March 08, 2006

Effort To Unseat "Right-Wing" Democrat Sputters

Despite a vigorous attempt by MoveOn.org, the Kos Kids and other members of the Lefty blogosphere to defeat Representative Henry Cuellar in the Democrat primary, the Texas Congressman beat challenger Ciro Rodriguez yesterday and is headed to an almost certain re-election this November.

Let me take a moment here. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Thank you.

Adam C. at Redstate.org looks at what this means in terms of political trends with Hispanic voters.

Republicans have not put a lot of time and effort into pursuing minority votes over the past few decades mostly due to a belief in a colorblind policies. However, President Bush and Governor Bush of FL have done extremely well in the Hispanic communities of their home states. With 8 years of Presidential outreach and a concerted effort at the state level, Hispanic voters are warming up to the Republican party. And it would not surprise me to see someone like Congressman Cuellar leave the Democratic Party if he continually draws primary challenges from the MoveOn.org wing of the party. After a few terms in Congress, he would have the homegrown support to switch if need be and he might bring a few voters with him. As long as the coastal left wing of the Democrats continues to believe their views are popular in working class Hispanic neighborhoods in TX (and similar districts), they will remain in the proverbial wilderness outside their coastal stronghold.

Finally, the lesson from the successful outreach to the Hispanic community on issues of faith, school choice, and rewarding hard work is that sometimes it takes reaching out to a community before they give you a chance. I think the Republicans have learned this lesson and are applying it to the black community now. The message of low taxes, equal opportunity in the school of one's choice, respect for faith, and opposition to abortion-on-demand and same-sex marriage has opened new doors for the Republicans. The fact that some moderate Democrats are winning primaries on the same issues is additional evidence that these positions are winning ones.

And, on the other side of that coin, the Liberal positions of the Democrat base are the losing ones.

Once again. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

h/t: Mark at Decision '08

UPDATE: 3:00pm
Kos isn't sweating it, though.

So we didn't kill off Cuellar, but we gave him an ass whooping where none was expected and made him sweat. That's the reason why Lieberman is sweating in Connecticut and lining up his dog and pony endorsement shows to flex his muscle. He can't take for granted that a no-name businessman with no political experience and zero connections in his state's political establishment will be a non-factor, not with what we've done for people like Dean and now Ciro.
And what do Howard Dean and Ciro Rodriguez have in common? They both lost. So what does that make Markos, now? 0 for 19?

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Congressional GOP Gets Its Fingerprints On National Security

Four Republican Senators, who voiced initial criticism of President Bush's NSA terrorist surveillance program, have now signed on with the condition that a seven-member Intelligence subcommittee be established. It's purpose would be to allow for oversight of activities that monitor Al Qaeda and their communications.

Republicans rejected suggestions that the intelligence panel was retreating from its oversight duties on the NSA program. "The scope of the subcommittee's purview will be broad, wide, deep," said Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
Translation: Now I can claim to have been broadly, widely and deeply involved in the business of National Security when I run for President in 2008."

Democrats, of course, have their panties in a twist that their demand for a Congressional inquiry into the program has essentially been pushed aside.

"The committee, to put it bluntly, is basically under the control of the White House through its chairman," said a visibly frustrated Sen. John Rockefeller of West Virginia, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee.
Translation: The Sith Lord manipulating the Senate has intensified his plans for greater control over the Empire.

On the one hand, I'm glad that our intelligence capabilities won't be compromised by having details of the program released that would aid Al Qaeda. On the other hand, I'm a little disappointed that Democrats won't be shooting themselves in the foot by pressing the issue and having their ability to try and mischaracterize this as "domestic wiretapping" taken away.

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March 07, 2006

Locked And Loaded

I finally signed-up for Netflix. Why didn't I do this a long time ago?

First up in the Queue: "Just Like Heaven" (for the Mrs.), "Superman II" (for the nine-year old and...

"24: Season One, Disc One"!!!! (for me! we waaaannnnttssss it!)

Got a LOT of catching up to do.

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Tolkien Geek Update

"The Top 10 Casting Choices of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings (Part I)" is posted.

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Dems To Dean: Show Me The Money!

Lots of grumbling amongst the Democrat leadership these days over Chairman "Mad" Howard Dean's lack of fund-raising prowess, not to mention his stewardship of what he manages to take in.

