the opt out calling it a "cop out". Kim McMillan at least opposes opting out, whether or not she opposes the opt out or not I'm not sure, Ward Cammack thinks opting out is a possibility. And so on and so forth.

Fact is, who cares? Really, is this what we are going to consume ourselves with over the next few weeks. Whether we have a watered down "public option" that states could possibly opt out of two years after it is implemented? How about the debate that only a few are talking about, which is why the hell does this health care package ignore over half of the people in this country who don't have a lick of choice in who their health insurance company is because their employers choose for them?

There is a blog called Cooper Uncovered which is part of the group that is supposedly trying to find a candidate to run against Rep. Cooper. They seem to be focused on whether Cooper will vote for the robust "Medicare +5" public option supported by the progressive caucus. He won't. No point in belaboring the issue. He won't. What I want to know is whether or not he will push hard to incorporate aspects of his beloved "Wyden-Bennett" bill that has been largely ignored by the leadership in both houses of Congress? I don't mean saying, "hey, this bill sucks, but look over hear at this lovely bill I sponsored"... I mean doing the behind the scenes work to incorporate aspects of Wyden-Bennett like requiring employers to list the actual cost of our benefits on our pay stub, like perhaps opening up the health exchange markets to those of us who already have insurance, so that maybe we can save some money by moving to a plan more suitable to our needs.

Right now, I have a health insurance plan that I suppose is alright, but have never really enjoyed the benefits of (except the reduced costs associated with people who have insurance). I have a $500 deductible, and considering I'm a relatively healthy young whipper-snapper, I have never met that requirement and so it might as well be a $5000 deductible...personally, if given the option, I'd go with a high-deductible plan and perhaps attach a dental plan to it. But I don't have that option. My employer picks one plan for every member of the company, and that is that.

While I'd be fine with scrapping the employer based health care system altogether (sorry Labor pals), I'd be OK with simply having our company allot a certain amount towards health insurance, with the ability to pick a plan that suits me.

If Democrats did that, I'd wager that Americans would be more supportive of the health care bill, as they would see direct benefits to them. They'd see reforms in action. Instead, we see a multi-hundred billion dollar package that subsidizes private insurance and throws out a token bone of a "public option" that benefits the relatively small number of Americans who will be participating in this health insurance exchange.

Normally I'm fine with supporting legislation that doesn't directly benefit me, as a single white male the Democrats' platform isn't exactly geared towards me, and I'm fine with that. But at the same time its hard to get all hot and bothered about peripheral issues related to health care that don't address the underlying problem which is that we have an employer-based health insurance system that was an unforeseen consequence of wage caps during the Depression and which doesn't make sense from an economics stand point. So, as a constituent of Rep. Cooper, if he were able to open the Democrats' health care plan up to include more Americans like myself, that would be better than some token support for a progressive caucus version of the bill that will never pass the US Senate.

Speaking of Black, White Supremacist "Apologists"...

Carol Swain being in the news reminds me of this:


Clayton Bigsby - More amazing video clips are a click away

Teabagger for Senate

The head of a teabagger group, Adrian Eddleman, is launching a bid against State Sen. Lowe Finney. Expect a lot of incoherent ramblings filled with platitudes about freedom and founders over the next year:

Henry: Democrats Greater Enemy To States Than Republicans

Sen. Doug Henry, a self-described Jeffersonian Democrat, opened up the joint committee on sovereignty this past Tuesday, and made an interesting observation:

I can't help observing though that its an interesting committee, I've never served on one quite like it before. We have eight members, seven members belong to Mr. Lincoln's party and he [inaudible] the states on April 19th, 1865, one member of the committee is of Mr. Jefferson's party, and in recent years, they've been greater enemies of the states than the Republicans have..

The resulting letter from this committee hearing (which consisted largely of a back and forth with the head of the Eagle Forum over the notion of a Constitutional convention) was criticized by the Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party:

A state sovereignty campaign in the General Assembly indicates how divisive Republican leaders intend to be during the next legislative session, Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester predicts.

