Sporadic blogging ahead

I have to head out of town for work for the next week so blogging may be sparse.

For now, I leave you with a fascinating Charlie Rose show about the human brain. It covers a wide range of subjects ranging from the psychotherapy of Freud to perception and cutting edge brain research.

A stupid debate

I have to wonder what it is with guys like Rush Limbaugh, President Bush, and others insisting that the Democratic Party be called the Democrat Party. Here's what Limbaugh was saying on his show yesterday about the matter.

"Well, uh, ladies and gentlemen, they are not the Democratic Party. I know what they're trying to accomplish here. They're attempting to kill two birds with one stone by having the title of their party have Democrat as a root word, but Democratic itself is a word that conveys action and conveys philosophy and conveys behavior, all of these things, versus the Republican Party."

Who is this they he refers to? It has been called the Democratic Party since the days of President Andrew Jackson in the 1820s. Democrats are members of the Democratic Party. Check your dictionary, Rush. You too can learn English despite your self-inflicted hearing loss.

"Is it really fair for one party to have a title or a name that implies they are a certain kind of people at the exclusion of all other political parties? That's why they want this to be utilized in that way, because it implies something, it states something about them that it doesn't state about the Republicans."

Wow, jealous much? If the Republican strategy has devolved into ideas like not acknowledging the very name of the opposition party, no wonder they lost control of Congress.

A WWI movie worth seeing

I received Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) from Netflix and watched it tonight.

It was released last year, and is based on the true story of the Christmas Truce of 1914. During World War I, on Christmas Eve of that year, a group of Scottish, German, and French soldiers called a cease fire for the evening so they could observe the holiday, share gifts, have mass together, and bury their dead.

The characters in the film speak in English, German, and French with subtitles where they're appropriate.

Durbin urges Obama to run in '08

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is urging his colleague, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to run for president in 2008. He has started an online petition to build interest and support.

Durbin was elected in 1996 to fill the seat vacated by the late Sen. Paul Simon. He will become Senate Majority Whip in the Senate when Congress convenes in January.

There's no doubt Obama's talented, and charismatic. I'm not yet sold on an Obama 2008 candidacy though. The fact that he was elected by beating Alan Keyes for his Senate seat means he hasn't been truly tested outside of running for State Senate in Illinois, and losing a run for the House in 2000. That's not to say he wouldn't withstand the scrutiny that comes with running for president, but it's something to consider.

Election reform hearings ahead

With the Democrats taking over Congress, electronic voting is going to get some much needed scrutiny. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) will chair the Rules and Administration Committee which has jurisdiction over how federal elections are conducted. The San Jose Mercury News states that an aide to Feinstein confirmed that wide ranging hearings will be taking place.

A network of computer scientists and voting advocates have pushed for better security and transparency since Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002 in response to the 2000 crisis. That legislation provided federal money to upgrade systems, but did not require a paper trail.

Many of those critics say new touch-screen systems are not dependable, and are focusing on what may be the most serious controversy of the election, a possible software failure in a congressional race in Florida.

In that election, almost 18,000 people in Sarasota County who voted in various races did not vote in the hotly contested congressional contest between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings. That rate of 15 percent "no votes" was four to five times higher than the rate in surrounding counties.

Florida race shows why electronic voting sucks

The race to fill Rep. Katherine Harris' seat in Congress illustrates the degree of the problem when it comes to using electronic voting machines. The Orlando Sentinel reports that nearly 18,000 voters registered "no choice" in the race for Congress between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings (about 15% of Sacramento County). There is little to no chance that all of these people chose not to vote for Congress since these same people chose to vote for agriculture commissioner on the same ballot.

Buchanan won by 369 votes based on the votes that were registered. As the article mentions though, the missing votes solidly backed Democrats in the five statewide races. Unfortunately, the machines contain no paper trail to audit the results.

"Wow," University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato said. "That's very suggestive -- I'd even say strongly suggestive -- that if there had been votes recorded, she [Jennings] would have won that House seat."

