Mood:  suave

A modest plan for saving the country. Thanks in advance for the applause

 By (Libtard) Garrison Keillor

It's the best part of summer, the long lovely passage into fall. A procession of lazy golden days that my sandy-haired, gap-toothed little girl has been painting, small abstract masterpieces in tempera and crayon and glitter, reminiscent of Franz Kline or Willem de Kooning (his early glitter period). She put a sign out front, "Art for Sale," and charged 25 cents per painting. Cheap at the price.

A teacher gave her this freedom to sit unselfconsciously and put paint on paper. A gentle 6-foot-8 guy named Matt who taught art at her preschool. Her swimming teachers gave her freedom from fear of water. So much that has made this summer a pleasure for her I trace to specific teachers, and so it's painful to hear about public education sinking all around us. A high school math class of 42! Everybody knows you can't teach math to 42 kids at once, kids doped up on sugar and soda, sleepy kids, Hmong kids, African-American kids who think scholarship is white bread. The classroom smells bad because the custodial staff has been cut back. The teacher is shelling out $900 a month for health insurance, one-third of his take-home. Meanwhile, he must whip his pupils into shape to pass the federal No Child Left Untested program. This is insanity, the legacy of Republicans and their tax-cutting and their hostility to secular institutions.

Last spring I taught a college writing course and had the privilege of hanging out with people in their early 20s, an inspirational experience in return for which I tried to harass them about spelling and grammar and structure. My interest in being 21 again is less than my interest in having a frontal lobotomy, but the wit and passion and good-heartedness of these kids, which they try to conceal under their exquisite cool, are the hope of this country. You have to advocate for young people, or else what are we here for?

I keep running into retirees in their mid-50s, free to collect seashells and write bad poetry and shoot video of the Grand Canyon, and goody for them, but they're not the future.

My college kids are graduating with a 20-pound ball of debt chained to their ankles.

That's not right and you know it.

This country is squashing its young. We're sending them to die in a war we don't believe in anymore. We're cheating them so we can offer tax relief to the rich. And we're stealing from them so that old gaffers like me, who want to live forever, can go in for an MRI if we have a headache.

A society that pays for MRIs for headaches and can't pay teachers a decent wage has made a dreadful choice. But health care costs are ballooning, eating away at the economy.

The boomers are getting to an age where their knees need replacing and their hearts need a quadruple bypass--which they feel entitled to--but our children aren't entitled to a damn thing. Any goombah with a PhD in education can strip away French and German, music and art, dumb down the social sciences, offer Britney Spears instead of Shakespeare, and there is nothing the kid can do except hang out in the library, which is being cut back too.

This week we mark the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the Current Occupant's line, "You're doing a heckuva job," which already is in common usage, a joke, a euphemism for utter ineptitude. It's sure to wind up in "Bartlett's Quotations," a summation of his occupancy.

Annual interest on the national debt now exceeds all government welfare programs combined. We'll be in Iraq for years to come. Hard choices need to be made, and given the situation we're in, I think we must bite the bullet and say no more health care for card-carrying Republicans. It just doesn't make sense to invest in longevity for people who don't believe in the future. Let them try faith-based medicine, let them pray for their arteries to be reamed and their hips to be restored, and leave science to the rest of us.

Cutting out health care to one-third of the population--the folks with Bush-Cheney bumper stickers, who still believe the man is doing a heckuva job--will save enough money to pay off the national debt, not a bad legacy for Republicans. As Scrooge said, let them die and reduce the surplus population. In return, we can offer them a reduction in the estate tax.

All in favor, blow your nose.

Garrison Keillor is an author and radio host of "A Prairie Home Companion."
(Origional story requires registration)
Chicago Tribune ~ Garrison Keillor ** A modest plan for saving the country

Has anyone else noticed how often the leftwingers invoke the death wish for their opponents who argue from reasoned opinions? The last paragraph is of course, the pure leftist love, tolerance, and compassion we have come to expect. Can you imagine what the response would be from the media if Rush wrote an article like this?

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:57 AM EDT

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Mood:  bright

Spending provides cheer on US economy

US consumers delivered good news to the economy on Thursday, as data for July showed spending on goods and services was growing more quickly than at any time this year.

Meanwhile, tame inflation over the month made an interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve in September increasingly unlikely.

Personal spending rose by 0.8 per cent last month, twice the June rate, a report published by the Commerce Deparment said, boosted by incentives for car sales. Personal income grew by 0.5 per cent, with disposable income up 0.7 per cent. Inflation rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.1 per cent, or an annualised 2.4 per cent.

At its current rate, inflation exceeds the Fed’s imposed limits of 1-2 per cent. However, the July rise, the smallest this year, combined with signs of weakness in residential housing, supports the view that the Fed is unlikely to raise rates in the immediate future.