"I hope they are not suggesting we fight another Civil War," Forrester said. "This is nothing short of lunacy. The Tea Party organizers and their ultra-right wing cronies began this ridiculous issue to disrupt civil debate about how to move this state and nation forward.

"It's unfortunate that Republican members of the state Legislature have jumped on this crazy train. Instead of focusing on real issues that concern most Tennesseans, these legislators are more concerned about grandstanding and how to divide us.

Congrats Vandy Kids!

You have the 26th highest tuition rate in the country! Higher than those losers Princeton and Yale no less.

I Like You Thinking For Yourself...Just In Moderation

POTUS talking to Democrats last night after a campaign to get people to call their Representatives supposedly resulted in 225K extra calls to the Congressional switchboard:

Thank Goodness for Small Miracles

Kim McMillan's campaign is tickled pink with her exciting performance in the Nashville Business Journal's Gubernatorial poll:

I wanted to share some exciting news with you: the Nashville Business Journal has a new poll showing Kim McMillan as the only Democrat with support from the publication’s readers!

This poll confirms that Kim is emerging as the most electable Democrat and our best bet to continue moving Tennessee forward. Will you help her keep up the momentum?

Tell the pundits and experts that you stand with Kim. Make a secure donation for $250, $100, $50, $25, or whatever you can afford.

Not to rain on your parade here, but if you're gonna keep hyping this poll, lets look at it a bit deeper.

It was an online poll of 228 people.

Of which 10% voted for Kim McMillan.

Meaning she has the support of about 23 people who happen to read the Nashville Business Journal online and care to vote in their polls (or her staff was the only one that noticed the poll and jumped in to vote in it).

Hey Teabaggers, Check This Out

The Obama Administration has heeded your call and is going to respect the 10th Amendment:

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Perhaps, while we are at it, we can look at rescheduling Marijuana to a schedule II or III, where it ought to be?

Because A Family Member is the Best Judge of Electability

Mike Turner on how the caucus came to their full throated support of Ty Cobb #2:

The day Curt [Cobb] told me was he going to step down was the last day of session. ... When he told me he was stepping down, I asked him who he was going to get to take his place, and he said, 'I've got a man who's more popular than I am.' And I said, 'Who?' And he said, 'My brother.' I said, 'Sounds good to me.' And we kind of went from there.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20, but this should've been (and was) seen by many people from a mile away. Nobody was impressed with Ty Cobb, and yeah, you could go down Main Street Fayetteville and find a lot of people who knew him as the UPS delivery guy, but the vast majority of voters probably didn't get enough packages from the big brown van to sell them on the notion that Curt's brother should represent them in the legislature.

Let's Round Up The Posse

Staysee Khampfeeld is tickled pink at the prospect of rounding up a bunch of Sullivan County residents, booking them, charging them with voter fraud, and sending them away to prison because they had the audacity to take part in a civic duty after having committed a crime in their past.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, prosecutors do to the suspected 25-75 voters who had not had properly restored their voting rights. Are they really such a threat to society that they need to be placed back behind bars because they registered their point of view on which direction their city/state/country should go?

I Hear That Train A Comin'

Don't Hate The Game, Hate The Playa

Was there a winning strategy or message that Democrats could have employed to win the District 62 special election? Yes. The winning strategy is...drumroll please...PICK A BETTER CANDIDATE!

Seriously folks, we had a UPS driver who at many times couldn't be bothered to vote, who had no real supporter base and very little civic involvement. His SOLE qualification is that he was a blood relative and sharer of the last name of the guy who resigned from that seat. Period.

When I talked with people who had to work on, for, or near his campaign, the best they could muster was, "I thought he was going to be awful, but he isn't quite that bad." Now, I never saw the man speak in person, but from what I can gather it was a sight not to be seen.

