#1 The most ethical Congress in history.
#2 The draft.

and now

#3 Implementing every single one of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations.

From the Washington Post:

It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement all of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But with control of Congress now secured, Democratic leaders have decided for now against implementing the one measure that would affect them most directly: a wholesale reorganization of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. . . .

. . .

"I don't think that suggestion is going anywhere," said Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee and a close ally of the incoming subcommittee chairman, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.). "That is not going to be their party position."

It may seem like a minor matter, but members of the commission say Congress's failure to change itself is anything but inconsequential. In 2004, the commission urged Congress to grant the House and Senate intelligence committees the power not only to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies but also to fund them and shape intelligence policy. The intelligence committees' gains would come at the expense of the armed services committees and the appropriations panels' defense subcommittees. Powerful lawmakers on those panels would have to give up prized legislative turf.

. . .

Now Democrats are balking, just as Republicans did before them.

The decision will almost certainly anger commission members, as well as families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, many of whom have pressed hard for implementation of the recommendations.

"The Democrats pledged to implement all the remaining 9/11 reforms, not some of them," said former representative Timothy J. Roemer (D-Ind.), who served on the commission.

Carie Lemack, whose mother was in one of the jets that hit the World Trade Center, echoed that sentiment: "It wasn't a Chinese takeout menu, the 41 recommendations. You have to do all of them."

On an unrealted note, why is it that I can get no information from the media about what crawled up Pelosi's butt to make her dislike Jane Harman and Steny Hoyer so much? I know it's personal, but I've looked far and wide and there doesn't seem to be any investigative reporter willing to investigate this question.

Pelosi's beef with Hoyer goes back to her Maryland days, when she was the receptionist and Hoyer was the chief gofer for Senator Brewster in the 60's. I know there must be some interesting anecdotes, which would explain the animosity she's held onto for decades. But the media is hush hush.

And what's the deal with Jane Harman? I know she's not considered dovish enough, but I do suspect there's a personal vendetta there too. Pelosi is well known for holding grudges (and to be fair, suddenly letting go of grudges too), but nobody wants to dig into this story.

If anybody has seen anything interesting, send me a link. I'm just interested in political gossip is all.

h/t Belmont Club

Posted by: annika at 11:37 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
Post contains 577 words, total size 4 kb.

On October 16, 2006, Army CW3 Lori Hill became the latest female pilot decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross (the first was none other than Amelia Earhart).

Back in March in Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lori Hill, with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, was piloting her Kiowa Warrior when the lead chopper came under heavy fire. She drew the fire away, simultaneously providing suppressive fire for the troops engaged with the enemy on the ground.

A rocket-propelled grenade hit her, damaging the heloÂ’s instrumentation, but instead of focusing on her predicament, she established communication with the ground forces and continued to provide them with aerial weapon support until the soldiers reached safety.

As she turned her attention to the aircraft, which was losing hydraulic power, the helo took on machine-gun fire, a round crashing into one of HillÂ’s ankles. Still, with a damaged aircraft and an injury, she landed at Forward Operating Base Normandy, saving her crew and aircraft.

For her actions she was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross by Vice President Richard Cheney at Fort Campbell, Ky., on Oct. 16.

“[It] was a once-in-a-lifetime thing to get the award and then have the vice president come and award it to you,” she said. “It’s just incredible for any soldier.”

Recalling that day in March, Hill reflected, “I was actually just glad I didn’t pass out and very happy I was able to help the ground guys out, and get our helicopter down safely on the ground.”

Posted by: annika at 09:17 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 285 words, total size 2 kb.

This is what happens when our Universities' social science departments are filled with former radicals.

According to an extremely biased article in the Daily Bruin,

Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a UCLA student, was repeatedly stunned with a Taser and then taken into custody when he did not exit the CLICC Lab in Powell Library in a timely manner. Community Service Officers had asked Tabatabainejad to leave after he failed to produce his BruinCard during a random check at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

But the responsibility for this whole ugly incident lies solely with Mr. Mostafa Tabatabainejad. If you don't have your ID card, go back to your room and get it. If they call the police on you, apologize politely and leave the library. Otherwise, they might just taser your idiot ass.

Plus, when students are indoctrinated by professors who are former radicals constantly reliving the glory days of the 60's in class (I went to Berkeley, remember) it's pretty hard not to view all police interactions as if we lived in Franco's Spain. But we don't.

Update: h/t to TBinSTL for this appropriate PSA, by Chris Rock.

Posted by: annika at 11:27 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
Post contains 250 words, total size 2 kb.

I wonder how many people who voted Democrat knew that reinstating the draft was on the Democrat's agenda.

I consider myself pretty well informed politically, I listened carefully to all the Democratic talking points, I'm on a few Democrat mailing lists. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but I don't seem to remember any Democrat mentioning that bringing back the draft was going to be their first order of business once they got elected.