“The chances of a September rate hike continue to recede - although that doesn’t mean that we can yet declare that the Fed is done hiking for good,” said Nigel Gault, US economist at Global Insight.

The data drove some analysts to bump up their economic growth and consumption expectations for the rest of the year, although most were still forecasting a slowing in the economy in the longer term. Recent data have shown consumers’ confidence in the strength of the economy waning.

“Today’s solid income and consumption figures through July ... continue to buck forecasts of a broad slowdown in the US economy, though a modest slowdown in growth remains a best guess,” said Mike Englund, an analyst at Action Economics.

Retail sales for August showed some evidence of weakness, with discretionary spending down slightly, but were robust overall.

Financial Times ~ Daniel Pimlott ** Spending provides cheer on US economy

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:23 AM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Air America Radio Finances, Associated Press

FRAYED WIRES

Ca$h- Starved Air America Struggles To Pay AP

Air America Radio is apparently so broke that it is now struggling just to pay for basic news services, the Radio Equalizer has exclusively learned.

Locked into a contract for Associated Press wire services until next year, the much- hyped but floundering liberal talk radio network has recently attempted to negotiate for revised terms, including temporarily disconnecting certain elements of its AP coverage until it can theoretically resume full payments in 2007.

Perhaps al- Reuters could offer to fill the void, free of charge?

The AP did not respond to a Radio Equalizer press inquiry on the status of Air America's contract.

Use of a wire service, especially the AP's, is an essential element of any broadcast company's newsroom operations. Only the smallest radio stations in the country might attempt to function without one, but even that is not common.

Without the AP or another network feed, anchors are placed in a terrible position where they must improvise newscasts without running afoul of copyright laws and other restrictions. In monitoring recent Air America newscasts, there has been a notable absence of audio cuts and identification of the sources of reports. Why that is the case is not clear, but it does make for a rather odd- sounding news break.

And at Air America's website, news updates are written more in the style of a blog, with links to various reports, including some at Yahoo.com that feature AP coverage. But that kind of indirect linking doesn't require one to subscribe to the wire service.

If Air America is in fact having trouble paying the Associated Press, where does that leave other creditors and vendors? After all, the AP wire couldn't possibly be considered one of the company's biggest monthly expenses. In addition, AAR's news is sponsored by the SEIU labor union, under a long- term deal. Why doesn't the SEIU money directly cover the AP's cost?

The other big question raised by this news is what has become of the money from George Soros, Rob Glaser and others.

Have Franken and Rhodes really sucked it all up so soon? If we find out what happened to all of that lefty dough, we'll let you know.

Thanks to Dave Pierre at Newsbusters for linking to this story today.

AP photoshops: David A Lunde for the Radio Equalizer
The Radio Equalizer ~ Brian Maloney ** Frayed Wires, Ca$h- Starved Air America Struggles To Pay AP

Mike Malloy Fired, Air America Radio, New York City Ratings

MORE TURMOIL

Malloy Fired, New Questions Emerge

Hot- headed extremist Mike Malloy says he's been unexpectedly fired by Air America Radio, according to his website and a posting by his producer / wife Kathy at the Democratic Underground. Apparently, he's already done his last show for the network (hat tip to Boston's "Raccoon Radio" Bob).

So far, AAR hasn't updated its program schedule, but that's no surprise: it also still lists Janeane Garofalo, who left some time ago.

Since recent indications were that Malloy would survive the liberal talk radio network's dramatic downsizing, this news further sheds light on the turmoil that has enveloped the floundering operation. Mike, who uses an ancient photo of himself on his website, was expected to move with Air America to its new and smaller flagship station in New York, WWRL- AM. So what is going on now?

Though Malloy and wife Kathy weren't being paid much by Air America, very little of its programming schedule outside of Franken, Rhodes and a couple of others now appears to be avoiding the chopping block.

Malloy's angry style and rhetoric have mostly been ignored by the media, with the exception of a couple of particularly extreme moments. One occurred when he lashed out at a conservative group that politely invited him to broadcast from their convention, calling them "neo- nazis".

And earlier this year, Malloy's idea of being a "team player" was to threaten our inside sources at the network.

And as for numbers, Malloy wasn't generating any: in the spring 2006 Arbitron survey, his combined (adults 25-54) ratings stood at a pathetic 0.5 share in New York City, compared to a 2.1 for rival Lionel on WOR 710 AM and 2.2 for the just- cancelled John Batchelor on WABC. For Malloy, that represented a drop of 29% over the previous ratings period.

What Mike did have, however, was a hard- core cult following by some of Air America's most politically extreme listeners. Apparently, the network felt that wasn't a demographic worth maintaining.

The bigger question, of course, is why the inner turmoil at the network continues unabated. Programming decisions seem to change by the day, with a scorecard needed to keep track of them.

