Too Progressive

Here’s a bit of a followup (sort of) to a story I mentioned in Tuesday night’s (November 28) Daily RunDown, about Newt Gingrich’s desire to burn the Constitution, saying that he thinks America needs to rethink free speech before we “lose a city” (won’t the GOP ever grow tired of using scare tactics on American citizens dumb enough to believe them?).

Anyway, I found the video below via a News Hounds column revealing a stark contrast in the way the story was covered by both Faux News, and Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann. While Faux, as you may have guessed, used the afore mentioned scare tactics, Olbermann gave the ENTIRE STORY, and, unlike Faux, turned to someone who might actually KNOW SOMETHING on the subject.

For reaction, Olberrmann went to Jonathan Turley, an expert on constitutional law from George Washington University. Turley warned that Gingrich’s appeal likely fall on receptive ears among some Americans because fear can be a powerful motivator. “People don’t seem to appreciate that you really can’t save a constitution by destroying it,” he said.

And she totally missed the irony of Gingrich making his proposal at a First Amendment dinner.
But then, that’s no surprise.

No surprise indeed. Checkout the video for yourself:

You may remember that I wrote last night on a New York Times report saying that a “study panel” set up to review Iraq recommended a gradual pullback of U.S. troops. I’d like to apologize for wasting your time.

Upon further review, it is The Liberal Progressive’s opinion that rather than a legitimate, “study panel” (and I guess they use that term loosely), the group of peons actually sounded like a bunch of degenerate teenagers sitting in a public library giggling, touching each other, and drinking cheap liquor whilst they listen to Paris Hilton sing binge eat and then force puke with buddy Nicole Britney.

Rather than actually saying something INTELLIGENT, the so called “study panel” said the U.S. needs to eventually “pull back” in Iraq? OH…REALLY!?

Furthermore, the idea of a “study panel” setup to study the situation in Iraq is HILARIOUS. Wasn’t the Iraq war always framed as a non-academic issue? Something the “academic liberals,” anarchist college professors, and pin-headed elites knew nothing about?

We’ve got morals tonight.

It’s true, and Laura Bush celebrated by staying up all night baking you this beautiful gingerbread house.

George Bush celebrated by releasing a proclamation which he clearly did not write. - The White House

South Africa has no morals. - BBC News

Jim Webb for President? - Political Insider via Wonkette

Gerry Connolly holding party to thank those who proved him wrong. - Not Larry Sabato

Eileen Levandoski running for Virginia Beach City Council? Bearing Drift will be THRILLED! - VB Dems

Jim Webb is a “total pain,” and “a horrible, boring companion at dinner.” OH SNAP! - West of Shockoe

As many of you already know, Matt Lauer announced Monday morning (November 27), on NBC’s “Today Show” that the situation in Iraq can now be classified as a civil war, and the network would be updating it’s terminology to reflect this. On Monday morning’s “Today Show,” Matt Lauer made the announcement:

“For months now the White House has rejected claims that the situation in Iraq has deteriorated into civil war. And for the most part, news organizations, like NBC, have hesitated to characterize it as such, but after careful consideration, NBC News has decided the change in terminology is warranted — that the situation in Iraq, with armed militarized factions fighting for their own political agendas, can now be characterized as civil war.”

The announcement was termed “a bombshell” by industry magazine Editor & Publisher. However, NBC reportedly took quite some time thinking about the issue, and according to a Boston Globe article, many other news organizations are doing the same:

A few other media outlets with reporters in Baghdad have slowly begun to refer to the conflict as a civil war and still more said yesterday they were debating the issue after the NBC announcement.

According to the Editor and Publisher column, Lauer acknowledged that the White House disagreed with NBC’s decision, and even read the press release from the White House regarding the matter:

“The White House objects to the terminology that NBC News is now using, and here is part of the statement that they’ve released: ‘While the situation on the ground is very serious, neither Prime Minister Maliki nor we believe that Iraq is in a civil war.’ It goes on to say that ‘the violence is largely centered around Baghdad, and Baghdad security and the increased training of Iraqi security forces is at the top of the agenda when President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki meet later this week in Jordan.’”

