Howling Latina

Birdie, birdie you spoke too hastily...

This morning, Too Conservative posted a press release from Jeanette Rishell's campaign; she is the Democratic candidate in the 50th District's special election to replace deceased Harry J. Parrish. According to TC, Rishell has gone 'bonkers."

Unfortunately, TC must have received a copy of a discarded press release; it looks an awful lot like the one on her Web site, Jeanette Rishell for Delegate, and the one sent to local media but...it ain't the same; there are two huge gaping differences between the two.

The press release posted by TC reads:

Currently, those who run illegal boarding houses can be charge with no more than a misdemeanor. I propose that we this offense be changed to a felony with associated penalties applied. This would include increasing the current fines from a minimum of $10 to $2500; and an increase in the maximum from $1000 to $10000.

The press release on Jeanette Rishell's Web site reads:

Currently, those who run illegal boarding houses are given a token penalty. I propose that the penalties be sufficiently increased to promote compliance. This would include increasing the current minimum fine from $10 to $2,500; and an increase in the maximum fine from $1,000 to $10,000.

So as you can see, Rishell is not calling for owners of illegal boarding houses to be charged with a felony; she simply wants to hold them accountable to the rule of law; no one should take undue advantage of the poor or create a fire hazard; and penalties for breaking the law should be more than a gentle slap on the wrist.

The second bone of contention is Rishell's call for a separate docket to handle non-compliance violations; contrary to what Too Conservative claims, Rishell is not proposing to "creat[e] courts not found in Virginia," but rather to separate dockets so non-compliance cases can be individually heard on their own merits.

This would allow the courts to specifically focus on the issue of non-compliance without blurring problems of overcrowding, illegal boarding houses, noise, traffic and so on with the crucial docket for drug trafficking and other drug offenses.

Sounds like perfectly reasonable proposals; and certainly nothing "bonkers" about them.

In yet another article about Sen. George Allen's racist whoremongering ways, James Boyce of the Huffington Post highlights in an article the seedy past of one of Allen's foot soldiers who obviously comes from the same venemous branch of the poisonous tree in the garden of evil.

The article begins with a rhetorical question: "[W]hy [would] Paul Galanti, a decorated Vietnam veteran [want to] campaign for George Allen, who served at a dude ranch against fellow veteran Jim Webb, who actually served in Vietnam."

Boyce then answers his own question by telling readers that Galanti, "the man hand-picked by Allen to head his Vets for George group," has a bit of a jaundiced view of women and is a sexist to boot.

Remember the Tailhook scandal where innoncent women were sexually attacked? According to a woman who used to work for Mr. Galanti, he blamed it on " the promiscuous nature of the women involved." How so very 1955.

Perhaps Mr. Galanti's blaming-the-women strategy was a one time remark? Evidently not. A former assistant to Mr Galanti has also reported "I understand from talking with others that there was at least one suit settled out of court."

But here's the best news. Evidently some reporters at The Washington Post have dug into Galanti's past over the last few years...

Hmmm, this is becoming really scary. Like an oracle, Howling Latina wrote in the wee-hours this morning that she strongly suspected the Washington Post was working on a couple major Allen stories; and the prospect wasn't good news for the goober.

Sure enough, Boyce goes on to note that "some reporters at The Washington Post have dug into Galanti's past over the last few years" and then asks if "with Galanti front and center in a top Senate race," the Post might find it in their corporate's little heart interest to "share their findings with the rest of us."

During this election cycle, dollars to a greasy donut major media holds back nothing and publishes all -- the good, the bad and the ugly. No more lame national security holds on NSA-like stories.

HL thinks this business about journalist being subpoenaed and Big Brother listening to private phone conversations have spooked more than a few media fat cats. They don't want some government agency spying on their phone calls and learning of their sources.

Incredible is the only way to describe the story by The Nation on Sen. George Allen's long and disgraceful career as a racist.

Contrary to what some Republican bloggers want folks to think, there is no context to bigotry. NONE!

For a very long time, Allen has been using color coded language to allow plausible deniability for what every bigot knows and understands are his "real" sentiments.

His "real" America and his "real" Virginia do not include people of color. It's that simple; and he was outed by the camera for everyone to see.

It's going to get worst and "worster."

Howling Latina has a very strong suspicion that a few of the good folks at the Washington Post are planning their own little October surprise for the junior senator, especially with all the ammunition from progressives.

Oh, that's right; the mean media is whacking George but good; as he deserves; wah, wah, WAH.

Virginians don't need some phony cowboy with tobacco chew for brains and a Jim Crow heart to represent them. We're much better than that.

Guys, all the guns in the rack are being loaded; the man is what is and can't help it. Just pick the one you like and FIRE AWAY.

Tonight is the night ----

Shakira is in town and Howling Latina has got herself some tickets...

Hips Don't Lie

Ladies up in here tonight
No fighting, no fighting
We got the refugees up in here
No fighting, no fighting

Shakira, Shakira

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man want to speak Spanish
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa
Shakira, Shakira

Oh baby when you talk like
be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

And I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see baby, this is perfection

Hey Girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing

And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl
And everything so unexpected - the way you right and left it
So you can keep on taking it

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man want to speak Spanish
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa
Shakira, Shakira

Oh boy, I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self restraint
Have come to fail now, fail now
See, I am doing what I can, but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain

Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de dia
Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de dia

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man want to speak Spanish
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa
Shakira, Shakira

Oh baby when you talk like that
You know you got me hypnotized
So be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

Señorita, feel the conga, let me see you
move like you come from Colombia

Mira en Barranquilla se baila asi, say it!
Mira en Barranquilla se baila asi

Yeah
She's so sexy every man's fantasy a refugee
like me back with the Fugees from a 3rd world country
I go back like when 'pac carried crates for
Humpty Humpty I need a whole club dizzy
Why the CIA wanna watch us?
Colombians and Haitians
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction
No more we do snatch ropes
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our
own boats

I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel you boy
Come on let's go, real slow Baby, like this is perfecto

Oh, you know I'm on tonight and my hips don't lie And I'm starting to feel
it's right The attraction, the tension
Baby, like this is perfection

No fighting No fighting

Yipee!

Howling Latina just returned from a house party for the next Democratic delegate from Virginia's 50th District, Jeanette Rishell when good news on all fronts greeted my happy eyes.

As bloggers have been reporting, Webb is now set to pull off a stunning upset in November and defeat one-term Republican Senator George Allen.

In the latest WSJ/Zogby poll, Allen's lead has evaporated into thin air, much like former-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore who last August was already measuring curtains for the governor's mansion before reality hit him between his name-calling smile and eyes.

Jim Webb now leads Allen 47.6 to 46.6.

Virginia House Speaker William J. Well's ploy of setting Nov. 7 as the date for the special election is beginning to look dumb and dumber.

HL hasn't felt this deliriously gleeful in a very, very, very long time; and to make my evening complete, the Washington Post reports that South Dakota's idiotic abortion ban is going down to defeat, big time.

"A fresh poll suggests voters are inclined to oppose the law as too severe. In a late-July sounding, opponents of the ban held an eight-point lead, with 14 percent undecided."

Wouldn't it be just deserts if every deplorable state legislator who supported this terrible bill were to go down in defeat as well? HL definitely thinks it would only be fair for the law of karma to run its perfect course in both South Dakota and Virginia.

Every other day or so, libel and litigation magnet Bruce Li tries his Doctor Claw, snake pit humor by photo shopping pictures of 50th District Democratic candidate Jeanette Rishell with captions that are as humorless to readers as Bush to his aides when cutting farts for cheer and fun.

Muhuhahaha….

