Has Karl Rove Switched Sides?

Ealier today I was reading Rove Road-Tests Tougher Attack on Democrats.

It was such a hoot I wanted to re-read it but it wasn't as easily accessible from the side bar anymore.

Really you have to read it though (link above). Rove says he wants you to vote Republican because: Democrats will not be gung-ho for killing people or denying you your civil rights. Hey, is the Rovester thinking of jumping parties? Is he working for the D side now?

Welcome aboard, Mr. Rove, (but you're going to have to be less nasty and vicious if you want to stay).

And now there is an article linked from the side bar titled "Democrats Strengthen Chances For Senate"

It looks like our new 'buddy's' efforts are already bearing fruit.

GOP Cutting and Running from Some Races

Typical cut and run to save your resources and your people before breaking the strength of your forces and money.

If only the GOP could take some of the electoral lessons they've learned this year to Congress and look at the Iraq war in a new light.

Article at the Washington Post.

Morning News 10-12-06

'Values' Decline As Issue In Ohio. Who's values are they talking about? Not supporting genocide for oil is a definite value. So is making sure children, the sick, and the elderly have food and medical care. It might take a little time, but Ohio always figures it out before some parts of the nation do.

Bush's Newest Wiggle Dance: Playing Fashion Police Bush's wiggle dance first came to my attention when in Georgia -- I think -- (the eastern Europe Country not the eastern US state) the president did a little wiggle dance looking half sheepish and half bored as he always does when quoting speeches supposedly full of concern and compassion that political operatives have written for him. After a few days of media and even liberal groups focusing on the "wiggle dance" I realized that the uproar was on purpose, to distract the public and media from the war (which had partially been a device to distract people from what the Bush administration was doing at home. I'm only mentioning this now because I have found the major serious news sources devoting space usually reserved for serious politics featuring articles on this latest "wiggle dance".


LA Times: Panel Questions Republican on Page Board People ask why wasn't even the other Republican on the page board told of Foley's advances?

Hastert Aides Interest Ethics Panel I predicted a few days ago that they will be pinning the problem on the aides. One aide seems especially vulnerable. Kudos to Jonathan Weisman for pointing out the fact that a couple of Hastert's aides live and commute with Hastert, making it nearly impossible for the Speaker not to know what they know. If they don't get beyond the aides we should demand an independent investigation.

Lidle’s Plane Traveled Along Feared Path Really sad, but they need to show us the passport. If they are not lying to us about that they should be able to show it. Demand to see the passport!

Opponent Phil Angelides Demands, Nurses Buy Equal Time on Schwarzenegger's Tonight appearance. Million dollar spot handed to Schwarzenegger with appearance, but no equal time offered to contending candidate Phil Angelides. California nurses bought spots for their campaign finance reform initiative on the show.

RE: Scandal Sidelines Hastert, Reynolds. Interesting article on how the Foley scandal is affecting the Speaker's, and Republican Campaign Chairman's ability to focus on the election. Basically, I don't know what an appearance from the old bully, Hastert, would matter to a campaign. What is the attraction for hard core Republicans to his snear and snarl. And from what I've heard from Reynolds, he seems to be cut from the same cloth. Notice though that neither one will relenquish the least bit of power.

Political `Tracker' Is Looking for Err TimeArticle was surprisingly snide about political aides that track opponents actions with a digital camera and put the results up on YouTube. Then I realized that this was cutting into the domains of the news media. They are supposed to be able to control the news that gets out to the public. Shame Shame on people getting information out cheaply on You Tube! Less wealthy, less big business supported candidates can get information out to the world without the favor of big business controlled mainstream news. Whatever will the news media do? (Angelides campaign, are you listening? Make some digital of your clownlike opponent in action. Ah, he probably has a couple of steroid goons protecting him from recorders.)

