With the Iott "Nazi" issue a national media story...

Since the election for the ninth congressional district is one that I've focused quite a bit on my local political blog, for those of you looking for coverage on that story. I recommend some of the blog posts on Glass City Jungle and a piece for the Toledo Free Press that I contributed to.

Iott participated in Nazi re-enactments reports the Atlantic – UPDATED

Iott participation in military re-enactments raising questions

Cantor "would absolutely repudiate" Iott

Military re-enactments focus of Iott & Kaptur releases

And I recommend watching where it all started, on Bill Maher. The below link has video of the clip where Josuha Green, senior editor of the Atlantic shares the photos of Iott dressed in a German SS Wiking uniform.

Link to video.

Some of those on the Maher site slammed P. J. O'Rourke's performance on the show, I have to say the former Toledoan had some moments were he was funny. The Maher crew was also creative with their suggested campaign slogans for Iott. "Today Toledo -- tomorrow the world" was funny.

It's been interesting to watch, I personally don't believe Rich Iott is a Nazi, but I think his campaign could have handled what they knew was coming better and that if he wanted to be involved in re-enactments (which I'm fine with) he might have considered a different unit to pretend about. His comments complimenting the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking and Hitler's Germany as far as their power, easily became campaign fodder.

:-)

Check for side effects before you pop that pill

Recently I focused on a personal experience with a combination of two medications prescribed by my doctor. Yet people take diet pills and other supplements on a regular basis without checking to see if there will be a drug interaction or a side effect. Many times they don't take the often repeated advice of checking with their health professional or at least their pharmacist or do research to check to see what the side effects of diet pills could be for them. The internet is a great way to do that, it doesn't replace sound medical advice, but as I've learned, at times it can be more trustworthy since medicine is not always foolproof...

Challenging the constitutionality of the number of House Reps

I received this via e-mail and thought it was an interesting item to pass along:

Unique Three-Judge Panel Grants Plaintiffs Oral Argument in Historic Lawsuit Challenging Size of Congress

OXFORD, Miss., May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Plaintiffs learned late last week that their request for oral argument was granted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Legal counsel for the plaintiffs, Michael Farris, also submitted the final brief in the case last week. The lawsuit, Clemons v. Department of Commerce, challenges the constitutionality of the law passed in 1929 that permanently freezes the number of representatives in the U.S. House at 435 members due to the fact that such a small number inevitably produces an apportionment which violates the Constitution's "one-person, one-vote" requirement to an extraordinary degree.
"We applaud the Court's decision to hold oral argument for this issue which is so vital to our representative form of government," said Scott Scharpen, founder and president of Apportionment.US, the non-profit organization coordinating the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Speaking about the defendants in the case, Scharpen adds, "The government takes a truly radical and anti-constitutional position in this lawsuit, asserting that inequality of voting strength between congressional districts is not important. Furthermore, despite filing over 70 pages of brief material, the government never once affirms the right of voters to equal representation--a right that the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized as fundamental."
This is the same federal government, however, that forces states to achieve precise equality of congressional districts within a small fraction of 1%, yet at the national level, the federal government permits inequality between the smallest and largest districts to exceed 80%. This disparity is projected to become even more inequitable as a result of the 2010 apportionment.
Oral argument will be heard in Oxford, Mississippi on May 28, 2010 at 10:30 am before the three-judge panel consisting of Circuit Judge Leslie H. Southwick, Chief District Judge Michael P. Mills, and District Judge W. Allen Pepper.
For a copy of the Plaintiffs' final brief, visit www.apportionment.us/case.html.
Apportionment.US (www.apportionment.us) is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving equal and appropriate representation in the U.S. House of Representatives for current and future generations of Americans. The organization also educates the public about the Constitution and House apportionment, as well as promotes the benefits of smaller congressional districts resulting from an increase in House membership.

