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My basic objection is based on my understanding of the stock market as the exchange of partial ownership of companies. If this Paulson fund is going to the biggest losers on Wall Street then it isn't an economic plan, it's corporate welfare based on alimony standards as described by Chris Rock: what they've become accustomed to, with no requirement to earn anything. Also, a mortgage lender who approved an overly generous loan and a Wall Street trader who invested in securities filled with such loans have both failed, professionally. I'm not satisfied that struggling national banks are, as Paulson assumes, competent distributors of wealth according to merit, especially considering that local and regional banks are doing just fine, thank you. The borrowers ["liar loans" are the exception that illustrate the problem, not the rule] are expected by free market theory to do what they did, to seek the largest and most luxurious house the market offers at the price they can afford. It's the job of mortgage lenders to correctly evaluate borrowers' credit-worthiness based on accurate information, so encouraging borrowers to input false, inflated incomes of course is also professional failure on the lenders' part, not the borrowers'. Borrowers did their "jobs" in a market that Congress inflated, against the advice of their top finance professional, whom they called "Maestro" for his expertise. According to all the rhetoric of the decision-makers over the past eight years, money is the reward for achievement. Now, the same people are taking money as their rightful reward, for failure. Which brings me to the punch line of the same Chris Rock routine, "I've become accustomed to some things, myself ..."

Here's all the senators on the Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings to confirm Holder: http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/members.cfm

It would probably help if you're in one of the following states, and can write to a senator who represents you:
Alabama
Arizona
California
Delaware
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Maryland
Massachusetts
New York
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Wisconsin

P.S. @theodicey Political correctness always looked painfully idiotic.

Less finesse? Bush has been caught, repeatedly, and for much worse than Watergate. He has not been prosecuted, not because he has skillfully evaded detection but because his crimes are so terrifying, and his accomplices [Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Perle, PNAC, Sauds] are so shady. Is that what you consider "finesse"?

Shit, I could dumb down the issues presented here into words of no more than 3 syllables, and my Rep (Joe Pitts, PA-16, a man who is (Not that it really matters..) significantly to the right of, say, Genghis Khan) who might actually agree to actually listen to me for 5 minutes or so if I asked him REAL nicely, and my 2 senators (Specter and Casey (who almost certainly would not) would not understand more than 20% of it.

I'd be better off talking to a wall.

Shit, I could dumb down the issues presented here into words of no more than 3 syllables, and my Rep (Joe Pitts, PA-16, a man who is (Not that it really matters..) significantly to the right of, say, Genghis Khan) who might actually agree to actually listen to me for 5 minutes or so if I asked him REAL nicely, and my 2 senators (Specter and Casey (who almost certainly would not) would not understand more than 20% of it.

I'd be better off talking to a wall.

um... Obama and Biden are still US Senators, for now. Senators use the .gov domain. Here is one from my home state. http://wyden.senate.gov/ regardless, I like the idea of the website and hope it is updated and useful. Transparency has been sorely lacking the last 8 years.

How the hell did they get a .gov domain considering that they aren't even in power yet?

Um... he is a U.S. senator, you know. If a senator has a good reason to make a new .gov site, I think it's OK.

Neither candidate will make the next generation smarter. Either one might put policies in place to help the next generation get education, but ultimately learning happens inside the heads of the students.

That said, Obama looks a lot more tuned-in when it comes to educational issues. His keynote address to the American Library Association's conference in Chicago (2005) pretty clearly demonstrates his commitment to education, particularly literacy programs and such.

Whereas McCain is, well, not. Remember that McCain proposed a governmental spending freeze as a remedy for the fiscal crisis? With a few exceptions, such as Defense. Well, education was not on the list of exceptions.

Don't blame the CRA, it only prohibited red-lining (denying a loan based on geographic area rather than individual credit rating), and only applied to banks, not independent mortgage companies.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) applied to banks, mortgage companies, and other lenders. Read what the Boston Fed was telling lenders about it...stuff like "Lack of credit history should not be seen as a negative factor...In reviewing past credit problems, lenders should be willing to consider extenuating circumstances. ". There also was the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act.

Let's also not forget the FHA zero-downpayment program.

