bmags

the thing is negative advertisements for the most part are more educational, except for the one's that just attack character or ads like willie horton that are very loose, but that's where the media is supposed to come in, right? (oh, right, all they do now is show the ad and ask how it will be perceived by the audience and if the ad was good strategy, I forgot) Sometimes I think a negative ad is healthier for our democracy than "Hey, this is me with my family making cookies, see, I'm just like you, except rich people give me money all the time to push their policies. Vote for me!"

legalizing marijuana would save the states so much money.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 08:11 AM) Dude, WTF r u waiting 4? It's one of the things I miss most about home. but I'm in Missouri los

kudos on the subtitle.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 03:54 PM) I don't understand the question. As far as Obama and Europe, if you look at all of the rifts we've had with them under the Bush administration e.g. Kyoto protocol, invasion of Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, backing out of the ABM treaty (I really don't know why we did that), and then see where Obama is on those issues compared to Bush - then add in Obama's general tone towards them compared to the contempt Bush's people treated them with in his first term that they haven't forgotten. Add all that up and your answer is in there somewhere. I read a fair amount of their news, btw. when I was in Europe they were truly excited over the first black man/first woman narrative as well. In Germany they know so much about politics. One person asked me what I thought of AG Mukasey.

you guys do realize that Stevens is actually in a competitive primary right now?

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 07:46 AM) Congrats, you finally made 21. How do you like The Empty Bottle? 22 now and still haven't been since I've turned.

and right on cue: from her press release: Palin said she has no interest in leaving her job as governor should the Republican Party look to find a replacement for Stevens on the election ballot.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 11:11 PM) Didn't hear about this, details please 3-day passes are still available for $205 on the website but you can find em cheaper on ebay/craig's list. I was off on the location. Saturday night 9 pm at the Abbey Pub.

I just wanted to say this has been a very interesting discussion. I recently read a paper about the public school system in America, it said that one of the key policy issues is what goals people wanted it to address. One of the distinctions of these goals was whether someone viewed education as a public or a private good. (I think by nature education is a public good but it's an interesting read). if people would like I can upload it or link it.

From Roll Call: Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who has been indicted on seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure forms, has stepped down from his post atop two committees, according to a senior GOP aide. Republicans may vote as early as Wednesday afternoon to select replacements. Consistent with GOP bylaws that require Members who are under felony indictment to relinquish their ranking posts on committees, Stevens, the longest-serving Republican Senator, has officially stepped down as ranking member of both the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

well, this gives a huge rundown of what I'm alluding to. The guy sounds like a scumbag who deserved to be fired, but obviously a Gov. can't do this if it's true. I suppose they'll have to wait for the investigation. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/45694.html

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 09:58 PM) Well, they had elected a governor who has taken on the corruption there, so who knows. Since it looks like she won't get the veep nod, maybe she will take Stevens' seat. hmm...I believe she's in a scandal now too.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 07:34 PM) y'all know Alaska will elect someone just like him?! I really think they are starting to clean up, this probe wiped out a lot, but he's running in a primary despite this being Ted friggen Stevens, THE alaskan political figure since before Alaska was a state. And he was supposed to eek it out. The party will probably replace him, I believe.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 08:03 PM) Can we have him shipped out in some sort of pneumatic tube? "It's a SERIES OF TUBES"

Hope everyone doesn't have any problems

I picked school.

Okay, Balta, found you an answer, from MSNBC's story: Per Republican Senate caucus rules, if a member is indicted, he or she can no longer serve as chairman or ranking member of a committee. Stevens is a ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/2...8612/592/558752 hahahaha this is my district. I am a big fan of Judy Baker, but this Brock Olivo thing is really funny. So, he is a former U of Mizzou running back, one of the few players with his name and number on our stadium's wall. And so the 9th is where columbia is situated. He's basically running on his name, admitted to never voting in an election and honestly has absolutely no idea on any policy people ask him about. It's a seat vacant by the pretty popular Kenny Hulshof who is leaving to run for governor. He won by heavy margins in a pretty liberal area. The republicans couldn't find anyone to get this seat, while the dems through hugely popular Judy Baker and Mo's Speaker of the HOuse. bahahahaha, please watch that

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 06:16 PM) I do not know enough about the national test to draw a comparison. I do know that we have a major controversy here about "teaching to the test" and the many, many, classroom hours that are devoted to "test taking skills" that have no other value other then learning to take standardized tests. There is a lot of pressure placed on schools to have their students do well on these tests. That has been a seismic shift over the past 10-15 years. Careers and made and lost on how well students do on the tests. I'd like to know if the same students took both tests. How large of a sample size was used and how well distributed it was. It would also be helpful to know if either test was administered in Spanish. Bottom line, teachers have curriculum in place that helps kids to sort out answers and other test taking strategies. I fail to find much value in that. Interesting. We'll see how NCLB pans out in it's successes, but I can't see it being renewed.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 06:09 PM) Election year politics I guarantee you the Dems would much rather Young and Stevens on the tickets than off them, Tex.

Balta, I believe Vincent Fumo had to step down right away for his indictment on racketeering charges, but I am not sure of the timeline.

a little background: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/...ion_broader.php Stevens Investigation Broader Than Veco Home Makeover By lkmcgann - July 31, 2007, 12:15PM It's official: the FBI is looking into more than Sen. Ted Stevens' Veco-overseen remodeling project. Roll Call reports that the FBI and the Department of Interior are also looking into a series of earmarks for one of Stevens' pet projects. The project, the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seaward, Alaska, has received some $50 million in federal money since 1998. One of Stevens' former aides, Trevor McCabe, was paid $558,000 of that money for an adjacent piece of land. Federal investigators want to know more about the arrangement. It wasn't the only time that federal money found its way to McCabe's pocket. McCabe is also tied to the federal investigation of Stevens' son, former state Senate President Ben Stevens. The FBI raided the younger Stevens' offices last year, gathering documents related to his time on an Alaska board that handed out millions in federal grants to the seafood industry. While Stevens was on the board, he partnered with McCabe in a consulting company that took fees from the companies that received the federal money. The older Stevens saw to it that the board was stocked with federal funds. If the three-pronged federal investigation into Stevens run by the IRS, FBI and Interior Department doesn't impress you, Roll Call mentions that the raid of a US senator's home is a historical moment in Congressional corruption: "Stevens appears to be the only member of the Senate to have his home searched by the FBI." I believe last year raids on numerous Alaskan politicians led to a few convictions and appeals now. It looks like Stevens covered his tracks a little better.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/07/...indicted_on.php Wow! Finally. This has nothing to do with party, but Alaskan politics have been pretty corrupt especially recently with the Don Young pork barrel bridge to nowhere's and coconut road fiasco. And Ted Stevens has been just as bad. And finally, people are getting indicted for their misconduct instead of a slap on the wrist.

He said he wouldn't vote for his own bill anymore because he "heard the American people"