With so many internal managers having recently departed from AAR's New York headquarters, who is now calling the shots, other than Jim Wiggett in San Francisco and Rob Glaser in Seattle?

UPDATE: a reader emails this:

Brian,
Great job on your blog- I never miss it.

Regarding Mike Mallory's firing, maybe it's coincidence, but pretty much at the beginning of subbing for Randi Rhodes Tuesday, Malloy was ripping on "the suits" at Air America and their move to the new station in New York.

As I was listening, I was thinking, "wow, he could really p*ss off the bosses with his rant". I'm guessing he did. hehe

Again, just my two bits based on what I heard.
Keep up the great work.
E F

E F, this might explain why Malloy was ripped right out of the middle of a fill- in stint for Randi Rhodes. Another host abruptly replaced him mid- week.

UPDATE: the ratings information above is at best misleading, as WLIB began airing ABC Radio's Satellite Sisters in Malloy's timeslot earlier this year. The crappy numbers mentioned belong to them, not to Malloy. Beyond New York, it's hard to tell just how many stations were running his show. He did well in Portland, Oregon, (over a 6 share in the evenings on KPOJ) but not in Los Angeles, where his late night slot generated only a 0.1 share (adults 25-54).

In addition, the Radio Equalizer has heard that at least some of Malloy's stations were caught off guard by his firing, having not received the customary notice of his show's cancellation. At least one affiliate was scrambling Wednesday to make other plans at the last minute.

Old Picture, Like Rats: David A Lunde for the Radio Equalizer
The Radio Equalizer ~ Brian Maloney ** More Turmoil, Malloy Fired, New Questions Emerge

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:53 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 1 September 2006 12:59 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

A Republican Grows in D.C.

Young Tony Williams runs for city council.

Tony Williams, the 26-year-old son of NPR correspondent and Fox News contributor Juan Williams, is cut from the same cloth as the older Williams in some ways, but definitely not in others. Father and son both hold heterodox opinions on matters of race, for instance, but the younger Williams is--gasp--a Republican. He even spent a summer working in Strom Thurmond's office. And now the young iconoclast is making a run for office, campaigning for a seat on Washington's city council, where Democrats occupy 11 of the 13 seats.

Williams is running as a small-government conservative, hailing the virtues of small businesses and promoting tax breaks for entrepreneurs, homeowners, and renters. President Bush's concept of an ownership society gets high marks in his book. He says he detests inefficient bureaucracy and aims to ensure that tax dollars flow directly where they are needed, to failing schools, job training programs, and housing loan initiatives for city workers.

Currently, Williams is the only Republican running. Three Demo crats are vying for their party's nomination in a September primary, and one independent is already in the race. Williams has received support from Republicans across the District and former city council members John Ray and William Lightfoot. Of course many potential supporters view a council seat in the District as all but unwinnable for a Republican candidate, which can make fundraising difficult. But Williams is hoping to persuade the party establishment that investing now in local minority candidates will pay dividends in the long run.

At the D.C. Young Republicans' monthly happy hour on Capitol Hill last week, Williams mixed and mingled with a crowd of about 50 or 60, talking about his key issues and soliciting volunteers. D.C. Young Republicans' Kris Hammond says that Williams has one of the "best coordinated" campaigns, and that he hopes it will help build the party's presence in D.C. Hammond believes a number of local Republicans register as Demo crats to avoid wasting their votes. Longtime resident and D.C. Republican Committee member Nelson Rimensnyder declares that Williams "has the best shot of any Republican since 1975."

Williams emphatically defends the Republican party on the issue of civil rights. He cites the actions of a Republican-dominated Congress in furthering the fight for civil rights, and also the party's emphasis on a strong work ethic. Democrats "offered a lot of benefits to the African-American community . . . whereas the Republican party said well . . . you're not going to automatically move into the middle class. . . . The American dream doesn't work like that, you have to work hard and take some individual responsibility." He says he respects civil rights leaders such as Marion Barry and Julian Bond, but argues that the District has seen the "huge African-American upper class and . . . middle class . . . dwindle" because Democrats have "ignored those doctrines of personal responsibility."

Williams got his start in politics working as a page on Capitol Hill for the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, who also hired him for the summer as an intern coordinator. He's "forever grateful" to Thurmond for the opportunity, says Williams. After college, he worked in the Department of Veterans' Affairs as a speechwriter and policy adviser before joining Sen. Norm Coleman's staff, where he worked on issues relating to small businesses, the budget, and telecommunications. His Hill experience impressed upon Williams the paramount importance of a sound budget and the unmatched role small businesses play in invigorating the economy. He states plainly, "If the budget works, everything works; if the budget doesn't work, nothing works."