David Dill, an electronic-voting expert at Stanford University, put it this way: "It seems to establish with certainty that more Democrats are represented in those undervoted ballots."

The Sentinel reviewed records of 17,846 touch-screen ballots that included no vote in the tightly contested 13th District congressional race to determine whom voters selected in other major races.

Drinking Liberally: Thanksgiving eve edition

Tonight, you can kick off your Thanksgiving weekend with your Drinking Liberally friends.

We'll be at Club Garibaldi tonight beginning at 7pm. Come on down and enjoy $2 off New Glarus Spotted Cow pitchers, 30 cent hot wings, and some good conversation.

It's located at 2501 S Superior St in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood.

Remembering JFK

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 43 years ago today on November 22, 1963. Here is his inaugural address from January 20, 1961.

Part one:

Part two:

Congress skips town without finishing its work

The Republican Congress has decided to go home without completing the budget for Fiscal Year 2007.

Instead, they chose to pass a temporary spending bill that funds the government until Democrats take over next year. Way to pass the buck, guys.

Bull Moose shuts its doors

Bull Moose blog is going into hiatus after editor Marshall Wittmann got hired as Communications Director for Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT).

Maybe it's partially because I'm a fan of Teddy Roosevelt (a great Republican president), but I always enjoyed Bull Moose for its independent streak and insight. The blogosphere could use a few more like it to provide some balance. Too often it seems, some gravitate to emotionally charged sites like Free Republic or Democratic Underground for their red meat politics of the day.

Time for William Jefferson to go

The runoff election in Louisiana is set for December 9th between Democrats William Jefferson and Karen Carter. The Louisiana Democratic Party, and the blogs Daily Kos, Swing State Project, and MyDD have all endorsed Carter.

Jefferson has been plagued by ethical problems, exemplified by his being investigated by the FBI for allegedly receiving bribes of $100,000 and $400,000. Jefferson has refused to resign, and is now seeking to retain the seat. Now that corrupt Republicans like Tom DeLay, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and Bob Ney are out, Louisiana Democrats in Jefferson's district should take a stand on ethics and boot Jefferson out.

For more information on his opponent Karen Carter, check out her site.

Pro-choice Republicans stepping up

After the Republicans lost badly on election night, there's a lot of positioning going on within the party. The Republican Majority for Choice is one of the groups involved. They say their views on reproductive rights represent the majority of the party, but that party delegates have had control of the platform on the issue.

Many Republicans are blaming the election results on the centrist wing of the party, because of the number of losses in places like the northeast. That doesn't tell the whole story though. Guys like Sen. Lincoln Chafee didn't lose because they were moderate, they lost because they were tied to a party that has abandoned independent and moderate voters in favor of a right-wing base strategy.

As this Bloomberg article notes, almost 40% of House Republicans in the new Congress will be from the south. What's more eye opening is that Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), who narrowly won re-election, is now the only Republican House member left from New England.

Rummy funny

Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson pays his respects to outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Pelosi, Hoyer win top leadership spots

House Democrats have unanimously elected Nancy Pelosi to Speaker of the House and current House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer to become Majority Leader in the 110th Congress. Hoyer garnered 149 votes to 86 votes for Jack Murtha.

Here's how the leadership breaks down:

Nominee for Speaker:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Majority Leader:
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

Majority Whip:
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC)

Caucus Chair:
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)

Vice-Caucus Chair:
Rep. John Larson (D-CT)

Murtha pretty much killed his chances when he came out against ethics reform legislation supported by Pelosi and House Democrats. Republicans will make a big deal out of this since Pelosi had endorsed Murtha, but in the end this stuff is largely inside baseball. Quoting Rep. Dave Obey (D-WI):

"There's such universal respect and affection for Nancy. She's gutsy as hell and she's willing to take a chance," he said. "It was bitter between the two candidates, I suppose, but it wasn't bitter among the members of the caucus. People get over this stuff."

