Archive for July, 2010
$37 Billion More For War
Three times as many Democrats as last year voted against the war supplemental bill, that has passed 308-114.
Of the 114 no votes, 102 of them were Democrats. That’s more than triple the number of members of the president’s party (32) that voted against it last year. It also means that more Republicans voted for it (160) than Democrats (148).
The bill contains $37 billion for the war operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. It will be signed by President Obama as soon as is possible.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates had said the bill would have needed to pass by August …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 38 Comments »Never Gonna Break My Stride
From: Anthony
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 12:51 AM
To: Alan
Subject: Keep it up – you make Conservatives look even better!
Alan –
Have you figured out yet that almost every segment you’re on you come across as an obnoxious idiot? It’s not even just the content of your commentary, it’s also the delivery. I’m actually glad that you keep spouting the same old completely ridiculous rhetoric. It just makes the liberals look that much worse…Have you ever considered that you’re a liberal on the left because you’re never (on the) RIGHT! I would give you a couple of …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 38 Comments »Massachusetts Legislature Appoves Plan To Eliminate Electoral College

Massachusetts has taken the lead in eliminating the Electoral College by approving a plan that would ensure that presidents are elected by the popular vote.
“What we are submitting is the idea that the president should be selected by the majority of people in the United States of America,” Senator James B. Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, said before the Senate voted to enact the bill.
Under the new bill, he said, “Every vote will be of the same weight across the country.”
But Senate minority leader Richard Tisei said the state was meddling with a system that was “tried and …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 62 Comments »Support Wanes For New Hampshire U.S. Senate Candidate After Palin Endorsement

Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Kelly Ayotte for U.S. Senate from New Hampshire appears to be backfiring. Public Policy Polling shows that support for Ayotte from moderates has wanted since the Palin nod.
The Palin endorsement may well be playing a role in this. 51% of voters in the state say they’re less likely to back a Palin endorsed candidate to only 26% who say that support would make them more inclined to vote for someone. Among moderates that widens to 65% who say a Palin endorsement would turn them off to 14% who it would make more supportive.
Moderates …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 25 Comments »Florida Church Plans “Burn A Koran Day” September 11
By JT Orlando
The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida is no stranger to controversy, having previously spewed forth its hateful message through children’s T-shirts reading “Islam Is Of The Devil” as well as a “No Homo Mayor” sign in opposition to then-candidate (now Gainesville’s mayor) Craig Lowe, who is gay. Now the “church” (and I use that term very loosely) is taking another swipe at Muslims everywhere by promoting “International Burn A Koran Day,” scheduled, no doubt quite deliberately, for September 11.
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by JT Orlando July 27, 2010 • 98 Comments »The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on American Muslims to respond to a Florida church’s
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On Tuesday’s Radio Show…
• Col. David Hunt joins Alan to explain the impact of the Afghanistan war leaks on America’s war policy and national security.
• A military officer who calls himself “JD Smith”tells Alan why he and other servicemembers are launching OutServe, the first-ever organization of actively serving gay troops.
• President Obama says he’ll continue pushing for change no matter what Republicans do to stand in his way. Alan explains why he wants Obama to keep up the fight.…
Read more » Posted in Radio Show by Joel July 27, 2010 • 29 Comments »Colorado GOP Senate Candidate Refuses To Apologize To The “Six Or Seven” “Dumbass” Birthers

Ken Buck, seeking the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate from Colorado refused to agree with birther radio host Peter Boyles about President Obama’s origins. (h/t Think Progress) Buck had previously stated there are some “dumbass” birthers in the tea party movement, and wouldn’t recant.
…
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 11 Comments »Who Killed The Climate Bill?

The New York Times op-ed page lines up the usual suspects.
Ross Douthat says it was the wise conservatives:
you can see why conservatives might lean toward the wisdom of inaction. Not every danger has a regulatory solution, and sometimes it makes sense to wait, get richer, and then try to muddle through.
Paul Krugman says it was the greedy conservatives:
If you want to understand opposition to climate action, follow the money. The economy as a whole wouldn’t be significantly hurt if we put a price on carbon, but certain industries — above all, the coal …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Stuart Shapiro July 27, 2010 • 122 Comments »GOP Continues To Put Corporations Lobbyists Ahead Of Ordinary Citizens

By Yashwanth Manjunath
According to a story released by the AP yesterday afternoon, Republican senators are determined to filibuster the DISCLOSE Act. The DISCLOSE Act would impose new donor and contribution requirements on nearly all organizations that air political ads independently of candidates or political parties. The legislation would require the sponsor of the ad to appear in the ad and take responsibility for it. The DISCLOSE Act could potentially bring a transformative level of transparency and accountability to control of the campaign process by special interests, and limit the damage done by the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Yashwanth Manjunath July 27, 2010 • 43 Comments »PA Governor Ed Rendell Criticizes Obama For Going On “The View”

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says President Obama should only go on “serious shows” and compares “The View” to “Jerry Springer.” (via TV Newser)
Rendell: I think there’s got to be a little bit of dignity to the presidency.
Mika Brzezinski: What are you saying, Ed?
Willie Geist: What a horrible insult to “The View.”
Rendell: I think there are some shows. I wouldn’t put him on “Jerry Springer,” too, right? … I think the president of the United States has to go on serious shows. And “The View” is, you can make a case that …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 56 Comments »NY Times And WaPo With Opposite Headlines On WikiLeaks Affect
If this New York Times take is true, Good! Let’s hope the WikiLeaks documents do lead to less support for the war.
Administration officials acknowledged that the documents, released on the Internet by an organization called WikiLeaks, will make it harder for Mr. Obama as he tries to hang on to public and Congressional support until the end of the year, when he has scheduled a review of the war effort.
“We don’t know how to react,” one frustrated administration official said on Monday. “This obviously puts Congress and the public in a bad mood.”
On the other hand, the …
Read more » Posted in Liberaland by Alan July 27, 2010 • 17 Comments »