Now, LeftWingCracker has heard rumors that Pat Marsh wanted to run as a Democrat but the party cleared the field for Ty Cobb II...I'm not sure about the Pat Marsh thing, but I do know they jumped early on to the Cobb bandwagon without spending much time trying to find a better candidate. For that reason, someone oughta be fired, or at least have to run some sort of gauntlet.

Its hard enough trying to win as a Democrat in this state, lets not tie one hand behind our back by assuming voters are retarded enough to reflexively vote for our candidate because his last name matches up with the last guy.

Courting a Dewey Defeats Truman Moment..

Ok, the results aren't totally in, but so far, it looks like Pat Marsh is running away with the special election in District 62.

Pat Marsh (R): 3128

Ty Cobb II (D): 2576

Christopher T. Brown (I): 142

Question is, if Ty Cobb does get shellacked, what lesson do we learn?

A) It's Obama's fault (the easiest answer and the one that absolves all Democratic leaders of culpability).

B) Maybe we should pick a candidate for reasons other than he has the same last name as the last guy.

C) Maybe it seems kinda disenginuous to run to the right of Gengus Khan and claim the opponent has a super-duper secret plan to clone people?

Just a thought...

SEIU Corrects The Record

That evil liberal baby-killer Pat Marsh has been busy attacking the Working Class Hero Ty Cobb II due to his support of, and support from, organized labor. Mark Naccarato of SEIU Local 205 begs to differ:

For one thing, they’ve accused us of being a partner with ACORN. There is no ACORN staff or offices in Tennessee, nor has Local 205 done any projects with them. SEIU supports a thorough investigation of the accusations against ACORN and we’ll wait to hear what respected public officials have to say about them, not what people like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Jim Tracy, and Bill Ketron have to say.

[snip]

Finally - for the record, SEIU has endorsed and supported dozens of Republican candidates in Tennessee over the last few years, including Bob Corker and various Republican state representatives. I would think that the TNGOP would have checked the public campaign finance records to see that before they attacked us. And whether you’re talking about Tennessee or anywhere else in the country, SEIU has – and will – continue to endorse candidates who support the issues that affect working families, regardless of whether they’re Democrats or Republicans. That’s the reason why we endorsed Ty Cobb instead of Pat Marsh. Cobb supports working folks and Marsh supports the corporate fat cats who have helped ruin the economy. We’ll see tomorrow who the voters of District 62 will cast their lot with.

And McWherter Stands Alone

By my count, all the major Democratic contenders have now weighed in on the issue of same-sex adoption, and Son of Ned stands alone in supporting the position that foster and group homes are better than a couple of women. From Sen. Herron's campaign:

The fundamental question is this: what’s best for the children? I don’t yet see evidence that the Bredesen administration’s policy is doing wrong by Tennessee’s children. I’m told that not enough married couples are adopting special needs children. Those children don’t need more laws making adoption harder and condemning them to being shuffled from foster home to foster home.

While far from carrying the PFLAG banner, its still a recognition that the well-being of orphaned children is above political gamesmanship.

Justice League of America, Digital Media Division

Mike Byrd has an in-depth report on the financial backers of SouthComm, owners of The Scene, City Paper, and Nashville Post. Along with a call to vigilance due to the hiring of Liz Garrigan as interim ED for all three ventures:

The tough test for us is to stay organized and to watchdog SouthComm's venture empire for cracks in reporting. We are also up against a new interim executive editor, Liz Garrigan, who has expressed contempt of unconventional attempts (through non-media blogs, for instance) to disseminate information that the mainstream media refuses to report or to hold the media accountable for such omissions.

Rep. Cooper Is Right!

Cooper seems unconcerned by the prospect of a primary challenger. “That’s the way America works,” he said. “Competition is a good thing.”

McWherter Campaign Responds

Jeff has the response over at Pith. Shorter version: Yes, Mike's a bigot, but its all good, because it won't be a part of his legislative package.

The Mad Cloner Won't Debate?

The TNDP scolds the evil liberal baby-killing cloner, Pat Marsh, for not agreeing to debate the working class hero, Ty Cobb II:

"His refusal to participate in a fair, honest debate about pertinent issues facing the people of Bedford, Lincoln and Rutherford counties indicates how out of touch he is," Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said.