Don't blame Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac either. They weren't the ones making the loans.

But they did buy or guarantee nearly $400 million of Alt-A and subprime mortgage investments. At a conference in spring 2005, Fannie Mae Executive Vice President Thomas Lund warned about the danger to borrowers, asking, "Are we setting them up for failure?"

Besides the desire of the GSEs to get into the >80% LTV loan secondary market on pure profit grounds, they were also pushed by Congress. For example, see Schumer Unveils New Freddie Mac Plan With HSBC That Includes Low-Interest Low-Downpayment Loans.

Ironically, it was the repeal of the section of the Glass-Steagall Act (passed in response to the depression) which strictly separated banks from securities firms (to help assure the stability of banks) which exacerbated this mess and resulted in such massive failures.

No one has explained to me how this has changed the situation - "unified banks" have actually done a better job recently weathering the storm compared to banks with no investment side or pure investment banks. And they did better during the Great Depression as well. Glass-Steagall came from a war between the Morgans and Rockefellers rather than any actual data.

No honest person can say that government entities or regulations were "the cause" of the recent credit crisis, but certainly many regulations, Congress (in a bipartisan fashion), and the GSEs were on the side of "affordable housing" and "creative underwriting" for political profit, just as much as the private sector was in it for the monetary profit.

So where's the site the creator can go to to download "free money"?

A pair of sites actually.

http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/

This administration does what it wants, without repercussions.

(Emphasis mine.) And Congress. Don't forget Congress, please. Every seat in the House and a third of the Senate is up for election in a few weeks. Which way did your incumbent vote?

'a couple dozen' countries are eager to hack U.S. government, corporate and military networks. While he refused to provide country-specific details

Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah.

While I cannot take the time to name all the men in the State Department who have been named as members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring, I have here in my hand a list of 205.

But the second quote happened at the beginning of a horrible paranoia based on a real external threat. We still have the apparatus of that paranoia, though most of it was outlawed in the late 1970s and the only credible external threat is now our largest trade partner and "most favorable nation." Today we have secret "terrorist" blacklists with more than a million names. Domestic spying, especially web based spying, has jumped to levels that would make the freedom loving senator from Wisconsin angry. Anti-death penalty and peace groups are among those watched. Shame, isn't it?

Shoring up the nation's IT against spying is as easy as dumping the prevalent non free software used by most big dumb companies. This would also save the country hundreds of billions of dollars in licensing fees and other headaches unique to non free software. The problem is that it would make wiretapping very difficult or impossible.

From a Press Release on McCain's senate.gov website

McCAIN COMMENDS SENATE PASSAGE OF KIDS ACT
May 21, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) today released the following statement commending the unanimous Senate passage last night of S. 431, the "Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual-Predators Act of 2007," otherwise known as the KIDS Act.

The legislation, introduced by Senators Schumer and McCain, would require convicted sex offenders to register their email addresses and Internet information with law enforcement, enabling web sites to actively track and expel child predators from their sites.

There have been at least two separate occasions where McCain voted to empower rapists. In 1994 McCain voted against letting the federal government investigate rapes on Indian reservations [1] and mandate that rape victims not be required to pay for rape kits. That appears, to my admittedly non-expert reading, to have been a special purpose bill. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=2&vote=00295 has the details on the bill.

In 2007 he also voted against HR 3093 (Title: "A bill making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes") which, as its name states was an appropriations bill for various agencies, and which contained a provision forbidding police from charging rape victims for rape kits. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00372

Additionally, its worth noting that McCain approved of a campaign ad castigating Obama for supporting a bill in Illinois that provided for age appropriate sex ed, claiming it was porn for kindergartners. In fact, it was the usual "good touch, bad touch" type education that, not surprisingly, has been shown to help protect children against child molesters.

It would appear, based on his voting record and campaign ads, that McCain is a champion of rapists and pedophiles.

[1] This requires some explaining: for the most part Indian reservations don't have the resources to do much investigating of any crimes and under current US law no other agency can do it for them. Rape is endemic on the reservations and its one of the few places where the majority of reports of rape involve a stranger (most rape victims know their attacker). What it boils down to is that for a certain group of truly evil people the Indian reservations are known to be a place where you can rape and get away with it.

