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Kick Assiest Blog
Sunday, 17 September 2006
Md. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's Rival Fires Staffer for Racial Slur Blog
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: LIBTARD "TOLERANCE" ALERT
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Md. Rep. Fires Staffer Over Race Comment

BALTIMORE -- Rep. Benjamin Cardin has fired a campaign staffer who posted racially charged comments against his opponent on the Internet, the congressman's campaign said Saturday.

The staffer's blog includes references to Oreo cookies. Cardin's opponent, Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is black, has said people threw Oreos at him during a 2002 debate as a slight directed at his race and political views.

In a statement, Cardin, who is white, also condemned comments written by the female staffer on her blog that he considered derogatory to Jews.

"I am deeply offended and disgusted by the blog's racial and anti- Semitic overtones," the 10-term congressman said. "The staff person responsible was promptly dismissed and will have nothing to do with my campaign."

Melissa Sellers, a Steele spokeswoman, criticized the blog.

"It is deeply disturbing to learn that a staff member of 10-term Congressman Ben Cardin would keep a blog chronicling racial prejudices toward Lt. Gov. Steele and others," Sellers said. "This is the kind of attitude and gutter politics that Marylanders are sick of and why they are ready for change."

The woman was "a junior staffer" who worked for the campaign for about a month, said Cardin spokesman Oren Shur. He declined to identify her or elaborate on her duties.

Shur said the woman was fired Friday "as soon as we learned of this."

A blog posting Aug. 25 refers to a stack of Oreo cookies "looming in the back of one of the campaign pantries" and how staffers have to "surreptitiously glance around" before eating them.

"The subterfuge would be unnecessary, and snack time would be far less amusing, had an angry citizen not thrown the aforementioned delicious snack food at one of our opponents to comment on his lack of racial loyalty," the blog entry reads.

The blog also contains an entry describing Cardin's friends as "large men with strong, loud voices and Jewish noses."

Breitbart.com ~ Associated Press - Brian Witte ** Md. Rep. Fires Staffer Over Race Comment


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 6:35 AM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 17 September 2006 6:41 AM EDT
Saturday, 16 September 2006
HuffPo Analyst Says Pro-Lifers Are Just as Dangerous as Islamic Extremists
Mood:  spacey
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

HuffPo Analyst Says Pro-Lifers Are Just as Dangerous as Islamic Extremists

By Noel Sheppard

As hard as it might be to believe, the liberal defense of Rosie O’Donnell’s anti-theistic comments on Tuesday’s “The View” has become almost as absurd and offensive as the remarks themselves. First a media analyst on Wednesday night claimed that "Radical Christianity" is just as bad as radical Islam because abortion clinics in the past have been attacked as reported here. Then, on Thursday’s “Scarborough Country” (hat tip to Hot Air), Huffington Post media analyst Rachel Sklar suggested that Christians opposed to abortion and condom use are just as dangerous to America as Islamic extremists (video link and full transcript to follow).

So, in the course of 24 hours, the definition of "Radical Christianity" has miraculously expanded to include anyone that is pro-Life and/or is against the use of condoms. Here’s the amazing exchange:

SCARBOROUGH: Rosie O`Donnell compared Christian extremists to Muslim extremists, said they were just as dangerous to America.

SKLAR: Radical to radical, and well they are dangerous to America. They`re extremely dangerous to America.

SCARBOROUGH: Are they as dangerous to America...

SKLAR: Anti-abortion...

SCARBOROUGH: Are they as dangerous to America...

SKLAR: ... anti-condom use...

SCARBOROUGH: ... as Islamic extremists?

SKLAR: Check.

Yikes. So, in this woman’s view, pro-Lifers are just as dangerous to Americans as the terrorists trying to kill us. Shocking.

Luckily, Scarborough offered the viewer some balance in this segment inviting on Republican strategist Jack Burkman who said of this incident:

Boy, Joe, I think it`s one of the most mindless and terrible things ever said on American television! I think this is so serious, I`m shocked that she`s still on the air. I`m shocked that that show is still on the air.

Phew. I thought the whole world was going nuts for a second. What follows is a full transcript of this segment, and a video link.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Rosie rants against Christians, saying followers of Jesus Christ are as dangerous to America as radical Islamic terrorists who attacked us on September 11. Rosie also accused Christians of dropping bombs on foreigners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE O`DONNELL, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": We are attacked not by a nation, and as a result of the attack and the killing of nearly 3,000 innocent people, we invaded two countries and killed innocent people in their countries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But do you understand that the belief funding those attacks, OK, that is widespread. And if you take radical Islam and you want to talk about what`s going on there...

(CROSSTALK)

O`DONNELL: Just one second. Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America...

(APPLAUSE)

O`DONNELL: ... where we have a separation of church and state. We`re a democracy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re not bombing ourselves here in the country. We were attacked.

O`DONNELL: No, but we are bombing innocent people in other countries, true or false?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But -- but...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Christians are not threatening to kill us~!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we`re talking about...

