WASHINGTON, DC — National Newspaper Association Cheryl Kaechele, publisher of the Allegan County (MI) News, today urged community newspapers to use precise language in coverage of the H1N1 flu virus. Technically, Kaechele said, the virus is not related to swine.

Kaechele said NNA was asked on behalf of pork producing states to clarify for readers that exposure to hogs, pork products or other swine is not the precipitator of the virus. Confusion from newspaper headlines that refers to H1N1 as “swine flu,” she said, has unfairly cast doubt upon the pork industry.

She said: “Here is what the Center for Disease Controls says about the H1N1 virus:”

This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs (swine) in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and bird (avian) genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus.

As newspapers that often cover farming communities, she said, NNA member publications should be aware of the nature of this confusion and accurately label stories about the virus. She thanked Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo, for calling the issue to NNA’s attention.

CDC also provides useful tips for preventing illness, Kaechele said.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

Community newspapers can provide information on sensible management of the H1N1 season by contacting their public health agencies, she said. Information from CDC can be found at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm.

Ike Skelton:

Third quarter contributions: $331,609. Total contributions: $611,062.

Cash:$600,661.

GOPers Bill Stouffer and Vicky Hartzler have not reported yet.

Jerry Moran:

3Q contributions 516,000.

Total contributions $1.5 million.

Cash on hand $3.4 million.

Unofficial Todd Tiahrt totals:

3Q contributions $341,000.

Cash on hand: $1.4 million.

by Chuck Ring (GadaboutBlogalot ©2009).

Quote Freely From The Article – Leave The Pseudonym Alone

Well, where the sun doesn’t shine. At least we can surmise that was part of Congressman Ike Skelton’s (D-MO) retort when a collegue from the opposite side of the aisle pointed out that Skelton’s support of attaching a gay rights ammendment to the defense appropriations bill might, in so many words, be considered ill-advised and wrong-headed. The fact that the opposing House member was a fellow Show Me State inhabitant was lost on Mr. Skelton … no doubt because the opposing member was a Republican.

The Washington Times reported

In the somber confines of the House chamber, Rep. Todd Akin, Missouri Republican, criticized Democrats for the move.

“There is an elephant in the room,” Mr. Akin said, arguing that Democrats were trying to “blackmail” Republicans by attaching the thorny social issue to the popular and usually bipartisan bill to set Pentagon priorities.

“This is the kind of shenanigans that makes the American public irate,” Mr. Akin said.

Stick it …,” uttered by Democrat Skelton, apparently does not rise to “You lie,” spoken by Republican Joe Wilson. Or, perhaps the decorum required in the hallowed halls of Congress are needed only when Democrats control and are ‘hollow” when Republicans are required to grovel or be damned before the body.

Neither “gentleman” (Ike Skelton or Joe Wilson) was right, but Wilson was no more wrong than Skelton.

Read the story here: STICK IT

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• Lawmaker cusses out fellow Missourian in House (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

The flap over General McChrystal’s public statement about the necessity of troop increases has mostly played itself out between my last post and this one. National Security Adviser James Jones rebuked McChrystal on Monday, telling CNN that it’s “better for military advice to come up through the chain of command.” Spencer Ackerman calls this phrasing “substantively mild and theatrically loud”, but that’s basically where the dispute ended–aside from a similar comment from Defense Secretary Gates, there were no other public statements on the matter.

As veteran Post reporter Walter Pincus notes, the significance of McChrystal’s speech was exaggerated to begin with. McChrystal went out of his way to defend Obama on multiple occasions; moreover, it’s hard to accuse McChrystal of trying to place Obama in a box when he’s submitted a range of alternatives to his commander-in-chief. (The 40,000 figure commonly cited is just the alternative that McChrystal assesses to have the lowest risk of failure.) A few liberals, like the Post’s Eugene Robinson, continue to insist that McChrystal stepped out of line. (Since I noted Cato’s use of the “Graveyard of Empires” line, I should point out that Robinson dredges up the same cliché to cast doubt on the wisdom of escalation.)