David Broder asks if voters will carry through with their new awareness of the failure of the Bush administration and the Republican controlled Congress on election day. Well asked. We know the Republicans can't be trusted with complete power. We've been paying attention, but will we succumb to the massive Republican operative campaign? When that Republican operative calls you on the phone with his or her lies or comes to your door because they've collected information on you and think you are a good bet to be able to be goaded into voting Republican, will you fall for the lies that they dole out one more time. This might be the last time we have a chance to drag this nation away from empire building. Will we stand our ground or buckle our knees to Republican operatives? Also, let me ask the print news media too whether they will keep the bit of backbone they've found in the last months if the vote is shown to be hacked as some newspapers have shown could happen and may have happened in the past? Or will they buckle under to Karl Rove's pressure to cover up another stolen election if it happens and pass on excuses for the Republicans like they did in 2000, 2002, and 2004.

Amish killings school demolished Maybe we should have sent the Amish to rebuild Iraq. (Not really. They are the last that we should send to that horrible mess, but at least they can get things done -- and fast.) Wp reports that heavy machinery did the job before dawn today (they felt they needed it done quickly). Also noted is that classes will resume in another location (earlier reports had said something about homeschooling, but this way the children can support each other rather than being isolated. I guess the Amish don't think they have to control every little thought of their kids like the homeschoolers do.


High Court in Britain Loosens Strict Libel Law This might free the Guardian and Independent to report, but it also would allow the Telegraph and Murdoch's huge news media machine in the UK to get away with slander more easily it seems. Norm Coleman will love this decision.

Join the Bush administration. Get underlings to do your kid's school projects. What a deal. WP report also shows that former ATF head was apparently trying to design his office into something like a luxury suite. It's good to be on the morally deficient, but politically powerful side, I guess.

Religion-Based Tax Breaks: Housing to Paychecks to Books Crying that they are not highly compensated, clergy have gotten tax breaks on their housing needs (usually c. 1/3 of their income) though other poorly paid non profit employees od not get similar deals, and neither do poorly paid teachers and day care workers. There are many more ways that the American taxpayer help to finance religion in this nation through taxbreaks to clergy too. Read article at link above.


North Korea warns of sanctions reprisals Kim is a crazy and belligerent as Bush. This does look like trouble.
Jim Hoagland weighs in on the same subject but is he talking about the North Korea government or the US?:

North Korea's efforts to blame its crossing of the nuclear-testing threshold on U.S. "economic hostility" would be laughable if the regime weren't led by world-class paranoids and fantasists capable of believing their own odious propaganda.

NY Times: Idaho city officially urges residents to arm themselves

George Will Celebrates the fact that Scwarzenegger is against the United States using the popular vote to elect a president. Why is that not a surprise? Governor Phil Angelides would sign it, like he would have signed the state wide health care coverage law that Schwarzenegger vetoed. BTW, did you hear that Bush quietly "ditched" the Border fence law by pocket veto? (The deadline has now passed and the bill is dead.) And he did it with the consent of Congressional Republicans as shown in this post.

AP: George Allen Didn't Disclose Stock Options

The sleaze just gets deeper around this guy

For the past five years, Sen. George Allen, has failed to tell Congress about stock options he got for his work as a director of a high-tech company. The Virginia Republican also asked the Army to help another business that gave him similar options.

Congressional rules require senators to disclose to the Senate all deferred compensation, such as stock options. The rules also urge senators to avoid taking any official action that could benefit them financially or appear to do so.

Sunday Morning Political Funnies

Message to the Troops (RJ Matson)

One Man's "Vision" is Another Million Souls' Dangerous Crazy Murderous Pipe Dream (RJ Matson)

What the House Ethics Committee Will Be Investigating (Ed Stein)


A Whole Graveyard Full of Them (Ed Stein)

The Buck Stops umm welll... (Steve Sack)

By Their Words You Will Know Them, Right Senator Allen? (Sandy Huffaker)


Haster Takes a Vacation (Nick Anderson)

All The Trappings (Robert Ariail)

And They're Reaching Into Your Pnats Too (Chip Bok)


They're IMing Again (Bill Day)

The Eleventh Commandment Bob Englehart

Ah. That's What it Needed! (Steve Kelley)

Milk Carton (Signe Wilkinson)

Do They Really Want This? (Signe Wilkinson)

The Icon Awakes (Pat Oliphant)

Our Protectors (Tom Toles)

At Some Time It Ceases to Be.... (Toles)

Not Really Sharing the Pain (Toles)

Booga Booga Ben Sargent

Safe for Now (Sargent)

Violent Games Warp the Mind (Sargent)

Society for the Protection of Predatory Animals

While some of our young people face death each day in war, our Congress members toil away...