Late night video

Genesis - Land of Confusion (1986)

Fox News, always good for a laugh

The conservative World Net Daily is claiming that Fox News gave $2 million to "Palestinian terror groups and security organizations in the Gaza Strip" in exchange for the release of two reporters being held hostage. They indicate this has been confirmed by the Fatah Party.

Now we have an internal Fox News memo obtained by the Huffington Post that tells staff to be "Be On The Lookout For Any Statements From The Iraqi Insurgents...Thrilled At The Prospect Of A Dem Controlled Congress".

I can't add anything to further illustrate their hubris.

I'm so doing this

A group of political junkies has put together an online Fantasy Congress game.

Start a team at the Fantasy Congress site and start drafting your House and Senate members. As with other fantasy sports, you can start your own league. Points are acquired as your members introduce legislation and have it advanced through the process.

To some it may seem pretty dorky, but I'm sure there are a few readers and fellow bloggers who won't be able to resist. If you're interested in joining a league, shoot me an email.

Post election political geography

Chuck Todd has a good assessment of the geographical trend in voting patterns nationally.

Forget "red" and "blue." The country is basically divided into four voting blocs: the Democratic Northeast, the Republican South, the populist Midwest and the libertarian West. Democrats probably have a decent grip on those populist Midwest voters for a while (at least until the area transforms completely into a new economy). As for the libertarian West (home of the first state -- Arizona -- to reject a gay marriage ban), this is a region that is more up for grabs than it should be. And it's because the Republican Party has grown more religious and more pro-government which turns off these "leave me alone," small-government libertarian Republicans.

The Republican Party started selling out its socially liberal voters beginning in 1980 when it abandoned the principles championed by Barry Goldwater. Until the GOP leadership is willing to stand up to the religious right, it risks becoming marginalized as a predominantly southern party.

Clear Channel yanks the Mic

Madison's successful progressive radio station 92.1 FM The Mic will get a makeover after the new year when it becomes the new home of Fox Sports radio. It's surprising considering that its ratings have been good throughout most of the past two years.

It was revealed a few weeks back that a memo was circulated to ABC stations containing a list of 90 advertisers refusing to run their commercials during Air America programming. Companies like McDonald's, Levi's and Toys R Us advertise on Clear Channel stations too so it would make sense that the same policy is in place there. Read the full memo here.

The Mic also carried successful progressive talkers Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, and local shows in addition to carrying the fledgling Air America network.

Murtha vs. Hoyer for Majority Leader

The next election to watch isn't next year or 2008, but rather the race to become the Democratic Majority Leader in the House of Representatives.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is in line to become Majority Leader in January. However, this isn't a monarchy whereby the line of succession is written in stone. It wasn't until Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), previously a supporter of the Iraq conflict, spoke out about the lack of progress and called for a change in strategy including the redeployment of troops that many Democrats grew a spine on the issue. Hoyer has been more supportive of the war in the past contributing to his reputation as a Blue Dog Democrat. However, Hoyer is more liberal on social issues than Murtha who opposes abortion rights.

Something to consider is that Murtha's leadership on criticizing Iraq policy contributed to Democrats retaking the House in the election. Political Wire points to articles in Roll Call and the Hill reporting Rep. Nancy Pelosi, soon to become House Speaker, has thrown her support behind Murtha.

Pocketbook issues are the key to Dems' success

The Trib followed Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rahm Emanuel throughout this campaign season and gained access to strategy meetings. An article in the paper details what they observed.

Moving forward, Democrats need to take this opportunity given to them by voters to regain the confidence and trust of those who until this past election have largely voted Republican. The populist mantra has been hijacked by people like County Exec Scott Walker, Rush Limbaugh and George W. Bush. In the next Congress, Dems can reclaim it by focusing on issues like affordable and accessible health care, raising the minimum wage, job training, tax reform, college tuition, and energy prices to name a few.

Conservatism is not a governing philosophy, it's a critique of government. It's easy to regurgitate the idea of lower taxes, and shrinking government, but Republicans haven't defined where the threshold is on either of them. They've also grown the size of government while failing to fund it thereby ballooning the deficit.

