Richard Pryor RIP

This is such a terrible and sad day.

Richard Pryor was the funniest comedian of my lifetime. I can still remember in my younger days finding the Richard Pryor albums that my parent tried to hide from me, sneaking down to the basement, and laughing so hard at his VERY blue material that my parent would catch me (and lets just say I got into alot of trouble).

I can remember a time when Ali was fighting on television (I think he was fighting Spinks for the first time but it was so long ago I can't really recall) and Richard Pryor had a television special on NBC and we had to turn the channel between the fight (back when turning the channel FROM an Ali fight was unheard of) and Pryor's show (now rememebr, this was the 1970s and the only black perosn I can recall EVER having their own variety show was Flip Wilson which was on the same network. In fact, I can recall that people use to call NBC the Negro Broadcasting Company because it was the only network where you would see minorities on television).

My family were such big Richard Pryor fans that they took me and my brother to all of his movies (most of then were rated R) including Which Way Was Up, Grease Lightening, Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, Bustin Loose (an excellent movie that never should of been rated R), Car Wash, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, and his later movies (after his accident) such as The Toy, Superman III (okay, that was a bad movie), Harlem Nights, and See No Evil Hear No Evil (another bad movie but it was nice to see him with Gene Wilder again).

I guess what I'm saying is that Pryor had a profound and meaningful impact on my life as well as countless other people who have walked in his footsteps. He will be deeply missed by all and never be forgotten. My heart goes out to his family during this time of mourning and reflection.

Thanks for the memories Mudbone.

Lieberman: Some Democrats said I was being a traitor

An article in Dec 10 New York Times describes the open hostility and divide which is deepening by the day between Senator Lieberman and his Democratic collegues in Washington as well as Democratic voters in Connecticut (which is an understatement).

From the New York Times:

Five years after running as the vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket and a year after his own presidential bid, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut has become an increasingly unwelcome figure within his party, with some Democrats seeing him more as a wayward son than a favorite son.

In the last few days, the senator has riled Democratic activists and politicians here and in his home state with his vigorous defense of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war at a time some Democrats are pressuring the administration to begin a withdrawal.

Mr. Lieberman particularly infuriated his colleagues when he pointed out at a conference here that President Bush would be commander in chief for three more years and said that "it's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that."

"We undermine the president's credibility at our nation's peril," Mr. Lieberman said.

Much of the open criticism has been from liberal groups and House members. But his comments have also rankled Democrats in the Senate. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, phoned Mr. Lieberman this week to express concerns with his views, Mr. Reid's aide said.

"Senator Reid has a lot of respect for Senator Lieberman," said Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman. "But he feels that Senator Lieberman's position on Iraq is at odds with many Americans."

An aide to another leading Democratic senator who insisted on anonymity said the feelings toward Mr. Lieberman could be summed up as, "The American people want to hold George Bush accountable for the failed policy in Iraq, and Senator Lieberman doesn't."

Mr. Lieberman, who remains immensely popular in his home state, is aware of the hornet's nest he has stirred.

"Some Democrats said I was being a traitor," he said in an interview on Friday, adding that he was not surprised by the reaction, "given the depth of feeling about the war."

[...]

Mr. Lieberman noted that his positions on Iraq had not changed over the years, dating from 1991, when he supported the first Persian Gulf war. In 1998, he and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, proposed the Iraq Liberation Act, which made the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein official American policy.

"The positive and negative reactions may have less to do with the substance of what I said than with the fact that a Democrat is saying it," Mr. Lieberman said. "It reflects the terribly divisive state of our politics."

[...]

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader, said the breach was deep.

"I completely disagree with Mr. Lieberman," Ms. Pelosi said at a news conference. "I believe that we have a responsibility to speak out if we think that the course of action that our country is on is not making the American people safer."

The question in some quarters now is whether the moderate brand of politics practiced by Mr. Lieberman, who is up for re-election next year, will hurt him when the electorate is so divided, particularly over some of the president's policies.

