COMANCHE COUNTY DEMOCRAT

DON'T CHECK ON DEAD SKUNK

Excellent Analysis By A Republican

End of the Revolution
Advice to Republicans: Don't go back and check on a dead skunk.

BY DICK ARMEY

Click on this link:  OpinionJournal - Extra.

KERRY BENT ON WRECKING 2006 ALSO

Link: The McCarville Report Online.

Good read on Kerry Disaster. Suggest we call Linda and tell her what the episode will cost in support here in Southwest Oklahoma

REPUBLICAN MUDSLINGING

Link: Yahoo! Mail - geezerwebnut@yahoo.com.

STATE GOP SHORT ON CASH

Link: Oklahoma Political News Service.

RNC RESORTS TO NUKE SCARE ADS

Link: 'Daisy' Redux - FactCheck.org.

REASON FOR REPUBLICANS TO WORRY

Another quote from TailgatePolitics run by Keith Gaddie and Kyle Loveless:

Reason for Republicans to Worry

The other evening, after Kyle and I got off the air, I went to my kid's elementary school for a PTA event (a fun festival) that preceded the big fundraiser the next day (they make the kids run laps for money until they can't run anymore -- it is very 19th century, child labor running in circles to supplement the system). Anyhow, as I was hanging out with some of the other dads and moms, people started talking politics. In a fit of discipline, I listened. Now, let me note, this is Republican central of Norman, the northwest side where the Hummers outnumber every other car in the carpool line. What did I hear?

(1) We Love Brad Henry: All these Republican dads and moms are voting for Brer Governor. Why? All day-kindergarten. Pre-K funding. Tax cuts. He tried what he said he'd try, and then did it. And they are not getting any alternative message.

(2) We Hate Incumbents: Old-line veterans who are life-long Republicans tell me they are tired of a lack of accountability on the war, so they are pulling levers against incumbents. One guy wants to find a way vote against Inhofe (they really hate Inhofe) even though he isn't on the ballot this year. While I do not think this endangers Tom Cole, I do think it is indicative of a change in mindset among even conservative Republicans, that they are tired of the exercise of power without accountability.

(3) "We Hate Incumbents" Is Bad for Istook: Ernest is running as a challenger, but he is an incumbent. He's spent the last 20-odd years in public office, and nearly 30 years in public service. And, he is tied to the least-popular institution in America. And, as I noted yesterday, his advertisements look like incumbent-congressional ads. My lovely wife, the advertising scholar, says it looks like an introductory ad one runs at the beginning of a primary, not an ad for the closing week of a campaign. The moms and dads simply did not find Mr. Istook to be credible.

I have to wonder how far down these effects will reach. The Democrats have a clear course to win at least half of the constitutional offices in the state, and nationally the prospect of a Democratic majority in congress is high. Down-ticket, the question is whether or not voters identify Republican candidates with the successes of a Democratic governor, or the failures of a Republican congress.
___________________

CYA Obnoxious Quote of the Week from a Significant Republican Activist: "We've got Bilbo Baggins at the top of the ticket and everyone else is scurrying for their hobbit-holes."

posted by TailgatePolitics @ 6:40 AM   

Editor: Don't stop now. Keep Knocking doors. Put up those signs. Talk it up with your neighbors and co-workers. Keep the pressure on. Wear a sticker. Get a flag.

ITS THAT TIME AGAIN

Read this on the TailgatePolitics web site run by Kyle Loveless and Keith Gaddie:

Time to scare the **** out of the country again . . .

The GOP is going to start campaigning this week on the prospect of new terror attacks, and how these are the stakes for the coming election.

Glad they brought that up . . . I guess I missed the last five years and needed reminding again.