Maybe I'm wrong here, but it seems to me if the Democrats had mentioned that they wanted to bring back the draft once they got control of Congress, they would not have gotten control of Congress!

I'm just pointing it out, is all.

Posted by: annika at 10:09 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 127 words, total size 1 kb.

From Reuters:

The Dutch government agreed on Friday a total ban on the wearing of burqas and other Muslim face veils in public, justifying the move on security grounds.

. . .

"The cabinet finds it undesirable that garments covering the face -- including the burqa -- should be worn in public in view of public order, (and) the security and protection of fellow citizens," the Dutch Justice Ministry said in a statement.

. . .

The Muslim community estimates that only about 50 women in the Netherlands wear the head-to-toe burqa or the niqab, a face veil that conceals everything but the eyes.

Dutch Muslim groups have complained a burqa ban would make the country's 1 million Muslims feel more victimized and alienated, regardless of whether they approve of burqas or not.

"This will just lead to more girls saying 'hey I'm also going to wear a burqa as a protest'," Naima Azough, a member of parliament from the opposition Green Left, told an election campaign meeting for fellow members of the Moroccan community.

Job Cohen, the Labour mayor of Amsterdam, said he opposed burqas in schools and public buildings, and said women wearing one who failed to get a job should not expect welfare benefits.

Posted by: annika at 10:29 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
Post contains 296 words, total size 2 kb.

It's almost a week since the election and the punditry has coalesced into two distinct themes. I'll digest them for you right now, so you can enjoy the rest of the week without having to bother with the news at all.

The Right: Republicans lost because they didn't try to please the conservative base. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that most Americans are pissed about Iraq, don't believe the President's "stay the course" line anymore, and think it's time to either win or get out. No, the election was really about prescription drug entitlements.

The Left: Not only is Nancy Pelosi really smart and a grandmother, she isn't liberal at all. She's actually a centrist. All Americans are ecstatic that she's in charge of the country. Except for those Republicans, who are very sad. On the other hand, George H. W. Bush is in charge of the country, which would normally be bad, except we like him now.

Posted by: annika at 10:36 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 185 words, total size 1 kb.

I won't dirty my blog with video of Bill Mahr, but I do want you to check out this clip, on YouTube. It's called "Farewell to Douchebags," and it's a look back at some faces we've probably seen the last of (or not).

Mahre sets it up by noting how they do the same thing during the Oscars each year, with the dead person reel. Some people inevitably get more applause than others, and sometimes there's an audible pause while people decide how much acclamation to bestow. Mar gives an example "they go, oh DeForest Kelly . . . okay we liked him"

Now watch the video and listen to the hearty applause given at Tom Delay's or Karl Rove's pictures and then compare it to the uncomfortable semi-silence at Saddam Hussein's picture. The audience was like "uh uh do we cheer? oh shit, shit whatdowedo?!" It's liberal brain lock.

h/t SharonCobb

Posted by: annika at 12:23 PM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
Post contains 168 words, total size 1 kb.

No one loves and supports this President more than I do. But after yesterday's debacle I have to say it: I blame Bush.

It was a debacle, and don't let anybody tell you different. The voters threw forty Republicans out of office, and they would have thrown Bush out too, if they'd only had the chance. Not a single Democratic incumbent lost, and the carnage would have been much worse if it had not been for Gerrymandering.

Clinton's famous catch phrase was, "It's the economy, stupid." It's pretty obvious that the American people sent a message this year, and the message was, "It's the war, stupid." That there are Republicans out there who failed to hear this message is one of the truly astounding things about yesterday's election.

Hugh Hewitt is the prime example. Don't get me wrong, Hugh Hewitt knows more about government and politics that I could ever hope to learn. His radio show is the highlight of my listening day. And he has done amazing work for the party before, as he will again. But Hugh's Townhall column today was so clueless, I think he must need some time off.

In an essay that's 1,351 words long, Hugh failed to cite the Iraq War even once as a possible cause for the Republicans being thrown out on their asses yesterday. Instead, incredibly, he blames John McCain:

The post-mortems are accumulating, but I think the obvious has to be stated: John McCain and his colleagues in the Gang of 14 cost the GOP its Senate majority while the conduct of a handful of corrupt House members gave that body's leadership [to] the Democrats.

Listen carefully to what I'm saying. The principled base might have been pissed off at Republican betrayals, but the base still turned out yesterday. The middle third, the independents, the swing voters, they're who I'm talking about. They're the ones who led the revolt, and their issue was the War. Any one of you can verify this for yourself by asking a few questions around the water cooler.

