There ya go. All's forgiven with the faith-based voters. If you don't forgive ya won't be forgiven.

From Time magazine:


The plot thickens

By KAREN TUMULTY, MASSIMO CLABRESI


Monday, November 28, 2005; Posted: 2:59 p.m. EST (19:59 GMT)



How far will it go? That's what many nervous officials in Washington are wondering as they brace for what is showing signs of becoming the biggest influence-peddling scandal in decades.

An investigation that began nearly two years ago into whether lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associate Michael Scanlon bilked six Indian tribes out of $80 million now looks as though it could touch dozens of lawmakers, their current and former staff members and Bush Administration officials.

The Justice Department is preparing to test whether accepting lawfully reported campaign contributions may constitute corruption, subjecting Washington politicians to an entirely new standard.

Even those who are not in legal jeopardy over their dealings with Abramoff and Scanlon could face embarrassing questions at home. All of which is about the last thing the Republicans who control Congress wanted to hear as they move into what is an already hostile political climate for next year's midterm elections.


"There's certainly a sense of foreboding among Republicans that this is the big one," says Charlie Cook, whose nonpartisan Cook Political Report tracks congressional elections. "This is the one that could really catch on."


Pass the popcorn and watch the show.

Is it beginning to seem to you that Republicans can’t be trusted with taxpayer’s money?

How can that be when they are always so careful with their own money?

Sheeeerry, You're criminalizing politics again.


Extra butter?

$1000 hotdog campaign lunches don't sound too careful until you add up the payback.

Teacher accused of giving 'liberal' quiz

Friday, November 25, 2005; Posted: 1:38 p.m. EST (18:38 GMT)


Manage Alerts | What Is This? BENNINGTON, Vermont (AP) -- A high school teacher is facing questions from administrators after giving a vocabulary quiz that included digs at President Bush and the extreme right.

Bret Chenkin, a social studies and English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, said he gave the quiz to his students several months ago. The quiz asked students to pick the proper words to complete sentences.

One example: "I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes." "Coherent" is the right answer.

Principal Sue Maguire said she hoped to speak to whomever complained about the quiz and any students who might be concerned. She said she also would talk with Chenkin. School Superintendent Wesley Knapp said he was taking the situation seriously.

"It's absolutely unacceptable," Knapp said. "They (teachers) don't have a license to hold forth on a particular standpoint."

Chenkin, 36, a teacher for seven years, said he isn't shy about sharing his liberal views with students as a way of prompting debate, but said the quizzes are being taken out of context.

"The kids know it's hyperbolic, so-to-speak," he said. "They know it's tongue in cheek." But he said he would change his teaching methods if some are concerned.

"I'll put in both sides," he said. "Especially if it's going to cause a lot of grief."

The school is in Bennington, a community of about 16,500 in the southwest corner of the state.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/11/25/li...z.ap/index.html

*****


Teachers, like this one, should be fired. Children aren't sent to school to learn the garbage this guy is handing out. Schools and teachers are going to have to be monitored more closely. Children shouldn't be manipulated by sneaky, unscrupulous teachers who are trying to promote their own political agenda.

[[[[snicker]]]]

I agree. Some evangelicals are indoctrinating other people's children into Christianity and that is wrong. Perhaps they should stay out of public schools altogether and stick to Sunday school where it belongs.

They are going to have to monitored more closely.

Absolutely. They try to sneak it in in the most dishonest and fanciful ways.

Apparently, Mr. Bozell is a coward. He told MSNBC he would not appear if I was on the show, even if they scheduled me before or after him. He couldn't handle a man-to-man debate. Typical conservative coward. I think the term is "Girly Man". Tough talker when he is alone but unable to handle an informed debate. What is really sad is the MSNBC is caving into Bozell, rather than insisting that its audience hear both sides of an issue. Shocked, anyone?



Ok, ye of gigantic juevos, why don't you take your tough talk to the Fox news channel , and the Sean Hannity show. Or are you too much of a I think the term is "Girly Man".



Re: Brent Bozell, Chicken? (5.00 / 4) (#6)
by ljohnson on Nov 28, 2005 -- 07:21:18 PM EST
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Rupert Murdoch banned me from Fox because I had the temerity to say on the Hannity and Colmes show (Novmber 2002) that an invasion of Iraq would be a diversion in the war on terrorism. I'll take any of the Faux News guys on. Been there, done that.

Yeah, that guy left hisself wide open, alright.

Can't be too careful...even saw a cross on top of a church while driving to work.

Assumes facts not in evidence.

Maybe he's on a Hillary Clinton style listening tour. I've STILL never seen her field a SINGLE hard question on any network.

But she's not as important as Bozell.

awwwww, look at crook.

Who is Bozell? When you pronounce it does it rhyme with 'nozzel?'

no.