Williams's platform focuses on schools and development. He favors vouchers (a controversial position in the District) and charter schools, but says reforming and improving the public school system would be one of his first orders of business on the council. As a real estate investor (he owns two apartments and a parking lot in Ward 6), Williams is familiar with the plight of current residents being pushed out of their neighborhoods by developers. Developers do "a lot of good work," says Williams. Still, he worries about the delicate balance between attracting builders to invest in blighted areas and keeping prices affordable for current residents.

Every evening Williams canvasses a portion of Ward 6, which covers Capitol Hill and a chunk of the Southeast quadrant, talking with residents and handing out campaign literature. Last Thursday, working the waterfront area, he was polished and polite, introducing himself as the Republican candidate for city council, which tended to draw sour faces. But as the candidate explained his ideas for improving schools, safety, and the general welfare of the community, people opened up to him and told him about their frustrations and concerns. Williams hopes that his early campaigning will make a difference. He reports that his website always receives a late-evening bump in traffic after he's been out distributing pamphlets.

When it comes to fiscal issues, Williams says he is "one hundred percent" conservative. He's disgusted that "our government has grown so large." On national security, he also calls himself a conservative, but he hedges on the war in Iraq. And on social issues, he calls himself a "Northern Republican," adding that public officials should have moral standards and act as role model citizens, but not legislate morality.

He names Ronald Reagan, a "politician that spoke to my heart," as one of his political heroes. His other heroes include Thurgood Marshall and Edward R. Murrow, as well as his mother, upon whom he bestows the title of "public servant" for her dedicated career as a social worker, and his grandfather, who worked on the Panama Canal and trained boxers in order to save enough money to transport his family to America.

Williams has the support of several prominent conservatives. Radio talk show host and commentator Armstrong Williams, a longtime family friend and Tony's godfather, praises Tony's public-spiritedness and says his godson "always had a commitment to service and people."

On The Net: Ward 6 for Tony Williams
Whitney Blake is an editorial assistant at The Weekly Standard.
The Weekly Standard ~ Whitney Blake ** A Republican Grows in D.C.

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:44 PM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) in his office on Capitol Hill >>>>> 

Why the Democrats Are Worrying About Money

Despite their lead in the polls, congressional Democrats are concerned, and even feuding, about whether they will have enough cash to take back the House this fall

2006 Democrats have been leading in the polls for months now, but that doesn't mean everyone in the party is feeling so comfortable about their chances of regaining the House in November.

Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago congressman in charge of getting House Democrats elected, has already been in a months-long feud with Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, complaining that Dean isn't spending enough of the DNC's money on this year's congressional races. But now Emanuel is expanding his fight with other groups in his own party, blasting George Soros and MoveOn.org, two key sources of campaign cash for liberal candidates in 2004, for not spending enough money so far in 2006.

Noting that MoveOn.org had run ads in four key congressional races earlier this summer and then stopped, Emanuel told the New York Daily News "they literally moved on. The election is in November, and they moved on in June. What is going on here? I don't get it. I'm bewildered." On Soros, Emanuel said "he says his No. 1 priority is taking back the House. I say, 'Okay, I'm into that. So what are we going to do?'"

Both Soros and MoveOn.org sharply defended themselves, with MoveOn Washington director Tom Matzzie telling TIME regarding Emanuel's remarks that "it's really in poor taste, it shows no class and its not not going to help Democrats get elected." (MoveOn says it stopped running ads in the earlier districts because Emanuel's Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is now involved in those races so they've focused their efforts on other places where ads by Democratic groups aren't running.)

But the flare-up underscores one of the Democrats' biggest worries about this fall's elections: money. Top party officials are fretting that the GOP will dominate the ad wars in September and October. "My greatest fear is there will be a wall of money coming in at the end," said David Plouffe, a Democratic strategist working on some of the House campaigns. House Democrats actually have almost the same amount of money as House Republicans, $33 million to $34 million, but the Republican National Committee has $43 million, compared to $11 million for Dean's DNC.

And GOP interest groups are putting in big ad buys as well. Democratic congressional officials were concerned earlier this month when the Chamber of Commerce starting running thousands of dollars in ads in key districts, praising several vulnerable GOP incumbents such as U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake of the Virginia Beach area, for their support of the Medicare prescription drug benefit; the Democratic challengers in those races couldn't respond, hoping to save their money for the end of the year. In fact, for all Emanuel's criticism, one of the few liberal groups actually running ads is MoveOn.org, which currently has spots up in a handful of congressional districts, attacking Republicans like Charlie Bass of New Hampshire for their support of the Iraq war. MoveOn.org has so far spent more than $2 million on ads in House races, although this still pales in comparison to the GOP-supporting Chamber of Commerce, which has already spent a combined $10 million on House and Senate races.