Daily Funnies

Cheney Says Don't Compare Iraq to Vietnam (Bill Day)

It's Not Your Father's GOP (Bill Day)


Drunks are Furious (Steve Kelley)

Tweedledee and Tweedledum. That is just how they come. (Mike Lane)

It Even Depresses the Man Upstairs (Vince O'Farrell)

The Blame Game (Rob Rogers)

What Elephant? (Rob Rogers)

Ah! North Korea

Remember when we were first alerted to a supposed 2nd nuclear program from our old buddies in North Korea?

It was October 2002.

I'd just like to use this post to think about the significance of that date.

Yes, just about 4 years ago.

October.

Just before a midterm election.

The last mid term election.

Kind like Osama popped up with a message in 2004.

In October.

Even many mainstream cartoonists show they are very suspicious about the timing of messages from Osama and/or his people. It's as if al Qaeda and the Bush administration had a special deal to keep each other in their respective places of power.

But North Korea?

Surely not North Korea.

But here it is October just before a mid term election.

I'm not saying that the Bush people and Kim Jung Il are any kinds of buddies, but something could have been sent on the quiet to the effect that deals could be made if NK kept the news media as busy as possible during the month of October.

October 2006.

Just before another mid term election.

What better October surprise to keep part of the news media busy than a threat to test a nuclear bomb.

Here I have a post about Rumsfeld's rumblings over NK and some analysis from Fred Kaplan who believes a cocktail party mumbling were an admission of a second nuclear program and that NK could produce a plutonium bomb.

Here's a post from our non beta Pendragn blog on an analysis by the late Jude Wanniski about NK and why he and Gordon Prather don't believe that NK has a 2nd nuclear program nor that they could produce the much more difficult (according to their assessment) plutonium bomb.

Though these men disagree on whether NK has a second nuclear program or could explode a plutonium weapon, they both agree that the Bush administration (thanks to our current UN ambassador John Bolton) thoroughly messed up even their feeble attempts to negotiate with and/or control North Korea.

What You're Going to Get With a Democratic Speaker

1. Corruption contained.
2. Counterterrosism boosted.
3. Minimum wage raise.
4. Interest rate cut on student loans.
5. Broaden stem cell research.
6. Contain the Federal Debt.

Anyone have a problem with that? I don't.

From Washington Post article "Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp'":

I hope they get rid of all those slimy alligators roaming the halls of Congress too. Real alligators I like. The rotten kind infesting Congress need to go. Those would be the lobbyists that work with Republicans to sell the nation to big business and fat cats.

As in the first 100 hours the House meets after Democrats _ in her fondest wish _ win control in the Nov. 7 midterm elections and Pelosi takes the gavel as the first Madam Speaker in history.

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Former Page From Oklahoma Says They Had No Hint

He also says over the top stuff like pages are "more mature than other teens".

Representatives themselves pick the pages, but of course they have hidden insight into how is "more mature" than other teens.

Sure, especially the GOP Congress members who are "annointed by God", unlike the Democrats who claim they are Christians but are really in league with Osama bin Laden according to the ever-wise right wing bloggers and pundits.

In other words this guy seems to have been hand picked to cover for the Republicans.

Indeed other former pages have said that most pages knew about Foley so our OK guy is quite out of the loop or covering up.

Why is that not a surprise?

Link to post under green or salmon print above.

He lets on that pages had plenty of places to complain to if they had problems with Representatives.

School counselors (who probably owe their jobs to the Republicans in Congress), supervisors (um I think they tried that but the supervisor was a Republican), and their clergy.

Yeah, go tell it to your priest, kiddo! They'll wanna hear if you've had some experience already with that kind of stuff.