The opportunity for Democrats is to restore faith that government can work for the citizenry where the private sector fails to, and do it in a fiscally sound manner. When run competently, government can open doors that have been shut in the past for workers, and provide hope for those who have lost it.

That new mall

Stacie sounds off on the new Bayshore over at the Vast Dairy State Conspiracy (click on the bypass this message link to read the post).

I stopped at the Bayshore Town Center a few weeks back. It's an improvement over its predecessor and other shopping malls we've come to know over the previous decades. While you're walking around outside, there is a sense of place that kicks in.

Considering Glendale didn't really have a downtown before, I can see why they moved in this direction. In the end though, it's still an imitation of an authentic city shopping district which is what the modern shopping mall has always been.

Russ says no run for president in '08

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) has decided against a run for president in the 2008 election. From the press release:

I'm sure a campaign for President would have been a great adventure and helpful in advancing a progressive agenda. At this time, however, I believe I can best advance that progressive agenda as a Senator with significant seniority in the new Senate serving on the Foreign Relations, Intelligence, Judiciary and Budget Committees. Although I have given it a lot of thought, I cannot muster the same enthusiasm for a race for President while I am trying simultaneously to advance our agenda in the Senate. In other words, if I really wanted to run for President, regardless of the odds or other possible candidates, I would do so. However, to put my family and all of my friends and supporters through such a process without having a very strong desire to run, seems inappropriate to me. And, yes, while I would strongly prefer that our nominee in 2008 be someone who had the judgment to oppose the Iraq war from the beginning, I am prepared to work as hard as I can through the Progressive Patriots Fund, and consistent with my duties in the Senate, to maintain or increase our gains from November 7 in the Congress and, of course, to elect a Democrat as President in 2008.

Checking in

Hello from the nation's capitol. I'm out in DC visiting friends and family this week and taking in the aftermath of the election and the overdue ouster of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

I've been in northern Virginia for most of the past day, and there are still Webb and Allen signs everywhere. It looks like this race could formally be over today, the Associated Press having already called the race for Democrat Jim Webb. There's next to no chance that Republican George Allen would be able to close the 7200 gap with a recount barring some very unusual circumstances.

I was sad to see that Kathleen Falk lost a close race to become Wisconsin's next Attorney General. Early on in the returns, it was noticable that many people were voting for Doyle and then crossing over to vote for Republican JB Van Hollen for AG. Congratulations and best of luck to him.

Back to Congress, the Democrats will be controlling both the House and the Senate for at least the next two years. I'll urge the Dems to work with the president where it's possible (e.g. immigration, minimum wage). The Iraq war is still the focal point of where change is necessary though, and now at long last maybe we can have some oversight into this conflict that has cost the country hundresds of billions of dollars and 2,839 lives. With regard to Robert Gates, he's not a neo con, he's from the Brent Scowcroft more pragmantic school of foreign policy. We'll see if the shift in ideology results in a change in policy at the Pentagon if he's confirmed.

Hope Drinking Liberally was festive last night. See you all soon.

Off for a few days

I'm off on vacation through the remainder of the week so there probably won't be any posting in the coming days unless I find time to use a computer.

Talk to you all next week.

It's time to celebrate, and then get to work

It was a fascinating night to follow the returns. After being glued to the television and the computer for the first few hours, I headed out and stopped by the Kohl/Moore party and then to newly elected State Sen. Jim Sullivan's victory party at Miller Park. Sullivan defeated reactionary Republican Tom Reynolds in Wisconsin's 5th State Senate district in a victory against extremism in our state legislature. Sullivan's win also contributed to the Democrats taking the State Senate in Wisconsin.

Nationally, the Democrats have reclaimed the House of Representatives bringing back a check on the balance of power in Washington. In Wisconsin, Steve Kagen defeated John Gard to contribute to that victory. Gov. Jim Doyle has retained the governorship with an impressive margin (a year ago, I predicted a Doyle victory by 5%). The balance of power in the Senate appears to be going down to the wire in Virginia with the Allen-Webb race. In Wisconsin, the Attorney General's race may not be decided tonight either between Falk and Van Hollen. Even with those races to be decided, we've already seen a huge shift in power in the state and the country.

