There were a lot of people and a lot of institutions that qualified as LOSERS this week.   (And by LOSER, I mean people who had a significant and a negative impact upon the political discourse for the week.)   

Starting in the "Just Say NO" division, Tea Party candidate for Orlando City Council, Ezell Harris gets the nod for LOSER by campaigning on a platform that calls for stricter oversight of prescription drugs.   Said Harris when he announced his candidacy at a Tea Party Rally earlier this year, "Prescription drugs have replaced cocaine and other illicit substances as the leading cause of drug abuse deaths in Florida, a new study says. Despite this, the state has no prescription drug monitoring program".   Mr. Harris was arrested this week for trafficking in hydrocodone, dispensing illegal drugs without a license, unlawful use of a two-way radio, and possession of drug paraphernalia.  Anyone want to bet he got an endorsement from Rush Limbaugh?

And since we're talking Florida Tea Parties, let's also nominate the Florida chapter of ACT NOW to STOP WAR AND END RACISM (ANSWER).   During a Ft. Lauderdale Tea Party, two members of the Tea Party walked through the counter protest being held by ANSWER.   They started a verbal argument with ANSWER members, one of whom hit a 62 year old Tea Partier over the head with his sign.   It then degenerated into a street brawl!  Now some would say that these two got what they deserve for walking through a counter protest, but the fact remains that before you "STOP WAR" you should first learn NOT to hit old men over the head in the street no matter how obnoxious they seem to be.  

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney makes the LOSER list for saying that President Obama was showing "weakness" by bowing to the Japanese Emperor during his recent trip to Asia.   Mr. Cheney needs to understand that you can't call out a seated president as weak for bowing when your former boss has been photographed kissing a Saudi King on the mouth and walking hand-in-hand with him on the Crawford ranch afterward.

Almost-Vice-President Sarah Palin started her book tour this week.   It brought out the LOSER in a lot of people.   We start with MSNBC News host, Dylan Ratigan, who showed photo-shopped images of the former governor without telling viewers that they were photo-shopped.   (Bad enough to show them at all on a news show, but to let people think they're real?   LOSER!)   Then there was Newsweek Magazine which did a serious story on Palin but put a picture originally taken for Runners World of Palin in VERY short running shorts and pig tails on the cover.   (Will next week's cover feature a shot of Levi Johnston taken for his recent Playgirl shoot?)   But the biggest media LOSER in covering the Palin book tour was FOX NEWS.   They not only showed video footage of McCain/Palin rallies from earlier this year and tried to pass them off as the book tour, but they also showed the book, GOING ROUGE (a collection of essays critical of Palin that came out on the same day as her book, GOING ROGUE) twice while talking about her ghost-written best seller.   (Somebody needs to learn to read at Fox!)

And Palin herself gets named LOSER for her treatment of fans during a book signing stop in Nobelsville, Indiana.    Hundreds of people waited for hours in lousy weather after purchasing a copy of her book from Borders Books.   Each was told that as long as they had the book, the receipt for the book and a wristband given them when they bought the book, that Ms. Palin would personally autograph the book for them.   Instead, she stopped signing halfway through and gave the other half of the crowd a pre-printed autograph sticker that could be affixed to the inside cover of their book.   The crowd was NOT happy!   

TWEETER-EXTRAORDINAIRE Palin issued a statement later that said "It had been brought to her attention" that these people didn't get their promised autograph.    Considering how vocal the crowd was, if it had to be "brought to her attention", she needs to get a hearing aid!   So who was the biggest LOSER?   Always eager to quit, Sarah Palin?  Or the crowd that paid full price for a book that's already 30% off in most stores?

The Obama administration makes the LOSER list for their website, recovery.org.    Designed to track job gains and stimulus spending by state, it was discovered by ABC News that some of the districts listed DIDN'T exist!   The administration explained that the errors were caused by the individual districts reporting the information incorrectly and I find that believable, but the fact remains...if it's your website, you're responsible for its accuracy!   Perhaps the administration could put a few more people to work by fact checking their own information.

ACORN related LOSERS include Tea Party candidate from NY-23, Doug Hoffman who is threatening to challenge the results because "ACORN workers stole the election".   Now ACORN had NO workers on the ground in NY-23 and even local Republican officials laugh at Hoffman's claims of "vote tampering".    

And right wing activist and would-be "pimp" James O'Keefe finally released the tape of his visit to LA's ACORN office.  Previously his partner had insisted that NO ACORN office had refused to help her & O'Keefe obtain a house to run a prostitution ring from.    Now we have a tape from LA proving that to be a lie and we know that at least two other offices called the police after they had left.   It seems strange that FOX News hasn't spent much time covering this considering their 24/7 coverage of the initial story.   (And we still wonder if the ACORN workers were helping them because they wanted the "business" as O'Keefe alleges or because they thought it was a big joke?   And if you've seen the video of O'Keefe dressed as a pimp, you will understand why that is a question.   O'Keefe looked like a college student dressed for a frat Halloween party who had watched too many SuperFly films!)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) gets recognition for his about face on a proposed amendment that would require an audit of the Federal Reserve Bank.   First he was for it and then he was against it!   It seems strange in this supposed era of "transparency in government" that Congressman Frank would oppose such a move.

And also in the category of "about faced LOSERS", we have Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) who voted last month in support of a bill that would allow Obama to move the Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US and now that Thomson, Illinois is one of the proposed sites to move them to...he's against it!   "Not-In-My-Backyard" Kirk makes the LOSER list.

Just a quick update on a post I did a few weeks ago entitled PROFITING ON PARANOIA.   It was a discussion on people who deliberately inflame people on the Right for profit.   One of the many examples that I used was a program promoted on World Net Daily.   It offered to send each member of Congress a "pink slip" with your name & address on it to symbolize the "pink slip" you would give them in the next election if they raised taxes, vote for Health Care Reform, etc.  

And yesterday was THE day!   I am happy to report that the WND event did in fact deliver to all 535 members of Congress "pink slips".    A total of 5 million slips were delivered by box divided up between each member's office.

Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) was overjoyed at the 5,000,000 slips!  She said, "We can't say that we didn't know where the hearts of the American people are."  

Sounds REALLY impressive....until you do the math!    Five million slips divided by 535 members of Congress equals approximately 9,346 hearts of the American people.   And in a country of 308 million....that's about 0.00003% of the population.

Still for a "grass roots" protest, 9,000 people isn't a really bad number, it's just not as impressive as FIVE MILLION sounds.

But you want to know a number that does sound really good?   Try $279,912.70!   That's the amount of money that those 9,346 people paid World Net Daily at $29.95 each to print & deliver the "pink slips".  Over a quarter of a million dollars to make a bulk delivery of 10,000 reams of pink paper to Capital Hill.  

