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No More Debates for Brewer

After a bungled debate performance this week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) told the Arizona Daily Star that she "has no intention of participating in any more events with Democrat Terry Goddard. She said the only reason she debated him on Wednesday is she had to to qualify for more than $1.7 million in public funds for her campaign."

Said Brewer: "I certainly will take my message in a different venue out to the people of Arizona."

"Brewer conceded that her performance in Wednesday's debate, and her refusal to answer a question from reporters afterward, was not well-handled. That includes an opening statement when she lost her train of thought and went silent, and walking away after the event rather than answering questions about her prior statements about headless bodies in the desert."
Categories: News

Outbreak linked to ground beef puts focus on meat oversight

USA Today News - 1 hour 37 min ago
The first outbreak linked to a rare strain of E. coli in ground beef is prompting a fresh look at tougher regulations to protect the nation's ...


Categories: News

Energizing The Base

One MAJOR way of winning this November is by simply energizing the Democratic Party base. Thats what propelled us to victory in 2006 and 2008, and I think that is what can help us win in 2010 again. Get the Party fired up and ready to go! YES WE CAN 2010!
Categories: Political Views

Hillary Clinton's High-Stakes Reentry into Mideast Peace Talks

Time.com - 2 hours 59 min ago
After a notable absence, the Secretary of State has been a very visible presence at the current negotiations. Will it pay off?
Categories: News

Thailand's Opposition Red Shirts Balk at New Army Chief

Time.com - 2 hours 59 min ago
Thailand's opposition movement expressed fears Friday over the appointment of General Prayuth Chan-ocha as the new commander of the Royal Thai Army
Categories: News

Salmonella outbreak spurs push against industrial farms

USA Today News - 3 hours 14 min ago
Are eggs from caged or cage-free hens more at risk for food-borne illnesses? Depends on if you ask industrial agriculture representatives or ...


Categories: News

Ayotte Leads in New Hampshire Primary

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 3 hours 44 min ago
A new Magellan Strategies poll in New Hampshire shows Kelly Ayotte (R) leads Ovide Lamontagne (R) by 13 points in the Republican race for the U.S. Senate nomination, 34% to 21%, followed by Bill Binnie (R) at 17% and Jim Bender (R) at 13%.
Categories: News

Doing What's Best for Small Businesses

Barack Obama's Blog - 3 hours 47 min ago

"This piece of legislation is good for workers, it's good for small business people, it's good for our economy. And yet, Republicans in the Senate have blocked this bill -- a needless delay that has led small business owners across the country to put off hiring, put off expanding and put off plans that will make our economy stronger." – President Obama

Today the President called on members of Congress to immediately pass a small business bill that has been held up by Senate Republicans.

New jobs numbers released this morning show that while we’re continuing to make progress on the economy—adding 67,000 private sector jobs in the 8th consecutive month of growth—businesses and workers are still hurting.

Loans for small businesses under the Recovery Act have successfully helped create jobs, but funds ran out in May. The Small Business Jobs Act would mean that more than 1,000 small businesses waiting for loans would be able to receive them.

Small Business Administrator Karen Mills explained on the White House blog:

Not only will the bill immediately help thousands of small business owners get access to capital, but it will also raise the limit on SBA loans from $2 million to $5 million, helping high-growth small firms who are ready to expand, franchisees who want to open a new location, and exporters who need to ramp up to meet a big order from abroad.

And on top of that, the bill has $12 billion in tax cuts for small businesses, including accelerated depreciation, eliminating capital gains on small business investments, and doubling the deduction for start-ups.  It’s fully paid for and both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses have praised the legislation.

In other words, this is a strong bill.  It has broad support.  It will give taxpayers a big bang for their buck.  And, it will benefit thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners across the country, including the more than 1,000 who are right now waiting to get an SBA Recovery loan.

'DASH' diet can lower heart attack risk almost 20%

USA Today News - 4 hours 5 min ago
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats can significantly lower the risk of heart attack for people with mildly ...


Categories: News

Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Lowering the Bar on 'Progress'

Time.com - 4 hours 14 min ago
Nobody expects the Mideast talks to yield a two-state solution, because that's not their aim. But more temporizing will not help Abbas survive politically
Categories: News

Republicans Could Take Senate

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 4 hours 27 min ago
Charlie Cook: "For much of this year, it seemed a near mathematical impossibility that Republicans could score the 10-seat net gain needed to flip the Senate, which is split between 59 Democrats (including two independents who caucus with Democrats and largely vote with the party) and 41 Republicans. As recently as six weeks ago, I wrote in a CongressDailyAM column that a GOP win was 'certainly possible' but 'still fairly unlikely.' Although the 'fairly unlikely' part is still valid, the possibility of a GOP takeover is growing."

The key factor is that "wave elections produce a cascading effect in which the close races often break disproportionately toward the wave."
Categories: News

Bone drugs may raise throat cancer risk

USA Today News - 4 hours 28 min ago
People who take bone-strengthening osteoporosis drugs for several years may have a slightly higher risk of esophageal cancer, a new study su ...