It certainly is disappointing that the marriage amendment passed for those of us who fought against it. Given that younger voters tend to view gay marriage as less of problem than the general populace, I like to think the country is moving in the right direction. If this amendment were on the ballot a few years down the road, perhaps the result may have been different.

On balance, it's a time to rejoice given the results we have seen tonight. Once the celebrating ends, and the newly elected are inaugurated, the hard work will need to be done to address the important domestic and international issues the current leadership has failed to. The country is hungry for leadership based on the results today.

Telling stat of the day: Not one Democratic incumbent in Congress lost tonight, a mirror image of what Republicans experienced in 1994.

Polls are closed in Wisconsin

So far nationally, the Democrats have picked up Senate seats in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and held New Jersey.

Here are a few pages you can visit to get the most up to date election results tonight:

Wisconsin:

• WisPolitics Election Scorecard
  
• JSOnline Election Results
  
• WKOW - Madison
  
• WLUK - Green Bay

National:

• CNN - Wisconsin results
  
• TPM Cafe Election Scorecard
  
• ABC News coverage

You can watch local bloggers Folkbum and Owen on Channel 4's election night coverage in Milwaukee at 9pm.

Back from GOTV

Today, I voted at around 1pm today and was #292 at Ward 237 in Milwaukee. I just now got back from doing some get out the vote work. Of the calls I made to traditionally Democratic voters, very few people hadn't already voted so take from that what you will.

There was one report out of a Kenosha ward where someone was supposedly telling arriving voters they were out of registration forms. If that's true, the city clerk ought to get some forms over there right away. They're available right on the state website. On the other hand, if that person was trying to turn away potential voters, that's pretty despicable.

One more hour folks. Vote if you haven't yet. If you're in line by 8:00pm, you're allowed to cast a ballot.

Speak through your vote Tuesday

Here's a short list of voting resources in Wisconsin. Click on the appropriate link below to find out where your polling place is located.

• City of Milwaukee
  
• City of Madison
  
• City of Green Bay
  
• City of Waukesha
  
• City of Kenosha
  
• City of Racine
  
• For other locations, visit mypollingplace.com, and put in your zip code. Follow the instructions to determine where to vote.

If you're not yet registered to vote at your polling place, information about what you need to register and vote on the same day is available on the Wisconsin Elections Board website.

Endorsements

A sample ballot is available on the City of Milwaukee site. Here's where Brewtown Politico comes down on tomorrow's important races:

Governor: Jim Doyle
Attorney General: Kathleen Falk
US Senate: Herb Kohl
US House 4th District: Gwen Moore
US House 5th District: Bryan Kennedy
US House 8th District: Steve Kagen
State Senate 5th District: Jim Sullivan
State Senate 7th District: Jeff Plale
Milwaukee Co. District Attorney: John Chisholm
Milwaukee Co. Sheriff: Don Holt

NO on QUESTION 1: “Marriage. Shall section 13 article XIII of the constitution be created to provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state and that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state?”

NO on QUESTION 2: Death penalty in Wisconsin. “Should the death penalty be enacted in the State of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?”

Obey would head Appropriations if Dems win

A Reuters article points out Wisconsin's own Congressman Dave Obey could have significant influence in Congress after tomorrow's election. If the Democrats take back the House of Representatives in tomorrow's election, Obey would become Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee which has jurisdiction over the federal budget. He represents Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District in the northwestern part of the state.

A Democratic takeover of the U.S. Congress would put two of the most outspoken critics of the Iraq war in charge of dispensing the money President George W. Bush will seek for combat, adding pressure for a new approach to the increasingly unpopular war.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin would rise to Appropriations Committee chairman if Democrats win this week. At every opportunity, the scrappy Obey reminds fellow lawmakers of his opposition to the Iraq war, calling it the "dumbest war since the War of 1812."