Democracy for America says there are 51 Senate votes for public option

That's the ad they are running and want to continue to run. Here's the e-mail I received earlier today:

Lisa Renee -
Don't let them kill the public option by mistake. Contribute Now

After Senator Durbin announced that Senate Leadership would get the votes needed to pass any reconciliation bill sent to the Senate from the House -- even if it included a public option -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats spent all weekend still claiming that the Senate doesn't have the votes.

The Senate has 51 votes for a public option and we can prove it.

Today, we're releasing this new ad pressuring Speaker Pelosi and others in Congress to put a public option in the new House bill. They need to see this ad right away so they don't kill the public option by mistake.

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE $20 RIGHT NOW TO KEEP THIS AD ON THE AIR

The House may vote this week on health care -- so we need to act fast.

If Speaker Pelosi puts a public option in the bill, the over two million members of Democracy for America, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and CREDO Action will help lock down the 216 votes needed to pass healthcare reform in the House.

That's why we're running this ad at least 100 times in D.C. before Wednesday. The more we raise to air it, the more members of Congress will see it on MSNBC and CNN before it's too late.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE AD

This is the end game. We can win this if Democrats in Washington have the will to lead.

Working together, we're helping deliver the votes they need to pass real reform. Thank you for everything you do.

-Jim

Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

So many are shocked Brown won, calling it an "epic upset" Umm okay...

The signs were there for anyone paying attention that Brown was going to win. See the below post as an example and even the earlier comments from Axelrod...

Meanwhile, in an interview with reporters today, White House senior adviser David Axelrod noted there were "local issues at play" in Massachusetts and complimented Brown's team for running "a very clever campaign."

He said Mr. Obama did all he could for Coakley.

"The White House did everything we were asked to do," Axelrod said, the Baltimore Sun reports. "I think if we had been asked earlier, we would have responded earlier."

Now the typical, "OMG this proves Obama is a failure!" Which is not really the issue, no matter how many times they would have trotted Obama out to Mass, if you run a bad campaign? You usually lose. It's that simple...

So for all of those calling this an "epic upset" -- I'm not sure which campaign they were watching. The "epic upset" would have been if Martha Coakley won...

Specter might have been better off to stay a Republican..

Since becoming a Democrat, Specter has lost his seniority which does accurately create a scenario where his ability to campaign is limited:

"It's kind of hard to make the argument that you should be returned to the Senate because of your clout when you're the junior most senator on every committee," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "I imagine that will be the subject of some discussion on the campaign.

It also appears he's going to face competition, not only from Republican Tom Ridge but also potentially from the Democratic Party in PA.

So, he lost all of his seniority and is not going to end up with an easier re-election path...All he's really managed to accomplish is neither side trusts him.

Urge Congress to read bills and to make sure we can too

I received this via e-mail and I wanted to share it, because I agree with this 100%:

Here's something terrifying: Congress passed the $787 billion Stimulus Bill and we're pretty sure the people who voted on that legislation didn't actually read it. And for sure you didn't have a chance to look at it, either. That's not the first time important legislation has rushed through Congress in a matter of hours. By hurrying to vote on these bills, members of Congress might miss an earmark or tax break that could have a lasting impact on you and your community.

Congress just passed the largest piece of spending legislation in history and no one Read The Bill. Let's make sure this doesn't happen again. Demand that they Read The Bill and sign our petition now:

www.ReadTheBill.org/petition

Read The Bill is a commonsense solution -- we want Congress to post all bills online for 72 hours before they are debated. That gives members of Congress - and you - three days to read legislation and consider how it could potentially affect each of us in our daily lives. A 72-hour rule would also give you a chance to let your representative in Congress know what you like, or don't like, about a bill before he or she votes.

Here are some examples of bills that were passed when members of Congress only had a few hours to read each one.

-TARP bailout bill (2008): rushed through Congress with few provisions for accountability

-Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008: Congress' Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout

-PATRIOT Act (2001): rushed through Congress and, consequently, expanded the federal government's ability to gather intelligence, engage in domestic surveillance and secret searches and detain immigrants with little restraint

Just yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a $410 billion omnibus spending bill. Unlike the Stimulus Bill, it was posted online for two days, which allowed members of Congress - and citizens, alike - to read and discuss the bill for a short period of time before it was considered in Congress. But even that is not enough. Let's remove the disparity and uncertainty that makes some bills available while others are cloaked in secrecy. Let's continue to allow everyone to Read The Bill for at least 72 hours before it is considered in Congress.