And about as apropos to the subject. Both reveal jolly-making frat boys who are A-holes. I mean, let’s just ask: What does a “moon fruit” have to do with the price voters pay for gas at the pump? Or their daily four-hour commute? Or the county overcrowded schools? Or women’s reproductive freedom? Or every other issue under the moon faced by “real” Virginians as Sen. Allen (Felix, Macaca, Frenchie) Al-lahn likes to ask?

It seems Mr. Li (not his real name, of course) doesn’t really want to talk about the issues; he prefers instead to slap a label to Rishell and hope his puerile caper brings victory to his candidate in the fall.

You know, bring a certain inevitability about Jackson H. Miller that preordains his victory just as surely as all the good ol' flip-flop flopping for Bush in '04.

But before we ride the “fruitmoon” to the heavenly body of Spinsville, let’s hear the real buzz about the race from a "real" journalist in a local story.

A Democrat could take a bite out of the Republican stronghold that is the 50th District: Party members are poised for one of their own to win the district's special election.

[…]

There is the growing trend in Northern Virginia of Democrats moving in on Republican territory.

In the 2005 gubernatorial election, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, won Prince William and Loudon counties, a feat his Democratic predecessor, Mark R. Warner, was unable to achieve. Kaine also won one of the largest precincts in Manassas City.

Forget the partisan rantings of a hack. The 50th District has become increasingly Democratic. And even though House Speaker William J. Well, R-Stafford selected to hold the special election on the same say as the general election -- hoping that a larger and more favorable turnout would hand Republicans a victory -- with the latest ‘Macaca’ Allen brouhaha and President Bush’s approval numbers in the toilet, don’t hold your rant breath.

Nov. 7 just may be the perfect day for GOPers to be “moonfruit” struck as Rishell and Webb join the winners' circle with every other Democrat.

A Cuban-American professor at Florida International University admitted in court to corroborating with Cuba for more than a decade; but his attorney says all charges against Carlos Alvarez should be thrown out because the FBI had promised him he would never be prosecuted if he fessed up.

Sucker!

Alvarez is charged for not registering as a foreign agent, several Florida newspapers report.

Answering questions from a federal prosecutor, Carlos Alvarez said he used a short-wave radio to send coded messages to Cuban intelligence contacts and sometimes met with them in person from 1986 to 1998.

"I wouldn't do it again," Alvarez said during his second day on the stand at a hearing in Miami federal court.

Alvarez was a psychology professor at the university for many, many years. Geez, you'd think he'd know a little something about manipulation, si? Next time, get it in writing or at least in front of your attorney.

The Miami Herald writes that his wife was also indicted; the FBI claims they never promised the couple anything.

FBI agents Albert Alonso and Rosa Schureck both testified that they made no
firm promises to Alvarez and insisted that he was told he was free to leave the
interviews, conducted June 22-23 and July 1, 2005, at a hotel in the Miami area.
Two of the sessions were videotaped.

Yep, trust but verify. Come to think of it, wasn't that how Billy Carter got into all that hot water back in the early 80s? And what of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Some people think that the "tax-exempt organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of Israel" should have to register as an agent of a foreign government.

Just asking...

Republican spinmeisters were breathlessly claiming that Bush was on the upswing; the pendulum was swinging.

The proof? His 42 percent approval rate in a USA Today/CNN poll of Aug. 20.

But...in the latest Newsweek poll, Bush's approval rate is a lousy 36 percent with 56 percent of Americans disapproving.

And in an Aug. 22 published poll by New York Times/CBS, Bush's approval rate was 36 percent; his disapproval rate was 57 percent.

What's more, the Aug. 15th Survey USA poll had Bush's approval numbers at 38 percent with 60 percent disapproving.

Can you say and spell O-U-T-L-I-A-R? You know, to go with out-and-out-liar Tony Blankley who was busy tossing the 42 percent approval rate of almost a week ago today on "John McLaughlin" to prove Bush's poll numbers were climbing. Two polls afterwards and one right before strongly suggest otherwise.

The USA/CNN poll was obviously an outlier.

Howling Latina wrote in The Virginia Progressive how President Bush was showing signs of his humanity as noted in quotes in a Dan Froomkin article.

In the meantime, the media is happily reporting with photos and headlines that Junior is visiting his father in Kennebunkport Maine.

Now moving right along the Froomkin article, HL had a sudden eureka moment.

Froomkin refers to a column by Robert Dreyfuss of Washington Monthly and the mysterious Iraq Study Group headlined by family confidant former secretary of state James Baker. HL saw a hopeful connection between the trip to Kennebunkport and ISG.

Now think about it...

Here's Junior in deep 'caca' (sorry Georgie) with the war in Iraq going very, very wrong; allies are leaving the sinking ship at break neck speed with the latest rat to flee endangered Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut. Hell, even Lieberman is having second thoughts...

So...who does Senior call when Junior needs some bailing out?

Why, it's the family consigliere; the consumate statesman James Baker.

Lately, the media has noted the different new language used by Bush to describe Iraq; and HL has a very strong suspicion that Baker had a hand in it; and that as we speak he's working hard, fast and furious to come up with a strategy before the November elections; and Junior's little family vacation in Maine has more than a little something-something to do with Poppy taking him over to the woodshed and setting him straight by fists or by gun.

Here's Dreyfuss' sense of what Baker has been up to:

Since March, Baker, backed by a team of experienced national-security hands, has been busily at work trying to devise a fresh set of policies to help the president chart a new course in--or, perhaps, to get the hell out of--Iraq. But as with all things involving James Baker, there's a deeper political agenda at work as well. "Baker is primarily motivated by his desire to avoid a war at home--that things will fall apart not on the battlefield but at home. So he wants a ceasefire in American politics," a member of one of the commission's working groups told me. Specifically, he said, if the Democrats win back one or both houses of Congress in November, they would unleash a series of investigative hearings on Iraq, the war on terrorism, and civil liberties that could fatally weaken the administration and remove the last props of political support for the war, setting the stage for a potential Republican electoral
disaster in 2008. "I guess there are people in the [Republican] party, on the Hill and in the White House, who see a political train wreck coming, and they've called in Baker to try to reroute the train."

It's a damn shame Senior didn't take over the reins a little sooner; sure, Junior refused to listen to reason; and yes, he instead entrusted his fate as well as the country's to the evil stepfather as objectified by Cheney, But...instead of sending Scowcroft to the New York Times to warn the nation, shouldn't Senior, or at the very least, Baker have done the warning?

It would've saved the lives of nearly 3000 American soldiers who needlessly died for a misguided lie.

In reading today's news, Howling Latina came across the White House Briefing by Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post.

And for the absolute first time, a fortifying spirit bespoke, "Maybe at long last, the sob finally gets it!"

Indeed, in visiting the wife of a dead soldier in Maine, Bush might have unmasked the dim flickering light that proved he was human after all.

We can only hope...

Kevin Wack writes in the Kennebec Journal: "One anti-war widow said she used the opportunity to voice her objections to Bush's policies.

" 'I said it's time to stop the bleeding,' said Hildi Halley, whose husband, Army National Guard Capt. Patrick Damon, died June 15 in Afghanistan. 'It's time to swallow our pride and find a solution.'

"She said Bush responded by saying 'there was no point in us having a philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of the war.'

"The president became emotional, Halley said, when she tearfully described the impact her 41-year-old husband's death has had on herself and their two kids, ages 12 and 14, both of whom attended the meeting.

" 'He wept and hugged me and apologized for my pain,' Halley said."

Let the crazed madcap feel the full brunt of his misguided policies and the havoc and pain he has caused to thousands upon thousands of soldiers and their families because he stupidly listened to Darth-Cheney and his minions and decided it would be a swell idea to avenge his father's honor and go invade a country and then occupy it.

HL prays that Bush thinks long and hard about that poor widow and her two orphaned children.