Folks, I do not mean to be cynical, but don't you think it is a little funny that DHS decides to release information on a "non-credible" threat to pro football stadiums just before the rollout of such an advertising campaign? I'm not suggesting conspiracy, but I feel of late as if I am living inside "wag-the-dog."

posted by TailgatePolitics @ 6:23 PM   

CONGRESS DOES NOT SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES

Link: Voting Scorecard Shows Lack of Support for....

SCARING SENIORS ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Link: Scaring Seniors on Social Security - FactCheck.org.

VISIT FLOYD'S BARN

Editor: Friends(and you are my friends). This is one place you need to go to believe. In the recent history of the Democratic Party and the University of Oklahoma many ledgendary and memoriable incidents  have happend here. Ask anyone "have you been to Floyd's Barn?" and they will tell you of things you wouldn't believe if you weren't talking to another Democrat. It will be worth any large contribution you can make just to say "I have been to Floyd's Barn" or "I have been to Floyd's Barn 24 times and here to tell about it."

Geezeweb

MEDICARE DRUG PRICES HIGHER THAN RETAIL

Link: ConsumerReports.org - Some Medicare drug prices are higher than retail 10/06.

STOLEN FROM WWW.OKIEFUNK.COM

 

YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE IT!

http://www.oksenatedemocrats.com/

Oklahoma Senate Democrats have put together the neatest web site! It has the information you need  on your Senator and his opponent. Plus, tons of useful practical information on campaigns.

Congratulations

WARNER NOT RUNNING

Link: Hotline On Call.

REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN THEME DEBUNNKED: SOCIAL SECURITY FORILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Link: Republican Campaign Theme Debunked: Social Security for Illegal Immigrants - FactCheck.org.

SENIOR MOMENT ON PASSING THINGS

Read this week's issue of The Comanche County Chronicle and saw a column by your favorite congressman, Congressman Lookingood. And boy is he lookinggood. He says he has been busy busy busy protecting you in Washington by passing things.  He says they passed two bills that will protect you and your loved ones. He help pass in the house The Border Tunnel Prevention Act (H.R. 4830) and then they out did themselves and passed The Secure Fence Act of 2006 (H.R. 6094). I can't tell if he is serious or making a joke.

Folks we need to consider sending to Congress someone who has some new thinking on how to protect our borders and this country. The ones we have up there now are flat out of ideas on what needs to be done.

RELIGION AND POLITICS TO BE DISCUSSED

SUBMITTED BY TIM MAULDIN, PhD

The volatile intersection of religion and politics

Sunday, October 15th

The Rev. Dr. Charles A. Kimball will conduct a forum on  “The volatile intersection of religion and politics” at First Presbyterian Church, 555 South University Boulevard in Norman (321-0933).
The event takes place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in First Presbyterian's Alexander Hall.

Dr. Kimball has made more than 35 visits to the Middle East and worked closely with Congress, the White House, and the State Department during the past 20 years.

His articles have appeared in a number of publications, including Sojourners, The Christian Century, The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe.

He is the author of four books, including "Striving Together: A Way Forward in Christian-Muslin Relations" and "Religion; Politics and Oil: The Volatile Mix in the Middle East;" "Angle of Vision: Christians and the Middle East ;" and "When Religion Becomes Evil," published by Harper Collins in September, 2002.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Dr. Kimball has been interviewed by more than 100 television and radio stations as well as major newspapers throughout the U.S., Canada, France, Australia, and South Africa.

Kimball is professor or religion and chair of the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem , N.C. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds a master's degree in divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he received his Th.D. from Harvard University in comparative religion with specialization in Islamic studies. Kimball is a frequent lecturer and expert analyst on issues related to the Middle East, Islam, and the intersection of religion and politics in the United States.

Before joining the Wake Forest faculty in 1996, Kimball taught for six years at Furman University , where he also served as the director for international education at the National Council of Churches.

* * * * *

Al Gore’s Movie

An Inconvenient Truth

October 21^st & 22^nd

The acclaimed movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” featuring Al Gore will be shown at Mayflower Congregational Church in Okla. City , 3901 Northwest 63rd Street

(842-8897).  There will be two showings: Saturday, October 21^st, 6 PM, and Sunday, October 22^nd, 1 PM.