Thank you for your time on this important matter.

Sincerely,
Ellen Miller
Executive Director, Sunlight Foundation

Stand with the Constitution

I'd feel better about the demand for action if instead of "Join Senator Feingold and stand up to President Bush" it also included standing up to the members of Congress that have not supported the Constitution but that'd be expecting more of a miracle than will most likely ever happen. At least the email does mention the Senate, so that's a start:

Senator Feingold's message directly to you:

Dear Friend,

In recent days, people across the country have voiced the opinion that the so-called "compromise" FISA bill working its way through the Senate must be stopped.

As you already know, I am working hard to strip retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that allegedly cooperated with the President's illegal warrantless wiretapping program from the bill.

But that is not the only problem. This FISA legislation gives enormous powers to the government: including the ability to read emails and text messages and listen to phone conversations of anyone communicating with their family members, friends, associates, reporters, ANYBODY who may be overseas -- all with zero court review. Nobody should be supporting this legislation.

We can defend our country from terrorists while at the same time protecting the rights and freedoms outlined in the Constitution. It's time for our elected officials to stand up for the values on which our country was founded.

We should celebrate our Constitution this Fourth of July -- and do everything we can to prevent it from being torn up when the Senate returns to Washington next week.

Progressives everywhere have already had a tremendous impact -- with phone calls, emails, and letters pouring into offices by the hundreds (in some cases thousands), but the pressure on my colleagues to give in to this so-called "compromise" and President Bush is strong.

I'm going to continue to do everything I can to stand up for the rights and freedoms we all share. Thanks again for doing your part.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold
Honorary Chair
Progressive Patriots Fund

Link to the petition is here for those of you wanting to act.

Dems Agree to Expand Domestic Spying

Remind me again what it's supposed to mean to be a Democrat? At times I wonder, especially when I read articles like this one from Wired:

Breaking months of acrimonious deadlock, House and Senate leaders from both parties have agreed to a bill that gives the nation's spy agencies the power to turn a wide swath of domestic communication companies into intelligence-gathering operations, and that puts an end to court challenges to telecoms such as AT&T that aided the government's secret, five-year warrantless wiretapping program.

Civil liberties proponents quickly blasted the deal.

"The proposed FISA deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation," said Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, the only senator who voted against the Patriot Act in 2001. "The House and Senate should not be taking up this bill, which effectively guarantees immunity for telecom companies alleged to have participated in the President’s illegal program, and which fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans at home."

But wait...there's more!

The bill itself oddly admits that the government's surveillance activities included more than the previously admitted "Terrorist Surveillance Program." That program, admitted by the president after The New York Times revealed it in December 2005, targeted Americans to intercept their international phone calls and e-mails without getting court approval. In a provision authorizing an oversight investigation, the bill refers to the "President's Surveillance Program," of which the so-called TSP was just one part.

That all but confirms what many have reported and suspected: that there was much more unilateral surveillance than the president or his lawyers have ever admitted.

Civil Liberties...once a concept now forgotten...

:-)

Fleming runs for Congress

I could have easily titled this post Dr John Fleming wants to go to Washington, since he is a family practice physician in Louisiana. He's also a Republican which makes it a bit unusual for me to focus on but the reality is one of the key issues that faces our nation is health care. It affects so many other economic aspects of our society and our government when you consider Medicaid and Medicare.

You can easily find out more on the issues that the John Fleming for congress campaign is focusing on through his website. It's clear no matter his party affiliation that he is not a career politician and that is something that I think everyone agrees is part of the problem in our government, people need someone to represent them.

What I immediately noticed when visiting the John Fleming campaign website, www.flemingforcongress.com, was the tech savvy aspects of it. That's also an area where I believe Washington needs to improve on, electing more representation that is actually aware of the technology of today and how to make use of it.