"Meet the Press" will host six debates for Senate seat candidates from Sept. 3 through Oct. 29.

Below is the schedule:

Sept. 3 - Sen. Rick Santorum, R-PA., and State Treasurer Bob Casey (D).

Sept. 17 - Sen. George Felix Allen,Jr., R-Va., and former Secretary of Navy Jim Webb (D).

Oct. 1 - Sen. Mike DeWine, R-OH., and Rep. Sherrod Brown (D).

Oct. 8 - Sen. Jim Talent, R-MO., and State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D).

Oct. 15 - Minnesota Open Seat - Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar (D) and Rep. Mark Kennedy (R).

Oct. 29 - Maryland Open Seat - Democratic and Republican primary winners of the Sept. 12th primary.

This Sunday's "Meet the Press" is dedicated to Katrina-rama with a few parting thoughts on the '06 elections.

Tim Russert will interview New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and ask him how New Orleans is faring one year after the devastation from Katrina. Russert promises to also ask Nagin about his media-hyped comments regarding post-9/11 New York City in defending the "clean-up" efforts in the Big Easy.

David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency will also chime in with his White House talking points about how well prepared for the hurricane season FEMA is this time around.

Leaving Katrina aside, Russert will then ask media pundits to pontificate on the upcoming fall elections. His guests will be Al Hunt, Washington managing editor of Bloomberg News, Robert Novak, syndicated columnist of Chicago Sun-Times, Kate O'Beirne, Washington Editor of National Review and Eugene Robinson, columnist of the Washington Post.

For Sen. George Allen fans, yep, expect to hear a few more words about his disgraceful "macaca" remarks.

Howling Latina absolutely loves self-directed polls; and in the latest AOL permutation, readers were asked to vote whether or not comments by Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans regarding post-9/11 rebuilding were fair or not.

First the comments during a "60 minutes" interview with context, then the survey and results.

As a correspondent during a taped show was "point[ing] out flood-damaged cars still on the streets of New Orleans' devastated Ninth Ward, Nagin replied, 'You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair.'"

Video of his comments is here.

The AOL survey asks readers: "What do you think about Nagin's comment about post-9/11 rebuilding? It's unfair. It's fair. Not sure"

Out of 42,960, 53 percent said it was unfair; 41 percent said it was fair and 6 percent said they weren't sure.

Now why would Nagin's comments be considered unfair? Since when is speaking the truth unjust?

If anything, the government response to 9/11 when balanced with response to Katrina cries out for any fair-minded correspondent to point out the huge financial disparity by the federal government between the two cities -- not words of accusation from some idiotic news hen.

The question should be rephrased to ask, "Do you think it was fair for the reporter to blame the city of New Orleans because some remnants of Katrina are still visible?

And yes, HL thinks that if Hagin were white and the city had been Houston, the lippy correspondent would have never asked the question in the first place.

A death-row inmate at Ohio State Penitentiary will be executed unless a federal court intervenes; once again the condemning evidence is mere testimony from witnesses who were either given immunity or had charges reduced.

In the case of Tyrone Noling of Ohio, three gang-bangers testified against him during trial. Of course, an overly ambitious prosecutor had earlier threatened them with the needle or life in prison unless they told the truth. That is, corroborate evidence which he carefully spelled out by giving them exact details of the crime scene and killings or else...

The only eyewitnesses to the murders were Butch Wolcott, the star witness who received immunity, and Gary St. Clair and Joey Dalesandro. There were no matching fingerprints, and DNA evidence at the scene did not square with any of the three men.

In other words, without testimony from the former gang members, the prosecution had nada, zip, zero to tie Mr. Noling to the murdered elderly couple in their 80s, Bearnhardt Hartig and his wife Cora.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently outlined in a 2755-word article how the prosecution won the capital murder case using unscrupulous antics. "The case against Noling." they write, "is shot through with inconsistencies."

[T]he slain couple wasn't robbed. Noling's guns weren't used to kill the Hartigs. A cigarette butt found in the driveway yielded DNA that didn't belong to Noling or members of his gang. Except for the flawed and conflicting statements of Wolcott and others, no evidence points to Noling as the killer.

[...]

Cora's wedding band was on her finger, Bearnhardt's wallet in his pocket, filled with cash. Watches and other jewelry sat untouched. Deputies found $160 in a vanity beneath the bathroom sink. The killer had opened the doors, but left the money behind. Mr. Noling was a petty thief; as were his three cohorts; and all three eyewitnesses have recanted; one even as he testified during trial.

Mr. Noling was a petty thief; as were his three cohorts; and all three eyewitnesses have recanted; one even as he testified in court during trial.

No matter. The only concern for the court according to U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent is whether or not Mr. Noling's constitutional rights were "preserved." Guilt, as former Virginia Attorney General Mary Sue Terry once claimed appears to be "irrelevant."

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., recently observed in an op-ed column how "another man [was] about to be lied to death" in America.

The death penalty is a crude, vestigial remnant of frontier justice and an embarassment to any sense or pretense of moral authority this nation might claim.

[...]

Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci feels differently. He told the [Plain Dealer] none of this causes him to lose sleep, which is pretty much what you'd expect him to say. Belief in the death penalty requires a facade of certitude. Conscience is an inconvenience. Facts even more so. Don't know what you know. Don't ask; don't tell.

Indeed, the "idea that a man can be sent to death-row based on little more than some guy's word," or for that matter, three punk thieves is not only reprehensible, but lawless and barbarian in a nation of laws.

Howling Latina was taking one final troll through the blogosphere before going to bed when wham, she read a post from that famous conservative blogger Black Velvet Bruce Li about how illlegal immigrants contribute to crime.

You see, a "13 year old girl featured in an 'Amber alert' last month was found in the bedroom of an illegal alien in Woodbridge."

Yep, and that proves without any shadow of a doubt that illegals are sexual predators.

Except...if we use BVBL's logic, then gosh, what does that say about whites? Or African-Americans? Or every ethnicity under the sun who ever committed a crime? Guess what? Crime knows no race, creed or color.

BVBL decries Jeanette Rishell for having the temerity to advance Latino causes and ask them to support her campaign; don't you know, they're all a bunch of criminals, to the last one!

Hmmm, by that measure, let's hope that her esteemed opponent never sullies his campaign with $$$ from any fellow officers. Why, that would be taking $$$ from criminal sexual predators, for sure.

After all, former Virginia State Trooper William A. "Buck" Carter was convicted of trading DWI tickets for sexual favors; and former commonwealth attorney Charlton E. "Charlie" Gnadt Jr., was convicted of fondling shackled male prisoners.

Talk about sexual predators! Oh, so typical of GOPers. I'm rubber, you're glue, everything I am bounces off me and sticks to you.

With all the oxygen that Señor Macaca sucked out of the news lately, Howling Latina has been remiss in writing about other stories of possible interest.

For instance, the Associated Baptist Press reports that an Arab Baptist professor from the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut was stranded in the recent Israel-Lebanon conflict crossfire in the United States.

And as the war in the Middle East unfolded and he witnessed America's reaction to events, he had a few chosen words for his American brethren, writing "a series of guest editorials for the online version of Christianity Today magazine."

In his opinion pieces, Accad challenged American evangelicals to at minimum "question their often-uncritical support for Israel's actions."

Accad [also] criticized "the murderous aggression of Israeli armed forces." But he also rebuked "self-centered Hezbollah, which has done the inadmissible of taking a unilateral war decision without consulting the Lebanese government of which it is part, never giving a second thought to the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Lebanese who will perish as a result of its selfish decision."

The good professor pointed out in his writing what many progressives have tried to say many, many times before but were silenced and then branded as anti-Semitic, unpatriotic, heretics, evil and so on.