(CROSSTALK)

O`DONNELL: Well Iran never threatened to kill us, and Iraq -- Iran is a danger. Iraq and Afghanistan never threatened to kill us, ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCARBOROUGH: Oh! The reaction was swift, with one Washington minister calling the comments dangerous and demanding an immediate apology from Rosie and ABC. Now, I was flooded with e-mails agreeing with O`Donnell and suggesting she was being attacked because of her sexual orientation. Of course, were Rosie O`Donnell to deliver such a rant in an Islamic republic, chances are very good she`d be flogged for her words and stoned to death in a soccer stadium for being a lesbian. Here, we can all thank God that even people like Rosie O`Donnell have the right to say what they want, as do we, which we`ll do right now with Jennifer Pozner. She`s a media analyst and founder of Women in the Media. We also have Rachel Sklar. She`s media analyst for the Huffingtonpost, and Jack Burkman. He`s a Republican strategist.

Jack, I`ll start with you. Your take on Rosie`s comments.

JACK BURKMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Boy, Joe, I think it`s one of the most mindless and terrible things ever said on American television! I think this is so serious, I`m shocked that she`s still on the air. I`m shocked that that show is still on the air.

SCARBOROUGH: Wait, wait, wait! Wait. Hold it a second. Why are you shocked? Because after she said -- well, first of all, I got a lot of e- mails last night from people who supported Rosie O`Donnell, and when she made that statement -- there you go. You hear that audience applauding?

BURKMAN: Well...

SCARBOROUGH: The audience actually applauded.

BURKMAN: You have a lot of very sick and mindless people in that audience and perhaps in that area. You know, I saw your interview with Bernie Kerik Monday night. What a good job. She`s spitting on the graves, Joe, of the thousands of people who died in the World Trade Center. Just thinking of my friend, Barbara Olson, of those people...

SCARBOROUGH: Well, how is she doing...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: How is she doing that? Because, I mean, she`s attacking Christians, but...

BURKMAN: Al Qaeda! Al Qaeda, Joe, is a group that killed thousands of people. They would, if they could, nuke every city in the United States, perhaps the Western world. If bin Laden could, he would...

SCARBOROUGH: Well, no doubt...

BURKMAN: ... he would kill -- he would kill tens of millions of people!

SCARBOROUGH: No doubt about that. You`re arguing -- you`re not -- you`re arguing a point that I think most of us would agree with, that they want to kill as many of us as possible.

BURKMAN: But the comparison. And that`s on the one side. For her to suggest that people who would attack abortion clinics of whatever kinds of things they`re doing in this country, for her to make the equation, my goodness gracious! That`s the moral equivalent of coming out on national television and saying you love Adolf Hitler!

SCARBOROUGH: Well, there is...

BURKMAN: Joe I would -- I would...

SCARBOROUGH: ... absolutely -- there`s no absolutely -- there`s absolutely no moral equivalence there. But Rachel...

BURKMAN: But she has made that!~

SCARBOROUGH: No, I know she has.

BURKMAN: She has made that.

SCARBOROUGH: I know she has. And Rachel, I want to ask you, you analyze the media a good bit for the Huffingtonpost. I mean, that`s your job. Do you think Rosie O`Donnell`s words rose to the level of bigotry by today`s media standards?

RACHEL SKLAR, HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: Not at all. I mean, she did not come out against Christianity. She came out against radical Christianity. She came out against radical extremism of all forms, and...

SCARBOROUGH: What is radical Christianity?

SKLAR: ... that is the common denominator. Radical Christianity is someone like Fred Phelps (ph), standing at military funerals and holding up signs saying, "God hates fags."

SCARBOROUGH: OK...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: OK, hold on a second. Rachel, fine. That is extraordinary offensive. It`s offensive because he`s using those funerals, basically, blaming American troops that have died for...

SKLAR: But we`re talking about the extreme. We`re talking about the extreme...

SCARBOROUGH: I know we`re talking about the extreme. But idiots like that aren`t responsible for the death of 3,000 people on 9/11 or 2,000 people injured in Madrid or...

SKLAR: Yes, but Joe...

SCARBOROUGH: ... or 55 people killed in Britain or...

SKLAR: But Joe, it is like that on the extreme side of the fringe bastardizing Christianity...

SCARBOROUGH: Right.

SKLAR: ... who consider themselves and call themselves and are very well funded radical Christians are responsible for the deaths of many people over a number of years...

BURKMAN: But Rachel, are you --

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: Hold it a second. Let me stop right here. Hold on. Jennifer...

JENNIFER POZNER, MEDIA ANALYST: Yes?

SCARBOROUGH: Give me numbers. I don`t want speeches. I don`t want stories. How many Americans have been killed by Christian extremists this year?

POZNER: This -- I -- the statistics that I have are between 99 and 2000, there were -- you know, I had them at my fingertips yesterday, but there were somewhere between 20 or so bombings and somewhere around 8 attempted murders and deeply, gravely wounded people...

SCARBOROUGH: OK, OK...

POZNER: ... but over a decade, 500 -- you remember -- Joe, do you remember after 9/11, when we in the media were all in a panic about the anthrax letters that had been sent to...

SCARBOROUGH: Right.

POZNER: ... media outlets? Well, for -- if we in the media had paid attention to the terrorism on America -- on American soil, home-grown terrorists have...

BURKMAN: Joe, let me...

POZNER: ... sent 500 anthrax letters before 9/11...

SCARBOROUGH: OK, I want to...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: OK, guys, I want to -- OK, hold on, Jack. Here`s my point. It`s certainly not that Christian extremists should be forgiven. They are -- Christian extremists that go out and threaten to bomb abortion clinics are despicable. But at the same time...

POZNER: Right. We all agree.