Somebody laughed all the way to the bank!

I haven't spent a lot of time criticizing the Obama administration.   He came into office at the worst of times, facing unbelievable obstacles and an incredibly heated political climate.   The GOP has done everything in thier power to slow down his initiatives and to derail his plans.  So I wait patiently for him to get a full team into place and to work through the initial crises before throwing my personal stones. 

And to be perfectly honest....for the most part I've been very happy with much of what he has accomplished.  For one thing...our economy is still here.  Battered and bruised, but we seem to have avoided another "Great Depression".  A great many very important legislative matters have been passed that Democrats have wanted for years.   Even more are looming in the future.

But today, two items came out in the news that have raised questions that we as Americans deserve to have answered.

The first involves an "accounting error"  (or actually several) that are found on the government website recovery.gov.   This is where you go to see just how much stimulus money your district has received and how many jobs for your district that money has created or saved.  It's billed as a shining example of the Obama administration's transparency in government!  

You can log on and use the information pulled from this official site to tell your conservative friends that the Recovery Act they hate has injected $761,000 into the local economy and saved over 30 jobs in Arizona's 15th Congressional District.   A handy resource you have to admit.

There's only one problem.....THERE IS NO 15TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT IN ARIZONA!

And this is not an isolated "mistake".   The website lists many such problems and the administration has called them the result of human error.

"We report what the recipients submit to us," said Ed Pound, Communications Director for the Board. "Some recipients clearly don't know what congressional district they live in, so they appear to be just throwing in any number,....We expected all along that recipients would make mistakes on their congressional districts, on jobs numbers, on award amounts, and so. Human beings make mistakes."

To be honest, I believe them.   I can see lots of places in the process of putting this website together where human error could make mistakes that would be reflected on the web.  It's like the old data entry saying, "Garbage In...Garbage Out!"    I don't see Joe Biden & Barack Obama sitting around the Oval Office at midnight, fudging numbers and drinking beer.   But I can see an administration in the process of getting up and running letting some of the "little details" slip through without catching the mistakes. 

Unfortunately, that's not good enough.  The devil's in the details and when you are President you are accountable for those details.

It's not the end of the world, but if you want to appear truly transparent....you have to be accurate!  It's just that simple.    You need to fix this and explain how it happened and how it's been fixed.

The second issue that came to light today needs more than just "fixing".  It needs a very detailed explanation from the President to the American people.   The Office of the Inspector General of TARP has reported that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, then head of the Federal Reserve Bank, did an absolutely miserable job of bailing out AIG under the Bush administration.  Apparently, rather than bargaining to get taxpayers the best deal possible for using thier tax dollars for AIG's bailout, Mr. Geithner paid top dollar for AIG's toxic assets.  In fact, he paid ABOVE top dollar, often paying  "an amount far above thier market value at the time".   Wish I could get a deal like that for my business right now, Mr. President.

Now, I know that this was under the Bush administration and I know that following Bear Stearnes collapse there was a lot of hurried "bailing" to keep the country's "boat" afloat. When you rush that quickly on such a complex issue, very big and very costly mistakes happen.  Bear Stearnes taught us quickly how dangerous it can be to hesitate when companies too big too fail, go bottoms up.  

But the fact remains that both you and Secretary Geithner need to address this issue quickly and clearly.  As taxpayers who paid for the bailout...we deserve that explanation.

So Mr. President, please take these two problems as a learning lesson for your first few months.  Explain what happened and why it won't happen that way again.  And try not to forget....GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT!

The idea that Republicans were the party that brought about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is being thrown around on the web.  At first, I thought this was too silly to spend much time on.   But it seems to be a growing tall tale of conservative goodness! Many websites seem to have taken this as a theme of discussion.   In reality it is nothing more than history told with a bias.  (Which happens frequently, I might add.)  The continuing advancement of this particular bit of revisionism needs to be addressed before the myth becomes a psuedo-reality. 

Recently on a conservative site I often blog on, a member regurgitated these conservative talking points by stating:

"The Liberal wing of the Democrat party is the party of segregation. To deny this is to deny history.

The Democrat Party was responsible for supporting slavery. It took a Republican, Abraham Linclon, to end slavery.

The Democrat Party Party, in the form of the Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats), was responsible for prolonging segregation. It took action on the part of Republicans in Congress to push the legislation through in 1964 to end segregation and promote civil rights."

Now members of a Black Republican group are putting out bill boards proclaiming that Martin Luther King was a Republican. 

In fairness, part of this is true.  Some 150 years ago, the Democrats were in part responsible for supporting slavery...although the main issue was not slavery per se, but the issue of state's rights versus the powers of the Federal government. (Back then it was the Democrats who were TEA PARTY members.)  But the conservative blogger is correct that it took Abraham Lincoln to end slavery and it is correct that Lincoln was a Republican.  It is also true that "Dixiecrats" were responsible for prolonging the fight for desegregation in the 60's.  Fifty-four days were spent in filibuster with Sen. Byrd (D-WVA) speaking for a record-breaking 14 hours and 13 minutes to keep the Civil Rights Act from being passed.   But that's only part of the story.  

The reality is that this was not a Democrat vs Republican fight....it was a North vs South fight with a bi-partisan effort made by both sides of the struggle.  And at that time in our history, most Southerners voted Democratic BECAUSE the Republicans WERE the party of Lincoln.

Here are the facts:   On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy asked for legislation from Congress "giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public--hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments," as well as "greater protection for the right to vote."   Eight days later he sent a proposed bill to Congress to be voted upon.   It was considered by Civil Rights advocates as a step in the right direction but overall too weak in enforcement to be completely effective.

Southern legislators from both sides of the aisle then began to do everything possible to either slow passage of the bill or to kill it outright.  During the time that the bill was stuck in various committees, President Kennedy was assassinated.  At which point, Lyndon Johnson used both his extensive background in legislative politics and the presidential "bully pulpit" to rally support for the bill.   At this time, Democrats held majorities in both houses of Congress.  So it is true that you can say that Democrats tried to kill  The Civil Rights Act.   Because a lot of Southern Democrats who were chairmen of specific committees did try to do so.    But to say this, you must ignore Lyndon Johnson's efforts, nor can you then claim that it was Republicans who were responsible for this piece of legislation.   The final votes on the bill tell the true tale.

The original House bill passed by a vote of 290 to 130.  Of those votes, Democrats voted 152 to 96 in support of passage and Republicans voted 138 to 34 in support.  The Senate version passed by a vote of 73 to 27.  Of which, Democrats voted 46 to 21 to support the bill and Republicans voted 27 to 6 in support.