"I think that some pseudo-biblically motivated Christians with decision power, who believe 'that apocalyptic destruction is a precursor to global salvation,' are presently working toward provoking a Middle Eastern conflict of regional significance in order finally to settle accounts with Hezbollah- and Hamas-supporting Syria, Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine, who have committed the crime, as Gushee put it, of making their hatred for Israel 'crystal clear.'"

Folks, it's not all black and white; it's more nuanced. And playing the radicals' lethal game of apocalypse must be countered by moderate forces within the body of Christ.

Lead and the flock will follow. Educated and open-minded Christian leaders have the added responsibility and weight of their calling; the world needs their temperance and wisdom, as guided by the spirit of Truth.

Sen. George Allen's "macaca" gaffe is the story that keeps on going and going and going like the Everready Energizer bunny. Heretofore, Allen will forever be mentioned with a sidebar of the incident.

First Read of MSNBC headlines today's issue with George Allen; and how Pres. George Bush is dropping in Virginia for a private fundraiser; and of course, good ol' el Señor Macaca makes a cameo appearance.

As Sen. George Allen might warn the White House, the political news doldrums of August can be dangerous. Certain comments have a way of catching on -- particularly when they're rife with implications for presidential politics.

[...]

Today, Bush raises money for Allen, [is] still grappling with a widely publicized comment...He's also the Republican presidential candidate who might have the most riding on the outcome of the midterm elections because he's pretty much the 2008 version of, well, Bush.

Now ain't that the truth!

A self-styled folksy former Virginia governor who grew up on a coast (California, not Connecticut), Allen picked up the twang and some other accessories (cowboy boots, Copenhagen) of his adopted South. He has been an Establishment favorite in the 2008 field by virtue of being conservative enough, mainstream enough, and not overtly ideological. He's even got the sports pedigree (football coach's son, not baseball team owner), and sometimes tosses a football with the crowd at speeches, just in case anyone forgets. Indeed, the resemblance between Allen and Bush is striking enough that it's doubtful Allen could shake it off, if he were ever to try.

[...]

Today's fundraiser should not be taken as Bush's endorsement of whatever presidential aspirations Allen might be harboring. It's to benefit Allen's re-election bid, an effort which was expected to be easy at first and has become more difficult lately due to some self-inflicted damage (can you say "macaca") and to the overall poor climate for Republicans.

Also add the fact that Allen faces a great challenger in the form of former Navy Secretary Jim Webb; a man who is a thousand times more qualified than the goober junior senator.

Wal-Mart has banned a voter-registration group with Republican ties from their stores in Tennesee for "failing to meet the retailer's standards of nonpartisanship."

Duh, you think?!?

The Washington Post reports that Liberty Consultants has admitted to Wal-Mart officials they'd been hired by an Arizona firm "[h]eaded by Nathan Sproul, a former Christian Coalition activist."

Sproul & Associates was paid $7.9 million by the Republican National Committee for consulting and voter registration drives in the 2004 election cycle, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Imagine that!

The group was setting up tables in GOP strongholds around Nashville and registering voters outside their stores. Dennis Alpert, a Wal-Mart spokesperson told the Post the group initially refused to leave and only grudgingly did so after the retailer threatened to call police.

Liberty Consultants tried to have the Tennessee store ban overturned by calling officials at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters.

"They questioned our decision on their request, stating that our policy allows for nonpartisan voter registration," Alpert said. "But our research indicated they did not fit our definition of nonpartisanship."

Guess it's a new era now that good ol' Sam has left this world to meet his Maker.

Alpern indicated that stores in California and Nevada were being alerted of Liberty Consultant's ties to Sproul and the GOP.

If you recall, Sproul's firm is the lovely company who went around the country registering only Republicans and throwing away the Democratic registration forms in battleground states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Nevada and Oregon.

Here is yet another harbinger of political Democratic gains in November.

The Washington Times reports today that in the latest Harper Index, 46 percent of Democrats are excited about the midterm elections; only 30 percent of Republicans are excited.

In October 1994, the numbers were almost identically reversed. Forty-five percent of Republicans were excited compared to only 30 percent of Democrats.

As the heady aftermath of the foiled terrorist plot in Britain grows more distant, looks like Bush is going back to his familiar crappy poll numbers.

The New York Times reports that in the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, Bush has a 36 percent approval rate; and even more worrisome for the White House, Americans are starting to wizen up about the nonexistent link between terrorism and Iraq.

Within the last two months, a jump of 10 percent of Americans have concluded there were no ties, from 41 percent to 51 percent.

Howling Latina was delighted when a reporter a few days ago bluntly asked the "dis-assembler" what Iraq had to do with 9/11; and the president had no choice but to come clean and say not a damn thing.

Whatever happened to the good ol' GOP talking points about personal responsibility and pulling oneself up from their bootstrap (or cowboy boots) and possessing a spine of steel and so on?!?

All GOPers want to do lately is whine and bitch with their whine. It's not enough that Republicans own corporate media, control all levels of government and are dripping in cash, oil, gold and power.

Oh no, they want total and absolute control over EVERYTHING under the sun; and when they screw up, everyone kept silent.

In that spirit, Allen's campaign manager has decided to strike back by blaming the liberal media for Allen's stupid and racist comments; and his campaign's artless response, then and now, as John in DC of Americablog observes.

Here's the carping memoradum to GOP leaders by Dick Wadhams:

I think it is obvious that this past week was difficult one for Senator and Mrs. Allen and the campaign. It is very clear that the news media created what they call a "feeding frenzy", with the Washington Post alone doing major stories on the same issue for 5 consecutive days.

Literally putting words into Senator Allen's mouth that he did not say (by speculating, defining and attributing meanings and motives that simply are not true), the Webb campaign and the news media seeming worked hand-in-hand to create national news over something that did not warrant coverage in the first place.

Even after Senator Allen apologized to the Webb campaign staffer in specific, and to anyone who may have been offended in general, the news media continued to print and re-print the same speculations and inaccurate portrayals of Senator Allen's comments. Never in modern times has a statewide officeholder and candidate been so vilified in a desperate attempt to revive a campaign that was fast-sinking – the Webb campaign.

Senator Allen has said that his comments were a mistake. Who among us has not made mistakes? In fact, how many of us could put in the hours of work, travel, meetings, campaigning, etc. that Senator Allen has over the years and make as few mistakes as he has?

Apparently the media's standard for candidates is now that they must be perfect, not human, and that no mistake or verbal gaffe is to be forgiven, no matter how much the candidate apologize. Will the Washington Post hold it's candidate for the U.S. Senate to the same standard? We will see, but I'm not holding my breath.

The bottom line for us, friends, is that same as it has always been. We cannot rely on the news media to get our positive, constructive message out to the voters. In fact, we cannot expect them to be objective, let along fair. As always, we have to do it together, getting our message directly to the voters.

Senator Allen has a long, positive, successful track record as a member of the House of Delegates and House of Representatives, as our Governor and now as our United States Senator.

There is hardly a place you can go in the Commonwealth that Senator Allen has not visited at least once or touched in some way. Senator Allen and Susan Allen have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of Virginians through their public service and volunteer activities. This is evident to anyone who has participated in a Listening Tour stop this year.

He was there long before his opponent discovered there were such places in Virginia. And, he will be there long after his opponent has faded from the scene.

Looking Ahead

There is no question that this is a tough year to run for the Senate as a Republican. The Democrats and their liberal constituency groups, such as MoveOn.org, are pouring millions of dollars into television attack ads, seeking to take control of the Senate and House. Rep. Thelma Drake has already been a target of their vicious attacks. We expect to see Senator Allen attacked in the same way.

The reason the Democrats run such negative campaigns and always play the race card, is that they have no positive ideas to run on. That is as true this year as in any other. The fact that they have attempted to make race an issue so early in the campaign is evidence of just how desperate they are.

