I don't know. I thought it was winding down. Almost over. The last almost 8 years of the nightmare. There's great excitement for the upcoming election. The end of some really horrific federal government leadership appointed by our very own former Texas governor.
And now, there's all of this right here in our midst.
A company founded and run by members of the church received more than $1.1 million in government contracts between 2003-2007, a federal online database shows. Most of that money was spent by the Department of Defense on aircraft wheel and brake parts.
NewEra Manufacturing's president and CEO is John Wayman, a sect member who runs the Las Vegas business. NewEra was previously known as Western Precision Inc. and based in Hildale, Utah, where thousands of church members live.
In a 2005 affidavit filed with a Utah lawsuit, former church member and Western Precision worker John Nielsen said workers were underpaid or not paid at all for work they did because they were told their time and earnings were being donated to the church. [Emphasis added.]
So, let me see if I'm understanding this correctly.
Now why would our distinguished junior Senator from the great state of Texas want to examine the military records of the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Lt. Col. Rick Noriega?
For what purpose?
I think we all can guess at the reason. Let's put it this way. Cornyn dodged the Vietnam War when he could have served in the military, but he instead actively sought a way out. Lt. Col. Noriega, on the other hand, enlisted in the National Guard in the 1980's in response to the Iranian hostage crisis. He later served in Afghanistan as a result of 9/11 and the war on terror.
But this is an election year and it obviously has dawned on Cornyn that he had chosen to shirk his walk while Lt. Col. Noriega has walked his. And so now we have a threatened and scared Republican Senator who will fabricate smear for the sole purpose of saving his own scared and sorry derriere.
I don't think any of us will ever forget the relentless and unconscionable swift boating of John Kerry in 2004, who unlike Bush, did serve in Vietnam. And Bush supporters smeared Kerry mercilessly for it. Yes, folks, this is the sick, twisted and toxic manner in which Republicans and their supporters thrive. The pathetic cowards will smear and demonize decorated war heroes. GOP smear mongers have no honor. They don't even know its meaning.
Like W., Texas U.S. Senator Cornyn did not serve in the Vietnam War. Both men were of military age at the time and as we know, both are right wing war hawks today. And yet neither was willing to fight in a war themselves when they had every opportunity to do so. While W. his behind his Daddy's clout and buddies to dodge Vietnam, Cornyn bailed out by using a loophole in the law.
Clueless about the hard and real consequences of warfare, an inept Mr. Bush distracted us from the real war on terror by fabricating an unnecessary debacle called Iraq. His equally oblivious and war dodging soul mate, Mr. Cornyn has blindly and routinely supported W. in his irresponsible quest that has undermined our military as well as our national security. 70% of Americans believe Iraq is a mistake and not worth the price. So much for putting chicken hawks in high positions of power that involve decision making about warfare, our military or our national security. Not to mention the inconvenient truth about our now busted and seriously overdrawn national piggy bank.
It is apparently so easy for swaggering war dodging chickens to send others off into the killing and maiming fields and squander our national treasure while the chickens roost safely at home completely insulated by bastions of personal financial protection and fortresses of political power.
A couple of months ago progressive bloggers, Vince Leibowitz, Hal Heitman, and I put our keyboards together to do a little research on Cornyn's military history, or rather, the lack thereof. We knew given Cornyn's age that it is likely he had to have participated in the mandatory Vietnam War draft lotteries of the 1970's During the time in which so many men Cornyn's age were drafted into military service we wanted to know why the Senator was neither drafted nor did he enlist.
Vince had discovered an article written in the San Antonio Express News on October 20, 2002 (Section A, page 12) that revealed Cornyn avoided the Vietnam War draft by obtaining a student deferment in 1970.
In 1970, Cornyn requested and received a student deferment from the draft, which was abolished shortly before he graduated in 1973.
"There was a lot of soul-searching going on and a lot of questions about our nation's role in the world," he said. "Ultimately, I turned out to be pretty much a chip off the old block."
(Please welcome Sen. John Kerry to Burnt Orange Report! - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
OK, I've not posted here before, but I decided to today, driven here by two events --
First, here in the Senate we've been trying to add a bunch of money for returning vets into an appropriations bill, money that the Republicans voted for in large numbers. But now, they're trying to block that money once again. Just to make it clear - they're blocking the exact same bill they once voted for. I mean, really, they really were for it before they were against it.
The other thing I saw: President Bush is fundraising in Texas today for his fellow Texan and diehard Roadblock Republican, John Cornyn. And just a couple of weeks ago, I met John Cornyn's Democratic opponent, Rick Noriega. Rick's a fine man, and he's a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
The double whack at veterans ... well, I take hits to veterans personally.
So when I saw this hit on veterans, and I saw George W. Bush working to shore up the support of one of his chief allies in obstruction at the expense of another veteran, I decided I needed to speak out.
So, do what you can to help Rick Noriega. He's a veteran, endorsed by VoteVets.org. And he's a Texan, grew up in Houston, graduated from the University of Houston, and, well, I probably don't need to tell you much about Rick.