Please, you’ve got to be kidding me. Like many others have said, the White House is clearly splitting hairs to avoid acknowledging the truth about the situation.

In his nightly “Talking Points Memo” Tuesday night, Republican lapdog Bill O’reilly, called the situation “Violent, out-of-control chaos — not civil war,” according to a News Hounds column. O’reilly went on to say that the Bush administration needs to consider breaking Iraq into three autonomous regions, or allowing the Iraqi military to run the country. Oh wait, wasn’t one of the reasons George Bush illegally invaded Iraq was to put “freedom on the march?” Wouldn’t that sort of defeat the purpose? Of course, not having anything intelligent to say, O’reilly went on to blame the “liberal media,” saying that the American media is rooting for an American loss in Iraq, and that NBC is “anti-Bush.”

You know, the same thing he does every night for one reason or another. We’ve heard it all a million times O’reilly, come up with an argument that actually MAKES SENSE!

A column published by Reuters quoted Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution as saying:

“It’s getting silly for the administration or anyone else to deny there’s a civil war.”

…And I agree. Webster’s dictionary defines “civil war” as “a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country,” so please tell me how it is wrong to characterize what’s happening in Iraq as anything BUT a civil war?

What do YOU think? Can you make a case against calling it a civil war? Or do you agree with the decision by many to classify Iraq as such?

According to this article, which appeared on the UK’s Times Online, the UK may be drifting away from the United States, so to speak. The article claimed that, when asked about UK attempts to influence American policy in Iraq, senior State Dept. analyst Kendall Myers said:

“We typically ignore them and take no notice — it’s a sad business”.

Myers also, according to the article, said he felt a little ashamed by Bush’s treatment of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Myers also went on to say:

“It’s a bad time, let’s face it. We have not only failed to do what we wanted to do in Iraq but we have greatly strained our relationship with (Britain).”

Marvelous, so not only is Bush responsible for causing Iraq to break out into civil war because of his narrow mindedness and inability to listen, but we’ve also strained relations with Great Britian, our biggest ally in the world.

The Liberal Democrat party leader in Britain, Sir Menzies Campbell, believes the relationship needs to be renewed:

“These remarks reflect a real sense of distaste among thinking Americans for Mr Blair’s apparent slavish support for President Bush… The special relationship needs to be rebalanced, rethought and renewed.”

The State Department, as expected, denied Myers’ accusations.

Anyone care to guess who might have said such a stupid thing? Here’s a hint: it’s not who you think. It came from an unnamed Democratic Senate staffer, and was reported by CNN in a story about the heated exchange between George Bush and Jim Webb at a White House party for newly elected members of Congress. Go here and click the link for the video and see for yourself.

Since when is doing things your own way a bad thing? I would expect such an ignorant remark to come from the other side of the aisle, but NOT from someone within the Democratic party.

A Richmond Times Dispatch article out today provides updates on TWO stories we’ve been following over the past couple of weeks or so. First, on November 13 we told you that Jim Webb reportedly wanted a chance to vote on Robert Gates, who is Bush’s nominee to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. A syndicated column by Conservative writer Robert Novak reported that Gates and Webb had some bad blood between them dating back to when Webb worked as Secretary of the Navy for Ronald Reagan. However, Webb denies that report:

“I don’t even know him,” Webb said of Gates.

In fact, Jim Webb believes the White House is deliberately trying to paint him as a “hothead,” and that they (the White House) are responsible for leaking the details of the exchange between him and Bush in an effort to do so.

“I think one of the strategies of the administration, it seems to be to try to say early on that I’m a hothead, you know, or that I can’t work in the political process, or whatever.”

The White House though, denies both leaking the details of the exchange, and trying to paint Webb as a “hothead.”

