9/11 civilian trial

They should not be allowed to speak so that the American people can hear them. Terrorists who murder thousands should be silenced.

Robert is Bothered - Snickers Ads

Obey out of line

The whole thing is a sham!

Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, took the administration to task for pervasive errors on the Web site designed to monitor disbursement of the stimulus funds. He called those errors "outrageous."

"Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it. We've got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen," Obey said in a statement. "Whether the numbers are good news or bad news, I want the honest numbers and I want them now."

Obey demanded a commitment from the executive branch that they would "work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes." Congress and the public should be able to trust reports by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency (RAT) Board, he said.

The administration has already slashed 60,000 jobs from its estimates of how many jobs were created by the stimulus, after discovering "unrealistic data" submitted by stimulus recipients. In one extreme example, the stimulus Web site reported that 50 jobs were created or saved by an Arkansas cemetery's purchase of a lawnmower for roughly $1,000.

This guy now has to watch his job.

Animal Liberation Orchestra - Barbeque

George Will stop you in your tracks

"In last week's NEWSWEEK, the cover story was a hymn to "The Thinking Man's Thinking Man." Beneath the story's headline ("The Evolution of an Eco-Prophet") was this subhead: "Al Gore's views on climate change are advancing as rapidly as the phenomenon itself." Which was rather rude because, if true, his views have not advanced for 11 years."

Read the rest.

Ben Collins' website scare

I'm sorry, but does anyone else think some of Ben Collins' photos are just a tad...menacing?

I've said it about JB Van Hollen's monthly e-newsletter, but this is borderline Twilight photo-shoot. Gotta call it like I see it.

You know you were thinking it.

P.S. He does look pretty bad-ass with that gun.

So What? - In Obey's Own Words

Dave Westlake should keep his advice to himself

I saw this a few days ago and wasn't going to comment. BUT, I couldn't help myself.

Dave Westlake thinks he not only has a shot at the Senate, but that he's going to dissuade Terrence Wall from running.

David Westlake says he’s never met Terrence Wall.

But if they were good friends and he were giving Wall some campaign advice, he’d offer up this nugget to ponder: “In an economy that’s in a recession based on some problems in the housing market, I wonder, I fear how he’s going to tell his story having made so much money in the real estate market.”

Westlake, a Watertown businessman, got his first competition for the GOP Senate nomination to take on Dem Russ Feingold when the Madison developer got into the race this month. The 1995 graduate of West Point started HighIQ, which provides printer cartridge services and consulting work to manage printer networks.

Guess again, Dave. And bad advice. You never come out swinging against an "unannounced" opponent (on your side of the aisle, no less!), claiming you have advice and taking a low blow at his career choice.

Please, be another bratty GOP candidate that's pissy because someone else got in the race.

I'm not in anyone's camp here. But this certainly makes me less of a fan.

How a state turns red

WALNUTS

Why have I never seen this before?

Intense.

WI Dems in trouble

This is a good sign.

Ashland County prosecutor Sean Duffy has impressed national Republican campaign officials with his early fundraising in his bid to unseat Rep. Dave Obey.

In his first three months as a candidate, Duffy collected $139,471, according to his campaign committee's Oct. 15 report to the Federal Election Commission. That was just $16,600 less than what Obey, a 40-year incumbent Democrat, took in from July 1 through Sept. 30.

"I would consider that a pretty powerful moral victory," said Tom Erickson, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the House of Representatives. "That should give Mr. Obey pause."

More than "pause," friends.

Obey needs to be scared. This is a serious challenger who's doing the work.

Perhaps more significant than the totals is the fact that all of Duffy's money came from individual contributions, while only $34,325 of Obey's $156,075 came from single donors. The rest came from political action committees.

Duffy's fundraising total was good enough to earn him a spot on the NRCC's "On the Radar" list, the first rung of a three-step hierarchy in the committee's Young Guns program. The program was established to develop promising GOP House candidates. The next level is "Contender" before reaching "Young Gun" status. Fundraising and organization infrastructure are among the key benchmarks in rating the candidates.

I'm sure Mr. Duffy will stay on the radar.