CLINTON'S APPEARANCE ON TV ANALYZED

Editor: Best post game analysis I have read.

Link: Osama Bin Missing: Who's Tried Hardest to Tackle Top Terrorist? - FactCheck.org.

LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Editor's Note: This information is provided by Rep. Joe Dorman.

OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD, AND FORESTRY
Background Information on the Livestock Assistance Grant Program

This is the first time an Oklahoma agricultural agency has conducted a livestock assistance program of this kind.  In the past, USDA Farms Service Agency offices have coordinated these programs.

STEPHENS COUNTY DEMS OPEN HQ

Link: The Duncan Banner - Local Dems open headquarters.

LOOKINGGOOD LOOKS UGLY

Link: In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal.

"When you run in an adverse political environment, you try to localize and personalize the race as much as you can," Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said. In a memo released last week, Cole, who is running to succeed Reynolds at the NRCC, expanded on that strategy. The memo recommended that vulnerable incumbents spend $20,000 on a research "package" to find damaging material about challengers and urged that they "define your opponent immediately and unrelentingly."

WE WANT FREE WIRELESS-WE WANT FREE WIRELESS

Link: News from PC Magazine: Silicon Valley to Get Free Broadband.

TV ROOF DANCER NEEDS TO CALM DOWN AND FOLLOW THE LAW

Editorial Opinion:

The TV roof dancer and bottle smasher personality needs to calm down and follow the law. The estimate and justifiable need for 911 funds is clearly a legitimate expense in the Comanche County Commissioners budget. A negotiated amount on a 911 system mandated by law is clearly a needed budget item. Show some comman sense J.P.. Your position will lead to one of the "frivolous law suits" the neocons shout about.

geezeweb

James M. Fullerton

DEVALUING LABOR

Devaluing Labor

 

Labor Day is almost upon us, and like some of my fellow graybeards, I can, if I concentrate, actually remember what it was that this holiday once celebrated. Something about America being the land of broadly shared prosperity. Something about America being the first nation in human history that had a middle-class majority, where parents had every reason to think their children would fare even better than they had.

The young may be understandably incredulous, but the Great Compression, as economists call it, was the single most important social fact in our country in the decades after World War II. From 1947 through 1973, American productivity rose by a whopping 104 percent, and median family income rose by the very same 104 percent. More Americans bought homes and new cars and sent their kids to college than ever before. In ways more difficult to quantify, the mass prosperity fostered a generosity of spirit: The civil rights revolution and the Marshall Plan both emanated from an America in which most people were imbued with a sense of economic security.

Devaluing Labor » Harold Meyerson Devaluing labor is the very essence of our economy during the age of the Great Upward Redistribution. Happy Labor Day. Peratis: An Attack on a Rights Group Ignatius: Ahmadinejad's High-Stakes Game PostGlobal: How to Curb Anti-Americanism OPINIONS SECTION: Toles, Editorials, More Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. Blue Crab Boulevard The Sideshow RealClearPolitics Full List of Blogs (32 links) » Most Blogged About Articles On washingtonpost.com | On the web Save & Share Tag This Article Saving options 1. Save to description: Headline (required) Byline 2. Save to notes (255 character max): Blurb 3. Tag This Article

That America is as dead as the dodo. Ours is the age of the Great Upward Redistribution. The median hourly wage for Americans has declined by 2 percent since 2003, though productivity has been rising handsomely. Last year, according to figures released just yesterday by the Census Bureau, wages for men declined by 1.8 percent and for women by 1.3 percent.

As a remarkable story by Steven Greenhouse and David Leonhardt in Monday's New York Times makes abundantly clear, wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of gross domestic product since 1947, when the government began measuring such things. Corporate profits, by contrast, have risen to their highest share of the GDP since the mid-'60s -- a gain that has come chiefly at the expense of American workers.