Looking at key individual races only highlights the problems the Democrats have as they try to up pick the 15 seats the party must gain to take control of the House. In the suburbs of Philadelphia, according to the last campaign finance filing, Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy had $960,000, compared to $2 million for Republican incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick. In a district near Denver, Democratic challenger Ed Perlmutter had raised $250,000, compared to $1.2 million for Rick O'Donnell. If an anti-incumbent wave hits, heavily underfunded Democrats could still win, but party officials think money that allows GOP candidates to bombard races with either positive or negative ads could be the difference. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has spent much of August on a 25-city fundraising tour, raising $5 million for the party.

But even if they can raise enough money, the Dems continue to worry that, as in 2002 and 2004, the GOP might beat them in getting core supporters to the polls. This has become the latest issue in the battle between Dean and other Democratic officials, who are worried Dean won't put enough money or the right people to win the "ground game" in key races. Emanuel has reportedly reached out to Michael Whouley, a veteran organizer who was a key strategist in John Kerry's come-from-behind victory in the Iowa caucuses in 2004, to help Democrats with turnout. And when people approach Pelosi for autographs on her road trips, she's been imploring them to knock on doors in support of their local candidates.

Despite the critique by some Democrats that in 2002 and 2004 the party lost because they didn't have a clear message, Democratic officials are much less concerned about the party's proposals than about money and mobilizing voters.

After months of discussions, the Democrats came up with their campaign platform "A New Direction for America" last month and many candidates are now pushing some of the ideas in it, such as increasing the minimum wage, reversing President Bush's policy on stem cell research and making college tuition tax deductible.

The internal discussions that shaped the document included bringing in a bunch of corporate consultants who helped Democrats structure the plan. Jack Trout, a Connecticut marketing expert who has helped IBM and Burger King, said the party should define its message in terms of clearly "differentiating" themselves from the GOP, a term nearly every Democratic lawmaker is now using.

The opening line of the Democrats' agenda -- "Congressional Democrats believe America should work for everyone, not just those at the top" -- is a message Trout promoted constantly in conference calls and in meetings, while Democrats picked six issues, rather than five or seven, at the urging of software entrepreneur John Cullinane, who has been consulting with House Democrats since 2004. ("Seven is too many, five is too few" he says.)

Still, the marketing experts weren't all that happy with the final product. Trout said "they tend to do a lot of laundry listing," while George Lakoff, a University of California professor of linguistics whom Democrats brought in to talk about their use of language, said "it doesn't get to the deepest values and principles behind what the Democrats believe."

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, who is considering a 2008 presidential run, was even less impressed. He called the Democrats' proposal on Iraq, which asks President Bush to start withdrawing troops from Iraq this year, "weak tea." In a meeting with TIME reporters earlier this month, Feingold said "running out the clock, this is so much what the Democrats are trying to do. They're going to play it safe." He called for a much bolder agenda from the party, including a universal health care plan, full withdrawal of troops from Iraq this year and a commitment to stop any attempt to ban gay marriage. In fact, Democrats wouldn't have to look too far for some bolder ideas. Emanuel, along with another former Clinton White House adviser, Bruce Reed, just released a book called The Plan that calls for universal national service, requiring that every job come with a 401(k) plan, and expanding the army by 100,000 troops.

But the agenda satisfied the Democrats' overriding goal: offer something that didn't give the Republicans much to shoot at, but wouldn't allow the GOP to say its rivals have no ideas. Democrats believe the lesson from 1994 -- when the Republicans put out a 10-point plan for governing called "The Contract With America" and won huge margins that gave them control of the House and the Senate -- wasn't that the Contract helped the GOP get elected: most voters hadn't heard of the Republican plan when they cast their ballots. Democrats say, that like 1994, an anti-incumbency feeling exists all over their country, and they need to keep voters focused on what President Bush and the Republicans have done wrong. So Democrats eschewed a big health care plan, for example, because they worried it would reinforce the Republican critique of Democrats as the "tax and spend" party. "Eighty percent of our message is negative," one party strategist said.

Time.com ~ Perry Bacon JR. ** Why the Democrats Are Worrying About Money

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:09 PM EDT

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Mood:  loud

National Guardsman Brutally Attacked In Pierce County

PARKLAND, Wash. -- The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is searching for five people who allegedly attacked a uniformed National Guardsmen walking along 138th Street in Parkland Tuesday afternoon.

The soldier was walking to a convenience store when a sport utility vehicle pulled up alongside him and the driver asked if he was in the military and if he had been in any action.

The driver then got out of the vehicle, displayed a gun and shouted insults at the victim. Four other suspects exited the vehicle and knocked the soldier down, punching and kicking him.

“And during the assault the suspects called him a baby killer. At that point they got into the car and drove off and left him on the side of the road,” Detective Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

The suspects were driving a black Chevy Suburban-type SUV.

“This is something new for us, we have not had military people assaulted because they were in the military or somebody's opposition to a war or whatever,” Troyer said.