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) challenged the former Vermont governor during a session in Pelosi's office, according to Democratic sources. The leaders complained about Dean's priorities -- funding organizers for state parties in strongly Republican states such as Mississippi -- rather than targeting states with crucial races this fall.

Neither side was willing to give ground, according to several accounts of the meeting. Dean argued that his strategy is designed to rebuild the party across the country, and that he had pledged to do so when he ran for party chairman. Reid and Pelosi countered that if Democrats squander their opportunities this year, longer-term organizing efforts will not matter much.

Democratic congressional leaders are particularly worried because the Republican National Committee holds a huge financial advantage over the DNC. One congressional Democrat complained that Dean has -- at an alarming rate -- burned through the money the DNC raised, and that Republicans may be able to swamp Democrats in close races with an infusion of RNC money.

In its most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission, the DNC reported raising $50.1 million so far in the 2005-2006 cycle and had $5.8 million cash on hand at the end of last year. The RNC had raised $103 million and had $34 million cash on hand.

Actually, Dean's focus on building grass-roots organizations in "Red States" would make sense if they had a message that was more than just "fertilizer". The States that went for Bush last time around did so not because they didn't understand where Democrats were coming from. It's because they understood that they voted for Bush. Rather than increase the numbers of Democrat activists in these States, his efforts will more likely just make the ones that are already there more visible. And increasing the volume level of these moonbats may very well have the opposite effect.

And what did folks like Reid and Pelosi expect when Dean became the Party Chairman? This is a guy that raised almost $50 million for his Presidential bid and made it all disappear before the Iowa Caucus!

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And In The Event Of An Emergency...

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They can be used as a flotation device.

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March 06, 2006

More Poll Nonsense

The bogus methodology of the latest ABC/Washington Post poll picked apart by BullDogPundit.

The MSM. They never learn, do they?

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Final Thoughts On The Oscars

I actually hestitate to put this post in the category of "entertainment".

The Conservative film blog, Libertas, always offers interesting perspective from outside the Hollywood bubble. Editor Jason Apuzzo goes right to the heart of current problems of the movie biz:

Nobody is seeing these films. Some LIBERTAS readers criticize me and others on this site for writing about films we havenÂ’t seen. Perhaps after last nightÂ’s fiasco youÂ’re beginning to understand what an utterly vacuous criticism this is. Simply stated: nobody is obligated to go see these films. Hollywood seems to have forgotten this. The powers-that-be in this town seem to be under the impression theyÂ’re entitled to an audience. TheyÂ’re not.

Everyone who writes for LIBERTAS, for example, is an avid movie-watcher. We’ve all seen thousands and thousands of films; I personally am almost cybernetically attached to my DVD player. So why don’t we go to the movies? Do you really think it’s because films these days are ‘liberal’? Hardly. ‘Liberalism’ never stopped me from watching Easy Rider or All the President’s Men or Apocalypse Now or Battle of Algiers or anything else. So what’s the problem?

The problem is that the films stink - and that the liberalism in Hollywood has reached its reductio ad absurdum. Politics now rules everything in Hollywood. Is there any other way to explain Clooney winning an Oscar last night? No, there isnÂ’t. Clooney gave a half-assed performance in a half-assed film this year that just happened to bash Bush & Big Oil - so Clooney got the bling. ItÂ’s really that simple. ItÂ’s a reward for political services rendered, and everybody knows it.

If the Academy wants anybody to care anymore, they will need to turn this situation around. But they wonÂ’t. Why? Primarily because there will be no pressure within HollywoodÂ’s elite circles to do so. The conventional wisdom within these elite circles is that movies exist to enlighten and inform a benighted, ignorant public - and if that public doesnÂ’t show up to the movies, who cares? Just stick the bill to the studioÂ’s shareholders.

For example, there was a point last night when a producer - I believe it was for Crash - ascended to the stage and informed us, in the most unctuous, serious tones, that the “purpose of art is to shine light on dark places.” It occured to me that the same sort of thing could be said of proctology. But that’s where Hollywood’s head is right now. They’re the ‘light,’ we’re the ‘dark place.’

So here, basically, is my simple thought for the Academy, as they do their post-show biopsy in their offices over on Wilshire Boulevard: The purpose of the movies is to entertain the public - and just occasionally, the public is actually right. Think that one over. [all emphasis is Jason's]

Go read the whole post here.