If the McChrystal controversy proved to be a tempest in a teapot, another event I wrote about last week will have more lasting consequences. After an attack on a Nuristan firebase left eight Americans dead, the Taliban claim to have “raised their flag” over the province. Supporting their claim is the fact that American troops have withdrawn from the base that was attacked, although that withdrawal had apparently been in the works for a while. (Take a look at the picture in the at article; even to someone with no tactical expertise, it’s clear that that location would be tough to defend.) Josh Foust summarizes the situation in the Kamdesh area, which is a stronghold of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s outfit, the Hezb-i Islami–along with militants fleeing Pakistan’s offensive in the NWFP–and so remote that it can only be resupplied by helicopter. Foust comes down in favor of withdrawal from the area, since our presence there isn’t sufficient to win a great deal of influence with the locals–even though this means handing a major propaganda victory to Hekmatyar’s people.

Instead of talking about political developments in the ISAF countries, I thought I should devote some time to the activities of war skeptics in the United States this week. Barbara Lee led 22 House liberals this week in sponsoring a bill barring a troop increase, but as that small number implies, most House Democrats aren’t taking any affirmative positions on Afghanistan. Key policymakers like John Murtha (chair of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee) and Ike Skelton (chair of Armed Services) have been publicly supportive of McChrystal’s strategy. One even more senior Democrat, though, is less sure. David Obey of Wisconsin, forty-year veteran and chair of the Appropriations committee, has some questions he’d like to see answered before he supports an increased commitment. First, he’d like to see a Congressional Budget Office score of a ten-year engagement in Afghanistan; then he’d like to see a more realistic assessment of our capabilities. Obey is expressing years of liberal frustration that defense spending is never subjected to the same kind of cost-benefit analyses that are (ostensibly) the cause of moderate objections to, say, health reform. Interestingly, a new addition to the skeptic camp is Zbigniew Brzezinski, who sees parallels between the American and Soviet occupations of Afghanistan and worries that making anti-Taliban operations our preoccupation will allow the Taliban to label us “enemies of Afghans”.

On the other hand, EurasiaNet has a piece about some liberals who are apparently reexamining some of their preconceptions. A Code Pink delegation to a conference in Kabul, which intended to “lobby local women to call for a fast military exit” was surprised to hear MP Shinkai Karokhail, among others, argue that a rapid withdrawal would lead to a civil war and the return of the Taliban. (Code Pink is a confrontational anti-war activist group; they were the people who interrupted McCain’s convention speech last year.) Says Karokhail: “Nobody consulted us on negotiations with the Taliban.”

It should be said, though, that Karokhail’s fear of a rapid pullout looks ever less likely. Obama specifically ruled out any major troop decrease this week, even as he continues to delay elaborating on his next steps. In fact, the debate hasn’t moved much since last week; Rajiv Chandrasekaran has a piece in the Washington Post explaining the state of play. It sounds like the emergence of a specific troop figure–McChrystal’s request for 40,000 additional men, which Gates officially forward to Obama this week–created a serious case of “sticker shock” among policymakers who may not have understood just what counterinsurgency entailed. Bruce Riedel’s “white paper” on Afghanistan–the first strategy review, earlier this year–talked about “securing the population”, an easy concept to commit to when a troop figure isn’t attached. Of course, this pulls the rug out from under McChrystal, who was under the impression that he was tasked with putting Riedel’s recommendations into practice.

This week’s election follow-up is fairly brief even as we approach the two-month anniversary of the vote. The UN remains on the defensive after the Galbraith fiasco, doubly so when the Washington Post reported that UN turnout data revealed massive discrepancies with IEC figures; Galbraith had apparently pressed special envoy Kai Eide to release the data. UNAMA has generally responded by noting that they don’t have the power to file a formal complaint with the Electoral Complaints Commission. The election audit ended on Friday, but the election still hasn’t been certified because the IEC hasn’t tallied the results yet. In another sign of an impending Karzai victory, Balkh governor Mohammed Atta Noor is making noises about “vast participation” for Abdullah backers, though he claims Abdullah doesn’t actually want to be included in the government.

