Sunday, August 3, 2008
Largest Asian-American PAC Endorses Obama
GOP Senior Senator Ted Stevens Indicted On 7 Criminal Counts!
The first sitting U.S. senator to face federal indictment since 1993, Stevens has been dogged by an investigation into his home renovation project in Alaska and his dealings with wealthy oil contractors.
TPM Election Central is reporting that Liddy Dole is dumping $10,000 in donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens leadership PAC. Burnt Orange Report is reporting that John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison also accepted donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens leadership PAC.
How Senator Ted Stevens' Alaska house re-do became a federal indictment against Senator Stevens - Reported in the McClatchy Newspaper on Saturday, August 2, 2008
Obama Taps Rep. Emanuel for Debate Negotiations
McCain The Low-Road Warrior
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Is the low road working for McCain? According to recent Quinnipiac polls taken in swing-states since McCain shifted to a harshly negative low-road posture, he has gained ground on Obama in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
By the end of last week Obama had started to toughen his rhetoric too, and so had his campaign. But now it's time for Obama go on the hard offense, to batter McCain for his gaffes and incoherence, hammer him for his flip-flops, highlight how his maverick status is a thing of fiction, and turn him into a combination of Bush and Grandpa Simpson.
There is also an interesting article in the Chicago Tribune. In this Tribune article Ed Rollins, a longtime Republican strategist, said McCain sometimes appears frustrated and angry when he talks about Obama, especially when complaining that the press does not treat him fairly. "John needs to be the deliberate, experienced veteran and not the grumpy old man," Rollins said. "If he's the grumpy old man, angry that the media is not in love with him anymore because they're in love with Barack Obama, that's not going to play well with the public." Go to the Chicago Tribune article here:
On ABC's Sunday "This Week" program, longtime Washington hand David Gergen took umbrage with John McCain's recent attack ads, charging that the Senator was using coded messaging to paint Barack Obama as "outside the mainstream" and "uppity." - Read more at Huffington Post
Then there are a couple of postings from AmericaBlog that points out why the Swift Boat type attack may not work in this election year. Go to the AmericaBlog positings here and here.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
U.S. Senate Candidate Rick Noriega Latest Polling Info
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Noriega's struggle, as it has been throughout his campaign for the Texas U.S. Senate seat, is to raise enough money to buy radio and TV spots to make himself more widely known to voters across Texas, which, as we know, is a very big state.
Cornyn's campaign is flush with money. Among his contributors, according to the Burnt Orange Report, John Cornyn has accepted donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Steven's leadership PAC.
For two months running Cornyn has polled below 50% while more than half of Republican voters now believe that their Republican leaders, who have controlled America's direction for eight years, have taken the country down the wrong track (55%), up from 51% in June, according to a July 2008 Reuters/Zogby national poll of likely voters. On top of those facts, add that Senator Obama's presidential polling numbers are also within competitive striking distance in Texas and there's clearly an opening for Noreiga, if he can pull together the campaign contributions to stay competitive.
On the topic of campaign contributions -- The Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) recently endorsed Texas State Legislator Rick Noriega for the office of U.S. Senate. TDWCC membership voted to make a $1000 contribution to Noriega's campaign coffers on July 23, 2008. The picture at left shows Stephen Sargent accepting the $1000 contribution from Barb Walters, TDWCC President, on behalf of Rick Noriega's campaign on July 28 at the organization's monthly membership meeting.
Rick Noriega will speak at the Democatic Party of Collin County's Ann Richard's Dinner and fundraiser at the Heritage Ranch Country Club in McKinney, TX on August 16, 2008.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega has served in the Texas House of Representatives and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas Army National Guard. Noriega was deployed to Afghanistan for one year and served as deputy garrison commander of the KMTC training facility in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Watch Noriega's YouTube videos displayed in the right sidebar of this blog page and watch the video below to get to know him a little!!
Texas State Representative,
Military Veteran of War, and
Lieutenant Colonel - Texas Army National Guard
Friday, August 1, 2008
Judge Jim Jordan for Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
It is important to study all the candidates and make an informed decision from your Presidential Candidate choice all the way down to whichever candidate is named last on the ballot.
Casting your vote to elect Judge Jim Jordan as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court is an example of how to bring about change in Texas.
Judge Jordan believes, “A judge wears a black robe -- not a red or blue robe.”
Here are three things Judge Jordan wants to address:
1. Fix the current, growing, backlog in the Texas courts
2. Stop the bias in favor of insurance and corporate parties.We need to demand that the court release statistics on backlogged cases by judge. In 2000 there were 102 cases pending; in 2007, there were 177!