The driver is described as a white male, 25-30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, heavy build, short blond hair, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, and armed with a handgun.

The vehicle's passengers are described as white males, 20-25 years old. Some of the suspects wore red baseball hats and red sweatshirts during the attack.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and charging of the individuals involved. Informants can call 253-591-5959, and callers will remain anonymous.

Video: Uniformed National Guardsman Attacked
KIRO-TV.com ** National Guardsman Brutally Attacked In Pierce County

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 2:29 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 31 August 2006 2:40 PM EDT

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Mood:  happy

Army Meets Its Retention Goal

WASHINGTON -- Staff Sgt. Michael Obleton has already done two tours in Iraq, dodging roadside bombs as he drove trucks in Army convoys across the hostile countryside.

He may even return to the front again - a possibility that never occurred to him when he first joined the active Army in 1997, long before the 2003 Iraq invasion and the onset of what has become an increasingly unpopular war.

Obleton knows about the Bush administration's often-touted long war on terror, and he's seen the Iraq insurgency up close. But he's determined to continue the fight. So on Thursday he will stand by the flagpole at Kentucky's Fort Campbell, raise his right hand, and swear once again to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies."

As he recites his oath of service, administered by the Army's No. 2 ranking officer, Gen. Richard Cody, Obleton will become the 64,200th Army soldier to re-enlist this year - allowing the Army to meet its retention goal a full month before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

"The Army is a good career, there are a lot of benefits," he said this week from his post at Fort Campbell. "This is something I signed up for. It's a job. (The war) doesn't worry me."

While the Army struggled last year to meet recruitment goals, it has been able to keep soldiers in the service by using a growing list of incentives and escalating bonuses to shower troops with money, schooling and career advancements.

So far this year, the Army has doled out an average bonus of $14,000, to eligible soldiers, for a total of $610 million in extra payments.

The re-enlistments come despite the escalating casualties on the Iraq battlefield - where more than 2,600 troops have lost their lives since March 2003. And they have enabled the Army to meet its retention goal every year since 1998.

"The bonuses have a lot to do with it, along with a feeling of accomplishment that comes with doing their mission," said Army spokesman Henry Minitrez. He also said that retention rates have even gone up for some of the military's high-profile units - such as the 82nd Airborne or 101st Airborne divisions - when they return home from Iraq or Afghanistan.

Both the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve expect to meet their re-enlistment goals for this fiscal year, which are 34,875 and 17,712, respectively. Both totals are slightly higher than last year's goals.

The number of expected and confirmed re-enlistments dipped in 2003, the year the war began, but has increased since then.

It was the schooling opportunity, rather than a bonus, that was the attraction for Obleton, 35 and originally from Columbus, Ga.

While much of his unit - the 594th Transportation Company attached to the 101st Airborne Division - may be heading back to Iraq, he plans to stay in Kentucky for now and attend school to become an Army career counselor.

"I've known this was going to be a career for me," said Obleton, whose wife is also in the Army and intends to stay. "We made this decision together. We are both doing well and we've advanced in our careers."

Back in 1996 when he joined the Army reserves or a year later when he moved to the active Army, going to war wasn't an issue. But in January 2003, he was sent to Kuwait and was among those first units traveling back and forth across the border into Iraq in Army convoys.

He was there for seven months and then went back in June 2004 for a full year. The second tour, he said, "was more intense. You felt the threat." But, unlike many units, everyone in his company came back alive.

And once he finishes school, he would be happy to make a third trip to Iraq.

"These are the things we're trained to take on," he said. "We're still there. Our mission isn't complete."

On the Net: Defense Department

 Purchase this AP story for reprint.

Access North Ga.com ~ Associated Press - Lolita C. Baldor ** Army Meets Its Retention Goal

Related: This Blog *** Air Force recruiting meeting its goal for 7th year

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:02 AM EDT

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Mood:  sharp

A GOP Terror Bump

By Michael Barone

There seems to have been a change in the political winds. They've been blowing pretty strongly against George W. Bush and the Republicans this spring and early this summer. Now, their velocity looks to be tapering off or perhaps shifting direction.

When asked what would affect the future, the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan famously said: "Events, dear boy. Events." The event this month that I think has done most to shape opinion was the arrest in London on Aug. 9 of 23 Muslims suspected of plotting to blow up American airliners over the Atlantic.

The arrests were a reminder that there still are lots of people in the world -- and quite possibly in this country, too -- who are trying to kill as many of us as they can and to destroy our way of life. They are not unhappy because we haven't raised the minimum wage lately or because Bush rejected the Kyoto Treaty or even because we're in Iraq.

They've been trying to kill us for years, going back at least to 1983, when a Hezbollah suicide bomber killed 241 American servicemen in Lebanon. Then they attacked the World Trade Center, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the USS Cole in Aden -- all while Bill Clinton was president. Sept. 11 woke us up to the threat. The political acrimony of 2004 and 2005 and this year made it seem remote. The London arrests reminded us it's still there.