This week, for example, former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. criticized his continued support of the Iraq war and said that if no candidate challenged the senator on it next year, he would consider running.

In 1988, Mr. Lieberman, who was attorney general of Connecticut, narrowly defeated Mr. Weicker, a Republican senator. Two years later, Mr. Weicker ran for governor as an independent and won. He served one term before retiring in 1995.

Mr. Weicker remains something of a fixture in state politics, well known for his independent streak. In 1999, Reform Party supporters encouraged him to run for president in 2000, but he ultimately decided against that.

Mr. Lieberman faces trouble in other quarters in his home state. Although few elected Democrats would criticize him publicly, several Democratic activists promised retaliation at the polls.

James H. Dean, brother of Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, lives in Connecticut and heads Democracy for America, a group that is gathering signatures on the Internet for a letter that criticizes the senator.

An aide to James Dean said he and others from the group would deliver the letter to Mr. Lieberman's office in Hartford on Tuesday. The aide said the letter had 30,000 signatures.

Other Democratic activists warned that they might try to organize a primary challenge against Mr. Lieberman, specifically because of his position on the war.

Tom Matzzie, the Washington director for MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy group with 10,000 members in Connecticut, said it would consider a challenge if the right candidate came along.

"It's like a betrayal," Mr. Matzzie said of Mr. Lieberman's stand on the war. "He is cheering the Bush Iraq policy at a time when Republicans are running away from the president."

It's fair to say that many Democrats in Connecticut are extermely unhappy with the recent comments of Senator Lieberman. Critics of Lieberman view his public criticisms of Democrats regarding the war in Iraq is a deep betrayl and many say he has gone too far with his rhetoric.

Personally, I've always known Lieberman to be a somewhat thorn in the side to liberals but it seems like this is bigger tha just a liberal matter. Democrats in Connecticut and the nation have always had a problem with Lieberman's closeness with the Bush administration but now, many view his recent comments as the tipping point. Democrats in Connecticut are pressuring Lowell Weicker to run aginst him, town committees are voicing their disapproval with Joementum, and now state and national liberal groups are planning to runa campaign against him.

I don't think Lieberman thought things would get this out of hand as he's basically dead in many eyes of Democrats in Washington. Harry Reid comments that Lieberman is basically alone, Nancy Pelosi says publically (and quite strongly) that she completely disagrees with Lieberman's comments regarding Iraq, and now Weicker is so upset that he might come out and challenge Lieberman for his old post.

How's that Joementum working for you now?

Here's something interesting: Lets say Lieberman gets nominated for the DOD post, how many Democrats would vote for him; would his nomination get filibustered out of spite?

Mayor Boughton press conference streaming video available

I was finally able to post the Danbury Mayor Boughton press conference and you can now view the file without downloading it.

Click here to view the press conference (the timestamp is incorrect). You can now view for yourselves if the television stations interpetted the conference correctly.

Chris Matthews not buying the Lieberman rumor

Click here for the video

Also, Crooks and Liars has a audio clip of Democratic Minority Harry Reid discussing Joe Lieberman.

Reid: "I’ve spoken to Joe Lieberman and he knows he’s out there alone. I mean, literally alone. Joe is a fine man, he has strong feelings, but he’s just alone. Even Republicans don't agree with Joe."

Gov. Rell says no to Senate post

You just have to love ctnewsjunkie. Dan and his crew have constantly beat the MSM to the news and this story is no exception.

From CTNewsJunkie

Governor would not appoint herself senator should Joe Lieberman become Secretary of Defense, she told the press today.

Amid continued speculation that Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman could replace Donald Rumsfeld as the next Secretary of Defense, Gov. M. Jodi Rell stated categorically that she would not head to Washington if Lieberman does indeed vacate his Senate seat.

“I would not appoint myself,” Rell said, adding: “I believe being governor is a wonderful job.”

The Governor answered a wide range of questions during her news conference; go to ctnewsjunkie for all the details.

