• Another earthquake, this time, 6.1 in strength, has rocked the Sichuan province.
• Cindy McCain's riches are causing more problems for John McCain:

  McCain, whose wife has come under fire for refusing to disclose her tax return documents, fielded tough questions about her investment in a mutual fund that deals in Sudan, as well as about the resignation of two McCain aides over their involvement in lobbying deals with the Myanmar junta.

  The Arizona senator said that he was not aware of his wife's investment in two mutual funds that include holdings in Oil & Natural Gas Corp., which in turn does business in the genocide-ridden African nation.

  "I didn't know anything about it, until I saw the story, obviously, because I don't have anything to do with her finances," McCain said.

  According to the Associated Press, Cindy McCain sold more than $2 million of investment in the two firms today after the connection to Sudan was disclosed. "We found out about it," McCain said today. "They found out about it and fixed the problem."

• So desperate to break the McCain-Bush connection, Republicans are now claiming that McCain is like . . . Lincoln?

  STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan says like Abraham Lincoln, president candidate John McCain understands the importance of the struggle during wartime.

  Duncan likened McCain to Lincoln during a speech at Saturday's Wisconsin Republican convention.

  Square peg, meet round hole.

• 4,078 American troops have died in Iraq.  At least 29,978 have been wounded.  And still, with our troops being killed or injured every day, John McCain refuses to say how long he'll keep American troops there under these conditions.
• Democratic candidate in IL-10 on the skyrocketing costs of higher education:

  According to Seals, higher education costs have gone up 40 percent in the past five years. He said a year at a community college costs an average $13,000, the average cost for one year at a public, four year college is $17,000, and the average cost for a private four-year college is $32,000.

  "It's no surprise that two-thirds of students who graduate [college] are graduating in debt," Seals said. "And studies have shown that the average graduate is carrying about $19,000 of debt or more ... This really is shutting off opportunity for people to better their lives." [...]

  Seals told the teen journalists he's behind a plan first drafted by U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-5th, of Chicago, called the "Universal Higher Education and Lifetime Learning Act." The act would collapse the various college tax credit options into one $3,000 tax credit available to single tax payers with an annual income up to $80,000 and married couples with an annual income up to $160,000 who are paying for community college, four-year college or graduate school.

• Mike Huckabee apologizes for his joke about Barack Obama being shot at:

  "Friday night, Huckabee took to his blog to apologize for the quip. "During my speech at the NRA a loud noise backstage, that sounded like a chair falling, distracted the crowd and interrupted my speech. I made an off hand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama," he wrote. "I apologize that my comments were offensive, that was never my intention.""

  - BarbinMD

• Many readers have wondered about the cell phone impact on polls. Mark Blumenthal at pollster.com interviewed Jeff Jones about a supplemental non-landline phone survey Gallup is conducting.

  Without cell phone interviews, and weighted using Gallup's usual likely voter model, McCain would get 49% to Obama's 46% (clarification: this result combines six Gallup/USAToday surveys conducted so far during 2008). With the cell-phone interviews included, the result is Obama 48%, McCain 47%.

  It's part of an interview series with pollsters from the AAPOR meetings. Check out the link for more pollster interviews. - DemfromCT

A brief recap on the ongoing story of Ted Kennedy's hospitalization:

U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy was airlifted to a Boston hospital Saturday morning after falling ill at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, the Cape Cod Times reported.

He was first rushed to Cape Cod Hospital, and after being in the emergency room for two hours he was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the Times.  [...]

Hyannis fire responded to the compound after a call was made around 8:30 a.m. It's unclear what Kennedy's medical condition is, but after he spent almost two hours in the emergency room a decision was made to transfer him to Mass General Hospital in Boston.

While it has been reported that Kennedy was suffering from "stroke-like symptoms," CNN's Ed Henry had some encouraging news when he reported that a Kennedy family source told him that Senator Kennedy himself made a phone call to cancel a luncheon nearly two hours after the initial 911 call. Sources also say that family members are "guardedly optimistic," which is good news.

A hospital spokesman will be coming out with an update on the Senator's condition soon.