Shozzel my Bozzel.

Ya probly need davis for that.

It's a rare thing, but I think FriendJudy is right about you.

Just can't keep your mind off it, can you?

FJ isn't sure about what team she's on, much less what team the rest of us play for.

It would, indeed, be a rare thing when Friend Judy is right.

Perhaps you can identify "it" for us and why you've made the association.

The thing that both Jeff Gannon and Barney Frank do, but only Gannon gets attacked by lefties for.

Yes this one certainly could go far, and not just among Republicans:

See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5060202158.html

Named in the above link: Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, Dick Gephardt, Patrick Kennedy, Patty Murray, Byron Dorgan.

See also: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5050301792.html

Named here along with Delay's aide, were two other Democrat Congressmen, James Clyburn and Bennie Thompson.

That's the problem with big-time lobbyists - they lobby everybody - legally and otherwise it seems.

When it's illegal nail them, and their "targets." Regardless of party. Rep. Cunningham is learning this the hard way - sadly, I think the object lesson here will be lost on the Sufferors of Potomac Fever as they try to treat their malady with a healthy dose of One-Upsmanship-Politics. Even sadder, we, the Electorate, will just keep sending them back for re-infection. We always have and I see no real sign of change.

Some of them are nailed ,but you are correct...even the new along with the old are sent back for "re-infection".

I just hope the investigations are finished and the indictments are in before the 2006 elections.

Maybe then we can get some squeaky clean people in Congress for a change. I love the idea of all the Iraq vets running for Congress.

I just wish we could get more women to run. I'd like to see the Senate be 50-50 men to women.

Then we'd see how many tax breaks for the rich come before school lunch programs.

You bet!

SHHHHHH. It isn't about ethics, it's about Republicans and politics.

Sure it is. Let the chips fall where they may. Regardless of the handful of Dems involved, the Republicans are the one's in charge. Since they rode into power on a shining white horse called 'ethics' this comeuppance is long overdue.

yeah, I'm sure you used to say that all the time in the 90s.

I remember back when I was a Dem and the house bank scandal hit. Something like 29 of 30 were Dems. Nobody said a thing about it being political.


I don't believe a bit of that "let the chips fall where they may" stuff.

yeah. Well I do.

It isn't about Republicans or Democrats it about a culture that has been deliberately desensitized buy a economic elite so that their greedy rule will not be identified and contested. This elite that constitutes the ruling establishment has gotten away with so much shit for years now that they think they are invulnerable and their true nature is sufficing because they don't feel the need to hide their actions let alone motives. The rule of law means noting to these turkeys nor do they have the slightest sense of unity with their fellow man except in narrowest sort of a tribal sense. The corruption these people produce is a natural side effect of valuing material more than people. AV want's to know what team one is on...that is entirely the wrong question. Life isn't a fucking football game, or a game of "keepers" marbles.

Crooks is crooks.

Woo hoo!! Ethics war!!!


I have a question, why is it only Republicans are trying the criminalizing politics bullshit?

Both parties turn a blind eye to wrongdoing because exposing corruption sheds light on all of their antics. They all value their power and status enough to do anything to keep it.

I only want to know if one is hiding what team they're on. Unlike a lot of people around here I spread my votes around and don't include or exclude anyone on party basis alone.

ok

I didn't use to do that. EVER. Always for the candidate. Always. 9/11 changed everything. Republican sons of bitches deserve no respect and no support.

I despise them now. (obviously) They are lower than whale shit.

I'm sure they're all broken up about it.

Not the point. I used to vote Republican.

A fair assessment...

If there were a way to clean house I'd be all for it. And bar second generation legacies as well. We could use new blood top to bottom.

Why do I doubt that, davis?
Grain of salt shit?

I really don't give a flying fuck what you think.

THE STATE
Schwarzenegger Cannot Appoint Successor to Cunningham
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO — Once Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger receives official notification of the resignation of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), he has two weeks to call a special election in the 50th Congressional District. Unlike a Senate vacancy, he cannot appoint a successor.

The law allows the governor to tack an election onto a previously scheduled election, so a special election to complete Cunningham's term could be held in June, when a primary will be held anyway for candidates seeking a full two-year term in Cunningham's old district.


The candidate winning the special election would have to run again in November to earn a two-year term. In a special election, any candidate receiving a majority of votes is declared the winner without a runoff.


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-el...-home-headlines


one down ...

This is who benefits from the emminent domain ruling, and it sure isn't the regular citizen, it's the wealthy elite. Let's see how loud personal rights Republicans scream. They tried to make it look like a liberal court gone mad but a high class yachting and residential complex.


.THE NATION
An Eminent Domain High Tide
# Riviera Beach, Fla., wants to displace about 6,000 of its residents and raze their homes to build a yachting and residential complex.