I'm not saying that we Republicans lost because Americans want to cut and run. Don't believe that bullshit. I absolutely do not believe that the majority of Americans think their country is engaged in an immoral war. I believe that Americans wouldn't really care whether there were WMD in Iraq, if the war was over and won by now. Most Americans want to win, and they can't understand why we haven't yet. The 2004 election was America's rejection of the hate-America crowd who believe the Iraq War was wrong, immoral, what have you. Those people are a loud but small minority. In 2004, Americans made a different choice and said to the President, "We're sticking with you, now go get it done."

And the problem this time around was that, two years later, the President still had not gotten it done.

We can blame the media all we want. We can blame the Cindy Sheehans and the Michael Moores and the Jimmy Carters and the Kos Kids and the George Soroses all we want. They deserve blame. But the fact remains, George W. Bush was handed a vote of confidence by the American people in 2004, and he did not get the job done. Not only that, he took our patience for granted.

The patience of a Democratic people is a historically fickle thing. It would be nice if it weren't so fickle, but it is. And that's part of the ground that President Bush had to fight on. You can't excuse it by saying, as we've heard for three years now, "It's hard work. Stay the course. Stay the course." Americans demand results. We're willing to sacrifice; we're willing to be patient; we're willing to trust our leaders. But ultimately, we demand results.

And 105 brave souls lost in the last month is not results.

We can say that the media is not reporting the real progess being made in Iraq, and I believe that's true. But at some point you gotta ask, "Can we stop with the building schools and the passing out candy, and just win this thing — and get our people home?"

President Bush's task is often compared by people on my side of the aisle to Lincoln's task during the Civil War. Lincoln is said to have stood firm in the face of vehement opposition. He stayed the course during the darkest days, and won through to victory. But the comparison, as it looks right now, is not an apt one. Lincoln fired a shitload of generals. Lincoln demanded results, and eventually he got results. Look, I love Rumsfeld for the way he talked back to the media. I was willing to support Rummy through thick and thin, despite what the generals thought of him. But the war plan was Rumsfeld's baby, and as soon as he stopped getting results, he should have been gone.

I understand that the enemy adapts. I get it. But to use a football analogy, we're sick of the three and outs. We need to see some first downs here, guys.

I supported the decision to go to war against Saddam. Even knowing what I know now, I still support that decision. But my support is given with the assumption that we're in it to win. We simply must win. As I said before, there is no third way in Iraq.

Victory in Iraq — let's just call it "success" at this point — should be defined like this: any situation in Iraq that would enable us to bring our troops home without everything we've done in the last three and a half years falling to pieces once we leave. I'm not sure that the Democrats have any idea how to accomplish this, but I also know that the President sure as shit hasn't gotten us there yet.

So that's why we Republicans lost the House and Senate yesterday. There's plenty of other reasons you can cite to me, and they're all valid criticisms, I'm sure. Culture of corruption, Foleygate, Delaygate, etc. Dubai Ports, Harriet Meiers, even the Gang of 14, if you like. The Bridge to Nowhere, earmarks, amnesty, Hurricane Katrina, whatever. The list goes on and on. But there's one thing I'll argue 'til I'm out of breath. The American people would have forgiven any of those things — hell, all of those things — if only we knew that our boys were coming home soon, and victorious.

Posted by: annika at 08:32 PM | Comments (36) | Add Comment
Post contains 1171 words, total size 7 kb.

Here are some notes that occur to me, reading the various conservative pundits doing their various post-election stuff.

1. I keep reading about how it's the Democrats' turn to govern. Congress does not govern. Congress legislates. It takes three branches to govern. Keep that in mind.

2. I keep reading about how "we'll get 'em back in two years." Not so fast. Iraq is the biggest problem that needs to be fixed, and soon. If Iraq is fixed, to the satisfaction of the electorate, then guess who gets the credit. Not us. If Iraq gets worse, Republicans might have a chance to say I told you so, but guess who the electorate will blame. Not the Democrats. And I for one, desperately want a victory in Iraq, regardless of who gets the credit. If that means a longer time in the wilderness, so be it. Our men and women in arms deserve victory, for all they've sacrificed. I hope, hope, hope, that victory is really part of the Democratic plan, and now that they've won, I'm willing to give them a fair chance to make their case.

3. I think yesterday eliminated four sure losers from running for the Republican nomination in '08. Santorum, Frist, Allen, and Romney. These guys all had their appeal for hopeful conservatives (maybe not Frist, who was an abysmal leader from the start), but none of them, in my view, had a snowball's chance against Hillary/Obama in today's environment. I'm glad they're off the table.

Update:

4. As the day wears on, I'm more and more disappointed with most of the big name pundits on the right: from Hugh Hewitt (who blames John McCain?!?!), to Rush Limbaugh (who boasts that Republicans are better than Democrats because we're not crying about fraud after a loss, then in almost the same breath demands an ACORN investigation). The first step is admitting there's a problem, fellas.

Posted by: annika at 12:30 PM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
Post contains 330 words, total size 2 kb.