There have been at least two separate occasions where McCain voted to empower rapists. In 1994 McCain voted against letting the federal government investigate rapes on Indian reservations [1] and mandate that rape victims not be required to pay for rape kits. That appears, to my admittedly non-expert reading, to have been a special purpose bill. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=2&vote=00295 has the details on the bill.

In 2007 he also voted against HR 3093 (Title: "A bill making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes") which, as its name states was an appropriations bill for various agencies, and which contained a provision forbidding police from charging rape victims for rape kits. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00372

Additionally, its worth noting that McCain approved of a campaign ad castigating Obama for supporting a bill in Illinois that provided for age appropriate sex ed, claiming it was porn for kindergartners. In fact, it was the usual "good touch, bad touch" type education that, not surprisingly, has been shown to help protect children against child molesters.

It would appear, based on his voting record and campaign ads, that McCain is a champion of rapists and pedophiles.

[1] This requires some explaining: for the most part Indian reservations don't have the resources to do much investigating of any crimes and under current US law no other agency can do it for them. Rape is endemic on the reservations and its one of the few places where the majority of reports of rape involve a stranger (most rape victims know their attacker). What it boils down to is that for a certain group of truly evil people the Indian reservations are known to be a place where you can rape and get away with it.

That's incorrect. The act in the Senate was passed on a basically straight party line vote. See 106th Congress, Senate Roll Call Vote 105 54-44. 53 Republicans voted for the bill, 1 Deomcrat. 44 Democrats voted against the bill.

You're looking at the Senate accepting the conference report, which was the 90-8 vote. (106th Congress, Senate Roll Call Vote 354).

My search-fu is sort of weak, but the last time I could find that the Senate outright rejected a Conference Report (filibusters excluded) was in 1918.

That's incorrect. The act in the Senate was passed on a basically straight party line vote. See 106th Congress, Senate Roll Call Vote 105 54-44. 53 Republicans voted for the bill, 1 Deomcrat. 44 Democrats voted against the bill.

You're looking at the Senate accepting the conference report, which was the 90-8 vote. (106th Congress, Senate Roll Call Vote 354).

My search-fu is sort of weak, but the last time I could find that the Senate outright rejected a Conference Report (filibusters excluded) was in 1918.

You try supporting a family on the piddly bullshit you pay your H1Bs.

First of all read the subject, I was (semi) joking.

Secondly, when is this BS propaganda about H1Bs being paid less than US workers going to go away? Read the actual report, the subject of this entire conversation and then we can talk.

Here is the link for you: http://grassley.senate.gov/private/upload/100820081-3.pdf

Go to the page 9, section 2. Beneficiary not receiving the prevailing wage...

Total of 14 out of 246 cases surveyed received less than the prevailing wage. Out of those, 5 were procedural errors so only 9 were deemed as fraud. It doesn't mention how many were receiving a wage above the prevailing wage so it is perfectly possible (I would say probable) that the average wage received by H1Bs is actually higher than the prevailing wage paid to US workers.

How is that for piddly bullshit?

There is no overlap; check out their methodology section here: http://grassley.senate.gov/private/upload/100820081-3.pdf

OMG 20% fraud is a nice headline grabber, but the actual results of the study mean that the H1-B program is working rather well:

- Only in 15 out of 246 cases the employee is paid less than the actual prevailing wage. ( i.e. 94% are paid at or above)
- Only 10 out of 246 applicants lied about their degrees or experience ( 96% )

So yes ths bill is awful. The Civil Forfeture provisions alone are foul let alone the Czar. While it may not roll things back overnight here is something simple that you can each do.

1) Find your senator/representative on the list of supporters (see below)
2) Call their office or contact them via the Senate and House websites.
3) Ask them why they voted for the bill. If their response does not convince you politely explain that this is an awful bill and one that has cost them your vote. Inform them politely that you will not vote for them or donate money to their campaigns again.
4) Repeat.

I would be shocked if any of them read this bill or have a reason for voting other than that they were in favor of good stuff. But the act of informing them that you will not support them because of it makes the point.