Statements from the presidential campaign trail:

Barack Obama:  "I know a lot of you are interested in the situation with Senator Kennedy. I have been in contact with the family. Obviously they are in our thoughts and prayers – they I am sure will be releasing some sort of statement when they have a better assessment of what the situation is. You know, as I have said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history  –  he has done more for the health care of others than just about anybody in history and so we are going to be rooting for him and I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."

Hillary Clinton:  "My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery."

John McCain:  "I was very sorry to hear that Senator Kennedy has taken ill, and like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition. Senator Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend. Cindy and I are praying for our friend, his wife, Vicki, and the Kennedy family."

Ed Henry now reporting that two family members told him they "expect the Senator to have a full recovery," and that he is doing much better.

Update:  The Associated Press is reporting that Senator Kennedy suffered a seizure.  Apparently seizures can be caused by any number of things, from a change in medication to a stroke, so we will continue to await an update from the hospital.  

Updates will follow as information becomes available:

U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy was airlifted to a Boston hospital Saturday morning after falling ill at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, the Cape Cod Times reported.

He was first rushed to Cape Cod Hospital, and after being in the emergency room for two hours he was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the Times.

It's unknown what the 76-year-old senator's medical condition is.

Update:  Hat tip to Kossack jazzmen8 for pointing us to the Cape Cod Times:

Hyannis fire responded to the compound after a call was made around 8:30 a.m. It's unclear what Kennedy's medical condition is, but after he spent almost two hours in the emergency room a decision was made to transfer him to Mass General Hospital in Boston.

Kennedy, 76, was placed on a stretcher and wheeled out to the MedFlight helicopter around 10:15 a.m. where it took off from Barnstable Municipal Airport.

CNN and MSNBC reporting it was due to possible stroke-like symptoms.

Update II:  According to the Boston Globe:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts has suffered a stroke in Hyannis Port and is being transported by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to a leading poltical source.

Family members have been summoned to Boston, the source said.

Update III:  Official statement from the Senator's office:

Senator Kennedy went to Cape Cod Hospital this morning after feeling ill at his home. After discussion with his doctors in Boston, Senator Kennedy was sent to Massachusetts General Hospital for further examination.  He is currently under under evaluation and information will be released as it becomes available.

Update IV:  Some encouraging news:  On CNN, Ed Henry is reporting that a Kennedy source says that the Senator himself at about 10:30 a.m. called someone to say he couldn't host a luncheon. That would have been more than two hours after the originial 911 call.

Were my wife running for public office, you can be sure I'd make a donation to her campaign - if only to show my support and encouragement. It's the natural thing for a husband or wife to do, I think most people would agree.

What about the presidential candidates' spouses? The answer to that question is especially revealing in light of the charges of "elitism" directed so often against the least wealthy of the candidates, Barack Obama. I was not surprised to find, upon searching the FEC database, that Michelle Obama has given a modest donation to her husband's campaign (she gave $399 last year, to be precise).

Cindy McCain, however, has donated nothing to John's campaign through March of 2008 - not even once so far as FEC filings reveal. That fact reveals a good deal about the McCains.

Cindy McCain, who still refuses to release her tax returns, is operating at a whole different level than most of us. You may recall that the former CEO of Halliburton, Dick Cheney, had neglected for years to vote in Texas before he was nominated as a candidate for vice president in 2000. Like Cheney, Cindy McCain knows that her great personal wealth and business connections give her hidden ways to exercise political influence out of all proportion to what most ordinary citizens could ever hope to achieve. By comparison, the $2300 she'd be permitted by law to donate directly would be chicken feed in this family that owns eight houses. Cindy McCain just doesn't need to bother donating small sums to her husband's campaign.

For example as the NY Times revealed last month, Cindy McCain has donated the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars to her husband's campaign by giving him her corporate jet to use at cut-rate prices.

Given Senator John McCain’s signature stance on campaign finance reform, it was not surprising that he backed legislation last year requiring presidential candidates to pay the actual cost of flying on corporate jets. The law, which requires campaigns to pay charter rates when using such jets rather than cheaper first-class fares, was intended to reduce the influence of lobbyists and create a level financial playing field.

But over a seven-month period beginning last summer, Mr. McCain’s cash-short campaign gave itself an advantage by using a corporate jet owned by a company headed by his wife, Cindy McCain, according to public records. For five of those months, the plane was used almost exclusively for campaign-related purposes, those records show.