SCARBOROUGH: Hold on. But at the same time, we`re talking about Rosie O`Donnell saying that Christian extremists are as much a danger as Islamic extremists, and "The New York Times" just reported a few months ago that Muslim radicals killed on average 110 civilians every day, on average, in Iraq. That`s 110 people killed every day not by American bombs but by Muslim extremists.

POZNER: So...

SCARBOROUGH: And if you add up all of the people that have been killed by Muslim extremists through the years, there is just no -- there`s no proportionality. There`s no balance~!

BURKMAN: But Joe, I think we should get a "yes or no" answer from your guests. Are they suggesting -- are they arguing that there should be a direct comparison between al Qaeda and radical Christians who would bomb abortion clinics? And I want a "yes or no" answer from each of them~! Is that what they`re saying?

SCARBOROUGH: Well, before they answer that question, Jack, let me ask you. Do you think radical Christians who blow up abortion clinics are doing a morally reprehensible thing?

BURKMAN: Oh, absolutely...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: OK, so you agree with that. But...

BURKMAN: Oh, there`s no question.

SCARBOROUGH: But we`re talking about proportionality there. Do you think, Rachel Sklar, that there`s a proportionality between Islamic extremists who just, again, kill thousands of people every month, and radical Christians, a few scattered freaks that blow up abortion clinics maybe once every two or three years?

SKLAR: I`m not going to get into proportionality discussions...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: Hold on. That`s what this is about because...

SKLAR: I don`t think that is what this is about!

SCARBOROUGH: ... Rosie O`Donnell compared Christian extremists to Muslim extremists, said they were just as dangerous to America.

SKLAR: Radical to radical, and well they are dangerous to America. They`re extremely dangerous to America.

SCARBOROUGH: Are they as dangerous to America...

SKLAR: Anti-abortion...

SCARBOROUGH: Are they as dangerous to America...

SKLAR: ... anti-condom use...

SCARBOROUGH: ... as Islamic extremists?

SKLAR: Check.

SCARBOROUGH: Now, come on. You got to answer my question. Rachel Sklar...

SKLAR: Are they as dangerous...

SCARBOROUGH: ... are Christian extremists as dangerous to America as Muslim extremists?

SKLAR: I`m going to stick to my guns and say that radical extremism in any for any religion...

SCARBOROUGH: Is bad.

SKLAR: ... taken to the extreme...

SCARBOROUGH: Fine.

SKLAR: ... is dangerous. Now, are we going to...

SCARBOROUGH: Is dangerous?

SKLAR: Are we going to say -- obviously, we have a very obvious example here of al Qaeda and Muslim extremism, and I`m not going to sit down here and argue that that`s not...

BURKMAN: Rachel, do you know of any...

SKLAR: ... a huge concern.

BURKMAN: ... Christians -- do you know of any Christians who would like to see nuclear -- even the radical ones, even the ones who hit abortion clinics -- do you know of any of those who are involved in systematic, deliberate and concerted efforts to obtain nuclear devices to kill millions of people in cities? Do you know of any?

SKLAR: I`m happy to say that they don`t...

POZNER: You know what...

(CROSSTALK)

SKLAR: ... my acquaintance, no.

BURKMAN: But do you know of any?

SCARBOROUGH: But -- and of course, the point -- Jack, actually, your point is, again, that you do have Osama bin Laden, you do have other Muslim terror groups that would like to acquire those weapons, that are trying to acquire those weapons so they can kill millions of people in New York...

POZNER: Joe...

SCARBOROUGH: ... and Los Angeles...

POZNER: Can I jump in here?

(CROSSTALK)

POZNER: I`d like to jump in here, Joe.

SCARBOROUGH: Go ahead.

POZNER: Because I -- around -- on this issue, I think that we`re conflating a number of things. If you -- it`s really an issue -- if you`re saying it`s an issue of scale, then it`s about a matter of who you are. If you`re a woman in Pensacola, as you said yesterday, you`d seen those bombings in Pensacola abortion clinics -- if you`re a woman in Pensacola or in any number of states that have been subjected to this kind of anti- abortion terrorism in this country carried out in the name of...

SCARBOROUGH: Right.

POZNER: ... a bastardized version of Christianity, you fear for your life...

SCARBOROUGH: OK, but...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: But let me tell you this...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: OK, but hold on. And I`m glad you brought up Pensacola because I live in Pensacola. I`ve got three children in Pensacola. I`ve got two in Pensacola. And now I`ve got one that goes to college in New York. If I had to weigh the dangers between my children living in Pensacola or my child that goes to school in New York, I`m a little more concerned about the student that goes to New York because of the terror attacks...

POZNER: But it depends. If you`re...

SCARBOROUGH: ... in New York.

BURKMAN: Joe, this is so serious...

POZNER: But if your kid were in Pensacola...

(CROSSTALK)

POZNER: ... was 17, if she had to go to a women`s health clinic...

SCARBOROUGH: All right...

POZNER: -even just for a check-up, right...

SCARBOROUGH: OK, but...

POZNER: ... and then there were those people who would bomb...

SCARBOROUGH: I understand, and that`s a good point.

POZNER: ... that clinic...

SCARBOROUGH: And let me answer that question, too. If I had a daughter who was 18 years old, she went to an abortion clinic or she went to a women`s health care clinic...

POZNER: Even just for a check-up.