O'Reilly: UConn students are Nazis

Good grief.

If Andrea Mackris would of testified, Bill O'Reilly would of been forgotten faster than Morton Downey Jr. Now we're forced to hear this idiot make statements like this.

Why does anybody pay any attention to this nut? I'm still trying to find the Paris Business Review.

Lieberman denies Pentagon rumors

That Joe Lieberman is one slick politician and you can tell that he's a slick one by the way he comments about the Pentagon rumor. To but it simply, Lieberman can (and will) deny the rumor until the post is offered to him and then we'll see what happens.

From The Connecticut Post

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the president's go-to Democrat on Iraq, is denying rumors that he is on his way to the Pentagon.

"The United States Senate is where Sen. Lieberman wants to be, which is why he is actively campaigning for re-election to his fourth term representing Connecticut next year," said the senator's press secretary, Casey Aden-Wansbury.

[...]

Lieberman deflected questions about the reception he has received over his views on Iraq as he made his way into a Senate hearing room Thursday morning.

Rumors have been flying around Capitol Hill all week that Lieberman may soon replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. The Bush administration and Rumsfeld say it isn't so.

"I have no plans to retire," Rumsfeld told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Rumsfeld said in February that he twice offered his resignation to Bush last year over the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal but both times was asked to stay in the job.

Rumors that Lieberman might be headed to the Pentagon began surfacing after the senator returned from a Thanksgiving visit to Iraq with a glowing report.

[...]

Former New Republic magazine editor Andrew Sullivan predicted Sunday on NBC's "Chris Matthews Show" that Lieberman would be asked to succeed Rumsfeld before the next congressional elections.

"That's the back story behind Lieberman's amazing defense of the administration this week," Sullivan said.

Robert Schieffer, host of CBS' "Face the Nation," speculated Sunday that Lieberman might get the job and went so far as to ask Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., if he thought the Connecticut senator would do a better job than Rumsfeld.

"I think a lot of people would do a better job than Secretary Rumsfeld," said Kerry, who has called for Rumsfeld to resign.


[...]

Lieberman, who prides himself for his civility and centrist politics, has been rumored to be in the running for other Cabinet posts that have become vacant. Last December, it was to replace Secretary of State Colin Powell — a job that eventually went to Condoleezza Rice.

At the time, Lieberman said he was "not seeking a cabinet appointment" but would not rule out accepting such a position if it were offered.

Like I said, Lieberman is very slick. He must love all the attention he's getting these last two weeks...

Shays loves Lieberman

There is one Connecticut Congressman who is sticking up publically for Joe Lieberman; the ironic thing is that this Congressman happens to be a Republican and not a Democrat.

From the Hartford Courant:

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., under fire from members of his own party for his Iraq war stance, got a boost from a fellow Connecticut member of Congress Thursday - Republican Christopher Shays.

Shays, in comments made at the end of an hour-long breakfast with national reporters, said, "Joe Lieberman is one my heroes."

Shays, who faces a difficult re-election race, went on to say he was "giving serious consideration" to supporting Lieberman, who shares Shays' view that the Iraq war is a just cause and that the United States is making significant progress.

Later, Shays explained: "I admire the man tremendously. He is an excellent senator. We're truly indebted to him for his strong position on the sentinel issue of our time. No other issue is more important."

Former Westport First Selectwoman Diane Farrell could face a problem - she has voiced opposition to President Bush's conduct of the war, and now faces Shays backing her Democratic ticket-mate.

Farrell was unconcerned Thursday. "Chris Shays cannot hide behind Joe Lieberman or anyone else," she said. "This is about [Shays'] misplaced priorities and my better ideas."

I think the Courant nailed it on the head when it mentioned Diane Farrell as if Shays supports Lieberman, it places Farrell in a tough position. Would Lieberman snub Farrell and thank Shays for his support? If he does, that would be the ultimate slap in the face to Democrats in Connecticut but in any case, this is more a smart political move by Shays than anything else. He's facing a really tough re-election and his support of Lieberman could shake thing up a bit.