For those of you not in the U.S. I would recommend contacting your representatives with the message that you will not back them if they consider a stunt like this.

Now the Senators who voted in favor are here.

The house members in favor of the PRORIP act which became this are here

While McCain has Lawrence Lessig's blessing

So does Obama. http://www.lessig.org/blog/2007/11/4barack.html
Additionally Obama has long supported Net Neutrality.

We can't have a situation in which the corporate duopoly dictates the future of the internet and that's why I'm supporting what is called net neutrality.

That is a quote from Obama's podcast he was doing while he was a senator. http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/

Hoho - look at the filename: http://banking.senate.gov/public/_files/latestversionAYO08C32_xml.pdf

They write the law in XML now.

(Slashdot please not - I am not a fucking cowboy and I do not want to slow down).

This isn't new. The government's sneaky voyeurs have pulled this shit time and time again against nonviolent "subversives".

Speaking of sneaky, there's more than pork added to the bailout bill.
Browsing through it I happened to notice "Sec. 201 Permanent Authority For Undercover Operations" on page 296. Not quite sure what that is, but it's a fair guess there was very little time for discussion with it in that bill. Whatever it is may very well be needed, but I have to wonder if it would have been permanent if handled in separate legislation that was more-fully discussed and reviewed before passage.

Don't just go by the news summaries of what is in that bill, check out the 724 K PDF of HR1424, the full bill.

Yes, it is as bad. A fraudulent vote cancels out a valid vote, in effect taking a vote away from someone.

You mean in the same way that another person voting the other way negates it? That sounds like an excuse for dropping people from the voting rolls. Also remember that there are usually multiple votes cast at the same time for different government positions (President, Senate, House, local government, etc), and unless most people vote as a monolithic bloc, it's going to effect more than just a Presidential election.

Also, consider that the Governor's race in Washington (where known ACORN abuses occurred), required an additional 2 recounts, where the Republican won the first two counts and the Democrat won the last and final count.

In this case, the Democrats kept recounting and "finding" votes until they were over the top. Less than two hundred fraudulent votes were enough to win the election. So, in this case over a *million* votes were disenfranchised when the election was stolen.

To quote the prosecuting attorney in Washington (Dan Satterberg), the misconduct was done "as an easy way to get paid [by ACORN], not as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections." Yup, sure sounds like they kept "refinding" the votes in an attempt to swing the election.

The presidential election in 2000 could have had a completely different outcome depending on who was counting or how many times they've counted. I'm not excusing voter fraud, just saying that it's a much smaller problem than disenfranchising voters.

Funny you mentioned "a few of the workers" when the Wikipedia article mentions so many cases of voter fraud that it is obviously a standard practice in ACORN. They are against photo id, since that would impact their fraudulent voter drives.

You're starting with the premise that they must "obviously" be engaged in standard practices of voter fraud, which is clouding your argument.

Photo ID regulations generally disenfranchise one particular type of person, which is more likely to vote for a Democrat than a Republican. There were also a lot of reported voting "irregularities" in Florida and Ohio over the last few elections. I'm guessing that you wouldn't consider it the standard practice of polling places to purge rolls of minority voters, etc, simply because there are so many instances?

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

My only hope is that the voters check for who is voting for this and get rid of them next election.

I hope so too, but the perpetrator (this bill) is known under many aliases including:"Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007" AKA "Defenders of Freedom Tax Relief Act of 2007" AKA "Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007". So it's difficult to find the text of the final bill and which traitors voted for it. We need a WikiCongress!

I haven't seen a single traditional news media outlet report the voting roster (maybe it would be a violation of that stupid unconstitutional McCain-Feingold bill?), but you can find The house vote here and The Senate vote here. Come election time, lets make sure they know that they still work for us and we aren't happy about being screwed over time and time again for the benefit of their wealthy friends.

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0904/ijee/realuyo.htm

http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/121605summ.pdf

The first connects the IRS with anti-terrorist investigations. I doubt great detail is needed to show how that can and likely has been abused. The not-so-recent news about the clear and abundant abuses of national security letters and other such Patriot Act devices show an obvious tendency in this regard. Somehow, the IRS had its mission expanded to include anti-terrorism.