SCARBOROUGH: ... in Pensacola, Florida, I would not be nervous because I would have to go all the way back to, I think, like, 1992, 1993 to find an instance where an abortion clinic was bombed. And I mean, that`s a huge difference. Whereas all I have to do is look in the newspapers today, and I can show you an instance of where 55 people were blown up by Muslim terrorists today.

POZNER: All over the country...

SKLAR: I don`t think any...

(CROSSTALK)

POZNER: All over the country, there are these instances of violence. And Rachel`s absolutely right. Nobody is saying, Rachel or I -- neither of us, and I don`t think anyone who supported Rosie`s comments -- are saying that there was any excuse in any way, shape or form for the terrorism that was carried out on 9/11 and the terrorism that is carried out in the name of Islamic fascism.

BURKMAN: Well...

POZNER: But we`re also saying that, as Rosie said and as the discussion on "The View" was a little broader, that the response to that terrorism by U.S. foreign policy has been to kill other innocent people, and that`s...

BURKMAN: No, wait! Are you...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: Hold on a second! Hold on a second! The response right now in Iraq -- our biggest problem in Iraq is not that Americans are shooting at and killing Iraqis. It`s that Muslim extremists are blowing up children, Muslim extremists are blowing up women, Muslim extremists are blowing up any civilians...

POZNER: As are U.S. bombs!

SCARBOROUGH: ... they can blow up. No, they aren`t! Shi`ites are killing Sunnis, and Sunnis are killing Shi`ites.

BURKMAN: Joe, if I...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: Hold on a second! Stop! The Brookings Institute says that 75 percent of the deaths that are occurring in Iraq every day are occurring because of sectarian violence, Muslim extremists killing Muslim civilians. Now...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: I need a yes or a no answer, and then we got to go. Rachel, yes or no. Do you believe that Christian extremists pose as much of a threat to American safety today as Islamic extremists? Yes or no.

SKLAR: I don`t believe that, but I also believe that if you adopt...

SCARBOROUGH: OK, well, you mention...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: We all agree -- you`re saying something we all agree.

SKLAR: Oh, good.

SCARBOROUGH: We all agree that Christian...

SKLAR: I`m so glad.

SCARBOROUGH: ... extremists are dangerous. We set that out at the beginning. Jennifer, I`ll ask you the same question, yes or no. Do you think Christian extremists pose as much of a threat to the safety and wellbeing of Americans as Islamic extremists today?

POZNER: It depends on which American safety you`re talking about.

BURKMAN: Wow!

SCARBOROUGH: Any American safety.

BURKMAN: Wow!

POZNER: It really depends. If you`re a woman who needs health care, then -- then yes, but if...

SCARBOROUGH: OK...

POZNER: But if...

SCARBOROUGH: Jack Burkman...

POZNER: ... you`re a New Yorker, maybe not.

SCARBOROUGH: All right, Jack Burkman, I know your answer. I`m going to ask you this question.

BURKMAN: Yes?

SCARBOROUGH: Do you think there will be a boycott against ABC by advertisers and Christian groups that will force Rosie O`Donnell to either apologize or get off the air?

BURKMAN: Oh, probably not because everybody wimps out. But I`ll tell you, Joe, let`s start one right now. I`ll call for one right now. If she`s not off the air in seven days, will you join me right now in a -- in calling for a national boycott?

SCARBOROUGH: You always...

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: We got to go. We got to go. Thanks so much, Jennifer, Rachel, Jack. No, Jack, I won`t call for a boycott, but I will tell everybody to call ABC right now, write ABC, send e-mails to ABC and make Rosie O`Donnell apologize for those outrageous comments that showed -- I mean, they were stupid, but they were also dangerous. They showed a bigotry and an intolerance that ABC needs to apologize for. Bigotry and intolerance! Bigotry and intolerance! That`s what Rosie O`Donnell was guilty of!

Video Link
News Busters ~ Noel Sheppard ** HuffPo Analyst Says Pro-Lifers Are Just as Dangerous as Islamic Extremists
Noel Sheppard's blog | login or register to post comments
Categories: Online Media | Scarborough Country | ABC | Abortion | MSNBC | Religion | Rosie O'Donnell | The View


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:48 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 16 September 2006 2:16 AM EDT
Friday, 15 September 2006
GOP's Tom Kean Jr. Leads Bob Menendez in NJ
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

GOP's Kean Leads Menendez in N.J.

Republican Tom Kean Jr. has taken the lead over Democratic incumbent Robert Menendez in the race for the Senate seat from New Jersey, a new poll discloses.

In the survey of likely voters by Strategic Vision, LLC, 44 percent of respondents favored McKean and 40 percent favored Menendez, with 16 percent undecided. It was a complete reversal of the past two Strategic Vision polls, which had Menendez in the lead.

On Monday, NewsMax reported that a new Zogby poll found Kean had pulled into a dead heat with Menendez.

The Strategic Vision poll revealed that 39 percent of respondents viewed Kean favorably, compared to 42 percent for Menendez. But 29 percent had an unfavorable view of Menendez, while only 22 percent felt that way about Kean.

"New Jersey appears to present Republicans with a potential pickup seat with Kean having a magic name in New Jersey politics and a feeling that Senator Menendez is part of the status quo,” said David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision.

When asked if they felt New Jersey was going in the right or wrong direction, 22 percent said right, 65 said wrong and 13 percent were undecided.