By John-Thor Dahlburg, Times Staff Writer

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — It's across the inlet from Palm Beach, but this town — mostly black, blue-collar and with a large industrial and warehouse district — could be a continent away from the Fortune 500 and Rolls-Royce set.

But Riviera Beach's fortunes may soon change.


In what has been called the largest eminent-domain case in the nation, the mayor and other elected leaders want to move about 6,000 residents, tear down their homes and use the emptied 400-acre site to build a waterfront yachting and residential complex for the well-to-do.

The goal, Mayor Michael D. Brown said during a public meeting in September, is to "forever change the landscape" in this municipality of about 32,500. The $1-billion plan, local leaders have said, should generate jobs and haul Riviera Beach's economy out of the doldrums.

Opponents, however, call the plan a government-sanctioned land grab that benefits private developers and the wealthy.

"What they mean is that the view I have is too good for me, and should go to some millionaire," said Martha Babson, 60, a house painter who lives near the Intracoastal Waterway.

"This is a reverse Robin Hood," said state Rep. Ronald L. Greenstein, meaning the poor in Riviera Beach would be robbed to benefit the rich. Greenstein, a Coconut Creek Democrat, serves on a state legislative committee making recommendations on how to strengthen safeguards on private property.

With many Americans sensitized to eminent-domain cases after a much-discussed ruling by the Supreme Court in June, property-rights organizations have been pointing to redevelopment plans in this Palm Beach County town as proof that laws must be changed to protect homeowners and businesses from the schemes of politicians.

"You have people going in, essentially playing God, and saying something better than these people's homes should be built on this property," said Carol Saviak, executive director of the Coalition for Property Rights, based in Orlando. "That's inherently wrong."

"Unfortunately, taking poorer folks' homes and turning them into higher-end development projects is all too routine in Florida and throughout the country," said Scott G. Bullock, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, based in Washington. "What distinguishes Riviera Beach is the sheer scope of the project, and the number of people it displaces."

In June, a divided U.S. Supreme Court approved the plan of New London, Conn., to force some homeowners to sell their properties for a private development that was supposed to generate more jobs and tax revenue. That ruling has led to moves in Congress and at least 35 states, including Florida, to restrict the use of eminent-domain seizures of private property.

In Florida, the law allows local officials to take private land for redevelopment if they deem it "blighted." In May 2001, a study conducted for the city found that "slum and blighted conditions" existed in about a third of Riviera Beach, and that redevelopment was necessary "in the interest of public health, safety, morals and welfare."

A skeptical Babson, who lives in a single-story, concrete-block home painted aqua that she shares with parrots and a dog, did her own survey. For three months, she walked the streets of Riviera Beach photographing houses classified as "dilapidated" or "deteriorated" by specialists hired by the city.

The official study, she said, was riddled with errors and misclassifications. Lots inventoried as "vacant" (one of 14 criteria that allow Florida cities or counties to declare a neighborhood blighted) actually had homes on them built in 1997, she said. One house deemed "dilapidated," she found, was two years old.

Rene Corie has lived for nine years in a custard-yellow home near the Intracoastal. When the house was earmarked for acquisition under eminent domain four years ago, the 56-year-old seamstress became so depressed she couldn't put up her Christmas tree. She and her husband decided to fight City Hall in order to keep their home, or at the least, be paid a fair market price for it.

"We tried to elect a new mayor, we went around to churches, we stood on street corners with signs," Corie said. "When we got home from work, me and David would get into the truck and go door to door, and all day Saturday and Sunday."

Corie said she could be served at any time with another letter of acquisition for the house and the double lot it sits on. "My home is no longer my own," she said.

Mayor Brown and Floyd T. Johnson, executive director of the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, did not respond to repeated requests from The Times for an interview.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...&track=morenews

So what? I use to vote for Demos until I got a good look at the corruption, suppression and deception that encompasses that body of politics today. The Demorats have been exposed for the hypocrites, liars and crooks they are - and even though the Republicans have their flaws - the Republican Party's partriotism far outweighs the superficial U.S. of A. loyalty the Demorats try to feed the public.

Evangelicals indoctrinating other people's children into Christianity in a public school? Got a link so I can see what kind of indoctrinating you're claiming?

According to Bee, it's okay to teach about all different types of religion in school.

Flaws? Republicans flaws? Good god woman are keeping up on current events? Republicans are the biggest crooks to hit DC in our lifetimes. Democrats were bad, that's why I did NOT vote for Gore. But REPUBLICANS have raise the level of graft, corruption and lawless behavior to a new all time high.





You want to talk about crime, ethics or morality? Lady, Democrats did not try to gut the ethics committeee. REPUBLICAN criminals did that.

What a fucking joke. Phony patriotism used for political gain. They are lowlife scumbag camera hounds.