Now where these numbers get interesting is when you look at the vote from the standpoint of Northern legislators versus the votes of Southern legislators (combining both parties.)   In the House, Southern Democrats voted 7 to 87 against the Bill and Southern Republicans voted 0-10 against it.  (In other words, NOT A SINGLE SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN SUPPORTED THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.) SOUTHERN CONGRESSMEN VOTED 7 TO 97 AGAINST THE BILL.   

Northern Democrats voted 145 to 9 in support of the bill while Northern Republicans voted 138 to 24 in support.  NORTHERN CONGRESSMEN VOTED 283 TO 33 IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL.

While in the Senate, Southern Democrats voted 1 to 20 AGAINST the bill, while the lone Southern Republican also voted against the bill.   Northern Democratic Senators voted 45 to 1 in favor of the bill while Northern Republicans were a little less enthusiastic in support of Civil Rights, they voted 27 to 5 in favor of the bill.  FINAL TOTALS:  SOUTHERN SENATORS VOTED 1 TO 21 AGAINST THE BILL AND NORTHERN SENATORS VOTED 72 TO 6 IN SUPPORT.

So when you examine the numbers, it becomes clear that while Democrats were obviously divided by region on this vote, so were Republicans.   And it is a lie of history to try to claim that Democrats were the "Party of Segregation".

And as to Martin Luther King being a Republican.   That's true.   Martin Luther King SR. was a registered Republican but his son, Martin Luther King JR, never claimed ANY party affiliation.  And if you grew up in the early 80's during the debate for establishment of a Martin Luther King Holiday, you know that Republicans then were not only NOT claiming MLK as one of their own....they were objecting to the establishment of the holiday altogether.  Why?  Because Republicans said at that time that Martin Luther King, Jr WAS A COMMUNIST!  (And now he's one of them!)

And that's why it's so important to read history rather than just listen to regurgitated talking points!

It also adds an interesting perspective to the trials & tribulations it is taking to get Health Care Reform passed! 

Another week goes by and another collection of special people who contribute in a negative manner to the political discourse that fills our lives.  With special attention this week to those that make their negative comments in the name of God.

So let's start with the Rev. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church who spent the early part of this week protesting in Washington D.C.   They held anti-Obama signs, anti-gay signs & anti-abortion signs as they marched outside....SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL, which is attended by the Obama children.  The church website posted the following explanation for the site of the protest:  "Quakers?! Are you frigging kidding me? You pretend to be all non-violent, and you allow the most bloody, deceitful, evil, murderous bastard and his shemale sidekick to place their satanic spawn within your four walls?"   Note to the Westboro Baptists, the verse in the Bible where Jesus says, "Suffer the little children" didn't mean to make the children suffer by calling them "satanic spawn"!   You people are real LOSERS!

Ex-Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA), who brought whole new meaning to the phrase "cold hard cash" was sentenced to 13 years in prison for corruption and is now a 13 year loser (with time off for good behavior)!

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) wins a nod as a loser due to comments by one of the challengers for his Senate seat.   "I'm not one to judge someone's sexual activity, but what annoys me is that he's so hard-core "family values," and he puts his wife and kids out there, saying he's a Christian family man. Then he's caught up in a prostitution scandal. He's a hypocrite", said Stormy Daniels.   The porn-star-turned-candidate then went on to point out that if elected, she would be able to avoid sex scandals because all of her sex tapes can be found on the shelves at video stores.  You know you're a loser when a porn star can claim the moral high ground.

The Catholic Church also made my personal list of LOSERS this week.    Not because of the church's influence in getting the Stupak amendment passed; I might not like the legislation but if you support the Right to Life movement, it's your right to petition your representatives in Congress.   However, if you are going to take a stand for the rights of the unborn, you should also be willing to support children AFTER birth as well.   For instance, take the case of Nathan Halbach, a 22 year old man who is dying of brain cancer.  His mother also has terminal cancer.   Nathan's estranged father is Father Henry Willenborg, a Franciscan priest.  When the Church was asked to help pay for medical treatment...they refused!  Father Henry was never a "Dad" to Nathan, the least he could do for his son is to petition the Order to help make his son's death a little easier.  But he didn't.    And the Church also weighed in on gay marriage this week in D.C. by promising to stop all charitable work in the city if the D.C. city council passed a gay marriage ordinance.   I don't remember Jesus making everyone take a morality "litmus test" before feeding them bread & fish.  I'm sure Jesus would be proud!   So for these two actions...I've got the Catholic Church on the LOSERS LIST!

Congressman Barney Franks (D-MA) gets a nomination for his comments to a local Fox News reporter.  When asked if he was present at the home of his lover in 1997 during a pot bust, he said he was but that he didn't know the plants were there and since, "I not a great outdoorsman...I would not recognize most plants."  Now that may be true, but to put it in those terms leaves you open to a lot of silly news commentary.   Like Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs who apparently can identify pot plants by smell and sight!  (Who also get a nomination for LOSER because people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.)  Congressman, there were a lot of better ways to have phrased your comments than you did!  But at least you improved on Bill Clinton's "I didn't inhale" line.

Tweeter-extraordinaire, Sarah Palin also gets mention this week.   Not for all of the factual inaccuracies found by the AP in your new book, not for your Oprah interview, not even for letting your book tour get upstaged by your daughter's baby daddy's "hockey stick".   You get named LOSER because of your crazy assertion that moving the words "In God We Trust" from the front of the coin to the rim of the coin is part of the great Obama conspiracy!   The truth is that this change was made by the Bush administration and you are a LOSER when your conspiracy theories are so far out there that even FOX NEWS fact checks you.

Democratic strategist Ted Devine proved to be a loser this week when he responded to threats from various Democratic groups to halt donations to the party in favor of supporting specific candidates.   Many people do not want their money to help support Democrats who vote against Health Care Reform.   Mr. Devine stated that, "I think it is a very powerful point of influence when you go to people who rely on donations to fund very expensive campaigns and tell them the people they count on won't be there to support them because of their position on a single issue".   Mr. Devine, only a LOSER forgets whose money it is to begin with that supports those "expensive campaigns".   And if quality reform DOESN'T pass....we'll need that money for our increasing premiums!

And finally, Tea Party organizers in Danville, VA get listed as LOSERS for their announced plans to burn in effigy, Speaker of the House Pelosi and local representative, Congressman Tom Perriello (D-VA) for their support of health care reform.    You can protest all you want...but you cross the line when you start burning people (even in effigy).   I know you feel you personally don't have representation in Congress but the fact remains that more people from your district voted for Perriello than any other candidate.   So he IS your representation even if you don't agree with him.   The neat thing about Democracy is that the majority rules!   I remember being called unpatriotic and treasonous for having a bumper sticker that read, "Somewhere in Texas there's a village without it's idiot"....that bumper sticker seems to pale in comparison to you LOSERS playing with fire!