Senator Allen summarizes his public service as making Virginia a better place to live, learn, work and raise a family. And, that's what this campaign is all about.

Senator Allen will win because he is right on the issues. He will win because he has done a great job as Senator and Governor. He will win because he has stayed in touch with Virginians and been responsive to their needs. He will win because he and Susan will work harded than anyone to get the job done.

And, Senator Allen will win because of your help and support. Now is the time to rally for Senator Allen and our Congressional candidates. Now is the time to get our positive message out door-to- door, by telephone and at fairs, festivals and meetings of all sizes.

You are the secret weapon that Senator Allen has always confounded the pundits with.

Let's show the liberal interest groups that by coming to Virginia, they have gotten more than they bargained for and that they need not bother us ever again!

Gosh, is this a cornball, drippy, three-hanky memo filled with faux outrage to the units or what? If this is the best Wadhams could come up with, no wonder they're in deep "macaca."

Note to Dick, next time start by not swearing at reporters.

Capable and hard-nosed communications media type needed immediately to advance dissembling moribund campaign and create positive buzz throughout the Virginia blogosphere.

Plunging poll numbers must be stopped. Previous Jerry Kilgore campaign consultants and activists need not apply!

Indeed, once again, clairvoyant Howling Latina predicted Allen would have to retool after the Macaca fiasco; and she was right once more.

Expect Allen to take the tried and true road of nasty innuendos and misleading press releases. What else can the poor goober do when he's so outgunned by Born Fighting Jim Webb?

Thunder, Thunder, THUNDERCATS.

Two nominees to the Richmond-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals were quietly and unceremoniously dumped, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

"The nominations of William James Haynes II of Virginia, the Pentagon general counsel, and U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina [were sent] back on the eve of its monthlong August recess, representing a setback for the administration."

House Majority Leader Bill Frist told the media the names were sent back because Democratic senators objected.

My, my...how things have changed! Only last year, Frist was wielding the nuclear option like the "Eye of Thundera."

As the story notes, time is running out for the Bush nominees to clear the Senate before the fall elections.

And yea, add yet another reason why it is absolutely crucial that Democrats take over both the House and Senate.

This campaign year is a great time to be a Democrat.

Say it loud, we're Dems and we're proud!

In the latest WUSA-Channel 9 survey, Sen. George (Felix, Goober, Macaca...) Allen's lead shrunk even more.

The so-called popular Allen now leads Webb by a statistically insignificant 3 points.

Let's keep showing Allen all the love and boot him out of office in the fall.

Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace has decided to drop out of the race for Tom DeLay's old seat in the 22nd Congressional District.

The Houston Chronicle reports Wallace cited the need for GOP unity as his reason for dropping out.

Now is the time for all Republicans to unite around one candidate and preserve our conservative voice in Congress," Wallace said during a news conference at Sugar Land City Hall.

That now leaves Democratic candidate former Rep. Nick Lampson, anointed Republican candidate Houston Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs and the guy who thought he'd pick up a few conservative votes without a GOP name of the ballot, Libertarian Bob Smither.

Howling Latina thinks good ol' Wallace just wanted to keep his name in the hat for '08. This year the seat is moving to the Democratic side of the aisle and a losing campaign is hardly a ringing advantage in two years.

A majority of Americans DO NOT want the United States to become entangled in the Israeli conflict with Hezbollah and Palestinians.

In a recent Zogby poll, 52 percent said they do not want the U.S. to take sides with anyone.

Fifty-one percent of Republicans said the U.S. should side with Israel; a meager 22 percent of Democrats want America to side with Israel, but a whopping 62 percent want the U.S. to "remain neutral."

The poll also reflects that a majority of women want the U.S. to stay out of the conflict at 59 percent; only 45 percent of men think the U.S. should be an honest broker and not side with Israel.

Finally, Americans were split on the question of whether Israel used excessive force.

Thirty percent "said it was excessive, 24 [percent] said Israel did not use enough force against Hezbollah fighters. Another 28 [percent] said the force was just about right, and 16 [percent] said they were not sure. Men were more likely to approve of the force used by Israel than women.

In her lame way, Howling Latina has been well, howling, about how George Allen doesn't have one creative thought in his talking-point filled brain about ANYTHING.

And lo and behold, my favorite war hero mirrors my thoughts and exquisitely now gives them voice with his sage words.

In an interview with Daily Press, Webb notes, " The Founding Fathers intended that the Senate serve as a check on the presidency...I cannot identify one iota of George Allen's strategic vision, other than the talking points he's been given by the administration."

BRAVO, bravo, future SENATOR.

Webb went on to call for "Congress to prohibit any funding of permanent military bases in Iraq."

"If we're leaving, we don't need them, and it sends the wrong message," Webb said

Yes, Mr. President, tear down them walls; America doesn't need military bases in blood-soaked foreign soil.

Excusing Sen. George Allen's recent over-the-top remarks directed at a 20-year old student volunteer from the Jim Webb campaign, Sen. John McCain is quoted in a Richmond Times-Dispatch article as saying, Hey, "all politicians make mistakes."

Tell that to Bill Clinton, who if GOPers had won the day would've been tarred and feathered out of town.

But...even if you accept the premise that Allen didn't mean to direct any racial slur at S.R. Sidarth, how do you explain the pesky sheer meanness of his act?

Allen was in a position of power with a slew of toadies by his side. His remarks were meant to shame Sidarth; and from Howling Latina's perch, Allen was taking unfair advantage of the fact.

How about all the outrage directed at Clinton when he was president because he had an entanglement with a gal barely out of her teens with disparate power?

Remember all the lather and stew over Clinton's behavior and how they condemned him as a shameless "public official [who took] advantage of the aphrodisiac of power"?

The taped remarks show Allen for the mean-spirited, clueless goober that he is! Now let's see if the media keeps playing the tape over and over and over again like the tape of Clinton kissing Monica in her black beret.

George Junior
George Felix Allen, Jr.
George 'Rebel' Allen
George 'Goober' Allen
George 'Bubba' Allen
George 'Gomer Pyle' Allen
George ‘Hee-haw’ Allen
George 'Dude Ranch' Allen
George 'Bruiser' Allen
George 'Do-nothing' Allen
George 'Right Wing-Nut' Allen
George 'Real World' Allen
George 'Macaca' Allen

And Howling Latina's absolute favorite, George “Frenchie” Al-lahn.

For the last six months or so, Sen. George Allen has been going around the country claiming he represents "real Americans" and "real Virginians."

Wink, wink, you know what he meant...white guy in a crowd of white folks, religious zealot in a crowd of born-again evangelicals, race car enthusiasts in a crowd of NASCAR fans, repentant former bigot in a crowd of African-Americans; yes, Allen is the political Rorschach, specifically nonspecific with sunny bromides.

Well, that campaign theme is now gone. Zap. Vanished.

That's right; because of his importune comments last week, Allen will no longer be able to tell his audiences how he understands the "real" world and how he's the "real" McCoy on a horse. It's too connected to his ill-advised remarks.

So...late in the campaign, Allen is going to have to come up with something new. Keep in mind, he's promised to run an upbeat campaign about the issues.

Just exactly what will the goober tell voters, especially since only 41 percent of Virginians approve of Pres. George Bush and his policies?!?

Sure Bush could rebound, but Howling Latina doesn't think that's going to happen; and here's why.

When Karl Rove told Republicans to run on the terror theme, he likely knew the British terror plot would be unfolding in late summer.

And just as they used the Swiftboaters to attack Kerry in the all-important month of August to set up the presidential campaign in '04, the White House planned to use the war on terror to set the campaign theme for the fall: Americans could not trust Democrats to fight the war on terror.

