The Captain notes here that in MN, Patty Wetterling (D) "...accuses Michelle Bachmann of wanting to raise taxes through an increase in the sales tax:" 

Lower and middle-class Minnesotans would pay more taxes under this plan, up to $4,077 more per year," says Wetterling. "I find it incredible that Michele Bachmann wants to place a heavier burden on the people who can least afford to pay more for basic goods and services.

Captain Ed comments:
Similar shenanigans are going on here in Nebraska.  Ben Nelson (D-Ne) has been running a few spots regarding Pete Rickett's supposed tax proposals…  Ben asserts that Pete would like to enact a "national sales tax" of up to 30% on homes, cars, MILK, GROCERIES, etc.  The adds do not mention it as a replacement for the federal income tax as well.

The Nelson ads are here and here.

The Ricketts response ad is here.

There appears to be some dishonesty here on two levels.  First, Pete Ricketts tax plan calls for:

Nelson has intentionally misrepresented RIcketts' tax proposals (all very Club-for-Growth!!).  Additionally, Nelson misrepresents the FairTax in the same way Wetterling did in MN.  Even if Ricketts did support the FairTax, the Nelson ad is clearly misleading as to what the FairTax would consist of.

I'm not sure what is worse, misrepresenting your opponents tax proposals or misrepresenting the misrepresentation!!!

Over at NRO's media blog, Steve Spruiell notes the rise of Keith Olbermann's upcoming book on the Amazon charts from 98 to 19...  So of course, I follow the link to Amazon just to see what people are buying who view his book...

• 62% ultimately buy the book… I don't know if that is low or high but doesn't seem overly impressive
• 10% buy a book on how politicians (Republicans bear the brunt of the complaints) turn you against the media
• 10% buy Palast's book (Armed Madhouse) which includes the 'scheme to steal '08
• 10% by Suskind's criticism of Cheney's 'one-percent' doctrine

Revealing, no.  Interesting, kinda... not really

The list:

Betsy Newmark has a post about Democratic efforts to "re-enfranchise" felons

Governors in Iowa and Virginia have unilaterally restored voting rights to many felons, while legislatures in Maryland and Nebraska have liberalized their laws. At the federal level, a bill supported by Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, among others, would force states to allow felons no longer under sentence to vote. That bill is on hold, at least while the Democrats are out of power. But lawsuits in federal courts in Florida, Washington and New York have claimed that depriving felons of the franchise violates the Voting Rights Act.

As a Nebraska resident, I was curious what the current statutes were regarding felons and the right to vote.  Turns out that 2 years after completion of sentence, including parole, the disqualification is removed automatically.

See:  http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/LegalDocs/view.php?page=s2901012000

Section 29-112

Felon; disqualified as juror or officeholder; warrant of discharge; effect; right to vote.

Any person sentenced to be punished for any felony, when the sentence is not reversed or annulled, is incompetent to be a juror or to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit within this state, unless such person receives from the Board of Pardons of this state a warrant of discharge, in which case such person shall be restored to such civil rights and privileges as enumerated or limited by the Board of Pardons. The warrant of discharge shall not release such person from the costs of conviction unless otherwise ordered by the Board of Pardons.

Any person sentenced to be punished for any felony, when the sentence is not reversed or annulled, is not qualified to vote until two years after he or she has completed the sentence, including any parole term. The disqualification is automatically removed at such time.

I believe (no research on my part yet) that most states have remedies for convicted felons to seek reinstatement of their 'civil rights'. (ie. Voting, Possession of Weapons, Jury Duty :-)

In Nebraska, you can petition the sentencing court to set aside the conviction, resulting in, among other things:


See:  http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/LegalDocs/view.php?page=s2922064000

Convicted felons could also petition the Board of Pardons to set aside convictions or restore certain civil liberties, or both.

I think similar procedures are available in most states so instead of weakening the statutes in the states, felons should be reminded of their existing rights to petition the courts for reinstatement of their rights.  I think it should be handled on a case-by-case basis, instead of a blanket provision of 2 years.  Granted, it would be left up to judges and I don't necessarily trust the judges over a legislative mandate by the people but at least each case could be reviewed and evaluated according to their unique circumstances and it would be a matter of public record.

I found an old essay (1998) by Steve published in The New Yorker…  While running for public office, he decides to issue a public apology for some bad things he has done in his life :


(Ed. "&%$#" Mine)

Read the rest

(Hat Tip:  NRO K-Lo)

Jim Geraghty's TKS post from 6/20/2006 chronicling the Kos/Armstrong timeline got me thinking.  Geraghty's timeline regarding Kos/Armstrong/Mark Warner/DLC sparked some memories.  The TKS excerpt follows:



  I seem to recall a kerfuffle between Kos and the DLC last year...  something akin to Kos declaring war on the DLC.  As I remember it, Kos said something about wanting to make the DLC "radioactive" and telling his readers to "stay tuned".  After some searching, I found the following Kos posts:

Kos 8/22/2005 titled "The calm before the storm":

more:

As I recall, that 'deadline' came and passed without a peep....  Other bloggers were following this and wondered what happened to this all-out war on the DLC:  Wizbang, Dean Esmay, Michelle Malkin, VikingPundit, Hotline blogometer, LGF.

Some started asking questions and it even go mention in the Washington Post.

It appears that shortly after Warner hired Armstrong in August 2005, Kos withdres his promise for all-out war against the DLC.  The deadline came and passed.  Some noticed and asked questions including dailykos posters and others.

Shortly thereafter, Kos, without much fanfare offered the following:

Kos 9/7/2005:

It seems to fit the timeline of things that don't quite add up....

1. Kos declares war on the DLC in (Aug05)
2. Armstrong goes to work for Warner in (Aug05)
3. Kos calls off his attack on the DLC (Sep05)

Katrina might have had center stage at the time but Kos not piling on???   Doesn't pass the smell test.

The January/February issue of Washington Monthly chronicled the events as well in a profile of Kos:

Someone like Benjamin Franklin or Andrew Jackson???

From Allah via Michelle Malkin, "What is it with the eleventh of month?"

9/11, 3/11 (Madrid) and now 7/11 (Mumbai).

This probably rises (or lowers) to the same level of Joe Biden's remarks from last week:


Maybe that's why it occurred to me.  Why would someone bomb India on 7/11 unless they were familiar with the american stereotype of Indian convenience store workers?  Yes, it is a rhetorical question and I am actually disappointed in myself that I even made the mental connection. 

In light of last weeks revelations about the plot to bomb NY/NJ commuter trains, the news of the bombings in India today give me pause.  The images of the chaos at the train stations, of injured people and frantic crowds don't have the usual luxury of being 'somewhere else'.  If it were not for the efforts of the administration that Charles Krauthammer commented on so eloquently on Special Report, I could just as easily be watching events much closer to home.

I don't know exactly how I feel and maybe that's why bombing India on 7/11 seems ironic.  I guess I'm just proud of the efforts of my President and his administration and their efforts to keep us safe at home, the NYTimes notwithstanding.

The title of the post??  Of course I'm not implying that Joe Biden had anything whatsoever to do with today's bombings in India...  I just think that his comments seem that much more inappropriate to me after today's events in the commuter tunnels of Mumbai.