Headlines this morning reported that Rummy was staying put, but Drudge now reports he's out.

h/t Ace.

Posted by: annika at 10:58 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 25 words, total size 1 kb.

It looks like I was almost spot on with my Senate predictions. If things turn out as they look like they're headed, the only race that I will not have called will be Virginia, and that only by a couple thousand votes. So I think you all better start paying attention to me. ; )

Regarding the California ballot, the news this morning is particularly disheartening. Tom McClintock lost the Lt. Governor's race to John Garamendi. I like Garamendi, but McClintock was a solid guy, and very popular. I really thought he was going to win, but this is a Democratic year and he had an R by his name.

Jerry Brown is our new Attorney General. This guy is a disgrace. His opponent had some hard hitting ads, which sounded like they were made up because they were so outrageous, but in Jerry Brown's case, the attacks were true.

Our anti-Kelo proposition went down by five points. I don't think proponents spent enough money advertising that one, though.

All the bonds won, and the parental notification measure lost. No surprise there.

The only really good California result I can point to is that Cruz Bustamonte did not win the Insurance Commissioner job. (And no, I do not include Arnold's win as a good thing.) Oh, and Prop 87, the alternative energy referendum, also went down handily.

I have a post-election post in my head, which I've been ruminating on since last weekend. It's coming, I just don't have time to write it now. The working title of the piece is "I Blame Bush," so stay tuned.

A final note before I rush off to class, and I'm sincere about this. Despite yesterday's defeat, today is a good day.

Posted by: annika at 07:53 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 297 words, total size 2 kb.

I'm leaving this link at the top until polls close on Tuesday.

Click here if you want to refer to my California ballot proposition recommendations.

Posted by: annika at 08:00 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 31 words, total size 1 kb.

It's open comments. Just leave your election day story here. How did it go? What do you think?

I'm voting later today, after class. I might join in the liveblogging fun at Six Meat Buffet later tonight, so check in there too.

Posted by: annika at 12:41 PM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
Post contains 52 words, total size 1 kb.

1 wtf? when LGF does open comments, there's like 700 c0mments. I can't even get one?!

Posted by: annika at November 07, 2006 03:05 PM (zAOEU)

2 Sorry Annie, As an absentee voter, I feel a little out of touch with the process...and I didn't get a sticker, either.

Posted by: Mark W at November 07, 2006 03:10 PM (BJVEF)

3 I may vote, who knows, no close races here

Posted by: Scof at November 07, 2006 03:48 PM (a3fqn)

4 I early voted on Halloween. It was at the library. I thought about checking out a book, but then I didn't. Afterwards, I went trick-or-treating at a church fair. The candy was lackluster; the hot dogs were excellent.

Posted by: Leif at November 07, 2006 03:55 PM (tYFtb)

5 We absentee voted in MO. The funny thing was they sent me a military ballot and my husband a regular one, which meant he had to get it notarized. No big deal, but it seems they should've known which one to send to him.

Posted by: Sarah at November 07, 2006 04:18 PM (7Wklx)

6 I voted before work in my pajamas at 6:30AM. My senate vote went to Tom Kean. The Democrat incumbant is one more in the culture of corruption the state democrats seem to embrace, but NJ voters are stupid and will probably re-elect him despite this. I didn't vote down-the line Republican, my congressman (who has no detectable threat) had been very responsive to a couple of issues I've written to him about, and despite being a democrat, I'm happy with Rush Holt (NJ) so he earned my vote. Township committee had no republican challengers so I wrote myself in. I was the 2nd person to vote from my district, my wife was the first, that place was empty aside from the election volunteers at 6:30AM. I can't wait to see the results from across the country, though I fear the outcome.

Posted by: Rob at November 07, 2006 05:40 PM (Q2xwR)

7 What a bunch of homos. I went to the polls, and voted with the unwashed. In deference to them, I too was unwashed and just off a bike ride, plus the Santa Annas are blowing so it was about 80, nice and stinky. At the polling place where I had voted the last two times, I found that I no longer vote there. Big fucking surprise, I've been moved a half dozen times in the eight years I've lived here. Went home and fucked with the San Diego County BOE website until it shit out my current polling place. That took about a half hour. Went to the newly remodled library two blocks away, and wandered around until I found the polls. Not a single fucking sign in front of the bibliotheka, but inside I was efficiently directed to the correct precinct by freshly scrubbed eager types. After making me sign by my name, I was handed a smartcard, which I plugged into the first free Diebold touchscreen machine where I voted the straight Annikan ticket with one deviation. Did I mention that I was between a woman in her ninties who was reading the ballot aloud, very annoying, and some foreign fuck who was having trouble reading at all, while he was sneezing and hacking all over me? Well I was. After finishing my selections, and leaving my neighbors struggling with the tech side of things, I handed my smartcard back to the fetching gal at the table, and requested a handful of hand sanitizer. They had none. I went home and washed. In the interest of full disclosure. Diebolds is headquartered in my hometown, Canton, Ohio. That is unless they've gotten smart like me and moved on. What a moneymaker this wheez must be for them. It wasn't much easier than filling in the little circle on the scan sheet.