Other poll results:
Respondents were split on whether U.S. forces should withdraw from Iraq within the next six months -- 45 percent said yes, 45 percent said no, and 10 percent were undecided.

84 percent said they expected another terrorist attack in the United States in the next six months.

67 percent said they opposed granting amnesty to all illegal immigrants currently in the country, 16 percent favored it, and 17 percent were undecided.

News Max.com ** GOP's Kean Leads Menendez in N.J.


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 2:01 AM EDT
Top aide of Qaeda leader in Iraq killed, Abu Ayyub al-Masri Down for the count
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: News

AFP Photo: A wounded Iraqi rests inside a hospital in Baghdad. Iraq announced the slaying of a top Al-Qaeda militant as police recovered 20 tortured and bullet-riddled bodies of men shot dead in sectarian killings across Baghdad.

Top aide of Qaeda leader in Iraq killed

BAGHDAD -- A Libyan who was a top aide of Al-Qaeda in Iraq's leader, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been killed in an operation by Iraqi security forces, an interior ministry spokesman has told AFP.

Abu Jaafar al-Lybi was killed on Sunday, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said Thursday.

He said Lybi was the head of "Al-Qaeda's criminal operations" in Baghdad's Rusafa, Karrada districts and the restive province of Diyala, northeast of Baghdad.

Yahoo News ~ Agence France-Presse ** Top aide of Qaeda leader in Iraq killed

But that's impossible. Everybody knows there were no connections between Iraq/Al Qaeda!


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:28 AM EDT
Thursday, 14 September 2006
Dead Air America Radio ~ Bankrupt
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Air America Radio Bankruptcy, Sale Possible

BANKRUPT?

Air America Out Of Ca$h, Up For Sale

Cash- starved Air America Radio is broke and up for sale, the Radio Equalizer has learned exclusively.

In addition, a liberal website is reporting that the so- called "progressive" radio network will announce a bankruptcy filing on Friday. As of this moment, the story has yet to be verified.

What our own sources are telling the Radio Equalizer is that two potential buyers have recently been looking to scoop up Air America's assets. But internal board squabbling has created a disunited front, with some members looking to hand the network back to eccentric co- founder (and Huffington Post contributor) Sheldon Drobny, while the rest shop for buyers.

Jon Sinton, a former Air America and Clear Channel Radio executive, is said to be leading the effort to seek a purchaser.

Drobny, meanwhile, has been scrambling to figure out a way to retake the network and intends to rehire former COO Carl Ginsburg if he is successful.

To Radio Equalizer readers as well as Air America staffers, none of this should come as any surprise. Big layoffs came earlier this week and insiders have been bracing for the worst possible news.

Recently, we had reported on a number of management departures and the fact that Air America could no longer afford to pay the Associated Press for wire service coverage. Plus, the Gloria Wise scandal has still not been resolved.

In addition, this indication of Air America's financial condition allows Al Franken to trigger a clause in his contract that would allow him to immediately depart the network if he so chooses. He first must request a financial statement, however.

If Air America isn't able to continue its programming, it opens the door for new feminist talk radio network GreenStone Media to take over some, or perhaps many, of its stations. As we've reported exclusively, GreenStone, founded by Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem, has gradually begun to take over Air America's physical operations in New York City.

Because readers are telling us they've been having trouble getting to the Think Progress report on Air America's possible bankruptcy, here's an excerpt:

EXCLUSIVE: Air America To Declare Bankruptcy, But Progressive Radio Remains Strong

Air America Radio will announce a major restructuring on Friday, which is expected to include a bankruptcy filing, three independent sources have told ThinkProgress.

Air America could remain on the air under the deal, but significant personnel changes are already in the works. Sources say five Air America employees were laid off yesterday and were told there would be no severance without capital infusion or bankruptcy. Also, Air America has ended its relationship with host Jerry Springer.

The right wing is sure to seize on Air America’s financial woes as a sign that progressive talk radio is unpopular. In fact, Air America succeeded at creating something that didn’t exist: the progressive talk radio format. That format is now established and strong and will continue with or without Air America. Indeed, many of the country’s most successful and widely-syndicated progressive talk hosts -- Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, for instance -- aren’t even associated with Air America.

But Think Progress is dead wrong, progressive radio simply isn't strong, beyond the moderate success Jones Radio has found with Schultz and Miller. Two examples aren't enough, especially when there have been so many failures.

In addition, it's quite clear that the "leak" to the liberal blogger was intended to allow the left time to spin the network's failure. It can't be that "progressive" radio is unpopular, instead, the problem is with Air America's mismanagement. Expect that one to be seared into the left's talking points list.

What's next for Air America? That isn't clear, but what is known from our end is that the most explosive stories on what has gone on behind the scenes have yet to be written. Watch for them here.

Meanwhile, Matt Drudge continues his bizarre antagonism toward conservative bloggers, ignoring every story about Air America's troubles that originated from the blogosphere. But today, he had no problem running with the bankruptcy story, since it originated from a left- wing site, even though it isn't yet verified. Update: he provides MORE links to liberal sites!

SPECIAL THANKS to Michelle Malkin for her continued support, read her take here. Michelle has a great point: some of the very sites (sometimes even on the conservative side of things) who have resisted linking to our reports (going all the way back to our collaborations on the Gloria Wise scandal) have now, without hesitation, immediately bought into an unconfirmed "report" from the left, that may or may not be true. We don't trust our own to be accurate, but assume the other side knows what it is talking about.

