Blogs Are The New Town Hall Meetings Of The 21st Century In America

When Gallup polled Democratic voters this month on the party's 2008 hopefuls, it didn't even offer Russ Feingold as a choice.

But in one corner of the Democratic universe - the readers of liberal Web logs - the Wisconsin senator has emerged as a political favorite.

In an online poll last month on the nation's most widely read liberal blog (DailyKos.com), Feingold led the Democratic presidential field.

"He definitely is the most popular Democrat among the 'netroots,' " said liberal blogger Chris Bowers, referring to activists in the party who engage in online politics.

Bowers' blog (MyDD.com) did its own online poll in early February, and Feingold led that as well.

Blogs and different online media are new, exceptional ways to communicate and receive feedback in a fast, unfiltered manner. In many respects these blogs are the new town hall meetings of the 21st century in America.
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Senator Russ Feingold

I plan to travel across the country, listen to others, speak out on important issues and advance a progressive reform agenda.

The challenges far too many Americans face every day did not go away with the past election. I will continue to give voice to those who believe we must work to provide health care for all Americans, protect and create jobs, ensure fiscal responsibility, and fight terrorism while also protecting our freedoms.

In both so-called red and blue states, people have a voice that needs to be heard. People in every state want a dialogue that moves beyond the electoral partisan politics and ideology that divides us.

That is why I intend to help begin a dialogue about how we move forward as a country united by the values we share and the challenges we face together.

Senator Russ Feingold

Feingold won big after voting against the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts, and having cast the lone vote in the Senate against the Patriot Act"
~ Chicago Tribune

"In fact it was at the Rockingham County event that he got something no other potential presidential candidate - Republican or Democrat - has received: a lengthy standing ovation just in the middle of his introduction."
~ PoliticsNH.com

"One of the most independent members of Congress"
~ Capital Times

Dubai Expected to Ask for Review of Port Deal.

After two days of behind-the-scenes negotiations with the Bush administration and Congress, the Dubai company seeking to manage terminals at six American ports is expected to announce by Monday a deal inviting the government to conduct a broad new review of security concerns, senior administration officials and a company adviser say.

If an agreement is completed, the state-owned company, Dubai Ports World, will "voluntarily" ask the Bush administration to pursue the lengthier, deeper investigation that Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been demanding since controversy over the transaction erupted at the beginning of the week.

The White House plans to portray the action as the company's own decision, giving administration officials a face-saving way of backing away from President Bush's repeated declarations in recent days that there is no security risk in having the port terminals operated by a company controlled by the emir of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates.
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Take a look at United Arab Emirates
President Bush asserts that we cannot refuse to allow the United Arab Emirates government controlled company to operate our ports, because we allow a British based company to currently control port operations.

Let's compare the two countries.
The UAE was one of three countries in the world that recognized the Taliban. The UAE has acted as a transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The FBI confirms that money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking systems. The Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating with efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden's bank accounts following the 9/11 attacks.
Harvard returned a $2.5 million gift from Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Nahayan, the leader of the UAE, because of the activities of the Zayed International Center for Coordination and Follow-up -- a think tank that among other things asserts that the Holocaust was caused by Zionists and not Nazis and the 9/11 attacks were carried out by the United States military.
The British, on the other hand, have been, and continue to be our greatest ally in the war on terrorism. It boggles the mind that our president cannot see the differences between these two countries. Maybe there is more here than meets the eye. I hope the Congress will continue to dig deeper into this ongoing story. I know I will.
JOHN CAMP...

Following the spirit of the law isn't enough.
There is too much 'let's move on' coming from the Bush administration.

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Rice Leaves United Arab Emirates

There was no indication that Rice's reception in Abu Dhabi was any different from her meetings in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which both snubbed her call to isolate Hamas.

Washington wants Arab nations to isolate the radical Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, but her message fell on deaf ears on stops in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which both reiterated their support for the Palestinian movement.

The Arab media have been calling for Rice to explain how the United States can push elections that brought Hamas to power, and then try to isolate the group, and Arab leaders in Egypt and Saudi Arabia refused to cut off aid to a future Hamas-led government.

United Arab Emirates...

Dubai...

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not just NO -- but HELL NO.

In regards to selling American ports to the United Arab Emirates, not just NO -- but HELL NO.

Bush's reputation as the Great Protector who will do anything -- anything! -- to keep us safe, even if it means torturing, spying, and trashing the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions, is his one remaining political asset. And putting six of our major ports under the control of the United Arab Emirates threatens to undermine this rep in an irreparable way.

This deal is a nonstarter and a no-brainer. A Harriet Miers debacle to the hundredth- power. Next thing you know, the president will be assuring us that he knows what's in the heart of Dubai Ports World, Inc.

But instead of pulling back from the deal and hurriedly looking for the port operations equivalent of Sam Alito, the president stomped his feet, held his breath, and stuck out his veto.

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Dubai Harbored Hijackers? Big Deal, Bush Says

I wonder what the president feels like these days as 9/11, the default card used to start wars and squelch dissent, is being played against him?

Plunder Medicare for the drug industry? Done. Give away oil royalties to the energy industry? Done. Let the oil industry write the energy bill in secret? Done. Enrich insurance companies with Health Savings Accounts? Check. Appoint a lawyer to oversee disaster relief and homeland security when there are experts in the field who've devoted their professional lives to the subject? Oh, why not?

Bush says global trade and the feelings of an ally trump all else, and that's that. He's promising to veto any bill that would reverse the decision, which would be the first such veto by a president who has let the Treasury be overrun by sinfully profligate spending.