I set up a fundraising page here, and Rick's website is here. Anything you can do to give money, or volunteer, anything can help. You know how big Texas is. With so much ground to cover and 20+ media markets to worry about, it's going to take a big effort to get John Cornyn out of the Senate and overcome the help he'll get from his friends in high places.
You and I worked very hard last year to win this slim majority, raising money and campaigning with lots of veterans and other Democrats. But it's clear we have some more work to do to clear out all of the Roadblocks to getting a progressive agenda moving in this country. We don't yet have a working majority on too many issues. So I'm going to be dedicating myself to building a bigger majority - and that starts with veterans like Rick.
This is no one-time deal, either. I'll be doing a lot to kick the Roadblock Republicans to the curb. In fact, just today, we started a website dedicated to that: roadblockrepublicans.com. We'll be watching John Cornyn and all the rest of the party that seems to have no purpose but to block our progress. And we'll have some fun while we do it.
So do what you can for Rick, and help us clear the roadblock and get this country moving again.
Cross-posted from Texas Kaos, Blue Texas, and Diatribune
The New York Times is reporting in its editions a Bush White House attempt to "make it much more difficult for New York, California and others to extend coverage to children in middle-income families."
This is the same program that Sen. John Cornyn has fought tooth and nail both as Texas Attorney General and now in the U.S. Seante.
More below.
This week, General Wesley Clark joined us on Who's Blue to discuss those issues, his political activism through WesPAC and VoteVets.org, and what he views as a dangerous foreign policy precedent being set by the Bush administration in regards to Iran and the Middle East.
I don't know about the rest of the BOR community, but it frightens me when Right-wing extremists like Tom Delay begin talking about recent conversations they had with God.
When "the Hammer" isn't busy robbing indian tribes of gambling profits for self political gain, hot tubbing with K-street lobbyists, or fending off criminal indictments for money-laundering-- no doubt very proud tic marks that God is keeping track of, he is having conversations with the Lord as to his new role in life:
DeLay says that when, in the coming years, he is not fighting the indictment in Texas (he insists that he is not guilty) he will be building a conservative grass-roots equivalent of MoveOn.org. “God has spoken to me,” he said. “I listen to God, and what I’ve heard is that I’m supposed to devote myself to rebuilding the conservative base of the Republican Party, and I think we shouldn’t be underestimated.”
I find it hard to finish my post as my gag reflex is interferring with my ability to type.
Below is a memo from Hamilton Beattie & Staff on a recent poll conducted for the DSCC which shows Texas Senator John Cornyn does not break 50% in a generic matchup against a Democratic opponent and that 39% of the Texas electorate does not know enough about him to rate him at all. At the outset of his first re-election campaign, Cornyn has not solidified his position with the Texas electorate and faces a difficult political environment that makes him vulnerable to a challenge.
Here are some fun numbers from the DSCC:
George W Bush has a negative job rating in Texas (47% positive - 51% negative) and the voters are nearly evenly split on whether their family would be better off with a Democrat or Republican majority in the US Senate (41% Democrats - 43% Republicans).
A strong plurality of voters in Texas believe the country is headed in the wrong direction (34% right direction - 49% wrong direction). President Bush's job rating on handling Iraq is even more negative (41% positive - 58% negative).
Republican John Cornyn has lower than expected name recognition for an incumbent US Senator, with 39% of the electorate unable to rate Cornyn either favorably or unfavorably. Overall he is 41% favorable - 19% unfavorable.
Senator Cornyn's generic reelect versus a Democrat is under 50% (47% Republican John Cornyn - 38% Democratic candidate; 15% undecided).
John Cornyn proves month after month that he is highly vulnerable. His low name ID, low favorability, an inability to win outright on a generic ballot, and an unpopular president all hurt the Junior Senators chances in 2008.
The state is open to being introduced to the right kind of Texas Democrat.
George Bush and Karl Rove don't want Rove to talk to Congress under oath. What is it about "So Help Me God" that Rove finds so offensive?"
Not a bad way to frame an argument against an arrogant White House whose fundamental belief is that their authority is beyond question and their behavior beyond the law. The line about Rove and God is not mine. Political psychologist Drew Weston suggested it last night to an audience of writers and activists.
Weston argues that the public does care about the balance of power, but for most there is little emotional content in arcane arguments about executive privilege. So we should go for the gut.
The same holds here as Rick Perry continues to balk at the Legislature's efforts to end the abuse of children in the TYC and to understand the cover-up of that awful scandal.
What is it about the safety of our children that Perry doesn't understand?
That's a good way to open the argument about Perry's refusal to put the TYC in conservatorship, instead opting for a legally unrecognized special master who may have already so tainted the evidence that we may never see full justice in the scandal.
Thanks to our friend Evan Smith at Texas Monthly, we have a preview of next month's feature story.
Texas Monthly interviewed 15 historians, White House veterans, and biographers and asked two question, "what is the Bush legacy" and "does he have time to change it".
We don't want to spill the beans on the whole story, so below the fold we have given you a teaser until March. You can read what Republican strategist Matthew Dowd and Democratic pundit Paul Begala have to say. Keep in mind, both men are from the great state of Texas, that means their opinions matter more.