UPDATE: Randi Rhodes says she will address these reports after a staff meeting being held now. We may be able to get confirmation at that time. Rhodes sounds very distracted. Rush Limbaugh also discussed the story on his show today.

Randi: "why does all the scary crap happen on my watch? I'll be briefed shortly."

AIR AMERICA DUCKS THE ISSUE: a big hat tip to Perry Simon, who just obtained this quote from the company:

"If AIR AMERICA had filed for bankruptcy every time someone rumored it to be doing so, we would have ceased to exist long ago; it may be frustrating to some that this hasn’t happened. No decision has been taken to make any filing of any kind, we are not sure of the source of these rumors and frankly can not respond to every rumor in the marketplace."

Hey guys, this report comes from LEFTISTS! Are you smoking crack in there?

UPDATES: Randi is filibustering, rather than addressing the issue at hand.

Al Franken says he hasn't been paid in some time. Reader John B notes:

He hasn't been paid in a while? Hmmm... might be true, but I recall you had a detailed explanation of how he got paid in advance, on a quarterly basis. So he could be appearing to tell the truth, (woe is me!), but still laughing all the way to the bank (I already got mine!).

John, that's true, Franken and executive producer Billy Kimball planned for this years ago.

Images: David A Lunde
Thanks to Michelle Malkin, National Review's Media Blog, Ace Of Spades, Gawker, Wizbang and others for links today.

Technorati tags: al franken air america liberal talk radio talk radio jane fonda gloria steinem air america bankrupt randi rhodes

The Radio Equalizer ~ Brian Maloney ** Bankrupt? Air America Out Of Ca$h, Up For Sale


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 2:21 AM EDT
Federal deficit shrinks, down 14.1%
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: BUSH'S FAULT
Topic: News

Federal deficit shrinks

WASHINGTON -- The federal budget deficit, helped by a surge in government revenue, is running 14.1% below the pace of last year, the government reported Wednesday.

The Treasury Department said that with just one month to go in the budget year, the deficit totals $304.3 billion, down from $354.1 billion during the same period a year ago.

The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for the entire year will be $260 billion, which would mean that September will see a sizable surplus.

The administration is somewhat less optimistic, forecasting a deficit of $295.8 billion for the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30.

However, both the CBO and the administration are expecting an improvement from last year's deficit of $319 billion, the third highest amount of red ink in history. The record deficit in dollar terms was $413 billion set in 2004.

Even with the improvement, Democrats point to CBO forecasts that the deficit over the next decade will total $1.76 trillion as evidence that President Bush's emphasis on tax cuts has put the country on an unsustainable fiscal path.

The administration counters that Bush's first term tax cuts helped to lift the country out of the 2001 recession and provided support for a strong economic rebound that has resulted in the gusher of revenues this year.

For August, the deficit jumped to $64.6 billion, up from $51.3 billion in August 2005. The federal government has run a deficit in August every year since 1954.

Through the first 11 months of the current budget year, revenues have totaled a record $2.12 trillion, up 11.5% from the same period a year ago.

Government spending is also at record levels so far this budget year, totaling $2.43 trillion, an increase of 7.6% from the same period a year ago.

The faster growth in revenues than in spending has meant that the 11-month deficit of $304.3 billion is 14.1% below the red ink run up during the same period a year ago.

USA Today ~ Associated Press ** Federal deficit shrinks
Also at:
Breitbart.com ~ Associated Press - Martin Crutsinger ** Treasury: Federal Deficit Down 14.1 Pct.


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:27 AM EDT
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Libtard Accused of Fraud Blames Karl Rove
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

I would think that someone in Karl Rove's position would have far too much to do, than to get some thieving bastard spammer tossed in jail.
But HEY!
They blame bush and Rove for everything else, so why not this, too?
Morons.

Man Accused of Fraud Blames Karl Rove

NEW YORK -- Attorneys for a man accused of fraud say he was charged at the behest of presidential adviser Karl Rove in retaliation for a flood of spam e-mails sent to a campaign Web site. A federal prosecutor says the claim is "absurd."

Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Siegal urged U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Monday to reject arguments that Rove caused the criminal investigation that led to charges against Robert McAllister.

Siegal said lawyers for McAllister made the "patently absurd argument that the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District is a shill for Karl Rove and has arrested and indicted their client in some sort of vindictive retaliation."

McAllister's lawyer Gerald L. Shargel said Monday he plans to try to call Rove as a witness, if the court allows it.

McAllister, of Jupiter, Fla., is accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud while he was chief executive officer and president of Millennium National Events Inc., an events promotion company. He was arrested in August 2005.

The government says McAllister and Millennium tried to inflate the price of the company's stock by "spreading false and misleading information" about the company via unsolicited e-mails, or spam, to potential investors. McAllister could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Shargel said McAllister's efforts to grow his company were "thwarted by the wrongful conduct of stock promoters," one of whom sent e-mails to a presidential Web site, georgewbush.com. That Web address currently connects automatically to the Republican National Committee, http://www.gop.com.

"Mr. Rove used his power and influence at the White House to seek quick punishment of Millennium, and therefore also Robert McAllister, for daring to spam the president's personal Web site," Shargel said.