The second shows abundant areas where personal information is being shared all over the place... ostensibly to prevent terrorism?

If you want to check out all of details directly it's only 724 KB to get the PDF of HR1424, the full bill.

You can find an index to most of the tax break provisions starting around page 261.
Looks like they got the Republican tax agenda in there.

Some may also like to check out the wikipedia entry for HR1424.

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

Obama will castrate our military and destroy our nuclear deterrent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxL8NcNACBY

He will tax corporations and high income earners that employ the population of the US, which will force them to cut jobs and send the unemployment rate skyrocketing.
http://obama.3cdn.net/b7be3b7cd08e587dca_v852mv8ja.pdf

He sees dead people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galtZF0nKYc

He wants to take the guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, leaving us at the mercy of criminals.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/barack_obama_gun_control.htm

He'll cut and run from Iraq, knocking the legs out from under the Iraqi government as they are finally finding their footing.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

He believes homosexuals are entitled to more rights than straight people.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

He believes in mob rule concerning criminal punishment.
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58

He refuses to call terrorists "terrorists" even when presented with evidence.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15251928

He will prevent us from keeping sensitive materials confidential, which will place national security at risk.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14356/

He would talk with terrorist countries without demanding that they cease their efforts to murder innocent people and abide by the rule of law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Oj7Jn9rv4

He believes we should reward people who ignore the existence of a country's sovereignty and illegally enter the country instead of forcing them to abide by the law.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/060923-sen_obama_at_to/index.php

He believes the government should regulate the internet.
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/index.php

He believes in making those who have money pay for the healthcare of those who do not have money.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

He believes we should take corn, a staple food for the US, and use it for ethanol production, which will cause shortages in food supply and produce car exhaust that is more dangerous to humans than gasoline burning cars.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/01/05/new_us_congress_looks_to_boost_alternate_fuels/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

He believes that parents should have no choice but to send their children to government run schools to be indoctrinated by sub-standard teachers.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/04/041027.obama-ct.html

In short, he's an anti-American, anti-military Marxist who will destroy the US before he can be voted out of office. I don't like McCain and I have problems with many of his positions, but he will, at the very least, keep the US from crashing and burning within the next 4 years (provided the Dems don't win Congress).

And no, he's not a Muslim (as far as we know). He's not black (he's bi-racial). He's not a Christian (against everything Ch

My impression from the (relatively poorly written, especially on this point) article, and the fact that just about everyone has a campaign website, is just that linking from the official site is forboden. For instance, neither Obama nor McCain's site really makes it look like they are running for president. (I know both are Senators, not Representatives, but TFA says the new House rules are modeled off of the Senate ones, so I assume they have similar restrictions.)

My impression from the (relatively poorly written, especially on this point) article, and the fact that just about everyone has a campaign website, is just that linking from the official site is forboden. For instance, neither Obama nor McCain's site really makes it look like they are running for president. (I know both are Senators, not Representatives, but TFA says the new House rules are modeled off of the Senate ones, so I assume they have similar restrictions.)

Take, for example, the Fannie/Freddie debacle. Consider that Obama had 2 corrupt former CEOs of Fannie as economic advisors, one of which was the head of his VP search committee.

The truth is that although Jim Johnson was a CEO at Fannie Mae before becoming a leader of Barack Obama's VP search committee, he has not been convicted of any crime, but Obama accepted Johnson's resignation from the Presidential campaign anyway. In June, you hypocrite. Jim Johnson has also not been even accused of any crimes, just smeared for being associated with a corporation which operated in the lawless environment introduced by Gramm-Leach-Biley. Compare to Carly Fiorina, who was personally responsible for making a mess out of Hewlett-Packard. Johnson didn't sign Gramm-Leach-Biley into law. Measured by stock price, Fiorina was, in the eyes of the investors with enough previous financial success to determine stock prices, personally responsible for Hewlett-Packard's problems. If we're going to spend $700 Billion bailing out the country's wealthiest investors, we had better trust their judgment enough to uphold their verdict on Carleton S. Fiorina: as toxic as a portfolio full of foreclosed mortgages.