"David Obey can be a cantankerous fellow. I don't think he'd be in the business of giving the president an easy time," said Brookings Institution senior fellow Stephen Hess.

Hovind guilty of tax fraud

Creation Science Museum founder Kent Hovind was convicted of tax fraud late last week. He had run the Dinosaur Adventure Land theme park which showcased the view that humans and dinosaurs co-existed together on earth. Reportedly, he paid the workers at the park under the table and said he didn't have to withhold taxes, because he and his employees were "workers of God."

Hovind is a prominent evolution critic who dismisses the theory outright, and has a national television show espousing his views. He gave a presentation entitled "Creation vs. Evolution... which has more merit?" at UW-Milwaukee last December.

Military Times calls for Rumsfeld to be fired

An editorial in the Military Times newspapers calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to be fired. It comes in response to President Bush stating earlier this week that he expects Rumsfeld to stay on for the duration of his term ending in January 2009. Here's an excerpt.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.

It will appear Monday in the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times, and Marine Times. I suppose they're part of the liberal media conspiracy too.

Audio of downtown rally

WisPolitics reports on the rally downtown at the Milwaukee Theatre event featuring former President Clinton. Read the full report and listen to the clips here.

Clinton poked fun at the Republican campaign strategy, saying it tries to turn Democrats into two-dimensional cartoons that will raise taxes, fail to keep the streets safe and shy away from standing up for America overseas.

Later in the speech, he got a hearty laugh by paraphrasing what he said was the Republican message.

"If you vote for those Democrats, they will tax you into the poorhouse, and on the way to the poorhouse you will meet a terrorist on every street corner," Clinton said. "And when you try to run away from the terrorist, you will trip over an illegal immigrant."

Quote of the Day: Egyptian king edition

“True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.”

--Akhenaton, King of Egypt during the 14th century BC.

What, no Osama tape yet?

Friday night, and no sign of the Osama pre-election talk show. It almost doesn't feel like Election Day's coming.

Friday, the heavy hitter comes to town

Former President Bill Clinton will be in Milwaukee Friday at a rally in support of Gov. Jim Doyle and Wisconsin Democrats. The event is free and open to the public.

It's being held at the Milwaukee Theatre downtown on 6th and Kilbourn. Doors open at 2pm with the event scheduled to start at 2:30.

Tickets are not needed for this event. If you're attending though, RSVP at www.doylelawton.com or call 1-877-646-2006.

Republican leader blames generals in Iraq for missteps

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) blamed US generals in Iraq for failures in the war in an interview with Wolf Blitzer. When questioned on whether or not Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld deserves the blame for how the Iraq war has been conducted, Boehner brushed it off and pointed the blame at the generals:

BOEHNER: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

BLITZER: But he's in charge of the military.

BOEHNER: But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president.

Yet another reason why Boehner and other Republicans in the House need to be removed from power on Election Day next Tuesday.

Green says he'll oppose amendment after it's passed

In a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans, gubernatorial candidate Mark Green says he would oppose the second sentence of the amendment if it is used to thwart the rights of gay couples.

"During our meeting, Congressman Green said he would oppose any attempt to use the second sentence of the amendment to take away the rights of lesbians and gays to be able to visit their partners in the hospital under the hospital visitation statute or make medical decisions about them through medical power of attorney."

Congressman Green ought to oppose the amendment that's on the ballot since it bans civil unions and benefits for gay couples that married couples enjoy, but he has come out in support of its passage. Once again, the language of the marriage amendment courtesy of our Republican legislature:

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state."

What the guy meant to say

John Kerry's prepared remarks from the other day:

"I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."

He screwed up a Bush-isn't-very-bright line in his speech. Even given the explanation, Republicans will continue to pretend he was talking about US troops rather than Bush up through Election Day in an effort to mislead voters. They're banking on enough of us not catching on before then.

Oh by the way, 102 more US troops were killed in Iraq in October. The fact that it's not getting more attention than the above story is what's outrageous.