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Not So Fast There, Hillary

Just when the angry one thought she was out of the woods in her Senate re-election bid, there is a new challenger. In the wake of Jeanine Pirro's withdrawal from the race for the NY GOP nomination, Kathleen Troia (KT) McFarland is stepping up to make sure Hillary doesn't get a free pass to another six years in the U.S. Senate.

McFarland, a foreign policy and defense expert who served in the Reagan White House, launched her website this weekend. I had seen a story on this on Friday, but I had thought it was still in the prelimary stages. Apparently, this is for real. She has a pretty impressive resume.

At the very least, this should put a crimp in Clinton's recent attempts to appear credible on National Security and Homeland Security. This is going to be interesting (and maybe even fun). I'll be watching this one closely.

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Someone Needs To Explain The Concept Of "Spellcheck" To Barbra

Define irony.

Barbra Streisand makes the following list of spelling errors in one moonbat rant (a personal best):

• curruption
• dictatoriship
• crediblity
• Adminstration
• warrented
• desperatly
• preceedings
• ouside
• subpoening
• responsibilty

And the rant in question mocks President Bush as a "C" student.

h/t: Drudge

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78th Oscars A Yawner

Okay, true to my word I didn't watch any of the Academy Awards show. It wasn't hard. I was off in the other room paying bills before collapsing in bed from a busy weekend with the family. We did tape it, and the Mrs. (who is interested) will have the luxury of being able to fast-forward past the tedious parts. She'll probably be able to zip through the whole thing in about half an hour.

I have read several reviews of the broadcast - some live-blogged reports and others written the morning after. It seems like poor Jon Stewart is going to be the scapegoat on this one. Most reports say he was awful. But then again, when a live audience is as lame as the one he had to work with anyone would seem awful.

Face it, Jon Stewart is at his best when he's cutting Hollywood hot shots like these to ribbons. For the members of the Academy and the entertainment elite, the Oscars are a very solemn and serious event. Unless you're making jokes about George Bush, how successful are you going to be making light of the whole affair?

Andy Dehnart on MSNBC.com this morning agrees:

Two CGI characters, Chicken Little and Abby Mallard, presented an award, and Ben Stiller dressed in an all-green unitard to introduce the special effects Oscar. Later, Will Farrell and Steve Carrell introduced the makeup award while wearing awful makeup, Carell looking like a drag queen without his wig or gown, and Farrell appearing as if his face had been dragged along the red carpet.

Those moments evoked smiles and giggles. But that humor is safe, easy, and non-confrontational. It does not require the stars to laugh at themselves or their hypocrisy.

Exposing hypocrisy while being self-depreciating is what Stewart does best; in fact, it's basically all he does. Those who believe "The Daily Show" is actually "fake news" don't understand either satire or the exceptionally smart, informative humor that the show invokes on a daily basis. Stewart and "The Daily Show's" team emphasize and demonstrate the importance and gravity of the day's news by making fun of it.

But that sort of contradictory, somewhat nuanced humor didn't work well for the Oscars' audience. The theater audience's lack of laughter was judgmental and was odds with viewers who were laughing because this was the funny Jon Stewart we know from cable.

As I've already stated, I didn't watch it. But I suspect that one of the biggest reasons Stewart's performance fell flat was because the audience in the Kodak Theater was full of people who take themselves way too seriously in proportion to what it is they do. Honestly, they're entertainers. The make movies. They do their thing and we laugh, we cry and kiss nine bucks goodbye. Then we move on. Sadly, since 9/11 the absurdity of Hollywood's self-absorption has only become more magnified. It's because those of us who make up the unwashed masses were reminded about what's really important in life. And in the grand scheme of things, missing out on seeing a "ground-breaking" or "risk-taking" film just isn't all that big a deal.

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RINO Sightings

This week's RINO Sightings are up at Polytechnical. Go check 'em out.

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March 05, 2006

Specter Steps Up

Tom Bowler at Libertarian Leanings points us to a story about the group Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) which is placing ads against PA Sen. Rick Santorum in his bid for re-election. The senior Senator from PA, Arlen Specter (who owes his own re-election and current Chairmanship of the Sentate Judiciary Committee to Santorum support in 2004) sits on RMC's advisory board and he's having none of it.