Funny phone conversation

I read this at draftlowellweicker.com and felt that I had to share it with you.

Walking in from my DFALinkUp a few minutes ago, the phone was ringing, giving the opportunity to prosthelatize:

Hello, this is xxx from DSCC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Oh, you are a national organization, right, you raise funds for Democrats for Senate nationwide?

Yes.

So your group would be supporting Joe Lieberman, the incumbent for Senate in Connecticut?

Yes, if he is running for Senate as a Democrat.

Oh, that's too bad. You see, many of us here in Connecticut are upset with Joe Lieberman, getting kissed by the President and kissing up to him back. I would have a hard time giving money to your fund. I may support particular Dems for Senate around the country but I and a lot of others of us here in Connecticut would have a hard time giving to a group where even a small portion of the funds would go to Joe Lieberman. In fact, we are trying to run a Democrat against him in the primary, so I suggest DSCC consider not funding him, he doesn't need the money anyway.

Thanks for your call.

Why can't I get calls from political organiztions like the DSCC; all I get is telemarketers...

Why I love The Daily Show

Priceless

Mayor Boughton press conference wrap-up

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton held a press conference regarding illegal immigration today and although I was able to attend and videotape the conference, I arrived late by about 15 minutes (I really ahte traffic).

I'm presently converting the video footage and I will post the conference and offer commentary here and on the sister site HatCityBlog later tonight.

UPDATE: You can check out the reporting from WTNH by clicking here (Windows Media Player required):

You can check out the report from Fox61 by clicking here (real player required):

Again, as soon as the my video footage is finish converting, I will post the conference. I really can't wait to comment on the news coverage of the event as I think WTNH went a tad overboard with the "tensions were running high" comment while Fox61 gave a more accurate description of the event (and they even caught a shot of me) but you can judge for yourself if tensions were high once I have the video posted.

UPDATE 2: Okay, for those willing to download this file (it's 73.7 meg), you can download the press conference by clicking here (now remember, I arrived late so I missed some of it but not much. Also, ignore the timestamp as it is wrong and I didn't even know it was on).

I'm working on a version that you can watch live without downloading and I'll post the link once it's ready.

No love for Coulter at UConn

Conservative pinhead Ann Coulter made an appearance at UConn last night and lets just say that her reception wasn't all that supportive.

From the New York Newsday

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming.

Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session.

"I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the 2,600 people at Jorgensen Auditorium.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several groups, including Students Against Hate and the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. They criticized her for spreading a message of hate and intolerance.

Nearly 100 students gathered inside the Student Union for a rally against Coulter. About a half-dozen people held protest signs outside the auditorium.

After a book signing following her appearance, Coulter called the audience's reaction "typical."

Coulter, originally from New Canaan, Conn., has a history of bashing Democrats in best-selling books, frequent television appearances and speeches. Harding University in Arkansas dropped her from its lecture series in September, citing her abrasive image.

Last April, the president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota denounced a speech on the campus by Coulter, calling it hateful. In October 2004, University of Arizona police arrested two men who ran on stage and threw custard pies at Coulter; one of the pies glanced off her shoulder.

In her speech at UConn, Coulter called Bill Clinton an "executive buffoon" who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote. She called California Sen. Barbara Boxer a good candidate for the Democrats because "she is a woman and she's learning disabled."

During the question-and-answer session, someone asked Coulter if she really was against a woman's right to vote.

"Not having women vote is a joke," she said, reversing comments she has previously made.

Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major at UConn, didn't attend the speech.

"We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech," said Knudsen, head of Students Against Hate.

Diverse opinion is one thing but this is a person who makes a living on doing hate speech on college campuses and it's a joke. Why would anyone give this person a dime to hear her run her mouth is beyond me but I guess there's a sucker born every minute and this minute belongs to the College Republicans who paid 10,000+ to bring this idiot to their campus.