The article then goes on to give the details of the exchange between Webb, and Bush, which I won’t bother to repeat (again). It does however, raise questions as to who leaked the details of the exchange (originally thought to be someone who leaned towards Webb), as well as bringing up questions about the credibility of the Robert Novak article regarding possible bad blood between Webb, and Gates.

BREAKING: The New York Times is reporting that a bipartisan panel studying Iraq is going to recommend a gradual pullback of U.S. troops in Iraq:

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group reached a consensus on Wednesday on a final report that will call for a gradual pullback of the 15 American combat brigades now in Iraq but stop short of setting a firm timetable for their withdrawal, according to people familiar with the panel’s deliberations.

UPDATE: The bipartisan panel was formed at the request of Congress, and consist of 10 members who voted unanimously for the gradual withdrawal. TheNew York Times article also says the report will be delivered to the President next week.

THE REPORT DOES NOT CALL, NECESSARILY, FOR AN IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ!

On Tuesday, George Bush said the following in regards to pulling out of Iraq:

“There’s one thing I’m not going to do: I’m not going to pull the troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete.”

Can someone please tell me what the mission in Iraq is at the current hour? Sadly, it seems the country, slips deeper, and deeper into civil war each day!

Developing…

Yeah, we can’t decide which one is more disturbing either!!! - Wonkette

HAHAHA, we’re better than (most) other states! - Richmond Times Dispatch

We suck your soul for less, except in San Diego! - Associated Press

Tim Kaine set to revisit transportation problem (I mean, eventually we knew someone would get around to it, right!?) - Richmond Times Dispatch

The new weapons of mass destruction. - CNN

Unelectable candidate bows out; nation lets out sigh of relief. - Tokatakiya | Washington Post

I can smell Virginia’s credit rating dropping at the mere mention of the name. - Not Larry Sabato

I still don’t think the VB Dems have thanked Bearing Drift; people everywhere left in suspense - Bearing Drift

Mel Gibson working on forming bigotry network. - Associated Press

Fox News and SWACgirl in bed together again; both believe Liberal agenda OUT TO GET THEM! - News Hounds

And finally tonight, two “public service announcements,” so to speak. First off, a very sincere congratulations to the Kenney family, which welcomed a new Republican into the world Monday. I do not personally know either of the Kenney’s, but I read both Shaun’s, and Jason’s blog fairly regularly. So, congratulations to both the proud new Uncle, and Father.

Second, I’ve already posted this once today, but in case anyone missed it, check out RVA Blogs to find out how to “help Virginia read.”

With Christmas fast approaching, I think I am going to begin trying to link to at least a few different charities each week, either within posts (like this one), or off to the right on the sidebar. If you know of any you want to suggest, please feel free to shoot me an email! Obviously we can’t all make contributions to every charity, but hopefully we can all find a way to help out someone less fortunate than ourselves this holiday season! Every little bit counts!

Help RVABLOGS.COM help Virginia read this holiday season!

“Imagine not being able to blog — not because of a bad case of writer’s block, but because you couldn’t read or write. Reading and writing are inherent attributes to the blogosphere. The ability to put your thoughts, opinions, observations, dreams, critiques, and commentaries into a relatively effortless narrative is so often taken for granted. To read a novel, a newspaper, an electric bill, or a blog seems so simple, and yet for too many it seems out of reach. But you can help — you and your blog can make a difference. Through your support and promotion of the Virginia Literacy Foundation you can bring the power of reading and writing to many.”

Credit to Not Larry Sabato for this one. Apparently Bush took a rather mocking tone with Webb when he inquired as to how his (Webb’s) son was doing in Iraq. Jimmy Webb’s unit had come under fire a couple weeks ago, and three marines were killed. George Bush, of course, was well aware of the situation.

Wow. Let’s see how long it takes the so called “LIBERAL MEDIA” to cover this one, if they even bother with it at all. It’s going to be a glorious thing watching the rightosphere trying to spin this one.