Categories: News

Paris mosque won't bite burger chain's Muslim outreach

USA Today News - 5 hours 15 min ago
Note to big companies hoping to tap into France's lucrative but long-neglected Muslim consumer market: Pitfalls may await, and not only in the ...


Categories: News

Iraq War Not Over

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 5 hours 28 min ago
An internal Associated Press memo advises reporters not to follow President Obama's declaration of the end of combat operations in Iraq.

"To begin with, combat in Iraq is not over, and we should not uncritically repeat suggestions that it is, even if they come from senior officials. The situation on the ground in Iraq is no different today than it has been for some months... Unless there is balancing language, our content should not refer to the end of combat in Iraq, or the end of U.S. military involvement. Nor should it say flat-out (since we can't predict the future) that the United States is at the end of its military role."
Categories: News

Quote of the Day

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 5 hours 33 min ago
"People are angry in a way that I have never seen them before."

-- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by Politico, predicting a "tsunami" in the midterm elections.
Categories: News

Beshear Holds Early Lead in Kentucky

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 5 hours 34 min ago
A new Braun Research poll in Kentucky finds Gov. Steve Beshear (D) leading both announced Republican candidates in next year's race for governor.

Beshear leads David Williams (R), 44% to 38%, and beats Phil Moffett (R), 49% to 29%.
Categories: News

Pentagon Declined to Investigate Child Porn Cases

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 5 hours 49 min ago
The Upshot reports a 2006 investigation "into the purchase of child pornography online turned up more than 250 civilian and military employees of the Defense Department -- including some with the highest available security clearance -- who used credit cards or PayPal to purchase images of children in sexual situations. But the Pentagon only investigated a comparative handful of the cases."

The investigation focused "on people who had security clearances -- since those who have a taste for child pornography can be vulnerable to blackmail and espionage -- senior positions."
Categories: News

Most Unpopular Politician Ever?

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - 6 hours 45 sec ago
Levi Johnston may be attempting a run for public office but a new Public Policy Polling survey in Alaska suggests his political career might be short-lived.

Just 6% of Alaskans have a favorable view of Sarah Palin's almost son-in-law while 72% have an unfavorable view. He is reviled pretty universally across the board but he's a little more popular with Democrats (15/61) than he is with Republicans (4/76) or independents (4/74).

Key point: "It's hard to muster a favorability rating lower than 6% -- that's about where the average person off the street we polled on a lark would be -- so Johnson may hold this dubious distinction for a long time."
Categories: News

Critics: Ill. lottery contract cloaked in secrecy

CHICAGO – With less than two weeks before Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn awards a lucrative, first-of-its-kind contract for the private management of the state's $2 billion-a-year lottery, some are criticizing the selection process as too secretive and questioning whether it favors one powerful bidder.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100903/ap_on_bi_ge/us_illinois_lottery_contract

It is the same game of no real change that the power brokers work in secrecy. That it is the ultra rich politically connected contributors that get the BlackWater bids.
Categories: Political Views

“This is too important”

Barack Obama's Blog - 6 hours 15 min ago

For OFA volunteers, this year's elections are just too important--and there's too much at stake--not to get involved. During last week's Moving America Forward Day of Action, thousands of supporters came out and knocked on more than 200,000 doors, talking with voters about the choices they'll face this November.

In Arizona:

Pima Community College student Joseu woke up at 4:00 a.m. for cross country practice and still made time to reach out to first-time 2008 voters, saying he wanted “to be a part of the change Arizona needs”

OFA Rhode Island writes:

“One volunteer, Kathy, hosted a canvass for the first time. ‘You know I've always been saying 'I don't have time, I don't have time,' but today, we're here together because this agenda is too important. It's time we all step up and do our part and I'm happy to have you over today to do just that.’

Another canvasser, Gale, walked door to door and reminisced of her last foray in political organizing: marching on Washington in the 1960's in support of women's rights and the Civil Rights Act.”

And folks in Missouri came out across the state:

“In Springfield, newly returning students to Missouri State canvassed neighborhoods surrounding the college to talk to folks about the importance of voting in November. In Columbia, US Senate candidate Robin Carnahan stopped by to fire up the crowd before going out to talk to neighbors on a beautiful and breezy Saturday afternoon. Sarah S. in Kansas City kept with tradition and held her weekly canvass and phonebank. Twelve excited volunteers showed up to walk in and around midtown Kansas City to talk about the importance of voting and getting engaged for this year’s midterm elections. In North St. Louis County, eight volunteers showed up ready to talk to neighbors, and upon their return, the owner of the shop had a cake waiting decorated with the ‘Hope’ logo on it. Who knew cake went so well with bottled water?”

You don’t have to wait for the next day of action to get involved—there are events happening each day all over the country. Find one near you and join in to help keep moving our country forward this November.

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