Parents, just remember, this is how your college tuition money is being spent and just in case you don't know who Coulter is, here are some of her more famous quotes:

(September 13, 2001) - "Airports scrupulously apply the same laughably ineffective airport harassment to Suzy Chapstick as to Muslim hijackers. It is preposterous to assume every passenger is a potential crazed homicidal maniac. We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now."

[...]

We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."

(January 2002)-"When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."

and my favorite:

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building." (Ann Coulter in a New York Observer interview, 8/20/2002)

Now I say again, why would anyone pay to have a person like this come and talk to college students?

People like Coulter make a living by saying outrageous remarks that are only designed to bring attention to themselves and adds nothing to the political discussion and the way Coulter and people like her make their living by giving speeches at colleges and books tours is simply a disgrace.

If the College Republicans at UConn wanted a conservative that could generate a meaningful discussion, why not host someone who has intellegence like William Buckley or or someone who can make a their case minus the outrageous remarks like Andrew Sullivan. These people can make their viewpoint without all the name calling and kneejerking and although I might disagree with them on some points, I completely respect their opinion as they are honest and insightful.

Pundits and speakers in the category of Coulter are purposely dishonest simply to generate attention to themselves and make a buck and could care less about the truth.

How are liberal and conservatives ever to find common ground when we have bombthrowers like Coulter out there fanning the flames with her rhetoric and nonsense?

UPDATE: CNN is conducting an online poll in which they ask who is stupider: Ann Coulter or the jeering UConn students. Here are the reuslts as of 1:25 P.M.:http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif


UPDATE 2: For those who like video, here's a report of the event from Fox 61.

An eleven minute speech for 16,000? Doesn't seem like much of a bargin...

Rumsfeld out; Lieberman in

There are more reports that suggest that the Bush administation is seriously considering Joe Lieberman as the next Secretary of Defense and that Donald Rumsfeld will resign early next year.

From the New York Daily News

White House officials are telling associates they expect Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to quit early next year, once a new government is formed in Iraq, sources said yesterday.

Rumsfeld's deputy, Gordon England, is the inside contender to replace him, but there's also speculation that Sen. Joe Lieberman - a Democrat who ran against Bush-Cheney in the 2000 election - might become top guy at the Pentagon.

That's not as farfetched as it might first appear.

The Daily News has learned that the White House considered Lieberman for the UN ambassador's job last year before giving the post to John Bolton, a Bush adviser said.

"He thought about it for a week or so and finally said no," the adviser recalled.

A source close to the White House said Rumsfeld wanted out a year ago, after Bush's reelection, but neither he nor President Bush wanted his departure to appear to have been forced.

"They didn't want to give the critics the satisfaction that their piling on was what got rid of him," a Bush adviser said.

Bush has told friends that Rumsfeld is a political liability, but the President has a history of sticking with his personnel baggage until an opportune moment.

"Only Rumsfeld will make Rumsfeld leave," a White House source said.

Rumors that Lieberman could replace Rumsfeld started flying early this week, and Bush and Vice President Cheney fanned the flames by quoting the former Democratic veep candidate's pro-war statements.

The mention of Lieberman's name prompted some Democrats to whisper that he is lobbying for the job.

"Lieberman seems to be coordinating his statements on the war with the White House," a Senate Democratic source said.

The source pointed to a news conference this week where Lieberman urged his party not to undermine Bush. The timing of Lieberman's pitch, also this week, to form a bipartisan "war cabinet" to aid Bush was cited as well.

It is also reported today that Lieberman had breakfast over at the Pentagon with Rumsfeld and other military officials today so it isn't farfetch to say that it seems that Lieberman might be considering the post.

Blumenthal to sue Ernest Newton

Newton is so screwed.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday sued former state Sen. Ernest Newton II and a nonprofit job training agency whose director bribed the senator to get help securing state bond money.