Posted by: Casca at November 07, 2006 05:52 PM (2gORp)

8 You shoulda voted absentee in Canton; maybe your vote might have meant something.

Posted by: shelly at November 07, 2006 06:43 PM (SLFj+)

9 But then, who can really concentrate on this meaningless stuff when really important news is breaking - like Brittany Spears kissing off her asshole dependent?

Posted by: shelly at November 07, 2006 06:47 PM (SLFj+)

10 I would have voted for you Rob. I just voted. Brisk business at my polling place, but no lines. And no problems. Fox just announced DeWine lost, Menendez won, and Santorum lost. As I predicted so far.

Posted by: annika at November 07, 2006 06:48 PM (qQD4Q)

11 Hello, I noticed the huge number of replys in the LGF blog. I voted absentee a while ago. I'm from Maryland and voted for Steele and am hoping that my one vote will turn the tide for him!

Posted by: Drake Steele at November 07, 2006 06:50 PM (+vXQY)

12 ELECTION PREDICTION: IF THE DEMS WIN, THEN THE ENEMY WILL HAND OUT CANDY IN GAZA JUST LIKE THEY DID ON 9/11.

Posted by: reliapundit at November 07, 2006 07:18 PM (wQPyA)

13 I was one of the unwashed voting the straight annika ticket after a few hours of sheetrocking my kitchen. I especially voted a BIG NO for a special new $150 million library in downtown Oakland billing property owners an additional $500 fucking each per year for 30 years knowing they would not be able to finish the motherfucker without going way over budget in a million fucking years. FUCK THEM ALL TO FUCKING HELL!

Posted by: d-rod at November 07, 2006 07:30 PM (A7mUo)

14 Shelly, as you know, minor league ballot box stuffing is not beneath me, however in this case it would have been pissing in the wind. Effort is admirable, accomplishment is valuable.

Posted by: Casca at November 07, 2006 07:41 PM (2gORp)

15 I spent the a.m. w/ my ballot guides and the computer, researching candidates and issues and marking the guides w/ my votes in bright red Sharpie. I liked the Diebold machine. It was quick and easy. I waited for my illiterate neighbor to come banging on my door at dinner time, like she did in '04, cursing her 41-year-old son who wasn't home from work in time to take her to the polls. It would've taken forever to talk her through the ballot so I'm glad she was covered this time.

Posted by: Joules at November 09, 2006 11:18 PM (u4CYb)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Along the same lines as my "Memo To The Disgruntled Independent Voter" below, I have a message for those voters whose main issue is opposition to abortion.

What are you doing thinking about staying home tomorrow? I understand your frustration at Bush, and the Republicans, and their betrayal of conservative values. But I also know that a Democratic Congress will lead directly to fewer restrictions on abortion, and more pro-abortion federal judges. Maybe you're okay with that, but I won't have that vote on my conscience.

If you say you're pro-life, your only choice is to vote — and to vote Republican. Staying home is not an option.

Posted by: annika at 08:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 120 words, total size 1 kb.

I agree that the number one issue in tomorrow's election is the war in Iraq. I also agree that things are not going well over there, and it's time for a change. I understand that a lot of independent voters want to give the Democrats a try, with the hope that maybe they can do better than Bush in what seems like a no win situation. Believe me, I share your frustration.

But remember, not all change is good. Sometimes things can change for the worse. Please read Frederick Kagan's column in the Weekly Standard. Here's a key excerpt.

The pullback of U.S. forces to their bases will not reduce the sectarian conflict . . . . It will increase it. Death squads on both sides will become more active. Large-scale ethnic and sectarian cleansing will begin as each side attempts to establish homogeneous enclaves where there are now mixed communities. Atrocities will mount, as they always do in ethnic cleansing operations. Iraqis who have cooperated with the Americans will be targeted by radicals on both sides. Some of them will try to flee with the American units. American troops will watch helplessly as death squads execute women and children. Pictures of this will play constantly on Al Jazeera. Prominent "collaborators," with whom our soldiers and leaders worked, will be publicly executed. Crowds of refugees could overwhelm not merely Iraq's neighbors but also the FOBs themselves. Soldiers will have to hold off fearful, tearful, and dangerous mobs. Again, endless photographs and video footage of all this will play constantly. Before long, it will probably prove necessary to remove the embedded U.S. troops from the Iraqi military units. The situation will become too dangerous; the Iraqis will increasingly resent the restraint the embeds place on their actions; and the U.S. military will become fearful of being implicated in death-squad activity. It is a matter of chance whether the embedded troops are pulled before any are kidnapped or taken prisoner by Iraqi military units turning bad or being infiltrated by radicals.