Finally, while I’m always wary of letting this blog stray into Pakistan’s affairs, I should note two important developments for the Afghanistan-Pakistan-U.S. relationship triangle. First, a bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul on Thursday killed seventeen (though no embassy staff), and Afghan Ambassador to the U.S. Said Jawad has accused Pakistan’s ISI of being behind the attack–a plausible accusation, since American officials have previously accused the ISI of helping to plan a similar (and more deadly) attack on the embassy last year. Second, Londonstani reports on the Pakistani public’s furious response to the conditions that the Kerry-Lugar bill attached to increased aid to the country. MPs and ministers have taken offense at what they see as an infringement on the country’s sovereignty, or perhaps a condescending comment on the state of Pakistan’s government.

Ike Skelton recently told Republican colleague Todd Arkin exactly where he could stick it during a debate over a defense bill.

Apparently, Skelton was feeling a little … defensive … about a hate crimes provision in the bill.

Whatever.

For those keeping score at home: Politicians — 1,936; Civility — 0.

You are invited to join in on this Teaparty and Call to Action September 17th from 5PM to 7PM on the Camden County courthouse steps! The keynote speaker will be Representative Charles Key of Oklahoma. Key is the author of Oklahoma’s HJR 1003, the Tenth Amendment Resolution calling on the federal government to follow the U.S. Constitution and stop infringing on states’ rights. Other speakers will include Vicky Hartzler and Allen Icet. Click on either of the pics below for more event/speaker information.

• Political Wire: Ridge Backpedals
• Political Wire: Candidates Wait for Joe Kennedy to Decide
• Political Wire: King Will Not Challenge Gillibrand
• Political Wire: Corzine Takes the Gloves Off
• Political Wire: Special Election Set for Kennedy Seat
• Political Wire: Republicans Abandoning Health Care Talks?
• Political Wire: Kennedy’s Wife Not Interested
• CQ Politics: South Carolina Rep. Brown Faces Two-Front Fight
• CQ Politics: South Carolina Lawmaker Won’t Challenge DeMint
• CQ Politics: Freshman Taps Family Cash for Allies
• CQ Politics: Preview of What To Expect in Missouri House Race
• Politico: Experts see double-digit Dem losses
• Politico: George Will calls for pull-out
• Politico: House Dems plot health care comeback
• CNN Political Ticker: Honore dismisses talk of Senate run
• CNN Political Ticker: Dancing With DeLay
• CNN Political Ticker: Cheney wrong on interrogation inquiry facts, Obama official says
• CNN Political Ticker: McDonnell blasted for controversial research paper
• CNN Political Ticker: Sensenbrenner diagnosed with prostate cancer
• Huffington Post: GOP Rep. Behind “Great White Hope” Remark Voted For Bill With Same Phrase
• RCP: MA Gov. Patrick to Speak On Kennedy Seat
• RCP: Primary Battlegrounds
• RCP: GOP Targeting Dems With New TV Ad

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 4, 2009

The following list contains the elected officials who refuse to hold town hall meetings on the matter of health reform. Do you really want to vote in favor of these individuals who have better things to do than to listen to your concerns? Print this list so you will have it in hand when the 2010/2012 polling stations open. Congressional members run for reelection every 2 years; senators run every 4 years.