Although each justice is obligated do his or her own part to work to reduce the backlog and to timely work on the matters assigned to them, the Chief Justice is uniquely positioned, as the leader of the court, to use peer pressure and bring appropriate and effective procedures to bear on the backlog problem. The fact that the public awareness of the backlog has spurred recent activity by the court demonstrates that transparency and pressure can have a beneficial effect.
3. Remove the selection of judges from partisan politicsJudge Jordan states that “decisions should be based upon the law and the constitution, not upon the justices’ political views or to advance a personal agenda.”
The legal community has noticed this trend, and recent studies have confirmed it. Professor David Anderson of the University of Texas School of Law wrote an article last year (“Judicial Tort Reform in Texas”) where he concluded based upon empirical data gathered for the years 2005 and 2006 and upon an analysis of the court’s opinions during this time that the court was serving a political ideology. His study found that the Supreme Court has been in favor of business and insurance defendants more that 85% of the time and that jury verdicts overturned by the court had all been in favor of the plaintiffs. While I believe it is dangerous to determine the quality of a justice by keeping a keep score card of who wins and who looses, these numbers are overwhelming.
Visit Judge Jordan's website for more information, including his answers to a Dallas Morning News questionnaire.The influence of politics and money in the selection and retention of judges is harmful to a fair judicial system. Partisan political elections on a November ballot where judicial candidates raise money almost exclusively from attorneys and parties who appear in their court erode trust in our judicial system. However, we can start making a difference now by making sure that when the Governor appoints a judge to complete the term of a resigning judge, the nominee goes through a rigorous public examination to ensure we select judges with the proper qualifications, experience and judicial temperament, rather than for their ability to help the party in power.
The Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) recently endorsed Judge Jim Jordan for the office of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. TDWCC membership voted to make a $1000 contribution to Jordan's campaign coffers on July 23, 2008. The picture at left shows Judge Jim Jordan with Barb Walters, TDWCC President, on July 28 at the organization's monthly membership meeting where he received the TDWCC's $1000 contribution.
You can review Judge Jordan’s responses to the position questionnaire submitted to him by the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) and discover why the TDWCC endorses him for the office of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
Judge Jordan’s qualifications and experience are above reproach:
Judicial Experience:
- Judge 160th District Court; former judge 44th District Court.
- Elected by 39 fellow District Court Judges as the Local Administrative District Judge of Dallas County, Texas; Former President, Garland Bar Association.
Why Are You A Democrat in 2008?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Let's Quit Calling It A War On Terror!
I know it works -- remember in the 1970s when the "pro-life" movement tried to co-opt Americans into believing that if liberals were for abortions and family planning it meant liberals were "anti-life?" Thoughtful Democrats successfully coined the phrase "pro-choice" and since that phrase coinage progressives have been able to accurately refer to Republicans as "anti-choice." Consider the difference in the images brought to mind.
Words do matter! Consider a recent report from the nonpartisan Rand Corp. political think tank that flatly states, "The U.S. Should Rethink 'War On Terrorism' Strategy to Deal with Resurgent Al Qaida."
In looking at how other terrorist groups have ended, the RAND study found that most terrorist groups end either because they join the political process, or because local police and intelligence efforts arrest or kill key members. Police and intelligence agencies, rather than the military, should be the tip of the spear against al Qaida in most of the world, and the United States should abandon the use of the phrase "war on terrorism," the RAND researchers concluded.
"The United States also should avoid the use of the term, 'war on terror,' and replace it with the term 'counter terrorism.' Nearly every U.S. ally, including the United Kingdom and Australia, has stopped using 'war on terror,' and it's more than a mere matter of semantics," says Seth Jones, the RAND study lead author and a political scientist at RAND.
The study contends the Bush Administration committed a fundamental error in strategic thinking by portraying the conflict with al-Qaeda as a "war on terrorism." The phrase falsely suggests that there can be a battlefield solution to terrorists, and symbolically conveys warrior status on terrorists.
"The term we use to describe our strategy toward terrorists is important, because it affects what kinds of forces you use," Jones said. "Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests that there is no battlefield solution to terrorism."
"The United States has the necessary instruments to defeat al Qaida, it just needs to shift its strategy [and policy phrasing] and keep in mind that terrorist groups are not eradicated overnight," Jones said.
The RAND study, "How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qaida," can be found at www.rand.org. The report was prepared by the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center that does research for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands and other defense agencies.
If Democrats want some lessons on crafting the correct political messages, read George Lakoff's book, Don't Think of an Elephant.McCain Charge Against Obama Lacks Evidence: Washington Post
The McCain Campaign then launched additional attack ads mocking Senator Obama as a self-important celebrity along the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. From The Huffington Post, "In the end, the ad may tell voters as much about McCain as it does the Illinois Democrat. It was not too long ago that McCain's campaign released a memo -- authored by Rick Davis -- saying it was "critical" to "run a respectful campaign focused on the issues," no matter which the Democratic nominee emerged. Since then, the presumptive Republican nominee has launched attacks on Obama's patriotism, has blamed his opponent for high gas prices, and has accused him of willfully snubbing the troops."