Mr. McCain’s campaign paid a total of $241,149 for the use of that plane from last August through February, records show. That amount is approximately the cost of chartering a similar jet for a month or two, according to industry estimates.

The senator was able to fly so inexpensively because the law specifically exempts aircraft owned by a candidate or his family or by a privately held company they control.

Funny thing about that, it's McCain's own legislation that permits his wife to donate to his campaign the corporate jet service worth about $1 million. And according to the NY Times McCain continues to this day to use his wife's corporate jet. Clearly John McCain is unashamed to have had his hypocrisy on campaign-finance "reform" exposed so starkly. The McCains are well beyond the ordinary ethics that the rest of us bring to civic life.

That helps to explain why Cindy hasn't bothered to donate directly to her husband's campaign. Real elitism means never having to concern yourself about a few hundred bucks here or there.

While the rising price of oil is quickly reflected in the dollars flowing into your gas tank, there's another energy source that's going up even faster than oil.  In fact, the price has gone is up 100% in less than a year.

Benchmark prices for some grades of electricity-generating steam coal are more than $100 for a metric ton, double September’s price. Metallurgical coal, the type used in steel making, has tripled in some contracts.

Only a year ago, it was eye-opening to see met coal contracts coming in above $100, but to see steam coal at this rate is astounding.  Little wonder that investors are ecstatic about the coal industry.

Year to date, shares of Arch Coal Inc. are up 41%. The biggie of the industry, Peabody Energy Corp., has waxed 24% -- and 94% from its August trough. ... Kohler rates Massey Energy Co. a buy for its concentration in metallurgical coal, the sweet spot of the market.

You may remember Massey Energy from the number of mine deaths, from their toxic flood 25x the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster, and for having the CEO take a supreme court judge on vacation to the Rivera while his company was waiting for a decision on a $76 million judgment.  Regardless, as far as the investment community is concerned, Massey is a "buy."

Nothing like that disconnect between dollars and damage.

But while the cost to the consumer hasn't been as obvious as the cost of oil, sooner or later (probably sooner) that cost is going to show up in your electric bill.  And, like oil, it'll show up in the cost of everything manufactured using electricity, which is... pretty much everything.  

And of course, when it comes to coal, the cost isn't all in the bill.  

What we are paying up for is the dirtiest fossil fuel in the ground, infamous for wielding a heavy hand in the planet’s warming. In Beijing they wear surgical masks to ward off the soot from coal-fired plants, which then drifts across the Pacific to further foul the air over Los Angeles. That’s not all. Black lung disease, mercury and sulfur emissions and the ravaging of Appalachian mountaintops are part of the legacy that keeps our lights on.

The only good thing about prices this high is that it should help to encourage the rapid expansion of solar and wind.

Arguments by authority are one of the most common rhetorical arrows plucked from the quiver of logical fallacies. They're particularly effective among authoritarian groups. For years Einstein's opinion on supernatural phenomena has been used and misused and outright fabricated to prop up various metaphysical claims. A new letter reportedly written by the world's most famous scientist was recently found and auctioned off in which Einstein wrote in part:

TeleUK -- The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.

Arrgh, religion! Nothing get's me heav'n heathen masses on the Great and Powerful Orange Satan comment'n like religion-n-science. Well, Einstein was a great physicist. But he has religious opinions just like anyone else, and his judgment on other matters, say for example his choice in hairstylists, was not always impressive. So I'm not clear and never have been on why someone would form their own beliefs, pro or con, based on what Einstein thought about God or Shiva or Peter Griffin's Ghost That Never Lies.

• I link to PZ so I won't have to link directly to the interview, in which Ben Stein whines that evolution doesn't explain gravity and this therefore, means, something bad ... about evolution ...? Yeah, we can't figure it out either.
• I'll be discussing Carl Zimmer's new book Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life tomorrow on Sunday Kos. In the meantime, feel free to tell us your favorite E. coli related tale.
• NASA finds evidence of global warming impacting thousands of species. The weird thing is, if you search on Google News there's lots of foreign media outlets carrying the story and only one or two US outlets. It is still our NASA, right?
• Speaking of Einstein, logical fallacies, and religion, this just in: The Vatican now says "Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God" ... More ...