Former Fannie Mae executive Jim Johnson, who was a leader of the vice presidential search committee for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, resigned from that unpaid position today amid criticisms that Johnson represented a world of influence and special interests that stood in stark contrast with what Obama's campaign purports to stand for.
...
"We don't need any lectures from a campaign that waited fifteen months to purge the lobbyists from their staff, and only did so because they said it was a 'perception problem,'" said Obama campaign spokesperson Bill Burton.

And Franklin Raines was never any kind of adviser to Obama at all.

The Obama campaign issued a statement by Raines on Thursday night insisting, "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters." Obama spokesman Bill Burton went a little further, saying in an e-mail that the campaign had "neither sought nor received" advice from Raines "on any matter."

[If Raines offered Obama advice that was not sought, a lying sack of excrement might argue that Obama nevertheless "received" that advice, but unless that advice was the basis of subsequent action, we use the colloquialism that the advice was not "taken," thus anybody describing Raines as an advisor to Obama is a lying sack of excrement.]

Unless you have proof that Raines' statement above is a lie, you committed libel by asserting that he had ever been one of Barack Obama's "economic advisors."

So what evidence does the McCain campaign have for the supposed Obama-Raines connection? It is pretty flimsy, but it is not made up completely out of whole cloth.

99% cloth, but not completely whole cloth. The "supposed Obama-Raines connection" is not quite pure fabrication by the same standard that the statement "you are a violin" has a basis in fact, when addressed to a person calling itself "Stradivarius." The only connection to fact is extremely tenuous, and we all know that the statement "you are a violin" is a falsehood. Your accusation is no more honest, just less humorous.

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers points to three items in the Washington Post in July and August. It turns out that

From Senator Wyden:

"With over 30,000 civil suits filed by a single entity against individual Americans it is clear that industry is more than able to enforce its intellectual property rights in civil courts without the contribution of taxpayer funds and busy federal prosecutors."

But while that's a kind of system that should be working, it really isn't. There are still tens of millions of Americans who either believe that it is within their "fair use" rights to freely redistribute copyrighted materials to dozens of unknown online participants, or do so fully knowing it is illegal.

So while the method sucks... isn't this actually a reasonable place for government action, you know, in enforcing the law?

--
Learn electronics! Powerful microcontroller kits for the digital generation.

An adviser on the hypothetical and future transition... Most insignificant...

If the polls are to be believed, there are roughly even odds on this "hypothetical" transition at the moment. And I can't agree planning the organization and staffing of a Presidential adminstration is insignificant. If you have an alternative explanation of his job description, though, I'm open.

There's also the matter of the other people I mentioned.

Here you are equating "directing" with "receiving".

I'm not sure why this is a problem. Taking on the role of a straight-up advocate, as lobbyists do, seems at least as likely to shape one's opinions as giving access to lobbyists (generally the only demonstrable custom connected with campaign donations), and it appears these people are a significant part of the McCain campaign.

Now, I certainly think it's certainly possible their views may be larger than that of your standard shill, but I think that if you allow that possibility to people who were actively lobbying for and dispersing funds from FM/FM, you have to allow the same possibility to those who've accepted funds and offered an audience to those lobbyists.

And Obama has none, right?

I think I did state in my earlier posts that I certainly don't think that influence from FM/FM is contained to Republicans, and that I'm aware it does touch Obama's campaign.

I'm not, however, aware of specific connections other than Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson. But it turns out Raines' role in Obama's campaign appears to be limited to speaking to some members of the campaign staff: he states he's never advised Obama directly on anything and that contact with the campaign has been a few phone calls. Jim Johnson was definitely more of an insider but was more or less fired from the VP search committee when a few people kicked up dirt about his personal mortgage terms, and it's not clear he was ever a policy adviser.

Maybe there's more though. I'll say again that it wouldn't surprise me. *Everybody* in Washington was connected to FM/FM.

But the Democrats opposed it on a party line -- according to the article. Perhaps, you can discuss it with your acquaintances among Congressional leaders, and post the results?

Congressional scholars (political scientists who study how congress works) were the people who I mentioned earlier, but perhaps I can ask some acquaintances who've been staffers.