"And it shows just how disingenuous Mr. Marsh has been in his call to debate Ty Cobb. Mr. Marsh is talking out of both sides of his mouth here. He clearly doesn't want to debate the issues on neutral ground and before a non-partisan moderator.

Bibi Likey?

File under, Praise From Unlikely Sources:

Netanyahu: "Congratulations on winning the Nobel Prize for Peace. You have already inspired so many people around the world, and I know that this award also expresses the hope that your Presidency will usher in a new era of peace and reconciliation. Nowhere is such a peace needed more than in the Middle East, a region that has been long marked by terror and bloodshed. I look forward to working closely with you in the years ahead to advance peace and to give hope to the peoples of our region who deserve to live in peace, security and dignity."

So, from now on, if Republicans criticize the Nobel Committee and the President for accepting the award, aren't they also criticizing Benjamin Netanyahu? That would be unacceptable.

YOU won the Nobel Prize

Methinks this is sort of like when Time magazine nominated "You" for the Person of the Year award:

This award is not simply about the efforts of my administration; it's about the courageous efforts of people around the world.

And that's why this award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity; for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard, even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon her commitment to democracy; for the soldier who sacrificed through tour after tour of duty on behalf of someone half a world away; and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometime their lives for the cause of peace.

That has always been the cause of America. That's why the world has always looked to America. And that's why I believe America will continue to lead.

I suppose there is a limited history of giving this award in the hopes that future change will occur, so in that respects, if the Peace Prize moves the President to further engage the world and do the grunt work of promoting peaceful relations, good.

Update: Staysee Khampfeeld thinks that the President's careful deliberations over the mission in Afghanistan were a ruse to delay troop increases so he could win this award.

I would hate to think the president put our undermanned men in the field in danger just so he could win a prize but it does sound a little fishy.

I Had To Check The Calendar To See If Its April 1st...

Dude, seriously? President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize? I mean, I love the dude quite a bit...but the Nobel Peace Prize? Were we lacking contestants this year?

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

I'd hope that one day he'd win this prize, but on the merits of actually accomplishing some set of goals that led to a more peaceful world...not for just being super awesome.

That Does It For Me

Not that he was ever very high on the list, but I know of one Democratic Gubernatorial nominee who will never get my support for the nomination...Mike McWherter:

Do you support a proposed ban on unmarried (including gay) couples adopting children?

McWherter does support the ban, and feels that having parents of the opposite sex is better for a child. He says that the Department of Children's Services reports to the governor, so as governor, he would be responsible for children in need of this service. I followed up by asking if he felt that foster care by an opposite-sex couple was better than adoption by a same-sex couple, and he said that he did.

Mind you, he's not fucking with gay people here...he's fucking with kids. Mike McWherter is saying he'd rather see kids stuck in foster care or orphanages rather than be placed with a stable, loving, same-sex couple household. If he's the nominee, I won't shed any tears when Bill Haslam mops the floor with him.

(h/t ACK)

Shelbyville: The Clone Wars

Did you hear? Pat Marsh, that evil baby killing liberal elitist, has apparently come out with a "radical cloning plan" and the Democrats, lovers of divinely created life that they are, are attacking him.

What is this plan? Well its super secret, but I've paid off some of his people and found out the skinny. Once elected, Marsh (evil-doer that his is) plans to divert funds from the rainy-day fund to pay the Kaminoas to create a clone army to do his bidding in his master plan to force an income tax upon the great people of Tennessee.

HE MUST BE STOPPED!

The Battle of Shelbyville Square

The date is set, the time is posted, will Pat Marsh show to "honestly debate" Ty Cobb? That is the question being posed by the TNDP who seeks an honest and fair debate about the issues.

"Ty wants to participate in a fair, honest debate moderated by a non-partisan entity with both Pat Marsh and Chris Brown," Forrester said. "Mr. Brown has agreed to participate in the debate, but Marsh has not.