I've been a big fan of Harper's Index since forever. Footnoted statistics, often grouped in pairs, triplets or foursomes, guaranteed to spark a chuckle or a discussion. Like, for instance, this item from back in January:

Percentage of NYU students who say they would "permanently forfeit" their vote for $1 million: 50

Or from March 1994:

Chances that a fatal accident involving a Corvette will involve no other vehicle: 4 in 5

Or from June 1986:

Amount the Reagan Administration has budgeted for military bands in 1987: $154,200,000

Amount it has budgeted for the National Endowment for the Arts:$144,900,000

The current (June) issue has this relevant grouping:

Portion of Barack Obama supporters who said in April they would not vote for Hillary Clinton if she became the nominee: 1 in 5

Portion of Clinton supporters who said this about Obama: 1/4

Percentage of John McCain supporters in March 2000 who said they would not vote for George W. Bush: 51

Percentage who still said this in October 2000: 39

The Overnight News Digest is posted and includes this item from Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden in Saturday's The New York Times: U.S. Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan.

This evening's Rescue Rangers are ybruti, PaintyKat, ezdidit, YatPundit (pulling a double!), and jlms qkw with vcmvo2 as editor.

The diaries up for rescue tonight are:

• Lib Dem FoP relates the story of the "Dambusters Raid" during WWII which was 65 Years Ago Today. (YatPundit)
• Exposing the fallacy of arguments between Bush and bin Laden, skeezixwolfnagle demystifies both in Oh, So NOW It's About the Palestinians? (ezdidit)
• Liberal Youth discusses the implications to society when we fail to address the impact of PTSD on returning war veterans, their families, and friends in What Happens When We Fail those With PTSD? (PaintyKat)
• By providing interesting excerpts, Darrell Goodliffe then lists the links that help us find Iraq on the web. (ybruti)
• A first diary from scooter86 offers the perspective of An Introduction, from an ex-repub. (YatPundit)
• Septima, a licensed clinical social worker, shares information on how veterans might best arm themselves for the upcoming battles for their rightful benefits in Veteran's Administration advising medical malpractice. (PaintyKat)
• A Siegel looks at Republican opposition to wind-power initiatives in McCain confidants critical to anti-wind fight? (YatPundit)
• LincMad celebrates the California Supreme Court's decision to permit same sex marriages but states his belief that this will cause profound political reverberations throughout our nation in Find me a husband. (PaintyKat)
• In this installment Shaviv describes another Mad Science Project of the Week 10: wherein the human body is augmented. (ybruti)

jotter brings us High Impact Diaries - May 15, 2008, while BeninSC has Top Comments - Because They Can!

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this Open Thread.

::

Republican Mike Erickson, candidate for the nomination in Oregon's 5th District, has come under heavy fire lately from primary opponent Kevin Mannix, with rumors afloat that Erickson used to hold wild cocaine parties on his boat.

Well, Erickson flatly denies these scurrilous allegations; he's not only never used cocaine, but

"I've never used cocaine. I wouldn't know what it looks like," Erickson said, adding that he has never used illegal drugs or tobacco.

He doesn't know what cocaine looks like? He's never seen  Beverly Hills Cop? He's never cooked with baking soda?

I had to snort at that one.

Call me a skeptic, but Erickson's denial just doesn't pass the smell test.

It would have been a bit more plausible if he just denied knowledge of the coke parties. Something like "If there's been cocaine use here, well, it's been happening right under my own nose."

Anybody else got a clever pun? A not-so-clever one?

In all seriousness, this is one of the most ridiculous statements we've seen yet this cycle. Either Erickson is a bald-faced liar, or a first-class moran. It's his choice as to which he'd rather be.

And please submit all coke-related Erickson jokes below!

Race tracker wiki: OR-05

Today's edition was a bit lighter than the recent run on delegates, with Californian Congressman Pete Stark being the only delegate endorsement of the day.  Apparently nobody wants to be relegated to the Friday afternoon news dump.  Nonetheless, advantage Obama as he continues to pull away from Clinton.

Congressman Stark said, "Senator Barack Obama has captured the imagination of Americans in a way we’ve not seen for decades.  He’s inspired millions of young people to register to vote and join the ranks of our Democratic Party, he’s consistently opposed the war, he advocates universal health care, and he delivers a message that transcends party politics at the same time.