Alabama

Rep. Bobby Bright (D) – 2nd District

Rep. Mike Rogers (R) – 3rd District

Alaska

Sen. Mark Begich (D) – reelection in 2012

Arizona

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) – 8th District

Rep. Ed Pastor (D) – 4th District

Rep. Harry Mitchell (D) – 5th District

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D) – 1st District

California

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) – reelection in 2010

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. Jane Harman (D) – 36th District

Rep. Henry Waxman (D) – 30th District

Rep. Doris Matsui (D) – 5th District

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D) – 6th District

Connecticut

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D) – 3rd District

Florida

Rep. Robert Wexler (D) – 19th District

Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D) – 24th District

Rep. Alan Grayson (D) – 8th District

Sen. Bill Nelson (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) – 20th District

Illinois

Rep. Melissa Bean (D) – 8th District (note: Rep. Bean is charging a $25 entrance fee for her town hall meeting)

Rep. Debbie Halverson (D) – 11th District

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D) – 2nd District

Sen. Roland Burris (D) – reelection in 2010

Rep. Peter Roskam (D) – 6th District

Rep. Bill Foster (D) – 14th District

Sen. Dick Durbin (D) – reelection in 2012

Indiana

Rep. Andre Carson (D) – 7th District

Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D) – 8th District

Kansas

Rep. Dennis Moore (D) – 3rd District

Kentucky

Rep. Ben Chandler (D) – 6th District

Maine

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) – 1st District

Maryland

Rep. John Sarbanes (D) – 3rd District

Massachusetts

Rep. John F. Tierney (D) – 6th District

Rep. John Olver (D) – 1st District

Rep. Richard Neal (D) – 2nd District

Michigan

Rep. Mark Schauer (D) – 7th District

Rep. Bart Stupak (D) – 1st District

Rep. Mike Rogers (R) – 8th District

Minnesota

Sen. Al Franken (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. Jim Oberstar (D) – 8th District

Mississippi

Rep. Travis Childers (D) – 1st District

Missouri

William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D) – 1st District

Ike Skelton (D) – 4th District

Emanuel Cleaver (D) – 5th District

Montana

Sen. Max Baucus (D) – reelection in 2012

Sen. Jon Tester (D) – reelection in 2012

New Hampshire

Carol Shea-Porter (D), 1st District

Paul Hodes (D), 2nd District

New Jersey

Rep. Bob Andrews (D) – 1st District

Rep. Chris Smith (R) – 4th District

Rep. Donald Payne (D) – 10th District

Rep. Leonard Lance (R) – 7th District

New York

Rep. Tim Bishop (D) – 1st District

Rep. Steve Israel (D) – 2nd District

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) – reelection in 2010

Rep. Brian Higgins (D) – 27th District

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D) – 28th District (added September 4, 2009)

North Carolina

Rep. Brad Miller (D) – 13th District

Rep. Mike McIntyre (D) – 7th District

Rep. Mel Watt (D) – 12th District

Sen. Kay Hagan (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. David Price (D) – 4th District

Rep. Heath Shuler (D) – 11th District

Ohio

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) – 9th District

Rep. Betty Sutton (D) – 13th District

Rep. Tim Ryan (D) – 17th District

Rep. Charlie Wilson (D) – 6th District

Pennsylvania

Sen. Robert Casey (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) – 13th District

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) – 8th District

Rep. Chris Carney (D) – 10th District

Rep. John Murtha (D) – 12th District

Rhode Island

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D) – 1st District

Sen. Jack Reed (D) – reelection in 2012

Tennessee

Rep. Jim Cooper (D) – 5th District

Rep. John Tanner (D) – 8th District

Texas

Rep. Chet Edwards (D) – 17th District

Rep. Lamar Smith (R) – 21st District

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D) – 15th District

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) – 28th District

Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D) – 27th District

Utah

Rep. Jim Matheson (D) – 2nd District

Virginia

Sen. Jim Webb (D) – reelection in 2012

Rep. Gerald Connolly (D) – 11th District

Washington

Rep. Norm Dicks (D) – 6th District

Rep. Jay Inslee (D) – 1st District

Sen. Maria Cantwell – reelection in 2012

Sen. Patty Murray – reelection in 2010

The following list contains the congressmen and senators who refuse to hold town hall meetings on the matter of health reform. Take note of these individuals come election time. Congressmen run for reelection every 2 years.