The week ending 11-08-09 was filled with political LOSERS!!!!    There were even more than I can list here; so, sorry if I missed your favorite loser this week.   And keep in mind that when I speak of LOSERS, I'm talking about those special people who contribute in as negative a way as possible to the country's political discourse.

Our first LOSER is House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who after months of complaining about the cost of the Democrat's Health Care Bill without ever presenting a Republican option, finally presented a Republican Plan 48 hours before the vote on the House Democrat's bill.   Worst of all, he couldn't tell reporters how much Republican plans would cost!   Note:  Mr. Congressman, your bill insures fewer people and according to the CBO costs more long term than the Democratic plan.  Maybe that's why you didn't know.

This LOSER is a real disappointment to me!    SESAME STREET showed them selves to be losers for a skit that featured Oscar the Grouch reporting news for GNN (Grouch News Network) and criticizing rival network POX News!   (In fairness, it was a VERY funny skit but it was a  VERY, VERY inappropriate one as well!   And while it's also true that it's from a year old re-run that's never been mentioned before this hyper-political climate we now live in, it doesn't change the fact that nobody should have to take a right or a left to get to Sesame Street!

Washington's Tea Party this week gave us a lot of losers!

These include Pro-Health Care Reform protestors, for being the first people arrested on Thursday.

Also, the Tea Party attendees,  who came up with that horrible sign comparing Health Care Reform to the Holocaust by showing a pile of naked, dead Jewish victims of a Nazi Concentration Camp!    How do look at yourselves in the mirror?    Note:   Kudos this week to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) for condemning the use of such signs.

Reps. Steve King (R-IA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Randy Forbes (R-VA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Louie Gohmert  (R-TX) and Ted Poe (R-TX) all of whom are members of the House Judiciary Committee and ALL of whom missed votes on important Republican sponsored amendments to the Patriot Act.   Three of these amendments failed by less than two votes and all of these men were missing because they were at the Tea Party rally instead of in committee.   The sad part is that at least one of these amendments deserved to pass and instead of doing "the people's work", these clowns were "tea bagging" the people they are supposed to represent.

Finally, in the category of "people who live in glass houses":   House Majority Leader Boehner gets another nod for sneering at liberals who don't support the Constitution by reading the Constitution....except he started quoting from the Declaration of Independence instead!    Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) who threatened to scare liberals by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and forgetting the words!   And finally, MSNBC News Commentator Rachel Maddow who in her zeal to poke fun at Congressman Boehner for his mix-up tried to tell us that there was NO preamble to the Constitution!     Some of you people need to spend more time watching ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER!

The Center for Disease Control gets mentioned for sending H1N1 flu vaccine to Wall Street.   (Lots of children needing a vaccine there I'm sure!)

We also need to back up to last week, so we can name New Jersey gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie (R) a loser for stealing a clip from Monty Python's Flying Circus without securing the rights and using it as a campaign commercial!   The members of the troupe are threatening law suit and Christie needs to remember that NOOOBODY ESCAPES THE SPANISH INQUESITION!

In the category of FAMILY VALUES LOSERS, we have 2nd runner-up, Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Fahleson  who went trick-or-treating with a child dressed as Jon Benet Ramsey.  (That is so tacky)  But the real family values loser was Nevada Democratic Party Chairman of Douglas County, Paul Belt who pled guilty to assaulting his teenage son for getting kicked off the junior varsity soccer team!   You two are definitely NOT Father of the Year material!

And finally, JAG officer, Tom Keniff gets the LOSER label for his condescending question to a fellow guest on Larry King Live.   While discussing PTSD, he pointed out that HE had been to Iraq and wanted to know if the dissenting guest had ever been to Iraq.   She pointed out that she not only had been to Iraq but had been shot and was a POW.  She was Shoshanna Johnson, first US female POW.    Talk about putting your foot in your mouth, sir

Dear Soldier:

We don't know who you are yet.   You are one of the dozen soldiers who died today in Texas at Ft. Hood. 

We don't know your name or where you came from.  

So much we don't know.  

We don't know why the gunman chose to fire his weapon at you.   We don't know how he got that weapon.   We don't know if the shot that killed you was fired in hate from a religious fanatic or in anger from a political extremist.  Maybe the shooter couldn't handle the pain of seeing so many young Americans returned to our country in pieces from wars in far off places.   We just don't know.  And to be honest...it doesn't really matter.   The result is the same regardless the cause.   Twelve Americans died today preparing to go to war.   In days to come, we can and will sort out the why, but tonight should be about honoring your sacrifice.

We don't know who your family is.   We don't know if it's your children who cry tonight, your parents or your wife.  Maybe all of them.   We only know that they are there and that they grieve your loss with all of their hearts.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.  Your not supposed to die on American soil at the hands of a fellow American.  For that we apologize, for we have failed you.  It is unfortunate that life is full of "it's not supposed to be's".

So much we don't know.    But we do know this....you died as an American soldier.   And you and your family are in our prayers.

And we know that we owe you for your sacrifice to our country.

God Speed to our fallen soldiers!   Our thoughts are with your families tonight.

A few days before Tuesday's election, I wrote about the fact that who wins and who loses is not that important.  As I said then, "The truth is that this is election will have little effect in reality but is important for the direction that it takes each party and the lessons each side learns today"    Now that the election has come and gone, we can take the time to look at the winners and why they won as well as looking at the losers and deciphering why they lost.

Republicans won in both New Jersey and Virginia.  Both of these Republican victories were not surprising.    Polls showed McDonnell (R) was leading by a considerable margin in Virginia for weeks.    The race in New Jersey fielded a very unpopular incumbent governor leading a state during a major recession.  Not exactly the best of situations to win in.    But he also had strong support from the Obama administration with both the President and Joe Biden campaigning for him which didn't seem to help much.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came from NY-23 where Independent Hoffman garnered huge support from Sarah Palin and other prominent far Right extremists.   He managed to force the official Republican candidate to withdraw just days before the election but still managed to lose a seat that has been held by Republicans for well over 100 year.

In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg was re-elected to a third term after out-spending his relatively unknown Democratic opponet by a huge margin.   He won by only 50,000 votes.   Probably not the voter mandate he was hoping for.

And finally in Maine, Proposition 1 passed by a very narrow margin thus reversing the law passed by the state legislature legalizing gay marriage.   Though a ballot initiative in Washington legalizing "domestic partnership" passed by a narrow margin.

Here are some things though to consider about these races:

·     Voter turnout was extremely low for both states.

·     Independents seem to go overwhelmingly to the Republicans.