"It seems once again that Mr. Marsh is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He only wants to debate on his own terms in front of a partisan crowd. Put your money where your mouth is, Mr. Marsh. Tell us where you stand on issues and problems that the state Legislature has to address, not something a state representative has no power to control.

"You have been asked to participate in a debate that will be moderated by a non-partisan entity at a neutral location. We look forward to hearing how you will represent all the residents of Bedford, Lincoln and Rutherford counties," he added.

The tentatively scheduled debate would begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the courthouse, located on Shelbyville's Public Square. Cobb is seeking the State House District 62 seat that his brother Curt resigned earlier this year after accepting a position with the Bedford County Chancery Court.

Previously, Ty Cobb has been unable to attend the biased, anti-American forums that Pat Marsh went to because he was busy working a real man's job while loving on unborned babies.

Will Pat Marsh finally agree to a debate? Or will he be too busy vacationing in his fancy-pants Florida condo while evading taxes? Time will tell...

Wait...so is Mike Ross the Stacey Campfield of Arkansas?

Cooper praises a Congressional colleague...

The Health Care Debate Turnaround

Well, he's waited long enough. Keith Olbermann has let the debate play out, but enough is enough. He's going to break the glass case and unleash a super-duper-spectacular ONE HOUR special comment!!! Get your popcorn ready, history will be made Wednesday night!

NDO Part Two?

I know I've been rather delinquent in my coverage of Metro issues for, ohhh, well about since the run-offs...but looking at the agenda for tonight I see that there is a super-duper non-discrimination ordinance on the slate, this time it expands protected classes to include political affiliation, group membership, or any other "non-merit factor not substantially related to successful performance of the duties of the position."

So (and I suppose creed might cover this as well), if someone belonging to a white separatist group with a swastika tattooed on their neck decides they wanna get a job with the police, and they were otherwise qualified, than they'd have to accept them?

Now, it seems like the original intent of this bill was for the more conservative members of the council to get out of having to vote for a bill that had the dirty words "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in it...so there is a good enough chance that the sponsors of this bill will let it drop. But while everyone should be able to believe what they want, there are some positions in government where a radical belief system could abuse the faith people have in the system, and having police officers who are members of hate groups could adversely effect future prosecutions.

Yes....or?

It could reflect the fact that he is was elected as a non-partisan mayor who relies on Democrats and Republicans to get elected...

Two-for-one, Play and Panel Discussion

Via Jerry Maynard:

On October 15, 2009 at 6:30 p.m., Elizabeth Davidson will perform her one woman play, "Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Literary Soldier." This is a extraordinary play that delves into the American Experience of race relations and human dignity in a multi-cultural, multi-racial community,both past and present. Following the play, Tennessee State Representative Brenda Gilmore will lead the audience in a discussion on race relations in the "Post Obama Era." The play will be held at Southside Community Church, 2080 12th Avenue South. For more information please read the attached fly-er or call the church office (615) 460-7722.

Is It Really True?

Phil Valentine says, and Emily Evans concurs, that the people who matter to the city's bottom line aren't those who are pushed to come by their corporate masters:

We're losing focus on the kind of tourism that is vital to this city. It's not some convention downtown where participants never leave the grounds of the convention center. It's family vacations and odyssey treks to our musical mecca.

Now, I'm no fan of the new convention center, and haven't really decided how I feel one way or another (ambivalence to reluctance would be my temperature as of now), but I also don't think you can discount the effect of having conventions in town.

Yes, if you have a convention of 1000 people, maybe 75% won't leave the hotel complex...but the other 25% might. That would be 250 more people than we'd otherwise have frequenting Nashville's bars, restaurants, tourist traps, etc...