William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D) – 1st District

Ike Skelton (D) – 4th District

Emanuel Cleaver (D) – 5th District

The following list contains the congressmen and senators who refuse to hold town hall meetings on the matter of health reform. Take note of these individuals come election time. Congressmen run for reelection every 2 years.

William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D) – 1st District

Ike Skelton (D) – 4th District

Emanuel Cleaver (D) – 5th District

After two straight elections with big Republican losses in Congress followed

The Unablogger

by two years of worsening economy under President Obama, Republicans should rebound in 2010. Since the party still controlled Congress as recently as 2006, merely winning back the districts that elected Republicans just four years ago would be enough to take back control and take the speaker’s gavel away from Nancy Pelosi.

Unfortunately, some of those seats realistically aren’t coming home to the GOP because of demographic changes. When these districts elected Republicans, they didn’t have many of the minority voters who migrated into them since then and who vote mostly Democrat.

Therefore, Republicans need to turn over some other Democrat-held districts in order to take back the House. Fortunately, there are enough possibilities out there to do so. The ideal target would be a rural district that voted for John McCain for president last year but continues to elect a complacent Democrat congressman who hasn’t been seriously challenged in a while. The congressman, while using a conservative reputation to keep winning the seat, has recently voted the liberal line of the Pelosi leadership and the Obama presidency, including a high-profile vote for the cap-and-trade bill that is highly unpopular in rural America.

Based on recent election returns and Congressional Quarterly’s presidential support and party unity ratings, the following three Democratic incumbents (who aren’t on anybody’s radar screen because of their past electoral success) should be considered for targeting by the Republican Party. They all used to question their Democratic House leadership, but now when Pelosi says “Jump,” their only question is “How high?” Collectively, these three provided the decisive votes for cap-and-trade in the House. But their conservative supporters don’t know about their shifts, and won’t until they face qualified, well-financed challengers.

Ike Skelton (MO-4)
Skelton has served continuously since being swept into an open seat on Jimmy Carter’s coattails in 1976. His only serious re-election challenges were in 1982, when redistricting pitted him against fellow Congressman Wendell Bailey, and in 1996 when he held off former Lieutenant Governor Bill Phelps. Long regarded as a conservative pro-military Democrat, Skelton soured on the Iraq war and has been a loyal Pelosi foot soldier since the Democrats took power that year. Congressional Quarterly reports that during the first half of this year, Skelton supported President Obama’s position 96% of the time, just as much as Missouri’s urban congressmen Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver. The CQ party unity test showed that he toed Pelosi’s party line 97% of the time, including his decisive vote for the controversial cap-and-trade bill. This record can’t be popular in a district that gave Obama only 38% of its votes. The district has an above average over-65 population, and 61% of adults are married, both excellent demographics for Republicans. If the GOP can nationalize the 2010 elections the way Newt Gingrich did in 1994, Skelton, who will be 79 in 2010, could be vulnerable to a well-financed challenge from an experienced, well-known candidate. Four Republican state senators live in the district, including three who are term-limited, so talent is available for the Missouri Republican Party to recruit.

Bart Gordon (TN-6)
Gordon first won his seat against the tide in 2004, when Republican Ronald Reagan was sweeping to reelection. Gordon has now held the office for 25 years, and Republicans fielded no opponent last year. But his district, which gave Obama only 37% of the vote, is trending strongly Republican. After Bush and Tennessean Al Gore virtually tied in the district in 2000, Bush soared to 60% in his 2004 reelection, and McCain ran 2 points better than that in 2008. Gordon, though, hasn’t changed with his district, backing Obama’s policies 92% of the time and scoring a CQ party unity rating of 94%. He voted for cap-and-trade. Tennessee Republicans bucked 2008 trends and enjoyed great success. The party should build on that strength by recruiting and supporting a serious challenger to Gordon in 2010.