. . . There will be no "decent interval" here during which we withdraw in reasonably good order--the withdrawal itself is likely to occur in the midst of rising violence. Instead of pictures of Americans on the embassy roof in Saigon, we will see images of Iraqi death squads at work with U.S. troops staying on their bases nearby. And let us not forget that in the world of Al Jazeera, we will be accused of encouraging those death squads. The overall result will be searing and scarring. The damage to the morale of the military could be far greater than what will result from burdening soldiers with longer or more frequent tours of duty in a stepped-up effort to achieve victory. Those who are concerned about the well-being of the Army should fear defeat of this type more than anything.

Do you want your vote to be responsible for the reign of terror that will inevitably follow our retreat from Iraq? I know no matter how pissed I am at the mistakes and the lack of progress, I don't want that blood on my conscience.

There is no third way; there is only defeat or victory. And thus the choice tomorrow is clear, because you know what the Democrats want to do. Even if you don't believe the Democrats want us to lose, you should give serious thought to whether you want us to lose, and to what would happen if we were to begin withdrawing forces from Iraq now, when they're needed there most.

Posted by: annika at 02:39 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
Post contains 618 words, total size 4 kb.

Just keep repeating to yourself:

Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco
Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco
Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco

Posted by: annika at 03:26 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 34 words, total size 1 kb.

On Tuesday I went on the record, saying that the Democrats will pick up five Senate seats to split the upper house 50/50. I just spent the last hour re-analyzing the latest polls, and I stand by that prediction.

Democrats will gain seats in Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Rhode Island. Republicans will fail to take over Democratic seats in Maryland, New Jersey and Minnesota. Republicans will hold on to their seats in Virginia and Tennessee.

The races where I might be wrong are, of course, the hotly contested Montana and Missouri elections.

Montana perplexes me. I don't know enough about the issues to say why, but Democrat Tester has consistently polled ahead of Republican Burns since April. It might be Tester's haircut. Tester's ads portray him as a regular guy, someone you could have a beer with. By contrast, Burns seems more like, well, Mr. Burns. The race is still close. The latest Zogby poll has Burns down by a percentage point. But I'm still calling it for Tester. I think Montanans are turned off by Burns' alleged Abramoff connections, and Tester is a native who looks the part. I also think you can probably trust Montana poll numbers more than you would some other state's.

In Missouri, Republican incumbent Jim Talent is polling about three points behind Democrat Claire McCaskill. The polls have switched back and forth all year between the two candidates. If I'm wrong about any of my predictions, Missouri is likely to be the one. But I think Missouri is a weird state; it seems so evenly split between red and blue. One thing I think McCaskill has going for her is that there are large urban areas where the Democrats can use fraud to add a few unearned points to her total. Talent seems like a good guy though, and I hope he wins.

I could also be wrong about Virginia. I predict Republican incumbent George Allen will hold on to win, despite recent polls showing Democrat Jim Webb with a one to five point advantage. I'm sticking with Allen because I trust Virginia is at heart a conservative state, and I don't trust the pollsters there. When was the last time a Democrat won a national election in Virginia? Okay, Chuck Robb, but he was a centrist. Webb may have a certain appeal to conservatives, but if voting for him means handing the Senate over to the Democrats, I think Virginians will do the right thing.

Finally, I'm still sticking with my prediction that Maryland's open Senate seat will remain in Democrat hands. When was the last time a Republican won a national election in Maryland? And my fraud theory holds here too. I really hope Steele wins, though. After what they've done and said about him, Steele's Democrat critics ought to wear sheets and hoods. It's disgusting.

My best case scenario for Republicans has them maintaining a Senate majority by three seats. Santorum, DeWine and Chafee are toast. But if Steele, Talent and Burns win, there's our three seats. Of course I'm still assuming that Allen and Corker win Virginia and Tennessee, but I think they will.

The House is way too complicated for me to analyze, so like I said before: trust Gerrymandering.

Update: See how far out on a limb I am? Only one guy at the Weekly Standard agrees with me.

Posted by: annika at 12:32 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 576 words, total size 4 kb.

Drudge has been running this story about Where's Nancy? He claims that Nancy Pelosi has been hidden from public appearances since October 21, two weeks ago. I don't doubt it. She's as bad for the the Democratic Party's PR as John Kerry, only twice as dumb.

Drudge says:

The woman who would be speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has oddly stayed out of the national spotlight in the week leading up to the big vote.

The high profile, potentially history-making democrat has turned low-key.

The last photo of vanishing Pelosi on the wires was from an October 21 fundraiser.

And since Pelosi appeared on the controversial October 22 broadcast of 60 MINUTES, national TV hits have all but been nonexistent.