We've had other reminders, too. For four years, Hollywood has seemed mostly uninterested in the war on terrorism -- in vivid contrast to its enlistment in World War II.

But this year, we've seen the release of "United 93," and, in "World Trade Center," Oliver Stone presents us not with one of his conspiracy theories but, instead, a story of heroism. On Sept. 10 and 11, ABC will devote six hours of prime time to "The Path to 9-11," a fast-paced, bracing docudrama that tells the story of the terrorists and the people who tried to stop them, from the first WTC bombing in 1993 to 9-11 itself. And this will be only one of many commemorations of the fifth anniversary.

As it happens, the London arrests came almost exactly 24 hours after antiwar candidate Ned Lamont, flanked by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, claimed victory over Sen. Joseph Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic primary. The Lamont victory -- and the rejection of the party's 2000 vice presidential nominee -- sharpened the contrast between the two major parties.

One, it seems, would withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible without regard for the consequences -- an initially popular position for those who consider our effort there either misbegotten or hopelessly bungled. The other, it seems, would stay the course until we achieve our goals -- one that may become more acceptable if people come to think that withdrawal would not make us safe. The London arrests seem to have accelerated this thought process.

Polls since the London arrests suggest what has been happening. Bush's job approval was up significantly in the Gallup Poll, usually the most volatile of national polls, and the Democratic margin in the generic question (Which party's candidate for the House would you vote for?) was sharply reduced. There was a similar trend in generic vote in the Rasmussen poll, which is ordinarily much less volatile than Gallup.

Connecticut polls showed Lieberman, running as an independent, ahead of Lamont, with Lamont having strikingly high negatives for a candidate with such limited public exposure. It seems to be a fact -- remember the Paul Wellstone funeral in 2002? -- that when most Americans see the hard left of the Democratic Party in action, they don't much like what they see.

Of course, they don't like to see violence in Iraq, either.

But the sectarian killings that flared up in Baghdad in June and July have been reduced -- by 30 percent, says ABC News -- by intensive patrolling by U.S. and, more importantly, Iraqi troops. It's not clear, of course, whether the reductions will continue. Other threats still exist, like Iran's nuclear program.

Earlier this summer, I thought that voters had decided that the Republicans deserved to lose but were not sure that the Democrats deserved to win, and that they were going to wait, as they did in the 1980 presidential and the 1994 congressional elections, to see if the opposition was an acceptable alternative. Events seem to have made that a harder sell for Democrats. A change in the winds.

Real Clear Politics ~ Michael Barone ** A GOP Terror Bump

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:26 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Donkey see, monkey do

Last week, Sen. George Allen personally apologized to a staff member of his Democrat opponent, James Webb, for calling him a "macaca." This was the latest in a string of public apologies for what has been described as a racial slur aimed at individual who is of Indian descent.

The moral outrage pouring from the media and Democrats was heartwarming. It was reassuring to see that such expressions of bigotry by any party, politician or political organization (or movie actor) will not be tolerated.

So no doubt the media and the Left will soon turn their attention to the vicious anti-Semitism the followers and members of a political organization that donates millions to Democratic candidates and uses the Web to whip up support for its policies.

I am referring to Moveon.org; an entity that claims it is merely the vehicle of "real Americans -- from carpenters to stay-at-home moms to business leaders -- we work together to realize the progressive vision of our country's founders." To the extent that Moveon.org is a reflection of its membership, it is also a reflection of the opinions and sentiments it shares about its fellow Americans and citizens of the world. And boy do the Moveon folks hate Jews.

Perhaps hate is too weak a word. William F. Buckley Jr. wrote an article in 1991 exploring the question of whether Pat Buchanan was an anti-Semite (The answer: yes.) Mr. Buchanan called Jewish supporters of Israel its "amen corner" and a fourth (or was it fifth?) column undermining American global interests. But he never called them "Media owning Jewish pigs" or "sneaky Jewish sympathizers!" Both can be found repeatedly on the Moveon.org Action Forum.

Moveon is not the only leftist Web site filled with anti-Semitism. But compared to the Dailykos and the slanderous Huffington Post nothing compares to Moveon in terms of quantity or viciousness.

After Sen. Joe Lieberman lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut, one Moveon member stated: "Jew Lieberman first step. Corporate Clinton will be next. Impeachment of BushCo will be third." This one came in with 95 percent of Moveon members responding approving the "Jew Lieberman" post. (Moveon helpfully records the percent of people agreeing with each post.)

Many postings creatively connect the need to eliminate Jewish influence with the goal of impeaching President Bush: Here's a typical one, which also received a high approval rating:

"I was reading some where someone posting about how Israel has lost world respect because of their murderous rampage throughout Lebanon?