In a letter (reproduced in full at Libertarian Leanings) objecting to these ads, Specter threatens to resign from the advisory board unless the group repudiates them. Specter himself is vociferously pro-choice but he hits the nail on the head with this point:

"I strongly oppose these advertisements. The Big Tent is big enough to include both Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter. The RMC ought not to be in the business of electing Democrats to the United States Senate."

Here, here.

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March 04, 2006

80's Crush Of The Week

This week's 80's Crush is: Lea Thompson

Birth Name: Lea Katherine Thompson
Birth Date: 5/31/61
Age Today: 44
Birthplace: Rochester, MN

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80's Crush Because: When you look up the word "sweet" in the dictionary, there's a picture of Lea Thompson. Perfecting the all-American girl thing, Lea's break-out roll was as Lorraine Baines McFly "Back To The Future" and its subsequent sequels. To this day, when I see her in a love scene on film I can't help thinking to myself "Hey you, get your damn hands off of her!".

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Other Notable Roles: Most of Lea's most famous roles came in such films of the 80's as "All The Right Moves", "Red Dawn", "Some Kind Of Wonderful" and "Casual Sex?". From 1995-1999, she charmed audiences all over again on the small screen as "Caroline In The City".

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Most Recent Media Appearance: Last year, Lea appeared in a series of films on the Hallmark Channel that focused on a character named "Jane Doe", an ex-secret agent turned housewife who helps the government solve mysteries.

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First Real Acting Gig: She appeared in Jaws 3-D, as a water ski performer, although she couldn't swim or ski.

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Career Moment She'd Probably Like To Forget: Three words: "Howard The Duck".

LeaThompson17.jpg

Interesting Factoids: It took approximately four hours to apply the makeup that would make her appear middle-aged in "Back To The Future". In early drafts of script for that film, the character's name was Mary Ellen and then Eileen before the writer's finally settled on Lorraine. Early in her career, Lea was a ballet dancer who danced in more than forty-five performances with the American Ballet Theater. She turned to acting when famous ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov told her she was a beautiful dancer, but "too stocky". Like past 80's Crush, Elisabeth Shue, she appeared in several Burger King commercials.

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Still Crushin'?: Yes. She's as much the "girl-next-store" today as she ever was.

Crush Meter: 9 out of 10

For past entries, go to the 80's Crush Vault

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March 03, 2006

BSG Tonight!

Season Finale - Part One!

BSG.jpg

Episode #34: "Lay Down Your Burdens (I)"
The Colonial fleet is stunned to receive a peace offering from Cylon representatives.

10pm Sci-Fi

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ZERO

That is the number of substantiated civil rights violations under the Patriot Act.

Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) points this out in his USAToday editorial urging his fellow Congressmen Congressmen and women Congresspeople? Representatives in Congress to follow the Senate's lead and renew the Patriot Act next week.

"Extensive congressional oversight found no violations. Six reports by the Justice Department's independent inspector general, who is required to solicit and investigate any allegations of abuse, found no violations.

Intense public scrutiny has yet to find a single civil liberty abuse. Despite many challenges, no federal court has declared unconstitutional any of the Patriot Act provisions Congress is renewing."

I always suspected this was the case. Certainly if there were any the MSM would be pounding away at any such violation to hammer the President. Now we know for sure, notwithstanding all the paranoid delusions from the Left.

The Patriot Act is set to be renewed and most of its provisions made permanent law of the land by next Friday, when it is scheduled to expire. Most importantly is the fact that it forever tears down the "wall" put up by the Clinton Adminstration to keep our intelligence services from communicating with law enforcement. Because of that wall, we weren't able to prevent 9/11 but at least going forward we'll have a fighting chance at preventing another one.

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Obligatory Oscar Post

OK, so the Academy Awards are coming up this Sunday. And, not surprisingly, I have no intention of wasting my time watching this awards show. I'm not "boycotting" it or anything like that. In order to boycott the Oscars, you have to accept the premise that I would be making a sacrifice by not tuning in just to make a point. The fact is, I couldn't care less. Although, I actually care less than I did last year.