[Pelosi did appear on CNBC's On the Money on 10/24 and on ABC on 10/26, as THINK PROGRESS points out. But the sightings have dramatically dwindled.]

Former Speaker of the House, Republican Newt Gingrich believes he knows one reason why the congresswoman has largely dropped out of public sight ever since 60 MINUTES.

"It seems clear that some Americans have glimpsed a future with her third in line for the presidency, and they don't like what they see," says Gingrich. "She has become largely invisible as a result."

A source close to the congresswoman explains she has been busy behind the scenes.

Pelosi made a brief public appearance with Bill Clinton this week in San Francisco.

After providing a long schedule of her weekend events, a Pelosi aide added that her favorite stop was the taping of a World Wrestling Entertainment podcast on the importance of young people voting, the WHITE HOUSE BULLETIN reports.

Posted by: annika at 06:10 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
Post contains 335 words, total size 2 kb.

Read and understand:

If you vote for Democrats in this election, you might think youre voting for a perfectly nice centrist Democrat, but the "Anti-war" wing of leftist thought will take that perfectly nice candidate that you voted for and use it as evidence that their side in the argument is actually perferred by Americans. Not the "centrist American" side, but the loathesome "We hate America" side. Your vote will be used to prove it.

They will take that protest vote of yours to argue "America is in descent", that our sins have finally caught up with us and we need to be sorry for all the evil we have done in the world, and look at all the people who agree with us! They will argue that fundamental changes in our country are necessary to make up for our crimes of the past, that our its our military is actually what causes wars, that people in the military should be prosecuted and they are what causes other people in the world to hate us and not our lovely and socially relevent "pop-culture".

. . . If Democrats are tossed yet another defeat this time, they will learn. They will get the message. They will remove the leech of "Anti-war" from their crotch and we might start to see Democrats like Harry Truman again. Democrats who don't apologize for America or being an American.

And that will be good for all of us.

Posted by: annika at 03:19 PM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
Post contains 248 words, total size 2 kb.

1 I'm playing "God Bless America" on the CD player. Off to read a couple of articles in National Review and I'll have my Church of Conservatism needs met for the week.

Posted by: Joules at November 02, 2006 04:10 PM (u4CYb)

2 When the Democrats go down in flames in this election, I hope there is an another group that learns its lesson. For the past three elections, MSM has manipulated the news, sabotaged our anti-terrorism efforts and attempted to destroy our economy. They have done all this to force left-wing rule down the throats of all Americans. MSM has ignored falling revenues, cancelled subscriptions, decreasing viewers, and massive media layoffs. Maybe after losing three straight elections, MSM will join America again and just report the news.

Posted by: Jake at November 02, 2006 04:39 PM (V6rxT)

3 absolutely, Jake!

Posted by: annika at November 03, 2006 07:12 AM (qQD4Q)

4 The Hate-America crowd will not be purged from the Demoncrat party until the Vietnam generation and their children are dead. It is an article of faith among them, that all who carried the burden of that war were ignorant murderers, rapists, and baby killers... you know, what Kerry said. Don't worry, we might start whacking these NGCS's any day now.

Posted by: Casca at November 03, 2006 07:55 AM (2gORp)

5 "They will remove the leech of "Anti-war" from their crotch" leech and crotch...hmmm...yes, yes he must be talking about Democrats ...and looks like it will be Michigan-Louisville in Glendale for the BCS, whodathunk?

Posted by: Scof at November 03, 2006 11:59 AM (a3fqn)

6 Wow! Did Michagoose already beat OSU? I musta lost track of the date - or the year. Nah, I'm afraid BIG RED will be in Glendale, along with some once beaten team. I'm also afraid that the best Michigan could possibly hope for is Pasadena, where once again, USC will hand you your ass and eat your lunch.

Posted by: shelly at November 03, 2006 02:16 PM (SLFj+)

7 "It is an article of faith that all who carried the burden of that war were ignorant murderers, rapists, and baby killers... " You said it Casca. Now the Iraq invaders are the newest rendition of this noble American tradition.

Posted by: Strawman at November 03, 2006 02:47 PM (9ySL4)

8 "Murderers, rapists, and baby killers" are criminals and are treated such in our military. Hopefully, Straw, you are not suggesting that our military in Iraq engages in this sort of behavior as a general rule. If you are, then you are both reprehensible and stunningly ignorant. There is no military in the world that does anymore to root out corruption and criminality in its ranks than does the US military. The lie that this was common and accepted in Vietnam is just another Left-wing myth perpetuated by the likes of John Kerry and other America haters.