"I have the greatest respect for Senator Clinton and for her many years of service, but I believe the time has come to unify our party.  The outcome we need in November is a Democratic President.  To achieve that, we must turn our focus squarely on Senator McCain and his quest to continue another four years of the failed Bush agenda.

"Barack Obama is the person we need as the next President of the United States of America.  I’m excited to help him achieve that goal."  

If there's any governor's mansion in the country the Republicans want to gain in November, it's Washington's. This year's race is a rematch of 2004, with poor loser Dino Rossi trying to capitalize on the sour grapes the state and national Republicans still feel over their 133 vote loss that came after three vote tallies and a failed Republican court challenge. That election was also probably the reason for the firing of USA John McKay, who refused to open a federal criminal investigation into voter fraud allegations.

So there's a lot at stake for Republicans in this. And it's not looking too good for Rossi at the moment. On the heels of reports that she doubled Rossi's fundraising in April, raising well over a million dollars (1.3m) to his $641K, comes some very encouraging polling from Rasmussen.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Washington voters shows Gregoire leading her Republican challenger, Dino Rossi, by eleven percentage points. It’s Gregoire 52% Rossi 41%.

In late March, Gregoire was up by just a statistically insignificant single percentage point. In February, Rossi had a one point advantage. Four years ago, the 2004 election between the same two candidates was one of the closest elections in the state’s history.

Gregoire is supported by 86% of Democrats and has a has a nine-point lead among unaffiliated voters. Both those figures reflect significant improvement for Gregoire since March. Rossi earns the vote from 88% of Republicans, up slightly from 85% in the previous poll. The incumbent Democrat now leads among both men and women.

One of the factors behind Gregoire's surge is that she's finally able to campaign and fundraise after the "session freeze" which prevents Washington lawmakers from fundraising during the legilslative session. The freeze allowed Rossi to amass $2.7 whlie she was stymied, but given her totals for April, and her polling, she should have no problems on the money front. Another factor to consider is Obama's eleven point lead in the state over McCain.  

The Republicans are going to be hell-bent in getting revenge on Gregoire this year, and shouldn't be taken lightly. But it's definitely going to be an uphill battle for them.

Race tracker wiki: WA-Gov

Speaking to the NRA today, John McCain called Obama's foreign relations plans "reckless."  The McCain quote (courtesy of from Ben Smith at The Politico):

Earlier today, Sen. Obama made a few remarks I would like to respond to. I welcome a debate about protecting America. No issue is more important. Sen. Obama claimed all I had to offer was the ‘naive and irresponsible belief’ that tough talk would cause Iran to give up its nuclear program. He should know better. I have some news for Sen. Obama: Talking, not even with soaring rhetoric, in unconditional meetings with the man who calls Israel a ‘stinking corpse’ and arms terrorists who kill Americans will not convince Iran to give up its nuclear program. It is reckless to suggest that unconditional meetings will advance our interests.

It would be a wonderful thing if we lived in a world where we don't have enemies. But that is not the world we live in, and until Sen. Obama understands that reality, the American people have every reason to doubt whether he has the strength, judgment and determination to keep us safe.

Barack fired-up that rapid response team and wasted no time hitting back (via press release):

"What's reckless is continuing the Bush-McCain foreign policy that has cost us thousands of lives and a trillion dollars in Iraq, strengthened Iran, enabled Hamas to take Gaza, took our eye off al Qaeda, failed to capture Osama bin Laden, failed to finish the job in Afghanistan, and left us less safe and less respected in the world. No amount of utterly predictable fear-mongering and tough talk can change the fact that John McCain is running to continue the most disastrous foreign policy in recent American history," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Holy shit --- that was a WWF style smack-down of McCain.  Can you smell what Barack is cooking?

Coming Up on Sunday Kos ....

• DarkSyde will review Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life, a fascinating new book from best-selling science writer Carl Zimmer about lifestyles of the slimy and infectious.
• brownsox will conduct an autopsy on the vaunted Permanent Republican Majority, now reduced to a regional minority.
• DHinMI will suggest a candidate to be Barack Obama's running mate.
• Devilstower will explain why your prejudice is worse than my prejudice: race, sex, and the presidency.
• DavidNYC will ask, "Could Barack Obama really win... Mississippi?" The answer may surprise you.