In the meanwhile, I'm unable to find a 2005 Vote on S.190 ... and that's in line with the Bloomberg editorial you linked which states that the measure was opposed in committee, which means it's hard to infer a position for any Democrat (or Republican) who wasn't on the banking/finance committee at the time.

Yeah, she wanted a man, who threatened to kill his ex father-in-law and tasered his own 10 year-old son, to not be a police officer in her State. An outrageous violation of the due process on rule-of-law.

I don't think anybody's argued that the police officer's alleged actions were defensible, but that this wouldn't justify a violation of the law on Palin's part. However, it's not clear she's actually in any particular trouble. I'll be interested in the conclusions of the investigation and court case, if any. Until there are some, I think this is a fairly minor point, especially in comparison to other things, say, her consistent disembling about earmarks.

Yep... Can be compared with Clinton using Arkansas troopers to deliver women to him.

I'm not sure why Clinton is important to the discussion either. I certainly wouldn't suggest the stories of his history are the bar against which Palin's behavior should be compared.

I take more of a Libertarian stance, and am very much a fiscal conservative, which makes it hard for me to ever vote for a Democrat.

I don't expect or want to make you a party-line Democrat, but seriously, you have tuned in, turned on and dropped out for all of the last 30 years if you truly believe "fiscal conservative" = !Democrat. Whatever you dislike about the "tax and spend" caricature of "the Democrats," in the real world, it's "borrow-and-spend" Republicans who have been the worst possible parody of fiscal responsibility. Ron Paul and Tom Coburn are notable exceptions, not the average Republican any more than Larry Craig is the average Republican. On average -- objectively defined by spending and votes for it -- only Republicans' empty rhetoric is fiscally conservative. Democrats, admittedly over-generalizing here, unquestionably do a better job of being fiscally conservative in proportion to their rhetoric, comparing Clinton and Democratic Congresses to Bush Jr. and Republican Congresses. Democrats are not less fiscally responsible than Republicans overall, they are less noisy about fiscal responsibility, but more responsible in practice, where it matters. You are holding Republicans' vice -- fiscal hypocrisy -- against Democrats.

What has Obama done to change anything? I mean, I keep hearing about Obama being about change, and about hope, and reform. But, what has he actually done about anything? Besides get elected, and sell some books.

One thing Obama has done is consistently pursue meaningful accountability for malfeasance and incompetence in government. If you want to know what "has Obama done to change anything" else, go look it up yourself.

I take more of a Libertarian stance, and am very much a fiscal conservative, which makes it hard for me to ever vote for a Democrat.

I don't expect or want to make you a party-line Democrat, but seriously, you have tuned in, turned on and dropped out for all of the last 30 years if you truly believe "fiscal conservative" = !Democrat. Whatever you dislike about the "tax and spend" caricature of "the Democrats," in the real world, it's "borrow-and-spend" Republicans who have been the worst possible parody of fiscal responsibility. Ron Paul and Tom Coburn are notable exceptions, not the average Republican any more than Larry Craig is the average Republican. On average -- objectively defined by spending and votes for it -- only Republicans' empty rhetoric is fiscally conservative. Democrats, admittedly over-generalizing here, unquestionably do a better job of being fiscally conservative in proportion to their rhetoric, comparing Clinton and Democratic Congresses to Bush Jr. and Republican Congresses. Democrats are not less fiscally responsible than Republicans overall, they are less noisy about fiscal responsibility, but more responsible in practice, where it matters. You are holding Republicans' vice -- fiscal hypocrisy -- against Democrats.

What has Obama done to change anything? I mean, I keep hearing about Obama being about change, and about hope, and reform. But, what has he actually done about anything? Besides get elected, and sell some books.

One thing Obama has done is consistently pursue meaningful accountability for malfeasance and incompetence in government. If you want to know what "has Obama done to change anything" else, go look it up yourself.

I take more of a Libertarian stance, and am very much a fiscal conservative, which makes it hard for me to ever vote for a Democrat.