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There are only two categories that I have a passing interest in: Lead Actor and Lead Actress. I would like to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman win for "Capote". I haven't seen the film, but I've appreciated Hoffman's talent for years. Most Oscar pundits expect that it will come down to him or Heath Ledger. My guess is that Reese Witherspoon is the favorite in her category and, not to take away from the other nominees, I think she should win.

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But I don't get to make that call. In fact, no ordinary consumer of Hollywood's output gets to weigh in either. This is a popularity contest among the elite who comprise the Academy. It's a chance for the Liberals in this industry to send a message to the rest of America: We don't care what you like, you should like this and if you don't then you're just a bunch of uncultured, narrow-minded rubes.

Never has an industry had so much contempt for its customer base. Imagine if a car company put out a commercial that said "We know that this car doesn't appeal to you, but we think its the one you should be driving. And if you don't like it? Well, then there's something wrong with you." That would go over really well, wouldn't it?

My point is not that Hollywood shouldn't make (or in the case of independent films, promote) films that push a Liberal/politically-correct agenda or criticize (fairly or not) America or its culture. It's a free country. But moviegoers are also free to see what they want. It's their nine bucks and there are plenty of entertainment alternatives for their money. My point is that the film industry has no right to complain that its box office receipts are slumping when they refuse to accept the reality of the big picture (no pun intended).

Look at the five films nominated for Best Picture and look at their box office gross:

"Brokeback Mountain": $76,078,000
"Crash": $53,404,817
"Munich": $46,227,050
"Good Night And Good Luck": $30,506,195
"Capote": $23,441,493
Total Combined Gross: $229,657,555

Combined, these five films earned 25% less than "The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe", which earned $288,193,914. That's a difference of $58,536,359 (room for an extra nominee or two).

You can argue that Narnia was heavily promoted but look how much publicity these five films got even before their nominations were announced on January 31st. Since then, they've gotten a solid month of hype and they still failed to attract a significant audience. It almost seems that as more information about these films came out, fewer people were interested.

Now consider some of the films that earned more than four of the five nominees (put "Brokeback" aside for one moment"):


  • "Fun With Dick and Jane", a remake of a 1970's comedy with Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni: $110,333,000

  • "Flightplan", a mystery aboard a commercial airliner staring Jodie Foster: $89,700,000

  • "Cheaper By The Dozen 2", a sequel to a remake starring Steve Martin: $81,528,000

  • "Big Momma's House 2", Martin Lawrence as an undercover cop disguised as a large black woman - also a sequel: $65,800,000

  • "Underword: Evolution", Kate Beckinsale as a hot vampire chick fighting werewolves - and, yes, it's a sequel: $61,426,000

  • "The Pink Panther", another remake with Steve Martin: $60,847,000

Right now you're saying "OK, dude. What's your point?"

Hear me out. I'm willing to bet that the above films weren't all that great. I'm also willing to bet that most of the people who payed to see these films probably knew going into the theater that they weren't going to be all that great.

But that means that more people were interested in paying to see these mediocre movies than four of the five nominees for Best Picture! This speaks volumes to the Academy. Yet they choose not to listen. I'm not saying that box office gross should be the only factor in determining Oscar nominations. And I'm certainly not saying that the five films that were nominated are without merit. What I am saying is that they have limited appeal. And all the hype in the world isn't going to change that.

What this also means is that a four hour awards ceremony with this list of nominees will also have limited appeal. They don't even have Billy Crystal to make it worth tuning in for a little comic relief. Jon Stewart may do an adequate job of hosting, but Crystal is probably second only to Bob Hope as the best host this awards show has ever had.

If the ratings come in on Monday morning showing that more people were interested watching a repeat of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" than the Academy Awards I wonder how the Hollywood elite will react? My guess is they'll shake their heads and say that America "just doesn't get it". But until they realize that its they who just don't get it, we'll probably get a similar batch of nominees year after year.

UPDATE 3/6/06 12 noon:
CRASH: Coming as no surprise, the ratings for the telecast were down.

"The Academy Awards were down 10 percent from last year's ceremony, based on preliminary Nielsen Media Research ratings from the nation's 55 biggest markets. If the full national ratings follow suit later Monday, this year's ceremony will likely be the second least-watched Oscars telecast behind 2003, when "Chicago" won best picture."
Also not surprisingly, the broadcast did very well in the New York City and Los Angeles markets.

Congratulations to Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon.