The lawsuit, filed in Hartford Superior Court, alleges that director Warren Godbolt and his wife, Faye, embezzled between $70,000 and $120,000 from Progressive Training Associates in Bridgeport.

Blumenthal contends they used the money for personal expenses including a BMW, a cruise, gym membership, home improvement work, attorneys and mortgage payments.

"We want money back for our state taxpayers, money that was wrongly used and corruptly misused," Blumenthal said.

Draft Lowell Weicker site created

Nothing much on the site so far except for a sign-up form but be sure that this site will pick up steam soon.

www.draftlowellweicker.com

Greenwich Dems loves Weicker

Boy, the Weicker story won't go away as it's the hottest topic on many blogs and the only thing people are talking about nowadays.

Lieberman has to know that things are bad when Democrats in Greenwich are showing their support to the possibility of a Weicker challenge.

From the Greenwich Time:

Several prominent local Democrats are warming to the idea of former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker challenging incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., as an anti-war candidate in next year's Senate race.

The group of mostly liberal Democrats say Weicker, who publicly denounced Lieberman's support of the Iraq war on Monday and raised the prospect of running against the centrist, would better represent their views in the Senate.

"I'd vote for him over Joe Lieberman any day," former Greenwich Democratic Town Committee Chairman Betty Bonsal said. "Joe Lieberman -- he's too conservative for me."

[...]

Bonsal's comments continue an onslaught of criticism against Lieber-man that began earlier this year when President Bush planted a kiss on the junior senator's cheek following the State of the Union Address in February.

Lieberman's critics, who have launched Web sites such as DumpJoe.com and TimeToGoJoe.com, say the public display of affection confirmed the junior senator's close ties to Bush and his flawed policies.

"I think an awful lot of Democrats would be absolutely delighted to see somebody come up and challenge Lieberman," said Mary Sullivan, a former Democratic National Committee member from Riverside. "If it were a race between Lieberman and Weicker, put it that way, I would support Weicker."

[...]

A political maverick who severed his GOP ties and founded the independent A Connecticut Party in 1990, Weicker said yesterday that he has received encouragement from supporters throughout the state following his public criticism of Lieberman at a Hartford Rotary club luncheon.

"I think really what it is, a lot of people have held their breath for so long and are relieved to get it off their chest," Weicker said of public disenchantment of Lieberman's continuing support of the war during a telephone interview from his Essex home.

Weicker, 74, who instead supports the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq in six months to a year, said he is leaving the door open to challenging Lieberman as an independent next year.

"Make no mistake about it, I place as much responsibility for this war at the feet of the Democrats as the Republicans," said Weicker, who described the situation in Iraq as dire. "I don't see how it could get worse."

While Weicker said he would prefer someone else be the one to challenge Lieberman, he warned that he would be forced to take action if a viable candidate does not emerge.

"I don't care who does it, but if that doesn't happen then obviously I'll have to sit down and give thought to the matter," Weicker said.

Even Lieberman supporters are getting worried...

Liberal Democrats were not the only faction of the party to take notice of Weicker's comments.

"I can only hope that Joe will listen to his constituents and his friends and respond to people's outrage over this," said Charles Lee, a Greenwich DTC member who has hosted political fundraisers at his home for Lieberman.

[...]

Former Greenwich First Selectman Richard Bergstresser also reiterated his support for Lieberman but said a challenge might force the incumbent to reconsider his decisions.

It's too late for Lieberman is reconsider his decisions. He has been a problem for Democrats in the nation and Connecticut for too long now and many Democrats are extermely angry with his close relationship to the Bush administration and his critical comments towards Democrats in general.

Weicker is a well liked politician and a great governor who has the respect of Democrats and Independents and would give Lieberman a run for his money.

Lieberman staff email

Here is a pretty interesting email from the Lieberman camp.
Hat tip to DailyKos.

From: Sherry Brown
To: 'Sherry Brown'
Sent: Tue Dec 06 21:31:36 2005
Subject: Sorry for the blast email....