I don't expect or want to make you a party-line Democrat, but seriously, you have tuned in, turned on and dropped out for all of the last 30 years if you truly believe "fiscal conservative" = !Democrat. Whatever you dislike about the "tax and spend" caricature of "the Democrats," in the real world, it's "borrow-and-spend" Republicans who have been the worst possible parody of fiscal responsibility. Ron Paul and Tom Coburn are notable exceptions, not the average Republican any more than Larry Craig is the average Republican. On average -- objectively defined by spending and votes for it -- only Republicans' empty rhetoric is fiscally conservative. Democrats, admittedly over-generalizing here, unquestionably do a better job of being fiscally conservative in proportion to their rhetoric, comparing Clinton and Democratic Congresses to Bush Jr. and Republican Congresses. Democrats are not less fiscally responsible than Republicans overall, they are less noisy about fiscal responsibility, but more responsible in practice, where it matters. You are holding Republicans' vice -- fiscal hypocrisy -- against Democrats.

What has Obama done to change anything? I mean, I keep hearing about Obama being about change, and about hope, and reform. But, what has he actually done about anything? Besides get elected, and sell some books.

One thing Obama has done is consistently pursue meaningful accountability for malfeasance and incompetence in government. If you want to know what "has Obama done to change anything" else, go look it up yourself.

I agree that there was no compelling declassified intelligence that justified going to war with Iraq in 2003. This is the main reason why I (and it sounds like you as well) did not support the attack and occupation of Iraq at the time. But if attacking Iraq was such obvious poor judgment at the time, why did Senate Democrats vote 29-21 in favor of the war?

This is why I'm saying that while it's easy for you, or me, or even an Illinois State Senator to question the judgment of those who voted for the war, how do you explain the Democrats' support for the war?

Here's one to make your head spin: Barack Obama voted with is party 96.0% of the time. His party voted for the war. His running mate voted for the war. His opponent in the primaries voted for the war. Had Barack Obama been a member of the 107th Congress, I believe he would have voted for the war as well. That's just my opinion, but I think it's a reasonably well-grounded one.

I've always been impressed by Obama's ability to give a speech, and not actually say anything. It makes him very popular. It's all vaguely positive. There's very little for anyone to actually disagree with.

Yeah, McCain's speeches are so much better (I'm a war hero, I'm a family man, I'm behind our troops, our economy is fine, I can't wait to introduce Sarah Palin to Warshington!) Don't forget, McCain is totally full of crap when it comes to helping out our troops.

I've always been impressed by Obama's ability to give a speech, and not actually say anything. It makes him very popular. It's all vaguely positive. There's very little for anyone to actually disagree with.

Yeah, McCain's speeches are so much better (I'm a war hero, I'm a family man, I'm behind our troops, our economy is fine, I can't wait to introduce Sarah Palin to Warshington!) Don't forget, McCain is totally full of crap when it comes to helping out our troops.

I've always been impressed by Obama's ability to give a speech, and not actually say anything. It makes him very popular. It's all vaguely positive. There's very little for anyone to actually disagree with.

Yeah, McCain's speeches are so much better (I'm a war hero, I'm a family man, I'm behind our troops, our economy is fine, I can't wait to introduce Sarah Palin to Warshington!) Don't forget, McCain is totally full of crap when it comes to helping out our troops.

Unfortunately a 50-49-1 majority in the Senate isn't enough to overcome a veto-happy President.

This is an irrelevant statement. In fact, Bush has only vetoed 11 bills while this was the party distribution in the Senate (12 bills total while president). Most of those 11 vetoes were either overridden or made moot by a new bill with minor changes being passed by Congress and then signed. It would be a serious stretch to call Bush a veto-happy President.

As for the inevitable argument that Bush doesn't have to use the veto much because the Republicans in the Senate are protecting him with filibusters, you can look at the list of cloture motions here. Most of the bills for which cloture is successfully invoked are passed and signed into law, not vetoed. I don't think that the filibuster and veto are why Congress has a low approval rating, and the small majority in Congress gives the Democrats more power than you're acknowledging.

I can't comprehend why, with the Republican brand in the toilet as you put it, the Democrats aren't fighting harder against these empty filibuster and veto threats. Challenging a group so overwhelmingly hated would improve their standing.

As for your final statement, I suspect that the approval rating of Congress is going to go up after the new congress begins in almost any likely electoral scenario. The question is whether or not it will stay up.