For many people, work conventions are their vacations. For a lot of them, their hotel/travel is paid for, so after they get out of their day-long boring ass meetings, they want to unwind outside the convention halls and experience a town they might otherwise have never thought to come to. Opening up downtown Nashville to new people who aren't necessarily die-hard country music fans is a good thing. Maybe they fall in love with the genre, or maybe they are younger folks who don't like the pop-music crap that fills the country music airwaves, but appreciate the raunchier honkey-tonk variety. Ya never really know, and seeing as most bars and restaurants don't have each customer fill out a survey before entering, its hard to tell exactly what percentage of their customer base is people who are compelled to come to Nashville, and those who just really wanted to.

Councilwoman Evans ponders:

Is building a box that could be in any city in the country so we can house dentists and school administrators, serve them the slippery chicken dinner and shuttle them back to the airport so they can get reunite with their families really the answer? Are there truly no other options? No music festivals, Bar B Que contests, heritage music events, head races or triathalons? Just a glass box, that's our answer. Not very creative for a city that is home to some of the world's most original people.

Well, we already have a marathon, we aren't known for BBQ (but we do have a hot chicken festival every year), we already have a large country music festival. I'm sure there are other ideas, but a lot of times annual music festivals, eating events, marathons, etc... take years to gain a national following (if they ever do), and a one weekend event is hardly a big enough boost to satiate the desire of downtown businesses for new customers.

So maybe the new convention center isn't the best approach. I'm not sure, as I don't plan conventions. My guess is that there are other alternatives out there. But the basic gist of a convention center is the right track. Getting a large group of people to come to Nashville for reasons other than simply what Nashville traditionally offered is going to be the key to our city having a large and steady tourist stream in the years and decades to come.

(h/t ACK)

Johnny Losing His Bearings Again?

Its been a long time, nearly 16 months, so you can forgive Sen. McCain for forgetting that the same former General and adviser to President Obama, James Jones, who is being accused of not wanting to alienate the "left base of the Democrat [sic] Party," was the same James Jones who campaigned with the conservative Senator from Arizona.

So, is that basically where we are? If Obama doesn't automatically capitulate to the requests of generals requesting an unspecified (to us at least) number of troops for the Afghan conflict, than he is automatically appeasing the "left" base of the "Democrat" party?

Perhaps the President (and I don't want to assume too much here because none of us are privy to his discussions on the matter) is using the needed troops increase as a leveraging tool to get Hamid Kharzai to clean up corruption in his government and elections process. If we want to make comparisons to Vietnam, part of the reason we lost that conflict is because the leaders in the South didn't have the trust and faith of the people...if the Afghan people think we are propping up an unpopular pseudo-dictator, that is the fastest route to a quagmire.

Just Tryin' To Find Reasons For A Party

That Must Be One Damn Fine Piece of Carrot Cake

Tennessee Don't Need No More Baby-Killers

...or nuance, or critical thinking, or independence from special interest groups {via PP):

State House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner said the ridiculous attacks against state House candidate Ty Cobb are attempts by Republicans to deflect the fact that their candidate is pro choice and out of touch with mainstream voters.

“Pat Marsh was rejected by Tennessee Right to Life because, among other things, of his stance on human cloning,” Turner said. “Marsh needs to take responsibility for his actions, and his allies need to stop using smear tactics that most people find absolutely deplorable.

OcTurner Fest

Steve Turner is throwing a bash, and you are invited:

And The Battle Goes On...

The modern day revision of the classic David and Goliath story has yet another chapter to add, as the Gannett Corporation continued to target Mike Byrd's house for litter distribution, despite his protests and hand-delivering of their paper back to their offices.

About Those Olympics

It seems Drudge, and a host of other Republicans, are dead set on trying to ruin Chicago's chances at getting the 2016 Olympics because they see it as a chance to defeat President Obama, just for the sake of defeating him.

Drudge is using a focus on black-on-black crime in the city to make it seem more dangerous than it is. In fact, you probably could've said the same thing about Atlanta circa 1996...but the danger to Olympians and tourists did not turn out to be Black gang-bangers, but rather White Conservative Veteran named Eric Rudolph who took the Right's message of hate a step too far.