Vic Snyder (AR-2)
Snyder first won the seat on the coattails of home state President Bill Clinton in 1996. Republicans fielded no challenger in 2008, leaving that job to the fledgling Green Party. This Little Rock based district is the least rural of the three mentioned here, but Obama won just 44% of the vote, and the district’s political trend is as Republican as Gordon’s. Bush beat Gore there by just a point, improved in 2004, and McCain opened up a 10-point margin in 2008. For his part, Snyder supported Obama’s policies 96% of the time during the first half of this year, and his CQ party unity rating with Pelosi’s Democrats was 95%, including his decisive vote for cap-and-trade. This district should be the Arkansas GOP’s second 2010 priority, after recruiting a  viable Republican challenger to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (like, say, Mike Huckabee).

Not every district whose voters are rebelling against their Democratic congressman’s vote for cap-and-trade should be targeted. It would be a mistake to target some because of the impact on statewide contests, especially a U.S. Senate race. Whenever Republican activity steps up, Democrats always react by rallying their supporters with protective GOTV efforts. The Republican nature of  the three districts mentioned above means that GOTV efforts among known supporters of these Democrats might actually yield Republican votes in other contests. But in truly Democratic districts, riling up Democrats opposed to cap-and-trade could increase the turnout of Democratic votes in other contests, even if those voters cross over in the congressional contest.

An example of a district to leave alone is Missouri’s 3rd District. Hostile reaction to Democratic Rep. Russ Carnahan’s vote for cap-and-trade has gained national attention. But the district backed Obama 60-39, and Democratic margins have steadily improved over recent years. Even when running for an open seat (vacated by former House Democrat leader Dick Gephardt) in 2004 against a well-financed Republican and after having won a divisive Democratic primary with less than 23% of the vote, Carnahan still carried the district by nearly 8 points. His reelections since then have topped 2-to-1. More important to Missouri and the nation is a tough U.S. Senate race where Republicans have to fight to hold onto the seat of retiring Sen. Kit Bond. The likely Democrat for that seat is Carnahan’s sister Robin. Creating a contest that increased turnout in this district could result in the loss of the senate seat. Missouri Republicans should play it smart and target Skelton and leave Carnahan alone.

• Claire McCaskill won’t be supporting the Waxman-Markely cap & trade bill that recently passed the House, and she doesn’t think very many other senate Democrats will, either. [Huffington Post]
• Don’t mince words, Kit Bond, tell us how you really feel. Jeez. Somebody’s not terribly concerned about political expediency anymore now that they’re not running for reelection. We wonder if Bond will no-call-no-show during his last week in the Senate, like we do with all our jobs. [The Hill]
• Ike Skelton may have survived the 1994 GOP whiteout, but could he really be in trouble in 2010? Roll Call looks at a group of Democratic representatives from districts in which John McCain won a plurality of the 2008 vote. [Roll Call]
• State Senator and brave bowl-cut holdover Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield) is thinking about wasting some time and money in a primary fight with Roy Blunt for the 2010 GOP U.S. Senate nomination. [Political Fix]
• If Sarah Palin wants to salvage the tattered remnants of her political career, she should imitate… Missouri congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson? [The Hill]

• Dickensian ragamuffins are cute! Legally retarded Missouri congresswoman Cynthia Davis turned up on the Colbert Report last night after making some fantastically idiotic comments about how being hungry makes poor people rich. [Huffington Post]
• Chris Cillizza doesn’t think Sarah Steelman is running for anything in 2010 (scroll toward bottom). Of course, if Cillizza scooped it, it’s wrong. All hail president Steelman. [The Fix]
• Capitol Calling has more  on the GOP’s nascent effort to take on district 7 U.S. congressman Ike Skelton in 2010.  [Capitol Calling]
• Cynthia Davis again? *sigh* Let’s just get through this: She and Ed Emery are about to have a gay tea party or something to prove that President Obama is actually a citizen of The Taliban.  [Political Fix]
• Fulton now boasts the nation’s only “official” Winston Churchill museum. Somewhere, someone cares. [KRCG]
• Dick Gephardt had nothing to do with it, no sir. Innocent bystander over here. [Prime Buzz]