·     Competency has become more important than party affiliation.   A seated Democratic Governor like Corzine who's viewed as incompetent can be beat in a predominantly Democratic state.   A ultra-conservative candidate like Hoffman who can't answer questions involving local issues can be beat in a district that has voted Republican since the Civil War.

·     Negative campaigning wasn't very helpful.

·     Money doesn't buy you love....though it does help.    Corzine and Bloomberg both spent huge amounts of their personal fortunes on their respective races.   Hoffman received over 90% of his funds from sources outside his district.   Only Bloomberg won....and at an incredible cost/voter ratio!

·     Extremists don't help you win!    Hoffman's loss in such a predominantly Republican district showed how much damage the fighting between moderate Republicans and the Far Right can do to Republican chances of winning.  The high intensity last minute campaigning by Tea Baggers at polling sites (police had to be called to two of them) probably did a lot to turn off the 1 in 5 undecided voters who showed up.    This is also proved by the win of Virginia's McDonnell who was endorsed by Democrats and ran a very center of the road campaign on issues.   He avoided negative attacks, instead focusing on what he could do for his state and who he was as a person.    He also cut a deal with his only potential primary opponet to avoid having to fight a primary battle.   It is questionable if he would have been able to keep those endorsements or his center-right stance on issues if he had to participate in a hard fought primary against Tea Party activists.

·     And finally, the Gay & Lesbian Community needs to take a hard look at how past elections have gone for them.    When you lose over 30 ballot issues advocating for gay marriage, you need to reconsider whether the name "marriage" is more important than the rights associated with a traditional marriage.  I find it significant that Washington State passed a "domestic partnership" act which will legally equalize gay couples with married couples.  It's not perfect....but it seems to be an achievable goal, unlike marriage.   You should also take these votes into consideration when you demand an end to Don't Ask/Don't Tell and DOMA.    Both WILL go away.   But give it time.  Attitudes are changing significantly, for instance, the highest number of votes of any candidate for Mayor in Houston, Texas were won by an openly gay woman!  But that doesn't mean that everyone is comfortable with those changes.

These are a few random thoughts that help to explain what happened.   The question is will both parties learn from this election day?  As I said a few days ago, "What will be important is how each side interprets the results and then acts on those interpretations in preparation for 2010."    So have we learned anything?

Today is SUPER MEDIOCRE TUESDAY!    If you've been listening to cable news...this is as important an election as the Presidential election in 2008.   On this date, the future of the country will be decided...Republicans will either begin their resurgence or else truly become the GOP (GRAND OBLIVIOUS PARTY).    The truth is that this is election will have little effect in reality but is important for the direction that it takes each party and the lessons each side learns today.

There are many smaller races all across the country but the ones to watch boil down to only four.    And you can be sure that regardless of who wins or loses...the spin from both sides will be incredible to watch.   But remember, who wins & who loses is relatively unimportant.   What is important is WHY they win or lose and by how much.

Here are some things to consider about the BIG FOUR:

1)       THE VIRGINIA GOVERNOR'S RACE:    Bob McDonnell (R) holds a commanding lead over Creigh Deeds (D) in all of the polling.    Conservatives point to this race as an indicator that Independents are "over" Obama and are looking to return to the Conservative fold.

There has been a lot of hand-wringing on the Left over this race.   But the simple fact is that since 1977, the party in power in the White House has ALWAYS lost the Virginia Governorship.  What is important, is how many African-Americans and how many young people actually show up to vote.   A low voter turnout in these two groups will be a real red flag to Democrats that their voter turnout efforts HAVE to improve before the 2010 mid-terms.   

Republicans need to closely examine this race to see if a Center-Right Republican CAN win elections.   McDonnell has run a very good race, claiming the expertise on both taxes and the economy.  He has garnered bi-partisan support (including the endorsement of several Democrats) and is generally perceived as a centrist candidate.   It should also be noted that since he cut a deal with his only potential primary opponent, he has been able to avoid the pitfall of having to appeal to the Far Right base of the Republican Party....which is why he has been able to manage the perception that he is a centrist.   The real question for Republicans is would he have been able to keep that perception if he had to contend with a hard fought primary composed ONLY of the Republican base?   Are tea baggers just another name for "spoilers"?

2)      THE NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR'S RACE:   A real toss-up between Jon Corzine (D) and Chris Christie (R).   The latest polls are too close to call and well within the margin of era but Christie (R) has been steadily gaining over the weekend.   Corzine's approval numbers are extremely low and reflect the general state of the Jersey economy.    President Obama has campaigned with Corzine but it has done little to increase his polling numbers....the real question regarding the President is will his influence affect voter turnout?

The wildcard in this race is what will be the influence of ultra-conservative Chris Dagget (I).  He could be the spoiler for Christie by drawing enough of the far Right Republican vote to allow Corzine a win without reaching the 50% mark.   

And as in Virginia, the fact that Republicans win should be expected based upon past history.   Since 1989 the party holding the White House has lost the New Jersey gubernatorial race.   So Christie winning would not be a great surprise...but Christie losing should sound alarms to Republicans about the danger of splitting your vote and serve as a warning for ideological battles in future primaries.

3)      NY-23 Congressional Race:   This was the circus act of the election season!   It is also the LEAST important race of the day but it is also the one that will have the most far-reaching impact on how the Republicans campaign in 2010.

Dede Scozzafava (R) has already dropped out of the race.   She has also endorsed the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens.    There was wide spread speculation that for the first time since the 1800's, NY-23 would go to the Democrat as opposed to the Republican candidate.   The reason for this was the independent candidacy of Doug Hoffman who was badly splitting the Republican vote.   With Scozzafava out of the race, Hoffman has steadily increased his polling numbers but as of this weekend, 1 in 5 voters are currently undecided.   Anything could happen.

The concern for Republicans is what they have had to do to get Hoffman the win.   Hoffman is distinguished from other candidates because he can't vote for himself....because he doesn't live in the district.    He entered the race on the basis of ideology.  Local papers have complained that he has no knowledge of local issues but on the up side:  he is endorsed by Sarah Palin as a true blue conservative.  Scozzafava was a moderate Republican who supports gay marriage and abortion rights.   Dirty campaign tactics convinced many voters that she was endorsed by ACORN and the money to fight her came from all over the country.  Seriously, 90% of Hoffman's money came from sources outside of NY-23.  Tea Party supporters have been coming in from all over the country to target a door-to-door "Get Out the Vote" campaign.    The question if it works is are there enough members of the Tea Party to replicate this same high intensity campaign in all districts across the country as opposed to just one in 2010.    The second important question is will these same tactics work in an area that has NOT voted consistently Republican for 120 years?