Don't take my word for it. According to a report by Goldman Sachs economists, "the most important contributor to higher profit margins over the past five years has been a decline in labor's share of national income."

As the Times story notes, the share of GDP going to profits is also at near-record highs in Western Europe and Japan.

Clearly, globalization has weakened the power of workers and begun to erode the egalitarian policies of the New Deal and social democracy that characterized the advanced industrial world in the second half of the 20th century.

For those who profit from this redistribution, there's something comforting in being able to attribute this shift to the vast, impersonal forces of globalization. The stagnant incomes of most Americans can be depicted as the inevitable outcome of events over which we have no control, like the shifting of tectonic plates.

Problem is, the declining power of the American workforce antedates the integration of China and India into the global labor pool by several decades. Since 1973 productivity gains have outpaced median family income by 3 to 1. Clearly, the war of American employers on unions, which began around that time, is also substantially responsible for the decoupling of increased corporate revenue from employees' paychecks.

But finger a corporation for exploiting its workers and you're trafficking in class warfare. Of late a number of my fellow pundits have charged that Democratic politicians concerned about the further expansion of Wal-Mart are simply pandering to unions. Wal-Mart offers low prices and jobs to economically depressed communities, they argue. What's wrong with that?

Were that all that Wal-Mart did, of course, the answer would be "nothing." But as business writer Barry Lynn demonstrated in a brilliant essay in the July issue of Harper's, Wal-Mart also exploits its position as the biggest retailer in human history -- 20 percent of all retail transactions in the United States take place at Wal-Marts, Lynn wrote -- to drive down wages and benefits all across the economy. The living standards of supermarket workers have been diminished in the process, but Wal-Mart's reach extends into manufacturing and shipping as well. Thousands of workers have been let go at Kraft, Lynn shows, due to the economies that Wal-Mart forced on the company. Of Wal-Mart's 10 top suppliers in 1994, four have filed bankruptcies.

For the bottom 90 percent of the American workforce, work just doesn't pay, or provide security, as it used to.

Devaluing labor is the very essence of our economy. I know that airlines are a particularly embattled industry, but my eye was recently caught by a story on Mesaba Airlines, an affiliate of Northwest, where the starting annual salary for pilots is $21,000 a year, and where the company is seeking a pay cut of 19 percent. Maybe Mesaba's plan is to have its pilots hit up passengers for tips.

Labor Day is almost upon us. What a joke.

meyersonh@washpost.com

By Harold Meyerson

Wednesday, August 30, 2006; Page A19

EDMOND SUN EDITORIAL - HISPANICS ARE VITAL TO LOCAL ECONOMY

Link: The Edmond Sun, Edmond, OK - Hispanics are vital to local economy.

THIS IS AN EDITORIAL

MICKEY HEPNER WEEKLY COLUMN

Link: The Edmond Sun, Edmond, OK - Too much nothingness in politics.

Mickey is a Professor of Economics at Central Oklahoma University. He is a Democrat that has some opinions. Thought I would post his work and we'll see what he has to say each week.

OBAMA IN DEMAND - Washington Post

Link: The Fix -- Chris Cillizza's Politics Blog on washingtonpost.com.

TYNER CORNBREAD AND BEANS - Education

Link: The Norman Transcript - State Senate candidates emphasize education.

CANDIDATES VOTING RECORDS SUPRISING

Link: The Norman Transcript - Candidates' voting records surprising.

Candidates' voting records surprising

AARP Bulletin: Medicare Part D: In and Out of the Doughnut Hole

Link: AARP Bulletin: Medicare Part D: In and Out of the Doughnut Hole.

GEEZER GUESS: This issue will meet firestorm proportions by October. If I were a candidate for state or national office, I would get on it early. There are going to be a lot of us old folks very very angry.