But holy cow, no movement in the polls -- even after all the hype and hysteria after the British foiled a terror attack in the making. Bush poll numbers are still rotten.

Apparently, this one-trick pony valiantly stayed the course for a few rounds but it's now bone-weary, wasted and dying.

Yep, Americans still care about the war on terror, they just don't think it's got a damn thing to do with the war in Iraq.

Back to the drawing board for both Georges; but it's late in the game to round up new focus groups and come up with new themes for the fall.

Like Lowell Feld of Raising Kaine told his readers, Jim Webb is going to upset George "Macaca" Allen; and Howling Latina predicts the Democrats will win both the House and Senate.

If Howling Latina reads one more damn story about George 'Macaca' Allen's outrageous remarks last week that includes the goober senator's lame refrain that Webb is racist too and refers to the frigging Harris Miller flyer, she's going to explode.

Here's the "offending" flyer and a picture of Miller; you make the call.

During the primary, many Webb supporters thought Harris Miller wasn't a very honorable man; hell, more like the devil incarnate; and although HL supported Jim Webb, it wasn't personal for her, Webb was just the better candidate by legions.

But after more than a week of George Allen's minions harping on and on about a flyer that was merely a caricature of Miller, without even the tinsiest of exaggerations to any of his facial features, it's time for Harris Miller to find his voice, support Webb and stop the demagoguing by the Allen campaign.

Come clean, you used your Jewishness as a desperate last minute gasp to your losing campaign; that is, in hindsight and after carefully and closely examing the flyer, you do indeed find a remarkable resemblance to you and feel foolish for trying to make a federal case out of a caricature, which by its very nature is merely a comic representation.

Howling Latina is going to chime in...

Why is the media even talking about Andrew Young's comments defending Wal-Mart?

Certainly one can see the truth of his remarks. Hell, it's not only mom-and-pop retailers who rip-off local denizens, neighborhood mom-and-pop insurance agencies do it as well; sign right up and pay twice as much -- convenience has a price for all.

Here is the sum of Young's so-called racist comments when asked to respond to charges that local economies are hurt when Wal-Mart moves in because local stores are forced to close shop:

"Well, I think they should; they ran the `mom and pop' stores out of my nieghborhood," the paper quoted Young as saying. "But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores."

Why is referring to someone's ethnicity racist?

Framing, newscasting and hyping this non-story cheapens the other real stories about real racist comments from real racists types.

Just finished reading one of the best posts about Sen. George Allen's 'macaca' moment.

From Cliff's Corner of Americablog come these great observations and snark about George Allen and his week of glory in the center stage limelight:

Strom Thurmond was [somewhere] smiling, if he wasn’t busy desegregating his private parts with those of a barely pubescent African-American girl he was "romancing" while on shore-leave from the seventh-circle of hell.

Allen, meanwhile, who has a history of hanging a noose in his office, wearing a Confederate Flag lapel and looking like the somewhat more retarded and inbred cousin of Luke Duke—or is that David Duke—twice referred to a South Asian-American staffer of his opponent Jim Webb as “Macaca.” Which wouldn’t be a problem, if it were not French racial slur for darker-skinned North Africans. And if his mother weren’t French-Tunisian. And if he didn’t speak French.

Read the entire post; it'll put a sprightly wry smile on your face.

Russ Moulton of Fredericksburg, the 1st District Republican chairman filed a complaint against 1st District House candidate, Shawn O'Donnell with the Federal Elections Commission.

According to a news item in the Daily Press, O'Donnell failed to file his quarterly report on time.

James Martin of The Virginia Progressive had earlier posted how much money Virginia candidates had raised during the last reporting period; and O'Donnell was missing from the list. Now we know why.

The fine of $800 is more of an embarrassment that anything else. But O'Donnell wasn't the only person to screw-up. In jumping the gun, Moulton also had to regroup; he had to refile his initial complaint because of a "discrepancy." Whatever that means!

Nonetheless, it's a tough break for O'Donnell, especially after the small wind at his back when his opponent, Republican Rep. Jo Ann Davis called for Secretary of Defense Ronald Rumsfeld to resign, flip-flopped and then said, "Ha- ha-ha, fooled you, I was just fooling!"

All right, folks, are you laughing or crying?

Lame, lame.

This Sunday's gabest will be hosted by David Gregory, NBC White House correspondent.

The first guest is perpetual Sunday flack, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Gregory will ask him about goings-on in Iraq, the Middle East and the politics of fear, er, I mean terror.

Next, John Harwood, Chief Washington Correspondent at CNBC and Wall Street Journal columnist will join Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the former commander-in-chief of U.S. Southern Command and Dr. Vali Nasr, professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and author of "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future."

They'll be talking about the increasing sectarian violence in Iraq and what the unholy mess might portend for the mid-term elections this year.

Happy viewing!

Mayor David Wallace of Sugar Land, Tx., had already filed as a write-in candidate for disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay's old seat and was all set to go, picking up endorsements along the way.

But...hold the press, local party fat cats got together and decided, nope, Tom DeLay's initial 'hand-picked candidate' would not be the one selected. Too much political baggage, no doubt.

The Houston Chronicle reports today that Republican precinct chairs gave Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs the nod.

[P]recinct chairs, who met behind closed doors, chose Sekula-Gibbs over a handful of opponents, including Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace and former state Republican Party executive committee member Tim Turner.

But that's the end of the story, right? Well, not so fast...

It looks like some GOPers ain't too happy about the process and who got picked to run as a write-in candidate against Democratic candidate Nick Lampson and Libertarian Bob Smither. It could get U-G-L-Y!

Fort Bend County GOP Chairman Gary Gillen boycotted the meeting; and Wallace has already said he will continue his write-in campaign, no matter who the party bosses endorsed and what they spout about the need for party unity. A local community blog had earlier reported that party leaders insisted, "[o]nce [a] single candidate [was] chosen...other write-in hopefuls from the Republican Party" would withdraw.

Sekula-Gibbs had earlier said she only wanted to be a candidate with the "blessing of local Republican leaders." Obviously, her strategy was the winning one.

In the meantime, the 22nd District in Texas has moved for "toss-up" to "leans Democratic."

How sweet is that! Even sweeter when the day after election Dems pick up the House by one seat, Tom DeLay's old district.

After the latest terror alert, Bush is tanking even more at the polls. oh yea, still crazy telling terror tales of old.

Geez, what does a guy have to do around here to get some hair-raising fear and dread to boost the popularity of a hated president?

In the latest Zogby poll, the president's approval rating keeps on plunging, plunging, plunging...

President Bush’s job approval rating dipped two points in the last three weeks, despite the foiling of an airline terror plot and the adoption of a cease–fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.

The survey was conducted Aug. 11–15, 2006, included 1,018 respondents, and carries a margin of error of +/– 3.1 percentage points.

The numbers continue to reflect erosion in the President’s political base – just 62% of Republicans give him positive marks for his job performance, while 38% give him negative marks. Even among weekly WalMart shoppers – a demographic group identified by Pollster John Zogby as a critical support group for Bush – just 45% now give him positive job marks, though his numbers among those shoppers have improved 10 points since early June.

And as everyone knows, as WalMart goes, so goes the nation; read it and weep, you GOP blowhards!

In the meantime, here's a little tune from Paul Simon to cheer your spirits.

I met my old lover
On the street last night
She seemed so glad to see me
I just smiled
And we talked about some old times
And we drank ourselves some beers
Still crazy afler all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years

Im not the kind of man
Who tends to socialize
I seem to lean on
Old familiar ways
And I aint no fool for love songs
That whisper in my ears
Still crazy afler all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years

Four in the morning
Crapped out, yawning
Longing my life a--way
Ill never worry
Why should i? Its all gonna fade
Now I sit by my window
And I watch the cars
I fear Ill do some damage
One fine day
But I would not be convicted
By a jury of my peers
Still crazy after all these years
Oh, still crazy
Still crazy
Still crazy after all these years

Remember the Alamo!