4)      MAINE'S PROPOSITION 1:   This in my mind is THE most important election to watch.    It has nothing to do with the economy but instead deals with a social issue.    So a bad economy is not going to have any effect on the vote, which should give a better idea of the general mood of the electorate.  It puts to a vote as a ballot issue, the repeal of a law signed by the state legislature allowing gay marriage in the state of Maine.    If Proposition 1 fails, Democrats can take some solace that as long as the economy and unemployment improve by 2010, they are still in good shape.   If Proposition 1 passes, Democrats are going to have to work very hard over the next year to prove to the electorate that they are more than a party of big spenders.

None of these elections are make or break deals for either party.    Democrats could lose them all and still come in strong in 2010.   The same can be said for Republicans.   What will be important is how each side interprets the results and then acts on those interpretations in preparation for 2010.   So stop thinking of this as SUPER TUESDAY!    It's really only a mediocre read on how to approach next year's elections for both sides.

It was a very busy week for losers...so my apologies if I forgot any really special people who have made noteworthy negative contributions to the country's political discourse!

And fair warning, this week seems heavy laden with contests, dancing cowboys, burnings, threats and even a few witches!   It must be Halloween!

First up is a double header!   Both the Democratic National Committee and Fox News gets a nod for an ad competition being run by the DNC as a way to promote health care reform.    Showing an American flag being sprayed with graffiti IS covered under Free Speech...but that doesn't mean you are required to make it a finalist in your competition.   Didn't you realize that the negative publicity was a great way to distract from the important issues you are promoting?    

And Fox News gets the nod for its' hypocritical negative coverage of the contest.   You can't call out the DNC for disgracing the flag when you have Glenn Beck doing it not once but twice on your network or when you ignored then President George W. Bush for using a permanent marker to autograph a flag!   Talk about people living in glass houses!

The Capital Crossroads Gay Rodeo Association gets labeled LOSER for its' annual Barn Dance.   Held inside a barn, the dance competition featured several young "cowboys" dressed only in chaps.   Now this would normally come under the heading of "consenting adults in privacy" BUT the association decided to leave the barn doors open...thus exposing the house across the road to their contest.   To advertise your "shortcomings" to children during a time when you are lobbying for the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" or the "Defense of Marriage Act" is probably not a wise move!

The Christian Broadcasting Network attempted to get into the Halloween spirit on its website by scaring us all with the assertion of Kimberly Daniels that Halloween candy purchased in stores has been prayed over by witches and is responsible for sending "curses" to children everywhere!

Here's our first ever TRIPLE hit!   NorthJersey.com, a LaRouche political action committee and an unknown health care reform supporter all earn the title of LOSER OF THE WEEK!    Apparently the LaRouche people were protesting with signs showing Obama as Hitler (for which they get named loser)! They were showered with purple paint thrown on them by an unknown health care supporter (for which she gets the award).    Liberals need to remember that Freedom Of Speech encompasses distasteful speech as well as speech you agree with.   And NorthJersey.com (a local newspaper) gets the title for originally reporting that instead of the conservative nutcase organization LaRouche, the Hitler signs were being held by members of La Roche Pharmaceuticals.   Way to fact check, NorthJersey.com! 

Lou Dobbs wins mention for his assertion on his radio show on Monday and with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that his wife had been shot at because of his anti-immigration stance.    When real journalists double checked the facts they found the bullet "shot at his wife" had actually hit the apex of his house and FAILED to penetrate his vinyl siding, falling to the ground next to his wife.   Since he lives in a rural area and it was the middle of hunting season, New Jersey police seem more inclined to label this as a hunting incident rather than an attempted murder!   Dobbs gets a second mention for insisting that when the incident happened it was NOT hunting season...a fact disputed by the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife.  And you think they would know!

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) gets the award for his decision to support a Republican filibuster of any Health Care Reform Bill that includes a public option.    This is makes him a REALLY BIG LOSER because in 1994 he labeled the filibuster a "dinosaur" that was "a symbol of what ails Washington".    Hope you're not planning on staying Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee for long, Joe!

Dave Leach (an anti-abortion activist) promised an on-line auction designed to raise money to support Scott Roeder (accused of killing Dr. Tiller).  Items to be auctioned include an Army of God manual, a prison cookbook (check out the cheesecake recipe) and an autographed bullhorn.   Kudos to e-bay auctions for refusing to host this sick idea!

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fl) earns notice for referring to Linda Robertson as a "K Street Whore".    Way to show some class, Congressman!

And finally, Randall Terry of Operation Rescue has started a new contest.....the Harry Reid & Nancy Pelosi "Burn in Hell" contest.   Submit a video showing these Democratic leaders roasting in a Dante-like inferno and win a prize!    So much for that old biblical adage about "Love thy neighbor"!

WHERE DO THEY GET THESE RIDICULOUS STORIES???  It's a question often asked between those on the left lately.    You know the stories I mean.  Obama was born in Kenya, he's taking your guns away from you, he's killing granny, he's a socialist, etc.    They are stories that seem to have little if any basis in reality but feed the paranoia of those on the far right.   Generally liberals come to the conclusion that GOP leaders are soul-less losers who desire power so much they will say ANYTHING to get it back or that the people who believe these myths are "right-wing nut-jobs without a brain who also believe in alien abductions".

And that may in some cases be part of the story.  But it's not the whole story!   As P. T. Barnum allegedly once said, "there's a sucker born every minute" and he spent a lifetime profiting off of those "suckers", who were ready to believe anything he told them.   Such is the state of the far right today.  They have become the National Cash Cow for Scam Artists.  And it's all perfectly legal.

You don't believe me?  Take the issue of gun control.   An issue that the Obama administration has repeatedly called a dead issue and one that even Democrats have mixed emotions about pursuing. Yet enough people on the far right believe strongly enough that Obama is going to take away their guns that firearms manufacturer Remington has a $300 million backlog in orders this year.  Explain why Freedom Group Inc's profits on weapon sales have quadrupled for the first half of '09 over the same period last year?   Whose founder, Stephen Feinberg, is a major Republican donor with close ties to Haliburton and Dick Cheny and whose employees actively lobby through the NRA.  That is the same NRA that has become one of the worst disseminators of false information about Obama and his desire for gun control.  Fear sells guns and memberships!

A quick perusal through World Net Daily's website offers even more extreme examples.   World Net Daily (WND), whose "informative" articles can teach you everything you want to know about "birtherism" or that consuming soy can make you "Gay" is a virtual on-line bazaar of doomsday paraphanelia!   WND 's SUPERSTORE offers it's readers discount prices on a variety of books and DVD's that promote the same fear-laden lies that are also promoted in it's articles.   But keep in mind, when I say the price is discounted...you're still paying $17-$19 per DVD.   Quite a bargain, don't you think?