Talk about loss of respect? What do you think the rest of the world thinks of ZioUSA now after seeing the BushCo spectacle, with Rice & Bolton flailing in the wind for the Zionazis against all world opinion?

Loss of respect is putting it mildly.

Impeachment of Bush is the only remedy."

Wonder how impeaching Mr. Bush will reduce Jewish influence in the Middle East and the media? This next post explains it all:

"There is an Army of Zionist Cyber Trolls sent onto the Internet who are part of an organized effort to hush, distract, and obfuscate the Zionist massacre and destruction of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and it's peoples.

All of this is part and parcel of a deliberate strategy orchestrated from the BushCo ZioNeoCon Cabal in cahoots with the Zionazi Israelis to attempt to provoke the Syrians and Iranians to draw them into the conflict in Lebanon so as to be able to have an excuse for BushCo to 'strike back in response' with U.S. military might in 'the defense of Israel'.

You see, Bush is at the heart of a government run by Jews and Christian Zionists:

"Christian Zionists are ultimately responsible for whatever Israel does, whether they realize it or not! Of course they're going to play dumb and say they're powerless over Israel! We're supposed to fall for that. The US Gov. could stomp Israel like a bug, if we had to! That's where the Christian Zionist "beliefs" mix with US laws and Foreign Policy. They are favoring Israel because of their Zionist belief system." Ninety agreed with this post.

Why the Jews? Or as one post quipped, "Why are the Jews so Jew-y?" According to the mind of Moveon, "(I)t's those GREEDY PIGS who own our mainstream media who are placing RELIGION/POLITICS (ISRAEL) and CORPORATE GREED above the best interests of the American people (peace, democracy, clean air, healthcare, etc.). As we've already agreed, most of these GREEDY PIGS are Jewish." Fifty percent approved of this post.

There are hundreds of similar statements.So in the warped world of the Moveon's "concerned citizens" it's easy to assume most people think like you: "Mel Gibson's [anti-Semitic] erroneous, raging, and drunken words are closer to the true sentiments of most American democrats and other voters than it's governments, politicians, Jewish, and media's sterile support for Israel." Eighty-seven percent of MoveOn members approved of this post.

Meanwhile, postings (mostly by Jews) pleading for moderation are rejected.

"The amount of anti-Semitic trash on this forum is abhorrent to most Americans. These rants, castigating Israel and Jews in general, are taking MoveOn so far from its roots and avowed purpose." Well said. But only 21 percent of Moveon members agree.

But I am sure that any minute, the stalwart opponents of bigotry who have taken George Allen to task will rise up in anger against the malicious Jew-baiting of the Moveon crowd. They will demand that politicians disassociate from the group until it cleans house. To remain silent would be hypocritical, self-serving and a tacit endorsement of anti-Semitism.

Robert Goldberg is vice president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.
Washington Times ~ Robert Goldberg ** Donkey see, monkey do

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

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Mood:  loud

Sexually Disorienting Kindergarteners

Taking the culture war ever closer to the cradle, moonbats are now targeting 4-year-olds for sexual disorientation.

At the Park Day and Aurora private elementary schools in Oakland, allowances are made for incoming kindergarteners who don't "fit on either side of the gender line." At Park Day, a girl has been enrolled as a boy, and a "consultant" has been hired who worries that girls might become scarred by being forced to dress like girls. At Aurora, a clinical psychologist conducts staff training on how to nurture personality disorders in "gender fluid" children.

Apparently encouraging "gender variance" in kids too young to take the training wheels off their bicycles is all the rage in the Bay Area. Marci Riseman of San Francisco boasts of a 4-year-old son who likes pink dresses and wears a tutu to ballet class. Come back in 14 years and you will meet a very troubled young man who probably won't be voting Republican.

The Traditional Values Coalition refers to these efforts to indoctrinate little kids with sexual moonbattery as "normalizing the abnormal." Its executive director Andrea Lafferty zeroes in on the self-hatred that can be found at the root of all things liberal:

If you talk to your typical person across America, they would be appalled. [...] To teach a child at an early age self-hatred, and that's what this gender variance is, is very sad.

It's an open question whether "gender variance" advocates are only encouraging psychopathology, or actively creating it. As V the K asks:

What do you bet those confused little crumb-crunchers are just reflecting their parents' neuroses, or that "progressive" parents are encouraging little Emily to wear flannel and a toolbelt and little Berkeley to wear dresses and buttless leather chaps?

Whether they are planting the seeds of neurosis and depravity or just providing fertilizer, the gender variance crowd knows what it wants: future generations shaped in its own grotesque image.

Helping children to turn out like this. >>>>>

Moonbattery.com ~ Van Helsing ** Sexually Disorienting Kindergarteners

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

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