Okay, what does the Alamo have to do with Sen. George Felix Allen's latest racial gaffe?

Nothing...except for an indignity suffered by the better man.

How about Paula Jones? Howling Latina was thinking that suppose this poor kid is forever scarred by his Macaca experience, just like poor Paula Jones when Clinton accosted her?

And...he'll be forced to abandon his once-promising college career, pack up his school bags, move back home to family where hopefully he'll receive the emotional support he needs to overcome the shame and trauma.

Will the poor student-volunteer whose only crime was to want to help the best man win an election ever overcome the emotional wounds from Allen's sinister insult? One can certainly envision the painstaking and expensive hours of therapy and nightly sobbing and flashbacks.

Sue the racist bastard! Secure your mental borders!

And make Allen pay for the disgraceful remark that once again confirms his vulgar worldview -- sentiments that are the hallmark of his contemptible political career from the moment the goober began glad-shaking for votes to now.

George Allen is a bigot! From cradle to tomb, he'll remain a Dixie flag-waving Southern wanna-be and rhinestone cowboy; and that's the heart of the matter.

In reading the Richmond Times-Dispatch spin on the latest recorded proof that Sen. George Allen is a racial bigot, the story goes on to frame the issue as one of misunderstood context and background.

You see, the "Allen staff had begun calling Sidarth "mohawk" because of his haircut. 'Macaca' was a variation of that," nothing more than that.

Now, never mind that as Raising Kaine points out, macaca means monkey and it is used as a racial slur in Europe. Hell, even Fox when reporting noted of the fact.

Moreover, the contextual paragraph in the Times-Dispatch story sure reads an awful lot like the words used in the front-page Washington Post story.

First the Times-Dispatch: "Kristian Denny Todd, a spokeswoman for Webb, said Sidarth thinks Allen was singling him out because his was the only nonwhite face in the audience."

The Washington Post: "Allen's campaign manager dismissed the issue with an expletive and insisted the senator has 'nothing to apologize for,' [and] did little to mollify Webb's campaign or Sidarth, who said he suspects Allen singled him out because his was the only nonwhite face among about 100 Republican supporters."

And finally, here's how Howling Latina noted that Mr. Sidarth was the only guy of color in the audience: "During a rally with Republican fat cats, Sen. George Allen went after the only guy who wasn’t white."

Plagiarism? Sloppy reporting? You decide... ...

The media and blogosphere has been abuzz. Allen poked fun at a Webb staffer in front of a GOP crowd and the Washington Post front-paged his condescending and racially tinged remarks.

Initially, "Allen's campaign manager dismissed the issue with an expletive and insisted the senator has 'nothing to apologize for", but as the political fallout grew, Allen duly apologized with the usual craven non-apology.

"I would never want to demean him as an individual. I do apologize if he's offended by that. That was no way the point."

Perish the thought!

Tonight, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will give the story some more national legs. A recent e-mail informs viewers that one of the stories they'll be covering is the George Allen firestorm.

Let's face it folks. Allen is a racist bigot; and from cradle to tomb, he'll remain a Dixie flag-waving Southern wanna-be.

From Sunday, Fox News posted a story on their Web site that shows Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb in a very favorable light.

Fox quotes Webb slamming the latest attempts by the White House to divert attention from strategic blunders in the Middle East and the exponential problems facing the country as a result of their miscues.

It's definitely worth a read; and here a few quotes to show why:

It has nothing to do with Joe Lieberman.

This is the Republican trap.

Don’t fall in.

“They have tried to keep it together -- they have to make it one in people’s minds in order to cover the strategic error of Iraq,” says James Webb, Democratic Senate candidate from Virginia, and former member of the Reagan administration.

From the very beginning, the Republican slip of hand has been to convince people that the war in Iraq was the answer to 9/11. It wasn’t. It isn’t. It never was.

Yes, siree, news about Webb is fanning out across the country; and the more people hear what he has to say, the more folks will be lining up behind him.

Good Ol’ Racist George Allen; there he goes AGAIN!

During a rally with Republican fat cats, Sen. George Allen went after the only guy who wasn’t white; and that was University of Virginia senior student, S.R. Sidarth who video tapes Allen while he travels Virginia during his listening tour for Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb.

Not happy to slam African-Americans, Latinos and immigrants, now Allen has decided to go after the native born whose pigment and last name might not comport with GOP sensitivities.

"This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca, or whatever his name is. He's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere. And it's just great. We're going to places all over Virginia, and he's having it on film and its great to have you here and you show it to your opponent because he's never been there and probably will never come."

Felix, his name is Sidarth; and since he was born in Fairfax, he’s more of a Virginian that your fake goober ass.

But no matter.

"Let’s give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia, " said Allen, who then began talking about the "war on terror."

With the not-too-subtle ethnic put-down, no surprise that Sidarth experienced a bit of outrage, even if he did temper his words in print.

“I think he was doing it because he could and I was the person of color there and it was useful for him in inciting his audience,” said Sidarth in an interview. "I was annoyed he would use my race in a political context."

Raising Kaine has the scoop on Macaca. "[I]t is a French slur based on a Tunisian monkey." And as RK notes, Allen's link to the word's origin is his mother, a "French Tunisian [and] French speaker [who] emigrat[ed] to the U.S. after World War II."

Welcome to the fantasy world of George Allen in Wonderland with a stop-over at George Orwell’s horror show: up is down, black is white, lies are truth, war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, Chickenhawks are fearless, Virginians are Mucacas and George Felix Allen is a buckaroo dude rancher.

As Howling Latina keeps saying over and over and over again, GOPers love to zap their political enemies with their own inadequacies. So please Felix, tells us all what you've learned during your one-trick pony rodeo show across the commonwealth.

Oh, why yes, how to perfectly insult even more Virginians...

In today's world of politicized Christianity, one televangelists stands heads above the rest, Rev. Billy Graham.

In an excellent article, John Beacham of Newsweek writes about Graham's twilight years spent in simple comfort, very much as he has lived during the past 50 years.

Billy, as many like to call him, wants to share his final testament that love and God are hope eternal to a watching world. One's final season on earth may be filled with angst at temporal loss, he admits, but it is also filled with joy at God's assurances as we draw close.

To everything there is a season, says the author of Ecclesiastes, and for Billy Graham this is the season of coping with the toll of time. Getting around is harder; so is recalling familiar Scriptures. Yet rather than simply withdrawing into the shadows to enjoy a few richly deserved quiet years with his wife and family, Graham believes he may have been called to a last mission: to soldier on by faith, praying and pondering and sharing what he has come to see and feel and think in the twilight of his life. In the same way he refused to give up searching his memory for the verses to the psalm, he seems congenitally incapable of surrendering completely to the weakness of the body. "All my life I've been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old," Graham remarked one day to his daughter Anne Graham Lotz. "And I told him, 'Well, Daddy, you are now teaching all of us'." The lesson of age, Anne says, is this: "When you get older, secondary things, like politics, begin to fall away, and the primary thing becomes primary again—and for Daddy, the primary thing is, as Jesus said, to try to love God totally, and to love our neighbor as ourselves."

Folks, forget your prejudices about televangelists, read the entire article. You will be blessed by it.

Squabbling between England and the United States over the timing of the terrorists recent arrest was ongoing according to an MSNBC.com report,

The U.S. wanted the would-be terrorists to be immediately apprehended; England wanted more time to continue monitoring and possibly catch even more of the bad guys.

A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't specify the timing advanced by the U.S., only that England wanted to wait at least one more week.