The Daily News reported Sunday that e-mails, phone records and transcripts of phone conversations indicate Rove contacted McAllister and at least three stock promoters. The newspaper reported that White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Rove "vaguely remembered" the e- mail onslaught but could not recall whether he or any other White House worker contacted the Department of Justice.

Breitbart.com ~ Associated Press - Larry Neumeister ** Man Accused of Fraud Blames Karl Rove

So the guy isn't denying that he committed wire fraud, he's saying that he's only being prosecuted because he sent spam to the President and the GOP??
I'd say he's trying to establish an insanity defense!


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:48 AM EDT
Tuesday, 12 September 2006
Virginia Congressman Jim Moran (D) Jeered for Going Political During Memorial
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

The fifth annual Arlington Police/Sheriff/Fire 9-11 5K Race drew thousands to Crystal City on Sept. 9. It was one of many events taking place across the county to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Arlingtonians Remember 9/11 in Their Own Ways

The fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was commemorated Monday in a ceremony that not only honored those who died, but saluted those whose actions on 9/11 made a difference.

“Arlington remembers all responders,” County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said at the event, held in the courtyard of the Arlington County Justice Center. “The families, the non-profits, members of the public, victims who lost their lives, families and loved ones who lost their lives, and the spirit that brought us together.”

At 9:37 a.m., the exact time the plane hit the Pentagon five years ago, Zimmerman called for a minute of silence. A bell was then tolled 184 times, to remember the victims who died when American Airlines Flight 77 was deliberately crashed by terrorists into the Pentagon.

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, lauded the “perfect professionalism” of Arlington's public-safety personnel, who responded to the Pentagon after the crash and won worldwide accolades for containing the damage with no additional loss of life.

He also praised the community-wide outreach effort that occurred after the attacks.

“Arlington has woven together the fabric of a community that can't be torn apart,” he said.

But Moran then maneuvered into more sensitive ground, suggesting that the country was not safer and intimating that the Bush administration's foreign policy was headed in the wrong directions.

“More people hate us,” Moran said, a comment that drew an outburst from the crowd.

“My brother died on 9/11 - don't make this political,” a woman in audience cried out.

Moran continued, calling on the nation to address the root causes of terrorism by the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

Arlington will play host to a number of other commemorative events this week, including a Sept. 14 concert by the Arlington Philharmonic.

For details on other events that are part of the Sept. 11 commemoration, see the Arlington County government Web site at www.arlingtonva.us.

At the Pentagon, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld presided over a morning ceremony honoring those who died.

“We honor the men, women and children whose lives were taken so suddenly and so coldly,” Cheney said.

About 100 family members of those killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 attended the ceremony.

Cheney said that the events of Sept. 11, 2001, created “a day of national unity.”

At the event, Rumsfeld said that “the highest tribute we can pay to them is to commit ourselves to doing everything possible to fight the extremists wherever they are, to making every effort to stay united as a country and to give our truly outstanding men and women in uniform all that they need to succeed.”

The American Forces Press Service contributed to this report.
Arlington Sun Gazette ~ Kristen Armstrong ** Arlingtonians Remember 9/11 in Their Own Ways


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:30 AM EDT
Sunday, 10 September 2006
Libtard Rockefeller: Iraq Would Be Better With Saddam
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: LIBTARD "TOUGH ON TERROR" ALERT
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Rockefeller: Bush Duped Public On Iraq

Senator Says World Would Be Better Without Iraq Invasion

WASHINGTON -- When the Senate Intelligence Committee released a declassified version of its findings this past week, the Republican chairman of the committee, Pat Roberts, left town without doing interviews, calling the report a rehash of unfounded partisan allegations.

Its statements like this one, made Feb. 5, 2003, by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell that have become so controversial, implying Iraq was linked to terror attacks.

"Iraq today harbors a deadly terrorist network headed by abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an associated collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda lieutenants," Powell said.

But after 2 1/2 years of reviewing pre-war intelligence behind closed doors, the lead Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), who voted for the Iraq War, says the Bush administration pulled the wool over everyone's eyes.

"The absolute cynical manipulation, deliberately cynical manipulation, to shape American public opinion and 69 percent of the people, at that time, it worked, they said 'we want to go to war,'" Rockefeller told CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. "Including me. The difference is after I began to learn about some of that intelligence I went down to the Senate floor and I said 'my vote was wrong.'"

Rockefeller went a step further. He says the world would be better off today if the United States had never invaded Iraq -- even if it means Saddam Hussein would still be running Iraq.

He said he sees that as a better scenario, and a safer scenario, "because it is called the 'war on terror.'"

Does Rockefeller stands by his view, even if it means that Saddam Hussein could still be in power if the United States didn't invade?

"Yes. [Saddam] wasn't going to attack us. He would've been isolated there," Rockefeller said. "He would have been in control of that country but we wouldn't have depleted our resources preventing us from prosecuting a war on terror which is what this is all about."

Republicans say there was flawed intelligence to be sure, but they insist there was no attempt to mislead the public.

"In 2002 and 2003, members of both parties got a good look at the intelligence we had and they came to the very same conclusions about what was going on," White House Spokesman Tony Snow said.