The NRCC has unleashed a slew of radio ads and robocalls targeting 13 Democrats for supporting the Cap & Trade bill that just passed the House, Ike Skelton among them. The move signals the beginning of a GOP effort to run a candidate for Missouri’s 4th district seat (among others) against Skelton in 2010; no small order considering that Skelton, 77,  is currently the  youngest resident of district 4, whose constituents’ average age is 109. Identifying a current district 4 resident with the ability to stand upright will be difficult, much less identifying a current resident with enough name recognition to knock loose Skelton’s 32 year grasp on the seat.

Is a 2010 GOP carpetbagger imminent? Republicans shouldn’t have to spend much time combing through their ranks in search of Skelton’s opponent. Any elderly white male with a boner for hunting rifles and notebook of platitudes about “fiscal responsibility” ought to match up just fine, so long as the NRCC ponies up enough cash.

Skelton’s office is reportedly unmoved by the new GOP strategy, citing the fact that the congressman has been dead inside for several decades.

NRCC Targeting Skelton on Cap and Trade [KY3]

Obama is not the only Bully in the play ground!

Now a days its pretty easy to see the Alpha Bully Barry and his snot nosed thuggies in the snuggies diaper Brigade kicking the sand in the law abiding credit holders to Chrysler, a easy rant already worn out.    No, instead like with every circus there is more than one ring to watch ,,,lets look on the other side of the play ground!

In an interview with the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call.  Armed Services Committee Chair Ike Skelton had this to say;

“Every weapons system needs to be scrutinized,” said Skelton. “As time goes on, some things get outdated. And it’s a constant research and development on one hand, and constant procurement on the other. And it’s all guided on the budget process. You can’t have everything that you want. That’s why you have to pick and choose”.

Is Skely referring to the F 22 Raptor, The most superior Aircraft in the world , Developed for use well into the 21st century. Is their another Aircraft on the planning table over at Lockheed? So very doubtful, What is ’ Ike’ talking about when he says “to pick and choose”.    Yet another display of the Obama administration’s plan( for lack of better words at the moment ) to weaken the United States!

“We are putting $13 billion to increase the personnel system. That $13 billion has to come from somewhere. We need to take care of the troops and the Members have to know that,” Skelton replied

Maybe Obama can cut back on the New York City fly over , that could save a little cha ching!

But shooting Taw with the big boy’s like bubba cat’s eye Murtha may proof to be a little more tuff than a simple knuckle fling, no this game requires a little side English.

 Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton suggested Monday that President Obama may have to use a veto threat to preserve his plan to use one Air Force tanker supplier — as opposed to multiple, which some House Democrats support.

“That is probably where we’ll start and end,” Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, said in reply to a question about moves in Congress that would guarantee Air Force purchases from both rival tanker suppliers — Boeing Co and a team of Northrop Grumman Corp and Europe’s EADS, reports REUTERS.

The powerful Pennsylvania Rep. Jack Murtha has already signaled he favors a dual-source strategy in dealing with the purchase of new tankers. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates favors a winner-take-all competition to award the contract.

div>

Peter came and ministered to our group at INTRO to IHOP this past week. It was the most amazing thing to witness how Peter Loth ministered to people. He told his story of horriffic abuse post WWII and how Jesus Christ encountered him and released years of hatred, pain, and suffering through the simple act of forgivness. Peter prayed with such simplicity and power, everyone was moved to tears. He would wipe away their tears and then wipe away his own. I saw the beauty of Jesus this week in a human being. Jesus you are so beautiful.

By Genevieve Long for The Epoch Times

SEE FULL ARTICLE HERE

The notorious Guantánamo Bay Detention Center in Cuba is set to close within the next year. As one of his first orders of business, newly inaugurated President Obama asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to pause military prosecutions at Guantánamo Bay on Wednesday. On Jan. 22, Obama signed an executive order to close the detention center within a year.