Senator Obama has directly responded to McCain's multiple attack ads saying, "You know, I don't pay attention to John McCain's ads, although I do notice he doesn't seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me... You need to ask John McCain what he's for and not just what he's against."
Here is Senator Obama's video response to the McCain Campaign's "Low Road" political attacks:
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Home Prices Tumbled By The Steepest Rate Ever In May
| October 2007 Level | October/September Change (%) | September/August Change (%) | 1-Year Change (%) |
Dallas | 121.61 | 1.0% | 1.1% | -3.1% |
Composite-10 | 181.48 | -1.0% | -1.5% | -16.9% |
Composite-20 | 168.54 | -0.9% | -1.3% | -15.8% |
Standard & Poor’s Press Release PDF
Obama Would Order Review Of Bush's Executive Orders
Who Is "Presumptuous" for Calling Obama Presumptuous?
These Republican talking points, which seem to be too often echoed by the traditional media, say that Obama is presumptuous for taking the prudent steps of getting to know the leaders of America's allies around the world, his potential counterparts should he become President of the United States, and for visiting Iraq and Afghanistan where our courageous American troops are serving their second, third and some even their fourth back-to-back tour of duty. Just who is "presumptuous" for calling Senator Obama presumptuous? Read more at Huffington Post...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Texas - Part of the 50 State Strategy
When Barack Obama's presidential campaign and national Democratic officials talk about putting resources into Texas this year, they're not necessarily focused on beating Republican John McCain. Then again, maybe they are...
The Obama campaign has promised to put 15 coordinators in the state to help Texas down ballot Democratic Candidates win the five seats the party needs for a State House majority and to win in Harris County. Gaining and holding a Democratic majority in the Texas House would help control the redistricting process in 2011 when Texas is expected to gain 3 more seats in the U.S House of Representatives.
Obama's campaign currently projects that the state's 34 electoral votes likely will go to McCain. Then again, McCain's lead over Obama in Texas is likely giving Republicans in the state some concern. Republican pollster Mike Baselice is reported by The Houston Chronicle to have said that the problem for Republicans is not what Obama is going to do [in Texas] but a belief by GOP voters that the nation is on the wrong track. "Half, if not more than half, the Republicans think the country is off-track. That is more concern to me than Obama sending 15 people to the state," Baselice said.
According to a July 2008 Reuters/Zogby national poll of likely voters, 73% of those polled believe the nation is on the wrong track. Democrats have the most negative view of the country’s direction, with 84% saying the U.S. is on the wrong track, a slight decrease from 86% who said the same in June. The vast majority of independents take a similar view, with 82% who said the country is on the wrong track, falling from 86% who said the same last month. More than half of Republicans now believe the nation is headed on the wrong track (55%), up from 51% in June.
The dour mood among many Republicans, who now feel their party leaders have lead the country in the wrong direction, could explain McCain's not so strong 43.3 to 38.9 point lead over Obama in Texas, according to Pollster.com. With McCain polling under 50 percent on top of his not so strong 4.4 percent lead over Obama in Texas, the 15 organizers that the Obama campaign is sending to Texas seems like a prudent investment. Polling numbers showing unhappy Texas Republicans combined with strongly motivated Democrats across all of Texas, including here in Collin County, suggests that, just possibly, Texas Democrats will yet play a prominent roll in setting the nation on a new road on election day!
Obama Has Electoral College Advantage - Pollster Says
Afghanistan Twice As Deadly As Iraq For US Troops In July
Shattering Blogger Stereotypes - From Burnt Orange Rpt
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Obama Leads McCain 48% to 41%
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Diplomats Barred From Obama’s Berlin Speech
Deregulation Is Out Of Style
Friday, July 25, 2008
Barack Obama Acceptance Speech Party At Prince Bistro
The Prince Bistro Grill has large screen TVs to watch Senator Obama's speech, tasty food and good drinks in addition to the excellent comaradary of fellow democrats.
Again, join us at 7PM on Thursday August 28 at the Prince Bistro at 1201 E. Spring Creek Pkwy Plano, TX 75074 - Google Map
Insurers Talk Health Care - Physicians Doubt Sincerity
From Health Care for America Now, the coalition of doctors fighting for universal health care coverage.
An Outrageous Attempt by the Bush Administration
Hagel: Quit Talking About the Surge
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Job Losses Jump Again
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 406,000 in the week ended July 19, from a revised 372,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. It was the highest reading since late March.