But the Courant is doing an online poll in which we have just fallen behind between Lowell Weicker and Joe Lieberman. We've been ahead all day, but one of the internet bloggers got hold of it and is promoting it among the extreme lefties.

Go to the Main Page - see Joe's picture and then there is a link "Weicker - the antiwar candidate?" click onto that page - scroll down - right hand side there is a poll.

Let's turn it around!!! Thanks. (and please note that I did NOT ask you for money, which may be a first)

Too funny. The Liebernam camp is afraid that the Courant online poll is showing the obvious which is Democrats in Connecticut are sick of Joementum and his backstabbing of the Democratic party.

We'll, if Sherry Brown is encouraging people to flood the Courant poll, I guess we should do the same. Click here and go for it.

UPDATE: I guess Brown's email pledge isn't going so well:

Upgrades

I'm doing some upgrades to the sites which you might of noticed already but it seems that you'll need to refresh this page to see the upgrades (you need to force your computer to re-download the graphics on this page if you been to this site before).

Look for more upgrades in the future...

Malloy-DeStefano video available

At long last, the Malloy-DeStefano interview from last Sunday's Face the State is now available for download. Since the video is so long, I had to break it up into three parts (based on the commercial breaks).

To get the file size down, I had to sacrifice the quality but it isn't that bad. If you don't have a high speed connection, you'll be downloading for some time.

Part one: 38.6 meg

Part two: 26 meg

Part three: 16 meg

UPDATE: THe site that is hoating this video only allows the video to be downloaded for five days at which point, I'll have to upload them again and replace the link. If you can't download the file, please leave me a note in the comment section and I'll get it fix ASAP.

Thanks in advance.

Weicker rumors gaining steam

Wow. Seems like the Weicker buzz is gaining alot of coverage on the blogs and now The New York Times is getting into the mix.

Former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. on Monday criticized Senator Joseph I. Lieberman's continued support of the war in Iraq and said that if no candidate challenged the senator on the issue in the 2006 election, he would consider running.

"When you've become the president's best friend on the war in Iraq, you should not be in office, especially if you're in the opposing party," Mr. Weicker, 74, said in a phone interview from his home in Essex, Conn. "I'm going to do everything I can to see that Joe Lieberman does not get a free pass."

He said that Mr. Lieberman, a Democrat, currently had no challengers, either from within his party or from Republicans, in his campaign for a fourth term. Mr. Weicker said he believed that no Republican would challenge Mr. Lieberman on the war.

"If he's out there scot-free and nobody will do it, I'd have to give serious thought to doing it myself, and I don't want to do it," added Mr. Weicker, an independent, who said he had been opposed to the war from the beginning.

In 1988, Mr. Lieberman, a Democrat who was then Connecticut's attorney general, narrowly defeated Mr. Weicker, then a Republican United States senator, in Mr. Weicker's bid for re-election. Two years later, Mr. Weicker ran for governor as an independent and won. He served one term before retiring in 1995, but his stature as a maverick political voice in the state has endured. In 1999, Reform Party supporters encouraged Mr. Weicker to run for president in 2000, but after flirting with the idea, he ultimately declined.

Mr. Lieberman, 63, is popular in public opinion polls, but Mr. Weicker said on Monday that "a large bloc within the Democratic Party" in Connecticut opposes his position on the war and wants to see him challenged from within the party.

President Bush, facing sharp criticism from some Democrats who say that the United States should soon begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, has publicly complimented Mr. Lieberman in recent weeks for supporting keeping troops in Iraq.

Mr. Weicker, who discussed his willingness to run against Mr. Lieberman in response to questions from reporters after he spoke to the Hartford Rotary Club on Monday, emphasized in an interview later that he was not making plans to run. If he did run, however, he said he would run as an independent and oppose Mr. Lieberman solely on the war.