It is not yet clear how the nearly 250 current detainees, termed “enemy combatants” in the war on terror, will be handled.

Executive orders, which are controversial because they unilaterally legislate, can be challenged by a two-thirds majority in congress or through the federal courts. The issues tied to President Obama’s executive order on Guantánamo are rich in complexities.

“There are people who are being held at Guantánamo who are still bent on doing harm to America, Americans, and our allies,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell during a Jan. 19 press briefing. “There will have to be some solution for the likes of them.”

According to recent Pentagon statistics, about 11 percent of Guantánamo detainees have returned to fighting, a “substantial increase”. Of former detainees, 18 are confirmed and 43 suspected of returning to fighting—61 in all.

The current number of Guantánamo detainees is approximately 250.

Swift Congressional Response

The congressional response to Obama’s executive order was swift on both sides of the aisle, as several congressional leaders issued statements on their websites. The reaction was mixed—a common question being where detainees would go after the center closes.

“The Guantánamo Bay prison is filled with the worst of the worst—terrorists and killers bent on murdering Americans and other friends of freedom around the world,” said House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) in a statement on Thursday. “If it is closed, where will they go, will they be brought to the United States, and how will they be secured?”

SEE FULL ARTICLE HERE

]]> http://principallypolitical.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/missouri-kansas-delegations-split-on-auto-bailout/ Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:15:25 +0000 Brian Johnson http://principallypolitical.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/missouri-kansas-delegations-split-on-auto-bailout/ http://johnibii.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/bush-criticized-on-iraq-nkorea/ Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:36:48 +0000 johnibii http://johnibii.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/bush-criticized-on-iraq-nkorea/

President Bush’s efforts to resolve two major foreign-policy challenges in his waning days in office have prompted double-barreled criticisms, with leaders here and abroad questioning concessions his administration has made to Iraq and North Korea.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton said Monday that he was “deeply troubled” by a pending status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) with Iraq because it could result in American troops being prosecuted in Iraqi courts.

Across the globe, Japan and South Korea have gone public with rare dissent, saying they are worried over an agreement on how to verify North Korean pledges to give up making fuel for nuclear weapons.

Mr. Skelton, the leading House Democrat responsible for the U.S. military, said: “I do not believe it was wise to push off major decisions about the legal protections U.S. troops would have in such cases or the crimes for which they could be charged.”

By Sara A. Carter and Nicholas Kralev 
The Washington Times

Read the rest:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/
nov/18/bush-criticized-on-iraq-nkorea/

Talking over the gameplan

General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, America’s top two officials in Iraq, returned to the Capitol today for a second straight day of Congressional hearings. Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, Petraeus and Crocker faced skeptics from both parties as they had yesterday in the Senate. Committee chair Ike Skelton (D-MO) captured the tenor of the Democratic leadership when he complained that “political reconciliation hasn’t happened, and violence has leveled off and may be creeping back up.”

The most insightful moment of the hearings occurred when Petraeus said that he is unlikely to call for another troop buildup in Iraq, even if security worsens after fifteen brigades of troops return home this summer. His decision reflects the strain undertaken by the Army since deployments were extended from twelve to fifteen months last year; earlier this year officials made plans to reduce deployments to their original level by the end of the summer. “We think it makes sense to have some time to let the dust settle” before changing the deployment of troops, he said, noting that he “was keenly aware” of the troop strain, having been deployed himself since 2001.

In other Iraq news: Unable to secure enough votes to withdraw troops, Congressional Democrats plan to introduce legislation that would mandate the Iraqi government uses its projected boom in oil revenues to help pay for the rebuilding of their country. Revenues from 2007 to the end of 2008 are expected to reach $100 billion; the United States has spent $500 billion since on the war so far.

Petraeus: New Iraq troop buildup unlikely - [MSNBC]