Posted by: blu at November 03, 2006 04:31 PM (IDpQp)

9 The Dems will learn? I doubt it...

Posted by: Mike@CopTheTruth at November 03, 2006 05:17 PM (YadGF)

10 Loiusville for the nat'l championship, lol, that's a good one!

Posted by: annika at November 03, 2006 05:29 PM (qQD4Q)

11 Blu, We've had this discussion before. I am sure you know exactly what I mean. The cruelty in VN and the criminality of many. not most, many GI's is well known. Remember I am VN vet age, lost friends and relatives in this confilict, repatriated ABC News' vienamese employees to my home town, (my sister was in charge of ABC's camp Pendleton repatriation station where 4000 South Vietnamese employees were put up on the way to being place in jobs and given citizenship) I have some direct knowledge.

Posted by: Strawman at November 03, 2006 06:07 PM (9ySL4)

12 As an archivist of Straw's BS, I'm getting a sense of deja vu again. I'm about as touched by his "compassion" towards South Vietnamese refugees as much as Macaulay Culkin was during a visit to the Neverland Ranch. [Your blowing smoke out your ass. My sister worked for ABC news and was in charge of resettling the 3000 "dependents" as they were called, of the network. CBS and NBC had similar numbers. The network employees and their families were given some kind of automatic citizenship after Saigon fell since they would have been killed or imprisioned by the ARVN as traitors and collaborators. The networks gave them money and resources including job placement. I met many of them who were resettled in the NY area. These are the people you heard interviewed. You think they are an unbiased bunch? They lived well, benefitted from the occupation and sold out their country.] BTW, from the same thread, Straw displays his sincere adulation for our veterans: [Killerjoe, I guess the basic disagreement is that the N. Vietnamese were not our enemy until we invaded their country. Sort of like the Iraqi people who are fighting back now just like you would if your country were invaded. We are the most aggressive fucks the world has seen since the fall of the British Empire. I felt sorry for the people of Vietnam, all of them. We ruined their country and killed millions doing it. You no doubt helped and are still proud of it. You should try and get that off your chest. That is what Kerry did upon coming home. He had the courage to say the killing was a travesty bordering on the criminal; our government lied about the justification for war, and the plan, like BushÂ’s was a joke. You had the courage to kill in the course of invading a country that did you and America no harm and you have stayed ignorant of the history to this day. WhoÂ’s the dumb scumbag?] -From Strawman's (formerly known as Mike) Greatest Hits, Volume 1

Posted by: reagan80 at November 03, 2006 08:02 PM (dFOlH)

13 How the hell did I not know about this guy's blog before? I'm pretty damn impressed. He needs to get more pimpage!

Posted by: TBinSTL at November 04, 2006 12:40 AM (bYmT0)

14 Varifrank's article sounds like the warning's of the strategist who thought up "Contract with America", a real life surprise pulled on the American people. With Bush's and the GOP's abysmal poll numbers, even a "war president" and his cohorts won't have enough influence to stem the tide of change. We'll see if the Republicans take to whining, as they had complained the Democrats had done. Being an independent before an election is like being at ringside seat at a title match. Pass the popcorn!

Posted by: will at November 04, 2006 09:20 AM (h7Ciu)

15 Hey Raygun, He called you a pimp, for me no less! Terrific. I thank you for reposting my relitively well written but better reasoned posts. (get the invoice in for the archivist fee before the end of the year, OK?) They were to the point when I wrote them and have aged well as we have seen the wonderful progress of the Bush plan in the ME. (I think you mistook my sentiment about the South VN coming to the US. I, like the ARVN, felt them to be traitors and thought they should have stayed and been rehabilatated just as you my friend would have shot, I mean rehabilitated, a colonist in Boston who gave material and personal support to the British) Bravo for Bush. I certainly feeling good and way safer, how about you Ray? Feeling good? Feeling lees scared out of you runny underware? THe advances in limb and face reconstruction are great, the C-147's outfitted as ICU's are really something to see, and the boost to the wheelchair rugby and basketball leagues is pushing them closer to a contract with ESPN. I applaud it all. You too, right? ANd Blu tells me the wonderful economic tide that's flowing in here in the states will be rising Iraq's boats soon as well. New housing is just around the corner, Parsons is knocking out thoses hospitals and police stations like my mom's toll house cookies! Hezzbolla and Hammas are theowing in the towel and making lots of con cessions, the Saudi's are playing a big part too. They are exerting lot's of clout and sending peacemakers to twist a few arms. Condi's racking up frequent flyer miles and soon will take a few free weeks in Bali, and how about Rummy, boy he just keeps hitting them out of the park. Every new strategy he tries wow's em. PAcified Bagdad's ass didn't he? I hear they added ten square meters to the green zone and put up a new gaurd tower. Gotta sign off before I run outa breath, Iraq is amazing! My kid is thinking of appling to the University for graduate work (poly sci major) and hthen might establish residencey since ther new democracy has such opportunity to do some good in the region. Amaazing! Gotta go, my palms are getting raw from the clapping. Oh, the generals and Richard Perle? Fuckem what do they know!

Posted by: Strawman at November 04, 2006 11:53 AM (9ySL4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment