Monthly ArchiveFebruary 2007
Media Bias & National / World Politics 25 Feb 2007 05:33 pm
In the News February 25
Sunday February 25
If you watched the 60 minutes episode tonight on “grass roots” anti-war movement in the military, go to this URL and check this out:
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/007574.html
Mudville Gazette spends a lot of time debunking this particular “astroturfing” (a fake grass roots movement). This site (link above) has documentation about the origins of this group by a PR firm for Moveon.org.
60 minutes first advertised a spokesman from the group as an Iraq veteran, when he never actually went to Iraq.
Jonathan Hutto is a spokesman for the anti war group. He’s a 2 year Navy man who is against the war and this is his recent resume as posted on the URL above: Hutto works for “non-profit organizations” including Amnesty International
2001: In his capacity as an Amnesty International spokesperson he appears as a speaker in an event touted as a “Militant Labor Forum” by the “socialist newsweekly” The Militant.
2002: Hutto has risen to the position of Amnesty International’s Membership Program Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Region (seen here – with megaphone – “rallying the troops”). When his university considered honoring President Bush he wrote a letter opposing the decision.
2003: The United States invades Iraq. Hutto is involved in anti-war demonstrations.
2004: Hutto joins the Navy, and serves as a Mass Communications Specialist and Photographer aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
Summer, 2006: He is recognized as the Theodore Roosevelt’s outstanding “Blue Jacket of the Quarter (BJOQ)“ NONE of this was mentioned on the 60 minute episode – but there’s much, much more at the link above.
Saturday February 24
ICE ICE ICE…. a great weekend to try to catch up on some reading! If you’re in Iowa, keep an eye on this http://www.iowaroadconditions.org/.
Why does it appear that Al Qaeda and Iran use Democratic talking points when posturing about President Bush and US politics. Click here to read this article and tell me I’m nuts.
Quote of the week from VP Chenney:
“I’m not sure what part of it is that Nancy disagreed with. She accused me of questioning her patriotism. I didn’t question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment.”
The Vice President went on to say
“You also have to be accountable for the results. What are the consequences of that? What happens if we withdraw from Iraq?,” he said. “And the point I made and I’ll make it again is that al-Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That’s their fundamental underlying strategy, that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we’ll quit and go home. And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al-Qaeda. I said it and I meant it.”
Asked if he was willing to take back his criticism of Pelosi, Cheney replied, “I’m not backing down.”
Please tell me, is it me, or is all we get from the Democrats is ”we support the troops but not the war”, ”you can’t question my patriotism” or “we were duped by Bush”.
Toward that end, the runner-up for quote of the week:
“You know, it must be really tough for candidates for president to come before the American people and complain that they were tricked, deceived and misled by George Bush.”
(Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio)
Another good article I found on NewMedia website click here to read an article titled: We’re at War. It’s time to Chose Sides.
Media Bias & Personal / Housekeeping 18 Feb 2007 08:00 pm
Welcome
WELCOME…
… to my blog which will focus on … well … Politics and …. Football. And since the Iowa Spring Game won’t be for another 3 months Politics will be on my mind here, not much football – for now. I hope you enjoy, register, post and return when you can.
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POSTS - These blog entries will be fairly fluid but will also remain available if you search through the months…
THIS post explains why I started this blog. I hope you read this and visit again. Where many liberal principles are well meaning, the vacuum of ideas and distorted distribution of information in the media that has developed over the last generation disturbs me and should disturb you. So many in the Democratic party don’t listen at all because they are so driven by their hatred of George W. Bush. In addition to the constant slant to news, vitriol has taken over the national debate. This is a dangerous time for misinformation.
Although the mainstream media says it’s only reporting what it sees, evidence shows otherwise. You can read a UCLA report on media bias here here.
I’m not trying to redefine first amendment rights; a democracy can not exist without a free press. However, in a 2004 report on the state of the news, 67% of those polled thought the press tried to cover up its mistakes – only 35% think the press gets its facts straight and 60% think the press is biased in one way or another.
This misinformation discussed here doesn’t even explore distortion or “noise” in polls because of the phrasing of questions, etc. More on that later.
Distrust of the press and my perception of manipulation of the mainstream media by our enemies is only exacerbated by blind trust in local war zone reporting like this and this. The photographer in the linked case was fired, and almost 1,000 file pictures were removed from Reuter’s archives. In the second link, the person used as source for over 60 negative reports in Iraq has yet to be found (both Iraqi and American sources on the ground say this person does not exist).
[check for updates on Jamil throughout this blog]
Bottom line is you need to do your own research and believe what can be proved to your own level of confidence. As a great man once said, trust but verify. If you watch CNN also go here. If you read the New York Times, also go here.
If you want to know what’s really going on and you don’t believe the government; will you believe Iraqis on the ground in Baghdad?
Would you believe a blogger (milblogger) that is frequently embedded with the military and talking to the boots on the ground?
It’s your decision; it’s your children’s future.
National / World Politics 18 Feb 2007 08:30 am
In the News February 18
As usual, this post will try to bring you important information you may not catch in the main stream media.
Please report broken links to me when you see them
Please spend some time reading this Powerlineblog article about Iran supplying the terrorists in Iraq with new more deadly weapons (complete with a slide picture show from Iraq).
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Here is a Washington Post article in defense of Scooter Libby, by Victoria Toensing. You may remember her as a legal talking head on TV during the OJ Simpson trial, but she’s a Washington attorney who served in the Reagan Administration. This is a good review of the silliness of the terrible injustice that is being heaped on a good man.
Click here to find a companion piece from the WashPost to the Scooter Libby article above. Powerlineblog dug out the Special Counsel’s press conference in OCT 2005 at the beginning of this mess.
It is difficult to square the implication of Fitzgerald’s comments at the press conference that Libby was guilty of misconduct in blowing Valerie Plame’s “classified” agency status with the fact that the disclosure of her relationship to the agency was apparently not illegal.
Tedious, but important stuff here folks. Powerlineblog It’s a good read every day, I only bring you the great stuff.
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Under the “if it wasn’t so serious it would be funny” heading – I need to start a Hugo Watch. The man was never the brightest bulb in Venezuelian chandelier, but his re-election last year has emboldened him beyond all reason. He’s nationalizing everything that creates anything, and solving his 18% inflation problem by – get this…
The President for Life of Venezuela has just announced he’s reissuing the bolivar (currently traded at about 2,500 to one dollar US) and while reissuing he’s ordering that they just lop off three digits. Presto, Hugo says the new exchange rate is now 2.5 bolivars to one dollar US. Yep, he’s just going to make new money in 2008 and that will, “simplify transactions, improve efficiency, generate confidence and rein in inflation.” Ok, hands up for those who thinks THAT’s gonna work…
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Take this link to a 
site you should bookmark. Kurdistan (northern Iraq) is promoting itself as an emerging market and thanking the USA for freeing them from the grip of Saddam. Keep an eye on the Kurds.
good stuff
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I’m speechless on what’s happening in our national legislative bodies this weekend. Shame on them. Senator McCain did not vote, he was in Davenport yesterday – hope to get a report from there. I’m not interested in his candidacy.
Steve King, District 5, Iowa – has been eloquent talking about us falling to propaganda artists just like Vietnam. Shame on us. I’m looking for a quote from King where he quotes a US soldier he met in Iraq. It goes something like this: We have what we need to do the job here; pray that the American people don’t lose their will – We Soldiers will not lose ours…
Here is another quote from the Congressional record this weekend.
The Romans understood, and they were the most successful long-term military legions in history all the time up to that point and maybe in all of history. They had to know their enemy, and they had to persevere, and that is where that term came, nosce hostem, know thine enemy.
[and he ended with...]