As promised in last night’s “Daily RunDown,” here’s a story which has not yet been widely reported in the media. The Pennsylvania state house has flipped to Democratic control after a recount in the 156th district revealed that Progressive Majority candidate Barbara McIlvaine Smith(D) won the election by a mere 23 votes. The results of the recount were announced yesterday (Nov. 28).

Smith had trailed opponent Shannon Royer by only 19 votes before military and absentee votes were counted. Yesterday’s final tally showed that Smith defeated Royer 11,614 votes to 11,591.

Smith was one of dozens of candidates sponsored by the Progressive Majority, which has successfully helped 194 Progressives get elected to both state and national office. Gloria A. Totten, President of the Progressive Majority, has the following statement on the PAC’s website:

The November 7th election was truly historic and Progressive Majority continued to build on our winning track record. In all, we elected 100 new progressives to office in eight states — bringing the total number of progressives we’ve helped elect to 194 in just three short years!

Smith also thanked the PAC, and essentially credited them for the win:

I was confident that the voters had indicated to that this was a new day for a new agenda in Pennsylvania politics, there is no way I could have won this race without Progressive Majority’s tireless efforts on my behalf.

Dan Frankel, Chairman of the House Democratic Campaign Committee in Pennsylvania, and representative of Pennsylvania’s 23rd district, contributed the victory to a failed Republican record over the past 12 years, and voter desire for a new direction:

Pennsylvania voters, including voters of the 156th District, weighed the Democratic vision for the future of Pennsylvania against the Republican record over the past 12 years. And they decided they are ready for a new direction. We look forward to welcoming Barbara McIlvaine Smith, along with 26 other new Democrats, to the new House Democratic majority.

That’s right, 27 Democrats, including Smith, were newly elected to the Pennsylvania State House, giving the Democrats in the state a 102 to 101 advantage. Assuming the vote count stands up to any legal challenges that will undoubtedly arrise from Republicans, and Smith is indeed, the winner, it will be the first time in 12 years that the Democrats have controlled the Pennsylvania State House. HDCC executive director Dan Wiedemer said he expects House Republicans to challenge the official count.

In a Daily Local online article, Shannon Royer had not yet conceded, and has not yet made a decision as to how they will proceed:

I will be looking at all of my options and making a decision in the next few days of how we will proceed. We need to look at everything and make sure that every legal vote is counted.

That being said, the same article goes on to say that there are currently 11 vote challenges, and four other POSSIBLE challenges, but even if they all broke for Republicans, the Democrat would still win.

Let’s just hope Virginia Democrats can also pull off a huge win in our own state elections in 2007!!!

You may remember I wrote on a Virginia right wing bloggers attempt to tie a “liberal propagandist” label to the children’s movie “HAPPY FEET.” Calling the movie “anti human,” among other things, simply because it “talked” (if you so wish to call it that) about pollution in our oceans and in the air we breath. You may also remember West of Shockoe completely shredding one of SWACgirl’s asinine posts, but for some reason, the comment NEVER GOT POSTED to the blog. Moderating your comments rawks!

Well, I found a children’s book that apparently teaches “intolerance and xenophobia” (that means hatred, Swacgirl, just to save you the trip over to dictionary.com). I certainly hope it will suit the taste of SWACgirl and her alias “General Dog.” However, with all those “big” words, this post may look like a completely foreign language to her. God knows she clearly doesn’t know how to use the word Communism correctly. Of course though, when I requested that she fix it, my comments were not approved, and the post remains un-edited. I think the word TOTALITARIANISM would be a better fit in place of Communism, in the context in which you were TRYING to use the word, Swacgirl. PLEASE FIX IT!!!!

BREAKING: CNN is reporting that former Secretary of State Colin Powell is in Iraq, and said it is now acceptable to call the situation there a “civil war.” Powell went on to say that were he still heading the State Department, he would RECOMMEND THAT WE REFER TO IT AS SUCH!!