CBS News NY ** Rockefeller: Bush Duped Public On Iraq


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:59 AM EDT
Saturday, 9 September 2006
Federal Probe Launched Into NJ Sen. Bob Menendez's Finances, Dems Allege ''Partisan Motives''... IRONY???
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Menendez questions timing of subpoena

ATLANTIC CITY -- Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez suggested Friday that the state's chief federal prosecutor is part of a Republican plot to tarnish his character in the middle of a competitive campaign.

Menendez and other top Democrats implied that the Republican U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Christopher Christie, had partisan motives in subpoenaing records related to Menendez's lease deal with a federally funded non-profit group. The development had Menendez's fellow Democrats worrying about the potential damage to his deadlocked contest with his Republican challenger, state Sen. Tom Kean Jr.

A knowledgeable source said the subpoena delivered Wednesday sought lease agreements, canceled checks, correspondence and other records related to the arrangement dating from 1993, the year before the North Hudson Community Action Corp. began renting Menendez's two-story brick building in Union City. The source said the office is also seeking records related to the agency's federal grants, which Menendez's office touted and in some cases helped to acquire.

Menendez said he has not seen the subpoena and had not been served with one.

But Menendez, who sold the building three years ago, said the timing of the subpoena and the publicity that followed raises "serious questions."

"Suddenly, 61 days before an election, a prosecutor appointed by George Bush decides to take an interest and, not coincidentally, leaks to the press follow immediately," he said.

He said the events fit a pattern of dirty campaigning by Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser.

"We have seen an orchestrated series of leaks, bogus ethics complaints and outright fabrications since the beginning of this campaign," Menendez told a crowd of Democrats gathered for the state party convention at Bally's Atlantic City.

"Tom Kean Jr.'s entire campaign has been straight out of the Bush-Rove playbook, and now he's even got the U.S. attorney involved."

A spokesman for Christie declined to comment on Menendez's remarks or the subpoena. Christie was an avid Bush fund-raiser whose brash style has drawn accusations of partisanship before.

However, Christie's high-profile public corruption prosecutions have been bipartisan and widely praised.

'Serious concerns'
Governor Corzine, who in January appointed Menendez to serve the last year of his U.S. Senate term, said he respects Christie but also harbors "serious concerns about the timing" of the subpoena and leaks to the press about it.

"It has the appearance of being less than objective," said Corzine, also attending the convention in Atlantic City.

Corzine and the state's Democratic members of Congress, some of whom aggressively sought Corzine's seat, publicly rallied around the senator while heaping abuse on Kean and other Republicans.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Kean, the son of former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, "comes to the table with nothing."

Menendez effectively called his opponent a "trust fund baby."

Asked about the investigation at a press conference Friday, Kean said it would be "inappropriate" to comment.

Thursday night, however, he had issued a statement saying the investigation showed "the need to clean up the corruption and scandal that has plagued Washington, D.C., and our state, so we can finally restore the public's faith in government."

Menendez reiterated Friday that he had informally cleared the lease with the House ethics committee, and for the first time named a committee aide, Mark Davis, who he thought had reviewed the matter.

But after a Capitol Hill newspaper reported that the staffer had already left the ethics committee by 1994, spokesman Matt Miller said Menendez had remembered incorrectly because it was so long ago.

He did not offer another name.

Over the course of nine years while he represented Hudson County in the House, Menendez collected more than $300,000 from the non-profit group for its preschool program's offices.

At the same time, the organization's employees gave Menendez tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and named a facility after him.

The Kean campaign has charged that Menendez was effectively profiting from federal funds over which he had influence.

Representatives of the agency were not available for comment Friday.

Craig Holman, a campaign finance lobbyist with the ethics advocacy group Public Citizen, said the lease appears to have violated ethics rules, but he found the involvement of law enforcement "surprising."

To be guilty of a crime, Menendez would have had to have realized a financial benefit that could be attributed directly to his office, such as unusually high rent from the federally subsidized agency.

"It sounded like it was just a rules violation," Holman said. "It would have to be inflated rent. If the rent is anything in the ballpark of what space is going for in the area, that would be market rate.

"It could be the U.S. Attorney's Office is trying to make sure nothing happened here," Holman added.

"They could be on a fishing expedition."

'Big financial advantage'
Political experts expected the investigation to be harmful but not fatal to Menendez's prospects for a full term.

Cook Political Report analyst Jennifer Duffy, who had changed her New Jersey forecast from "leans Democratic" to "tossup" just before news of the federal probe broke, said Menendez still has natural advantages.

"It's still New Jersey, it's still a blue state and he still has a big financial advantage," she said. "But what this might do is let Kean run this race on his own terms because fundamentally, if he can keep this race about ethics, he's got a shot. If Menendez succeeds in making it about Bush and Iraq and homeland security, Kean's got a problem."

It's difficult to judge how much of an impression the latest developments will make in scandal-inured New Jersey, said Rutgers University political science Professor Ross Baker.

"There's a lot of cynicism in New Jersey voters," Baker said. "It's almost as if this stuff is to be expected. ... It's harmful, no doubt about it. It's the kind of thing every candidate dreads. But I wish I could be more convinced that there was not a political motivation behind this and the timing of it. It's just too neat."

Staff writer William Lamb contributed to this article. E-mail: gohlke@northjersey.com
North Jersey.com ~
The Herald - Josh Gohlke, Herb Jackson, Peter Sampson ** Menendez questions timing of subpoena


Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 5:32 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 9 September 2006 5:44 PM EDT

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