Hmmm, perhaps the U.S. wanted British officials to strike early afternoon on Monday. You know, mere hours before Connecticut voters were to decide the fate of White House's favorite Democratic senator.

The arrest was delayed, and alas, Lieberman lost to Lamont. But the administration ever so focused on making lemonaide out of the bitter lemons of loss immediately sent Cheney, Mehlman and their usual pitbulls to smears the Dems in a coordinated effort to take all the oxygen out of a Lamont win.

They knew full well that loomings of an international terrorist plot lay in the very near future and used language that would prove prophetic in import.

Yes, this new synergy of terror and politics unfortunately now represents the 21st century axis of domestic evil; and just in time for the '06 fall elections.

But like the Aesop tale of the little boy who cried, "Wolf! Wolf!" as a ruse to get attention, voters are becoming inured to necon rantings about horrific undercurrents that only they can protect us from. Especially since so many of the things they told us in the past have proven to be dead wrong.

Weapons of mass destruction? Nope.
Saddam Huseein ties to al-Qaeda? Nope
Americans greeted as liberators? Nope
Smaller army more effective than larger one with lower casualty count? Nope
Income from Iraqi oil pays war effort? Nope
Death knell to al-Qaida? Nope
Democracy on the rise in the Middle East? Nope
Peace in Israel, Lebanon and Palestine? Nope

The president has lost all credibility with the American public.

And voters will be sending him a clear and direct messasge that fearmongering no longer works. You can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time; and it's been going on way too long.

Today we learn via Bearing Drift that Rep. Jo Ann Davis is calling for President George Bush to finally fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

And just why does Ms. Davis think Rumself should go?

I mean after five years of critical errors in the Middle East and Iraq with more than $300 billion of hard-working Americans taxpayer funds siphoned off to feed the White House warlords (including nearly $9 billion from poor Virginian taxpayers) and with more than 2600 soldiers dead and almost 20000 wounded, why stop Rummie from having fun with his little oil war games?

The fact of the matter is the buck stops at the very top. Pres. George Bush supported Rumsfeld and continues to support him; simply put, Rummie was merely carrying out the wishes of Junior, Darth-Cheney and their royal band of necons. Only the Republican controlled Congress could've put a stop to their madness.

The Daily Press reports that Davis is now calling for Rumsfeld's head. Hay señora, much too little, much too late. Where do our soldiers who've died for a lie go for redress?

Howling Latina will tell, only one place -- the poll booth; and when we wave good-bye to every GOP rubber stamper who supported Bush's diastrous war policies even when it was clear he was inept and clueless.

Americans have been dying for a very long time just so Davis and her Republicans cronies could stay their 'frigging' course. And for her to try to address the self-made problem of Bush's war in Iraq by simply affixing a campaign slogan that she knows will never come to pass and just so she can show voters how very serious and aggrieved she is by the sheer incompetence of Bush and Company is self-serving and morally obnoxious.

"I think if he had listened to Gen. (Eric) Shinseki in the beginning - I think Gen. Shinseki has been proven right," Davis now tells the press. "His argument with Secretary Rumsfeld was that we needed to have more troops, and he's right in my opinion."

Well...since Rumsfeld fired Shinseki way, way back in August 2003, why is Davis only now getting around to expressing her disapproval and speaking out!? Could Bush's low poll numbers and the fact most Americans want out of Iraq have anything to do with her late call to action?

Oh wait...she hasn't flip-flopped, she's always been as steady as the howling wind during a raging storm.

"I've made no bones about it the last two years," Davis is quoted as saying to folks at the Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Society of Military Comptrollers a couple of days ago. "He's probably a nice guy, but I don't think he's a great secretary of defense."

But pray and do tell, who have you been sharing your bones with, Ms. Davis?

Davis also made the local news at WAVY-Channel 10 and confessed how "disturbed" she is when she meets injured soldiers.

"It's hard for me, especially being one who voted for (the war), when I go and visit a young soldier or airman or Marine and they've been lamed for life by the war," she told the ASMC."I feel a little guilt there because I voted for the war. ... It makes you feel like, 'My vote caused this.' ... But I still believe it was the right decision at the time."

But...not too hard to disabuse her from supporting the war. Davis "just wants soldiers home quickly." And Dulcecita, don't we all!

In the meantime, isn't it just and fitting for the party who supported the Bush administration every baleful step of the way to be held accountable by voters in the fall?

And yes, that's where Shawn O'Donnell comes in; the candidate who has been calling for the U.S. to end their occupation in Iraq for as long as GOPers have been asking Americans to stay the course. He's the Democratic candidate running against Davis.

After several weeks of lame guests, this Sunday "Meet the Press" should make for some real interesting viewing.

First at bat is Secretary of Homeland Insecurity Michael Chertoff to discuss any al-Qaeda ties, how well the United States is prepared to foil any similar attempts in the U.S., and how the planned British attack will change the way Americans travel abroad and at home.

Next up are Chair and Vice Chair of 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton. Russert will ask them how safe are Americans today? And of course, they'll also discuss their seminal book, "Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission."

In their book, both assert misstatements by the Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration were so egrigious, the commission actually considered expanding its scope to include investigating the people who'd earlier testified before it. The authors admit former Mayor Rudy Giuliani received a pass on some of the hard questions related to 9/11 because of intense political pressure.

The final two guests are Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. Russert will ask them how the Lieberman primary loss, war in Iraq, code-red terror alert and apparent public wave against incumbency might affect the upcoming fall elections.

In the past, every time Vice President Dick Cheney busted out with some outrageous remark about this and that, he'd make the front-pages. But his rants have grown increasingly stale and tiresome; and simply, not newsworthy.

To illustrate, after Sen. Joseph Lieberman lost to Ed Lamont in the Connecticut Senate primary race, Cheney immediately injected himself into the fray and placed a news conference call to reporters. Here's what Cheney said via Media Matters:

The thing that's partly disturbing about it is the fact that, the standpoint of our adversaries, if you will, in this conflict, and the Al Qaeda types, they clearly are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people in terms of our ability to stay in the fight and complete the task. And when we see the Democratic Party reject one of its own, a man they selected to be their vice presidential nominee just a few short years ago, it would seem to say a lot about the state the party is in today if that's becoming the dominant view of the Democratic Party, the basic, fundamental notion that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won't -- we can't be. So we have to be actively engaged not only in
Afghanistan and Iraq, but on a global basis if we're going to succeed in prevailing in this long-term conflict.

So...the laconic guy has suddenly become Mr. Chatterbox; and yes, this is the very same vice president who last year while on vacation never saw fit to offer words of comfort to the decimated victims of Katrina in the Gulf Coast.

But his telephone press interview, alas, was mostly ignored by mainstream media. No exclusive front page hype in the New York Times, Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal.

This morning in an online chat with Washington Post Congressional reporter Jonathan Weisman, Media Matter reports that a reader asked him why the Post failed to headline Cheney's commentary in a story.

Jonathan Weisman responded: "The vice president also said the insurgency in Iraq is in its death throes, and that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators. I'm afraid to say his utterances are losing their news value."

Ouch!

And on Thursday during a campaign stop when Sen. Hillary Clinton was asked about Cheney, she offered the "Darther" her special brand of love, Raw Story reports.

I don't take anything he says seriously anymore," Clinton said when asked about Cheney at a later campaign stop. "I think that he has been a very counterproductive--even destructive--force in our country, and I am very disheartened by the failure of leadership from the President and Vice President."

Double Ouch!

Cheney has gone from most powerful vice president in history to irrelevancy; and noting how Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice appears to have won the internal fight between her and Cheney over the Lebanese ceasefire, Howling Latina can almost hear Cheney flapping and quacking all the way from Wyoming.