This day on this floor of the United States Congress will live in infamy, and I pray it may not be a precedent for the future of America and for our national destiny. Mr. Speaker, I would make another point, and that is I have decided I will follow General Petraeus, and you have decided you will follow General Pelosi.
Rep. Steve King, District 5, Iowa – keep an eye on him.
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Locally, I wrote a letter to the editor on the “fair share” bill on the floor of the house next week. The Editor of the Journal came out on the correct side of that topic in a well written piece today – I will link mine here and his here. I believe there could be some problem accessing those links after 14 days so I will try to wander back here and check.
PLEASE consider writing your legislator if you live in Iowa.
You can see Muscatine’s Representative’s email address in my letter to the editor. He could be the deciding vote!
Other bills sumbitted by the Iowa House (if you’re not too afraid yet…)
sex education in elementary school
charges for taking and returning water from rivers
weakening current drunk driving laws
and I’ve heard a rumor about a bill to dismantle the electoral college… still trying to sort some of this out – stay tuned.
IOWA Politics & Media Bias 11 Feb 2007 09:34 am
Is This Democracy?
this is an email I sent two Iowa Representatives on different sides of the Iowa Fair Share bill. It is my understanding this bill was “read” to an empty floor on Friday AM (after the House left for the week) just like the Senate version was earlier. Puts a new spin on “under the cloak of night” doesn’t it?
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Nathan, Jeff – I live in Muscatine and work in Wilton so I am copying you both in this missive. From a business perspective and especially as a member of the Wilton Industrial Development Corporation; this “fair share” bill can only do BAD things for Wilton and Muscatine.
Fair Share is a myth. I am not anti-union; I am pro-growth. Increase the tax base – decrease taxes, simple stuff here.
Iowa has become a special place to work and businesses establish here because of the work ethic and the business climate in Iowa. As witness the gentleman from IPSCO in our forum last week; remember – he said IPSCO would not have located in IOWA had this legislation been on the books at the time of the site search. That is over 400 jobs – and high paying jobs. That is one business.
We can go over and over the Union’s position – but Unions came into businesses with the understanding they aren’t REQUIRED to support non-dues paying employees. Unions can’t change the playing field THEN cry “not fair” – that’s just silly.
One of the reasons I’m writing this is I’m not comfortable with how well the story of concern about businesses fighting this bill is getting into the main stream media, therefore, to the rest of the voting citizens of this county that didn’t attend the forum.
I have a problem with the Journal coverage of the Forum. The Journal didn’t mention the IPSCO point of view at all, which I felt had the most serious impact on judgment for or against that bill during the morning’s discussion.
The Journal also did not record the “promise” Nathan, you stated in the forum – not to vote against Right to Work legislation. Bitterly, my sense is that the statement you made was a veiled spin because the legislation is not named “right to work”. Nathan, I know Jeff opposes this bill. Everything I heard in the forum related to this bill from you and Senator Courtney attempted to tamp down expectations that this bill would even come out of committee, when in reality it seems to be on a fast track to the Governor’s desk. What are we to think?
Nathan, in support of the businesses you represent, you MUST NOT support this bill.
This bill is not about fairness to anyone (including workers in Unions today) in a competitive business environment.
Football 04 Feb 2007 11:00 pm
Super Bowl Baby!!!
Two boys are playing hockey on a pond in a Chicago Park when a crazed Rottweiler suddenly attacks one of the boys. Thinking quickly, the other boy takes his hockey stick, shoves it under the dog’s collar, twists it and breaks the dog’s neck, saving his friend.
A reporter is standing by, sees the incident, and rushes over to interview the boy. “Young Cub Fan Saves Friend From Vicious Animal” he starts writing in his notebook.
“But I’m not a Cubs fan” the little boy replies. “Sorry, since we’re in Chicago, I just assumed you were,” says the reporter as he starts writing again.