"Out!" he said, summarizing his position on what the United States strategy should be in Iraq. "We'd get out of Iraq. I'm not going to tell you it should be on Feb. 16 or something, but six months to a year, we're out. Otherwise you get all these mealy statements."

Mr. Weicker, noting that he had lost to Mr. Lieberman once, said his prospects in a rematch were "probably pretty poor."

"I'm not somebody who wants to put his track record on the line for some quixotic pursuit," he said, "but how do you bring the issue of the war to the country otherwise?"

Believe me, if Weicker runs against Lieberman, it would be the hottest campaign of all the mid-term elections. Democrats are outraged over Lieberman and Weicker is a very popular moderate who has the respect of Republicans and Democrats in Connecticut.

Boy, if Weicker gets in to the race, between that contest, the races for the 2nd, 4th, and 5th district, and the governor's race, all I can say is that it's great to be a political junkie in Connecticut.

Well that sucked

Good grief, I'm really getting sick of blogger.

Seems like Blogger had a meltdown and crashed for most of the day. No one was able to view any blogs on the blogger network but everything seems to be fine now.

It's late so I'll post the DeStefano-Malloy video from Face the State tomorrow.

Lieberman for Sec of Defense

Rumors are flying around DC that Joe Lieberman might replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. Andrew Sullivan and Bob Schieffer fanned the flames with their Lieberman prediction yesterday and it's now the talk of all the blogs.

If Lieberman goes, Gov Rell would obviously place a Republican in the spot so who would it be? Whoever it is, they would have to be a moderate or else he or she would be booted out in the 2006 election.

In any case, I'm sure many Democrats would eb happy to have Lieberman gone from the senate once and for all.

Kos adds his two cents into the rumor with some interesting points.

If this happened, Ct. Gov. Jodi Rell would nominate his replacement, who would then have an incumbency advantage heading into the 2006 election. Who would that be? One of the state's existing Republican congressman, either Shays, Johnson, or Simmons? Would their "moderate" status protect them against the state's rabid anti-Bush mentality? Rell is now the nation's most popular governor, so being a Republican isn't necessarily the kiss of death in Connecticut.

Then again, this would be the best chance to get rid of someone who is corrossive to Democratic unity. And someone who is tragically wrong on the war. Would he better than Rumsfeld at the Pentagon? Yeah right. They're two peas from the same pod. The job should go to someone who has a firm grip on reality, not someone who will keep pretending we are turning corner after corner in Iraq.

So things would be a wash at the Pentagon. We'd lose a seat in the Senate, and add a seriously contested Senate race to the 2006 calendar. But, we could finally get rid of Lieberman and we'd stand a good chance of replacing him with a better Democrat, one who isn't typecast as the go-to Democrat for Fox News and the Wall Street Journal when they need a Democrat to bash other Democrats.

Not an easy call.

I think it's a EASY call. Lieberman is out of the senate picture and there is no way a Republican would survive the 2006 elections in a heavy anti-Bush state like Connecticut unless that person is a moderate like Shays or Simmons. If he wants to jump on that sinking ship and be a part of the Bush administration, I'd say let him go.

Not to throw out the race card, but how would a Jewish person in charge with the occupation of Muslim country play out in the Arab world? Does the Bush administration want to open up Pandora's box further with appointing someone who not only is a strong supporter of Israel, but who is also Jewish?

Malloy-DeStefano on Face the State

Dan Malloy and John DeStefano were on Face the State yesterday and the show was very informative and interesting.

We're in the process of editing and converting the video and we'll have it posted later today.

UPDATE: Boy, these files are HUGE! I'm working to get the file sizes smaller and I'll post the files as soon as I can.

I think I'm going to start using bittorrent like the guys at Crooks and Liars do for big files like this. I don't want to lose too much of the video quality but these files are just too big to post to in their present condition.

UPDATE 2 (12.06.05): Seems like I'll just have to deal with these files being large. If there is one thing I don't like about video files are files with low quality. I'm going to upload the files and make them available for downloading this afternoon.