October 2007 archive

In presidential primary politics, money is the reward for good behavior. If a candidate does or says something people can get behind, something people can believe in, then he or she will be rewarded by campaign contributions. I think this a simple concept to understand.

Senator Hillary Clinton has had amazing success fund raising and her $50 Million Cash-on-Hand: $35M Primary, $15M General.

Proof positive that Everybody Loves Hillary.

that’s all… just asking… because when politics corrupts even that, then we are in trouble…

so fuck the politicians and i don’t mean that in a good way.

tell me, what besides san diego burning, pete stark apologizing, and the general sad state of affairs, do we have to talk about?

we need a break. as 73rd says, the floor is open.  or does she say the floor is yours…

And cheers to them for that:

In a move that will up the pressure on Hillary and Barack Obama to stand firm against the Senate telecom immunity FISA bill, MoveOn and a dozen top progressive blogs will launch an all-out campaign tomorrow to pressure the two Senators into publicly declaring their support for Chris Dodd's threat to place a hold on and filibuster the bill, Election Central has learned.

. . . If Hillary and Obama don't comply, Green added, “it would send an unfortunate signal to Democratic voters about whether they're willing to stand up to George Bush. The idea is to get Democrats to stand on principle and exercise the powers of their office to stop Bush from covering up how far he went in illegally spying on the private emails and phone calls of innocent Americans.”

Well done Move On.

prosecution of key anti terrorism case falls apart http://www.latimes.c… “serious consequences” Cheney uses the phrase to set up an attack on Iran. How ’bout we use the phrase on congressional Dems to set up a primary challenge to them?

1. Southern California is on fire. The Los Angeles Times reports on More evacuations and new fires.

   High temperatures and fierce winds returned to Southern California this morning, complicating the efforts to control a string of wildfires that grew overnight, prompting new evacuations. San Diego County authorities estimated 1,000 homes had burned there, and blazes in the mountains east of Los Angeles.

   Fires sprang up in San Diego and Los Angeles counties, and evacuations were ordered in Orange and San Diego counties. Weary firefighters fought to contain major blazes that have burned for days across seven counties, with containment days away at the soonest.

   In especially hard-hit San Diego County, Board of Supervisors Chairman Ron Roberts said this morning that the burned area in the county could be approaching 300,000 acres, with an estimated 1,000 homes lost. He said 270,000 “reverse 911” calls had been made warning residents to evacuate. At least 15,000 people spent the night in shelters, and the number of evacuees could exceed half a million.

   The San Diego Union Tribune reports the Witch Creek fire is “Going to get worse.”

   The Witch Creek fire burning across northern San Diego County has left a grim toll: 500 homes destroyed and 250 damaged; 100 commercial buildings destroyed and 75 damaged; 50 outbuildings destroyed and 50 more damaged. At least 145,000 acres have burned, authorities said Monday.

   “It’s going to get worse. It’s probably the worst fire this county has ever had, well worse than the Cedar fire,” Sheriff Bill Kolender said in a news conference.

   The New York Times reports that the California fires force 300,000 from homes. “More than a dozen wildfires continued to rage unstopped in southern California for a third day today , forcing an estimated 300,000 people to evacuate their homes and blackening over 400 square miles of brushland and suburbs. Hot, gusting winds made the advancing flames nearly impossible for firefighters to control, officials said. The winds are expected to keep blowing through the day, and perhaps longer.”

Four at Four continues below the fold with additional news.

Back when I was a kid, I used to look forward every day to reading the San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle was a paper that was – how to put this – unique in its outlook and editorial stance. Freed from the stifling journalistic rigor of, say, its distant and uptight cousins, The New York Times or the The Washington Post (and if you’re wondering how I can use the phrase “journalistic rigor” in the same sentence as “The New York Times” or “The Washington Post,” remember: this was when I was a kid, okay?), the Chron (as we called it) practiced a more, umm, Bohemian style of journalism, one that reflected, perhaps, the decidedly less weighty priorities of the residents of Baghdad-by-the-Bay and its environs.