The long standoff over Bush's FEC nominee, Hans von Spakovsky--Bush's chief operative on voter suppression--has ended with a win for the Dems. Spakovsky has withdrawn his name from consideration.

The move follows Harry Reid's offer earlier this week:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that President Bush has two options to break the ongoing standoff with Democrats over nominations to the Federal Election Commission: either withdraw the controversial nomination of Hans von Spakovsky or force Senate Republicans to agree to votes on individual FEC nominees.

"Despite your commitment that you would accept and agree to individual votes on each of the pending nominations, including Mr. von Spakovsky's, Republican Senate leaders indicated last week that they intend to continue to block such votes," Reid said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.

Here's Reid's statement on today's news:

"I welcome the President's decision to withdraw the controversial nomination of Mr. von Spakovsky.  It is an action I have repeatedly urged the President to take for more than six months.  Democrats stood united in their opposition to von Spakovsky because of his long and well-documented history of working to suppress the rights of minorities and the elderly to vote.  He was not qualified to hold any position of trust in our government.

"His withdrawal today is a victory for our electoral process.  With Mr. von Spakovsky now removed, I anticipate that we will be able to swiftly put a functioning FEC in place.  That too is what the American people deserve."

(More discussion in Matt Keener's diary.

John McCain talks straight, but he acts crooked.  Mr. Reform strays from the straight path by following crooked lobbyists for their money, money that comes from corporations and brutal foreign governments.  

McCain's been embarrassed several times the last few weeks by lobbyists connected to his campaign.  Last week he was forced to fire two lobbyists who had worked for the brutal military junta in Burma/Myanmar, the oppressive goons who are killing people through their refusal to let aid workers in to the country and help the millions of Burmese affected by the cyclone.  This morning we learned about a lobbyist working for McCain who also worked for the governments of Serbia and Qatar.  

McCain also had to dismiss one of his top operatives in Virginia, Craig Shirley.  Shirley's has long been involved in shady dealings on behalf of the GOP, including hyping the orchestrated "rescue" of US soldier Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Iraq, and the scurrilous Willie Horton ad used against Michael Dukakis in 1988.  Shirley was simultaneously an official with McCain's campaign and involved in an independent campaign against Democrats.  The McCain campaign is spinning his dismissal as a matter of principle, when in fact Shirley was breaking the law by being on both sides of what should be a divide, the candidate campaign, and an independent operation that is legally prohibited from coordinating its activities with the campaign.  

Most of these lobbyists are mid-level operatives who are primarily relied on to collect checks.  But in a campaign jammed full of lobbyists, one lobbyist stands above all others: longtime McCain advisor Charlie Black.  Charlie Black's mitts haven't only been all over grubby money from corporate special interests.  As MoveOn shows, one of John McCain's top supporters has taken blood money:

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

Late Night Snark--now with EZ-GRIP handles:

"Anybody go down to the Crawford ranch for the big Jenna Bush wedding over the weekend? ... That was so sweet, because at the reception, President Bush danced with his lovely daughter. It's the first time he has led in eight years."
---David Letterman
-
"It’s going to be a relatively small wedding with only her family’s loved ones---the CEOs of the five major oil companies."
---Jay Leno
-
"This week, New York City Congressman Vito Fossella was arrested for drunk driving, then caught having an extramarital affair, then exposed for having a secret child with his mistress. Or, as it's known in Washington, the trifecta."
---Seth Meyers
-
"The price of stamps is going up next week from 41 cents to 42 cents. 'Aw, that's cute,' said oil."
---Amy Poehler
-
"In a recent speech, Barack Obama said he has visited all 57 states. After hearing this, President Bush said, "Ha Ha! He forgot Alaska and Hawaii."
---Conan O'Brien

And here's one for those who call Democrats out-of-touch elitists:

-
"This is an impressive crowd---the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base."
---George W. Bush
-

Nice tux, oh Man of the People.

Oh, and Barely Political dug up some more (not work-friendly) Bill O'Reilly footage. Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

You would have to have had your head up your ass to be the Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the first four years of the Iraq war and not have seen the need to hold hearings on contractor abuses pretty much every damned day.

But that's just what Susan Collins did.

In all those years, with all those stories about Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, and what have you?

One friggin' hearing. What a champ.

Race tracker wiki: ME-SEN