For ONLY $29.95 you can sign up to send every elected member of Congress a "pink slip".   Not bad for a mass produced flyer on pink paper sent in bulk to Congress.  And while you're signing up, don't forget to order your "YOU LIE" bumper sticker and "HONK IF YOU PAY MY MORTGAGE" magnet.   Only $5.95 each, (shipping & sales tax extra).

But the best from WND has to be the ad that runs each day across the top of their home page.   Solutions From Science wants to save you from starvation when the world economy collapses!   By purchasing their SURVIVAL SEED BANK, you will receive 22 different types of heirloom seeds (enough to plant an entire acre), sealed in foil for preservation (can last up to 20 years...longer if kept in the freezer) and ready to plant immediately after the apocalypse.   They even come in a special "indestructible Survival Seed Bank" which can be buried to prevent "confiscation"!   (I'm sure that the "indestructible Bank" only LOOKS LIKE a PVC pipe with a cap on either end.) But it can all be yours at a special price of ONLY $164 because you ordered from the WND site.  (Seriously, they're charging EVERYONE else $297...and that includes FEMA personnel and members of the military.)   Sound like a good deal?    Well, the exact same foil-sealed heirloom seeds can be ordered from ABCeeds for less than half of the "discounted" price.

Even Political Action Committees are getting in on the take.   The Republican Majority Campaign Action Committee (RMCPAC) run by Gary Kreep has generously offered to send a fax to EVERY member of Congress (yes, all 535 of them) demanding that they "REJECT giving Barack Obama these dictatorial powers over the entire internet in America" for the super low price of $119!  Of course, you can go on-line and do the same thing for free at any number of political based web sites but how would Mr. Kreep make his mortgage payment then?

Glenn Beck warns about the collapse of the dollar and advocates buying gold for financial security.  I'm sure that being the spokesperson for Goldline International (a company that specializes in selling gold) or that one of his few remaining sponsors for TV is Rosalind Capital (which also coincidentally specializes in selling gold) has nothing to do with his dire warnings.

Remember "Joe the Plumber" who made a name for himself by questioning Obama's tax proposals.   He's back on the web asking you to vote on-line to eliminate the IRS and establish a flat tax.  You can call or text your vote and Joe promises that your vote WILL count.  But be warned, each "vote" will cost you $0.99.  (And the ad never really explains how an on-line vote actually eliminates the IRS which is what the ad suggests.)

Sadly, there is a common theme to all of these great "opportunities".   They all rely on you being very scared or very angry!   So the groups that promote these sales all work hard at convincing you that you need to be afraid....very afraid!  Or very angry!   That's their business.

Unfortunately in their quest to make a buck they forget that the issues they deal in can disrupt serious conversations about some very serious issues that currently face our country.   We become so argumentative over whether Health Care Reform will kill granny that we ignore whether there will be enough doctors to treat us in 10 years.    We are so concerned with "concentration camps" that we forget to talk about Afghanistan.   And that's the tragedy of this farce!

As Rush Limbaugh once said, "The only way to make millions is for half the nation to hate you!"  And they laugh all the way to the bank.   So the next time you wonder where some crazy idea from the Right comes from, follow the money!

One last thing, before you get too smug about the gullibility of the Right....know anyone who bought a set of coins with Barack Obama's picture painted on?

Here's my list for the top LOSERS OF THE WEEK.   Those people whose actions have made a very special and very negative contribution to political discourse in our country.

Heading the list for the third week in a row:  Rep. Charles Rangel and House Democrats!   Democrats for continuing to let Rep. Rangel head the House Ways and Means Committee while he's under investigation for financial impropriety.  The congressman gets his nod this week for the honor of recieving THE ORDER OF JAMAICA for "outstanding contribution in promoting the interests of Jamaica and the Caribbean,".   A rather dubious honor for Congressman Rangel since one of the many charges he's being investigated for is breaking a Congressional ban on travel paid for by corporate lobbyists to.....JAMAICA. 

Edwin O. Merwin and James S. Ulmer, chairs of the Bamberg County Republican Party and the Orangeburg County Republican Party who wrote in an op-ed that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is "is watching our nation's pennies"  "just like "the Jews who are wealthy."   Gee, with friends like that.....

President Barack Obama also gets recognition for hosting a New York City $30,400/person fundraiser including many Wall Street executives on the same day his administration is admonishing excessive bonuses to Wall Street executives who work for firms bailed out by the government.   Why not just write the upcoming attack ads FOR the GOP yourself and save everyone some time?

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS) who told Politico that the CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN CAUCUS "hunt[s] liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition".  Perhaps we could suggest a one-on-one "ammo wasting" trip with Dick Cheney sometime soon!

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) who's new website, NAMES OF THE DEAD, gets the DOUBLE LOSER AWARD this week.  The website, which lets people log on and add the names of people who have died from lack of health care without any means of checking their authenticity.  So, rest in peace: Lassie, Wile E. Coyote and Hugh G. Rection!  This website will also link you to Congressman Grayson's personal website where you can donate to his re-election campaign....TACKY!

MSNBC analyist Pat Buchanan who wrote for WND.com of White Americans, "America was once their country. They sense they are losing it. And they are right!"   Note to Mr. Buchanan:  The dry cleaners called and your sheet is ready!

And finally,  Rush Limbaugh and Michael Ledeen, who's Cracker Jack reporting this week unearthed the "scoop" that Joe Klein of Time magazine had obtained 10 pages of President Obama's college thesis, ARISTOCRACY REBORN.  In it, the future president discusses his "doubts" about the "founders" of our country and thier ideas.   The only problem with the story was that Joe Klein's original article was very clearly labeled SATIRE, was completely made up and run as a joke.  Rush & Michael just didn't get it and ran with the story....way to double check those sources!

It happened again this year.  Not that it was a surprise.  It's happened the same way 20 times out of the last 23 years.  Congress was unable to pass a budget before the beginning of the fiscal year.  They are 23 days into the current fiscal year and still no budget.   And while this places a strain on a lot of different agencies, perhaps none suffer as badly as the VA does each year.

You see, when Congress delays passing a budget for whatever political or economic reasons it does so...it's a problem.  It leaves an agency like the VA in limbo until they know for sure how much money they will be allotted for that year.   For example, in 2004, while the VA received more money than they did the previous year, it was still 1.1 billion dollars less than the agency expected.  Worse they didn't find out what their final budget would be until 4 months into the fiscal year!  1.1 billion dollars is a rather large shortfall to try to recover with no warning a fourth of the way through your fiscal year.