Bush adviser Karl Rove said a while back that Republicans have a post 9/11 view of the world and that Democrats have a pre- 911 view that is profoundly and consistently wrong. He might have to extend and revise those remarks. Dividing us that way isn't going to work anymore.

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How Many Bloggers Does It Take To Change A LightBulb?

174 Bloggers

O YES, I Am Paying Attention.

The Bush Budget's Hidden Gold: Dynamic Scoring Comes to the Treasury
By William W. Beach

All of the press commentary on President George W. Bush's 2007 budget proposal has paid virtually no attention to one of its most significant initiatives. And it is no wonder: how could a move to improve the way the government analyzes tax policy compete with cutting outdated programs, making the United States more competitive, and winning the global war on terrorism?

This little-noted initiative, however, may be historically important. Buried deep in the President's proposals for the Department of the Treasury is a plan to create a Dynamic Analysis Division within the Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis. This division would advise the President and other key policymakers on how proposed changes to U.S. tax policy would affect economic activity. Inside the Beltway, this type of analysis is called "dynamic scoring." Outside the Beltway, this is called "economics."
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O yes, I am paying attention.

This article is so much bullshit, I don’t believe it. This is some more of that think tank crap. You want to cut programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Student Loans, Education, Transportation, Agriculture, etc. What about the corruption in Washington? If the corruption in Washington was cleaned up we could save trillions. So don’t try and tell me that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Student Loans, Education, Transportation, Agriculture are the problems. You are the problem, you lying neo-con gangster corrupt politicians. We need to deal with you first! You want to analyze something Mr. Beach, analyze the corruption in Washington then we will talk about Dynamic Scoring!

Who will feel budget's impact?

Bush Wednesday signs bill with $39 billion in cuts. His 2007 budget would point to more cuts ahead.

With President Bush's signature Wednesday, Medicaid recipients can expect higher copayments and deductibles. College students may face higher interest rates on student loans, as lenders are squeezed. Work requirements for women on welfare are likely to be tightened. Federal aid to states for child-support enforcement will be curtailed.
All told, the US government will save $39 billion over the next five years under the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005. The legislation is the first in a decade to rein in the growth of entitlement programs. And, along with a plan for $70 billion in tax cuts moving through Congress, it provides the backdrop to a fierce debate over government priorities with the unveiling this week of Mr. Bush's budget proposal for fiscal year 2007.
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So Much For Ethics Reform

Ethics reform, seemingly on a fast-track in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal, has slowed to a crawl in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The rush to revise ethics laws in the wake of the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal has turned into more of a saunter.

A month ago, Republican leaders in Congress called legislation on the topic their first priority, and promised quick action on a measure that would alter the rules governing the interaction between lawmakers and lobbyists.

Comments:

Why is this news? Isn't this just another dog bites man story?

The depths of corruption in Washington knows not nor will know the bottom until "We The People" show'em where it is. Only then will we know where the bottom was.

How about we form another Commission...no wait..a "blue-ribboned" Commission... to ask them when they're gonna stop playing us for the fools we seem to be.


The ONLY needed reform in politics is, . . . "Don't lie, cheat and steal." What are so difficult and time consuming about the basic truth leading to good ethics?

Why are people constantly falling into entrapments of UNPURE NONSENSE? It is costing EVERYONE their life, money, time, and future.

We are beginning to think others who speak from far away lands are correct when they extend their farewells to America!

For America of the “FREE” no longer dwells. All that is visible remaining is UNPURE IDIOCY!

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A Portrait Of Who They Were.

Between March 20, 2003 and May 6, 2004, 759 US troops died in Iraq. This is the longest, fiercest, sustained combat Americans have seen in a generation.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on April 24, in Taji, Iraq, when mortar rounds hit their camp. The four soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 39th Support Battalion, 39th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Hazen, Ark. Killed were:

Capt. Arthur L. Felder, 36, of Louisville, Ark.

Chief Warrant Officer Patrick W. Kordsmeier, 49, of North Little Rock, Ark.

Staff Sgt. Billy J. Orton, 41, of Humnoke, Ark.

Staff Sgt. Stacey C. Brandon, 35, of Hazen, Ark.

At least 433 children have lost a parent and 284 spouses have lost a partner in Iraq.
The bottom gets cut out because of low educational levels, lower mental aptitude scores, poor health, or criminal records. The top pretty much excludes itself.

Of all 535 members of the US House and Senate today, only half a dozen have children in the military (and just one of those is in Iraq).

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Win Without War

Sleeping Giant.

Top NASA Scientist Says He's Being Silenced on Global Warming

Claims Backlash Is Part of Bush Administration Effort to Downplay Climate Change
A top government scientist is speaking out about what he says is an effort to keep him quiet about global warming.
NASA's chief climate scientist James Hansen says the space agency's backlash is part of a Bush administration effort aimed at those trying to sound the alarm on climate

change.
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Greenland ice swells ocean rise...

Sea levels likely to rise much faster than was predicted...

Guide to climate change...

Give Bush A Brain...

Can The GOP Clean Up Its Mess In Washington?

With corruption indictments flying and more expected, suddenly everyone's a good government crusader -- even GOP Congressional leaders who about five minutes ago -- it seems -- were practically celebrating their big money embrace of K Street and the Washington lobbyist cash machine. Congress and the GOP need a stem to stern clean-up.


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CREW
JackintheHouse

Ethics Challenge

Ethics of the New Testament