“Sox Fan Rescues Friend From Horrific Attack” he writes in his notebook. “But I’m not a Sox fan either,” the little boy replies.
“Sorry, but since we’re in Chicago, I just assumed you were,” says the reporter and starts writing again.“Bears Fan Rescues Friend From Horrific Attack” he writes in his notebook.
“I’m not a Bears fan either,” says the boy. “Oh… I assumed everyone in Chicago was either for the Cubs, Sox or Bears. What team do you root for?” The reporter asked.
“I’m a Colts fan,” the boy replies.
The reporter ripped out the old sheet, starts a new sheet in his notebook and writes: “Little Bastard From Indiana Kills Beloved Family Pet”
Colts 29
Bears 17
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Chicago Bears 39
New Orleans Saints 14
I like Miami………………………. in February………………
S U P E R B O W L B A B Y !!!
Chicago vs Indianapolis
Feb 4th CBS – BE THERE!
IOWA Politics 03 Feb 2007 12:41 pm
Iowa Legislative Session – Early February
If you live in Iowa, look up your representative’s email address by clicking here to express your opinion on these issues.
Right to Work. Iowa is a right to work state.
Some people dispute that in nuanced language but even Johnson County, one of our most liberal counties, notes that Iowa is a Right to Work state on their economic development brochures. One must conclude there is a value to posting that phrase to stimulate economic growth.
Today, if a union exists in a company in Iowa, an employee has the right to decide to join that union or not. In the Bill the Democrats are working on in the Iowa Legislature “The Fair Share” proposal, will require workers to belong and/or pay dues to unions in companies that already have unions. The dialog at this point: Passage of that law effectively removes the right for Iowa to say we are a “right to work” state. The actual wording of the bill is not final but the Governor has already indicated he’ll sign the bill. Keep an eye on the status of this Bill - as it could be fluid and move quickly. Passage of this bill would set back economic development in Iowa tremendously.
At our Legislative Forum in Muscatine on FEB 3 a gentleman who runs a trucking company implied he would look to relocate to Missouri; and a representative of IPSCO, one of our largest industrial additions to Muscatine in the last decade said IPSCO would not have located in the state if it was not “right to work”. (IPSCO has unions and IPSCO has spent 500 million dollars to build and fund the plant in Muscatine and is working on an expansion)
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In this legislative session I will also be tracking Health Care, related to support of small businesses. Small businesses in Iowa will be hit hardest by the minimum wage adjustment over the next two years.
We can expect some part time job losses, maybe even full time job losses as a result of the minimum wage increase – that is a part of business metrics.
We need to continue to build a structure where small businesses can and are encouraged to pool resources to supply affordable insurance to its workers.
There was a study quoted that I can find on request that said around 97% most businesses of over 100 employees offered health insurance, it dropped to less than 50% for businesses under 100 employees. I’m not talking about nationalizing health insurance, but helping small businesses pool resources somehow.
This is where the cigarette tax bucks (if revenue grows) should be used, in my opinion.
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Cigarette tax hike - $1.00 a pack. Below I posted the tax rates for other states around Iowa. There is no reason to think that most of the cigarettes won’t be bought in Missouri – eliminating the opportunity for Iowa revenue.
$1.00 a pack? Maybe $.64 to bring the tax to $1.00? I have two concerns:
- Don’t earmark these taxes until you know you’ll have the money (people will drive to Missouri or other states to buy them or mercifully stop or reduce smoking)
- The taxes should all go to Health Care of some sort.
Missouri and Nebraska needs to get on board with a tax hike of their own if this is going to do any more than drive revenue out of the state. I have no problem with this tax as long as all the revenue is earmarked for Health Care and we don’t commit to spending money on false assumptions.
MIDWEST CIGARETTE TAXES
State Tax per pack
South Dakota 1.53
Minnesota 1.49
Illinois 0.98
Wisconsin 0.77
Nebraska 0.64
Iowa 0.36
Missouri 0.17
Source: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
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