That means that the VA spends a lot of time each year rationing.   Rationing care, keeping labor costs down by understaffing, delaying the ordering of needed equipment, whatever it takes to make sure that they don't run out of money at the end of the year. The focus is on saving money...just in case they don't get as much money as they think they will.   Once they get the budget for the year, they can adjust their spending....providing they haven't already over spent this year's budget.

But that changed on Thursday when President Obama signed the Veterans Health Care and Budget Reform and Transparency Act.   This is a piece of legislation that has been requested for decades from Veterans groups.  It was the number one legislative priority for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America this year.  And this year it was passed by Congress in a bi-partisan manner and signed by the President.

What the legislation does is not earth-shattering, merely wise.   Under the new law, the VA budget will be approved a year in advance.   That means that Congress can fight over the budget all they want; but neither Democrats nor Republicans will be able to point to our vets and use them as political pawns to force a budget into passage.  Even more importantly, it also means that the VA will know BEFORE the fiscal year starts just how much they have to spend.   And that's a blessing to our vets.

You may not like having a Democratic controlled Congress and you may hate the current President...but give the devil his due.   After over two decades of trying to change a bad system, Thursday, October 22, 2009 was a good day for the United States and it's veterans!  

Thank you, Mr. President.

The following is a post that I originally posted on a local Fox News Website.  I was curious after all of the posts that I had seen on that site over the past few years against "pork barrel spending" what there reaction would be.....the sound you're not hearing is crickets chirping in the ethernet!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been a while since we've talked about "pork barrel" spending coming out of Washington.   But here's an example of how one man's "pork" is another man's "urban renewal".

The General Services Administration (the government agency tasked with controlling rental of government property and purchasing for government) has a decision to make.    One of their regional offices is currently housed in an older facility.   The once bustling facility was built in the mid-1940's and until recently housed three different divisions of government.  Two of those divisions have moved to other areas of the local municipality.    The GSA wants to move out as well.   They have three options:

A)  They could rent from space already built and pay to have the space modified to fit thier requirements.  The local municipality has a large number of unoccupied office space in their downtown area.

B)  They could also hire a private company to construct a new building to GSA specifications that is owned by the private company and then leased to the GSA. 

C)  Or they could wait on their move.   Submit a proposal to Congress to appropriate the necessary funding to erect a building that is owned and operated by the GSA.   

Choice C is actually the cheapest route to take for the federal taxpayers.   Over the course of time, it is significantly cheaper to own the building outright than it is to pay for modifications to current available facilities or to pay a middle man to build the building for them.

The problem with choice C is that local politicians want the GSA to move thier operations to a specific location within their city in hopes of continuing a "re-vitalization" of that area.   It would bring increased revenues to the area hotels and restaurants.  It would be good for the city if the federal government chose (A), but it would also waste federal tax dollars.   So it's a form of "pork barrel" spending.

The GSA however, has stood it's ground.    They are seriously considering delaying thier move and using option C which would save federal tax dollars at the expense of the local economy.

Is this good or bad?   Local politicians from both sides of the aisle have voiced thier preference for choice A.   Are they trying to bring home the "bacon" for thier constituents or are they taking "pork" from the rest of the country's tax payers?   Which do you prefer and why?

Does it make a difference if you are told that the city in question is Kansas City?   That Sens. Bond, McCaskill and Rep. Cleaver are all for "pork barrel spending" in this case.   Because it would be good for downtown business.  There's a lot of empty spaces sitting around in offices downtown.   It would do a lot for the local corporation that rents to them.   But everything it does for the local economy will be on the back of the federal tax payer.  How do you feel about pork barrel spending now?

One last ethical question for you.   Regardless of where you come down on the issue of where the GSA moves, whether you're voting your local dollar or your federal dollar....should Sen. Kit Bond hold up the confirmation hearing of Obama's nominee to head the GSA?  Because that's what's happening.  Sen. Bond has put a hold on the confirmation hearing of Martha Johnson until she agrees to move the GSA downtown.   And that sounds like blackmail to me!  Anyone want to explain why that's an ethical move on his part?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are like me and upset with Sen. Bond's hold on Ms. Johnson's confirmation, please feel free to contact him at 202-224-5721.

Here's my list for the top LOSERS OF THE WEEK.   Those people whose actions have made a very special and very negative contribution to political discourse in our country.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)  for calling an MSNBC reporter rude for daring to ask the question:  Does the ongoing ethics investigation into your finances hamper your performance as chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee?  

And while we're on the subject, lets rename Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats LOSERS OF THE WEEK for continuing to allow Rep. Rangel to chair his committee while under an expanded investigation for ethics violations. 

"Birther" Leader, lawyer & dentist, Orley Taitz  was fined $20,000 in a contempt of court citation by Judge Clay D. Land for "frivolous" litigation regarding President Obama's birth certificate and attempting to misuse the federal courts to push a political agenda.

The Republican National Committee whose new website, GOP.com is designed to make Republicans more appealing to young and minority voters.   On it's first day...it crashed multiple times, changed the name of RNC chairman Steele's blog to something less hip and more acceptable to older voters, listed the last major GOP accomplishment as happening in  2004 and showed you a blank page when you followed the link under FUTURE GOP LEADERS.   Anyone looking for an I.T. job?

Students from Hampton University (a traditionally black college) who are protesting the crowning of Nikole Churchill as the first non-black Miss Hampton University.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish who illegally refused to marry an inter-racial couple.  Not because he's racist but because it's not fair to any children the couple might have.   In fairness to Mr. Bardwell, he does claim to have black friends!  (Way to go, Keith!)  (author's note:  I have apologized to both my bi-racial step-children for their unfair existence.)

Barack Obama whose four hour visit to New Orleans to discuss Hurricane Katrina recovery was followed by a $17,000 per plate fundraiser in California for the Democratic Party.   Thus opening him to constant attacks by the Right for his own version of a "flyover".   Now in fairness to President Obama, he has sent aides to New Orleans to investigate recovery efforts, he has resolved over half of the inherited conflicts that had stalled recovery projects since taking office and even Gov. Jindal (R) has praised the Obama administration for improving FEMA's response time...but it was stupid to leave yourself open to such an obvious attack by the Right by spending more time at the fundraiser than your first trip to New Orleans.

And one last minute, under the gun entry:  Sen. John Kyle (R-Az) who while appearing on this mornings MEET THE PRESS denied that a lack of health insurance is linked to a higher rate of death in America.  He also contended that we should spend ANY amount of money to avenge the deaths of the  3,000 people who died on 9/11 but should ignore the deaths of the estimated 45,000 per year who die from lack of health care coverage....because he's "not sure" there's a link between health care insurance and health.   HUH?  (Maybe you should consider dropping your coverage Senator since your not sure it's worth it.)