Wow…

UPDATE: This just showed up on CNN’s website:

Powell: Iraq violence meets the standard of ‘civil war’

He was speaking at the Leaders in Dubai Business Forum and was interviewed there by CNN’s Hala Gorani. (Posted 11:11 a.m.)

UPDATE #2: Hmm, seems like the righty blogs are claiming this is coming from “unreliable sources.” Hardly. The CNN reporter who BROKE THE STORY, says she spoke directly with Colin Powell in Dubai.

Seems Iraqi’s are now being blamed for the problems in Iraq.

The Bush administration has blamed just about everyone there is to blame, and used just about every excuse there is to use. Who will be blamed next!? Wait, blame MySpace!!

United States to do list:
Invade country.
Overthrow government.
Watch as chaos ensues.
Watch as country sinks into civil war.
Blame citizens of said country.

But hey, just like Donald Rumsfeld said in 2003 after the Iraqi National Museum was ransacked, and looted: “Stuff happens!”

Bush in denial over Iraq! O rly? Ya rly! NO WAIII! - The Caucus

Potential 2008 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich wants America to “reexamine” free speech in an effort to win the “War on Turr” (this is truly scary!) - Union Leader

Cheney shuts down entire Florida interstate to go hunting. Official says “It was done as security…” Yeah, no kidding!! We wouldn’t want to end up like Harry Whittington - WTSP Tampa Bay

No charges to be filed in October 31 cat fight - Richmond Times Dispatch

Wesley Clark wants to run like a real person this time! - Richmond Times Dispatch

Democrats to impeach Bush? Too late, bloggers strike first! - Huffington Post

UPDATE: Oops, almost forgot to mention a story I’m working on for tomorrow which some of you may be interested in. I got an email from a friend at the Progressive Majority about some interesting happenings in the Pennsylvania state house which deserve some attention. Look for it here tomorrow morning.

Credit to Phriendly Jaime over at West of Shockoe for this one. A disturbing look into just how much George Bush actually loathes the truth.

Check out this excerpt from the article describing a brief exchange between lame duck Bush, and Senator-elect Webb at a private reception at the White House for newly elected members of Congress:

At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.

“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.

Wow, makes it seem like George Bush doesn’t like hearing the truth about what’s REALLY going on in Iraq. Maybe this is part of the reason why the country has slipped into civil war.

Jim Webb had no problem letting us know how he felt about the ignorant remark from Bush either:

Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. It’s safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won’t be taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.

Good to know that we’ve got a man representing us who’s not afraid to say how he really feels. Too bad the article doesn’t tell us how Jim Webb DID respond, though. Of course the White House declined to give any sort of response, and who can blame them? How could you possibly spin such a stupid remark?

NLS is reporting that Paul Reagan is Jim Webb’s new Chief of Staff!

10pm UPDATE: Confirmed

Congratulations to both Paul Reagan and Jim Webb.

You may remember we reported that Barbara Bush had been robbed in Argentina of her purse and cell phone, without Secret Service members even noticing. This on the same trip that saw one Secret Service member get brutally beaten down in the country.

Yesterday morning, ABC News reported that the U.S. embassy in the country had asked the twins to leave. A report denied by the embassy. However, ABC also reported that Barbara Bush left the country Sunday night following the request by officials to leave. Jenna Bush, however plans to stay until December 6. The twins are (were?) apparently there to celebrate their 25th birthdays.

Wonkette has a hilarious entry on the twins’ adventure too. The comments are even better.

According to a Richmond Times Dispatch article out tomorrow, outgoing Senator George Allen will address Virginia Republican activists at their annual Advance on Saturday at the Homestead. Kate Obenshain Griffin, the new chief of staff for Allen said the speech will mirror Allen’s November 9 speech in which he conceded to Senator-elect Jim Webb.

The article also goes on to say that the RPV will elect a new chairperson Saturday morning. Ed Gillespie is expected to be announced as the new chairperson.