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March 02, 2006

New Battleground Poll Released

I don't normally cite polls (except to debunk them) but this one, the Battleground Poll, at least provides the data and methodology to support its findings. In fact, it's actually two reports - one Republican interpretation and one Democrat interpretation. And their authors, Ed Goeas and Celinda Lake, respectively, tend to try and use the data to offer their respective parties some constructive advice.

The biggest conclusion: According to the majority of those polled, politicians in general suck.

The political environment in Washington has gotten especially toxic these days and voters - Democrats, Republicans and Independents are really getting fed up with it. Ironically, they're not especially fed up enough to vote out their own representative but their overall opinion of Washington is abysmal.

From the Republican Analysis (.pdf file):

“Can Republicans lose control of Congress? The data would suggest that under the current political environment it is possible, but does not yet lead one to believe it is probable. Republicans should take solace in the fact that the overall numbers have not changed [since five months ago] and voters view Democratic leaders as negatively as Republican leaders. If the political environment does not change, the outcome of the 2006 elections becomes increasingly a roll of the dice – dependent on how the campaign’s are run, party and interest group resources, and intensity of base voters to turn out to vote.”
From the Democrat Analysis (.pdf file):
“While emphasizing the need for change, Democrats need to be aware that voters do not place the blame for the corruption entirely on Republicans. In fact, many voters see this as endemic in our government, and as such, it pervades both parties. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of voters say that the blame lies with both parties equally. However, among those voters who do put the blame on one party 20 percent say it is Republicans who are the cause and just 11 percent say it is Democrats. It should be noted that those likely to lay blame with one party are stronger partisans.”
In other words, Republicans can't depend on winning with the status quo but Democrats won't necessarily win by attacking the status quo unless they take the high road and - credibly - push meaningful ethics reform.

And those folks out there still crowing over the latest C-BS poll of the President's job approval rating (which has already been exposed as highly flawed), should heed what Democrat Celinda Lake has to say:

“A warning to both parties – voters have an even more negative view of Congress’ job performance than they do of the President’s (37 percent approve, 56 percent disapprove – 38 percent strongly.”
No party has cornered the market on integrity or honesty. Each will have to walk the walk this election season or, quite literally, anything can happen.

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Mets v. Cardinals

Game is being live-blogged via phone in at Metsblog. Ain't technology great?

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I Don't Believe In Chelation Therapy

On to a serious subject here. I write this as a parent of three children who have been diagnosed with autistic-spectrum related disorders. There has been a lot written about what appears to be an epidemic of Autism these days. Many have speculated as to the specific causes, none have been proven. I personally feel it's a complex mixture of genetic and environmental factors combined with an ever-broadening diagnostic criteria. Hopefully, one day, medical science will figure it out.

One therapy de jour that has become popular (and is very expensive) is called Chelation. This therapy operates under the premise that Autistic-related disorders are caused primarily by the mercury in Thimerosal, a preservative that was used in childhood vaccinations. Those who offer "Chelation" therapy claim that it removes the mercury and - over time - will "cure" the condition.

Look, I understand the pain, anger and frustration that parents of a child with autism feel. I understand it three times over. I have nothing but empathy for these folks who desperately want to do anything they can to find a cure. But having researched this myself, the evidence is overwhelming to me that Chelation is at best a scam and at worst an even greater threat to the child's health. You can find plenty of sources on the internet that debunk the claims about Chelation including sites here and here.

I've avoided this subject because I know there is a lot of hostility out there for those who question it. Politics is one thing, but this is personal. I was always doubtful about Chelation but the best evidence I have against the validity of the Thimerosal claim is one simple fact: The last lot of thimerosal-containing vaccines expired in January 2003. My youngest son, who has been diagnosed with mild "classic" autism, the most severe condition of the three boys, was born in June 2003. If the claims of the Thimerosal crowd are valid, then the incidences of diagnosed autistic-spectrum disorders should now be plummeting. Since this didn't happen in countries like Canada and Denmark who mandated removed of Thimerosal from vaccines back in the 1990's, I'm highly skeptical it will happen in the U.S. now.

What spurred this post was something related to me by Orac at Respectful Insolence. He has written extensively on the subject and he recently came across a story that shows how this Chelation movement has gotten even more bizarre. I urge anyone who has even a passing interest in this topic to read it in full. It's an eye-opener.

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