In fact, the legislature has missed its constitutional budget deadline for more than 20 years running. It is not unusual for the government of the most populous U.S. state to begin its new fiscal year without a spending plan in place which is one reason why California has the lowest credit rating of any U.S. state.

. WATB 205 up, 21 down Blog abbreviation for Whiney Ass Titty Baby; "new one from Atrios -- coined for Harris of the WaPo and Keller of NY Times," i.e. someone who makes excuses instead of doing the courageous thing. The WATB reporter wrote what he thought would please the management and readers, and would be politically correct, instead of actually researching the facts for his article. news bias facts abbreviations blogs
by dus7 Jan 22, 2006 share this 2. watb 139 up, 11 down Blog acronym for Whiny Ass Titty-Baby. Primarily refers to right-wingers who routinely bully others but whine vociferously at the mildest criticism directed their way. In Karl Rove's retirement interview with the NY Times, he blamed everyone's hatred of him on the Democrats. What a pathetic, disgusting WATB.

On the eve of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Barack Obama and John McCain are making final arguments to voters in key swing states. Intrade's presidential markets show Obama extending his advantage even as polls show a slight tightening.

State

Barack Obama (364 Votes)

John McCain (174 Votes)

Florida (27)

80%

22%

Pennsylvania (21)

89%

11%

Ohio (20)

83%

20%

Georgia (15)

21%

75%

North Carolina (15)

70%

37%

Virginia (13)

86%

14%

Missouri (11)

51%

45%

Indiana (11)

41%

64%

Nevada (5)

82%

15%

New Mexico (5)

92%

11%

North Dakota (3)

29%

73%

Montana (3)

29%

79%

Of course, the Democrat’s proposal would merely slow down (not fully halt) the less-talked-about redistribution whereby Washington sends middle-class money up the income ladder. Either McCain doesn’t know about this kleptocracy and is the dumbest presidential candidate in history, or he thinks America is too ignorant to recognize theft. Which is it?

I’m guessing the latter, since the evidence is so overwhelming.

The most insulting thing that a politician can do is to compel you to ask yourself: "What does he take me for?" Precisely this question is provoked by the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin. I wrote not long ago that it was not right to condescend to her just because of her provincial roots or her piety, let alone her slight flirtatiousness, but really her conduct since then has been a national disgrace. It turns out that none of her early claims to political courage was founded in fact, and it further turns out that some of the untested rumors about her--her vindictiveness in local quarrels, her bizarre religious and political affiliations--were very well-founded, indeed.

In the 1800s, Samuel Augustus Maverick went to Texas and became known for not branding his cattle. He was more interested in keeping track of the land he owned than the livestock on it, Ms. Maverick said; unbranded cattle, then, were called “Maverick’s.” The name came to mean anyone who didn’t bear another’s brand.

Sam Maverick’s grandson, Fontaine Maury Maverick, was a two-term congressman and a mayor of San Antonio who lost his mayoral re-election bid when conservatives labeled him a Communist. He served in the Roosevelt administration on the Smaller War Plants Corporation and is best known for another coinage. He came up with the term “gobbledygook” in frustration at the convoluted language of bureaucrats.

Not only did people at almost every level of the Palin administration engage in repeated inappropriate contact with Walt Monegan and other high-ranking officials at the Department of Public Safety, but Monegan and his peers constantly warned these Palin disciples that the contact was inappropriate and probably unlawful. Still, the emails and calls continued - in at least one instance on recorded state trooper phone lines.

The state's head of personnel, Annette Kreitzer, called Monegan and had to be warned that personnel issues were confidential. The state's attorney general, Talis Colberg, called Monegan and had to be reminded that the call was putting both men in legal jeopardy, should Wooten decide to sue. The governor's chief of staff met with Monegan and had to be reminded by Monegan that, "This conversation is discoverable ... You don't want Wooten to own your house, do you?"

Monegan consistently emerges as the adult in these conversations, while the Palin camp displays a childish impetuousness and sense of entitlement.

The Portland-based company Quantrix says taxpayers who log onto http://www.electiontaxes.com and enter their income can obtain a free estimate of what they would pay in taxes for 2009 through 2012 under each of the two presidential candidates.

WOW. She SHOULD be toast after this little gem. So much for "straight shooting"! Bongo

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A campaign spokesman says Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin won't speak with an investigator hired by lawmakers to look into the firing of her public safety commissioner.

Good email I just got. -Nick


 http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/04/campaign.wrap/index.html

Think what you will about Obama's decision to tap into the strategic petroleum reserve to relieve high gas prices (I think it's stupid and a political ploy), but I noticed a far more disturbing snippet in the article:

"Meanwhile, the McCain campaign made fun of Obama's energy proposal Monday by distributing tire pressure gauges reading "Obama's energy plan" to McCain's traveling press corps.  The gag was meant to mock Obama's remark last week that "making sure your tires are properly inflated" could help conserve gasoline.  McCain supporters in Michigan distributed the same gauges at Obama's energy speech in Lansing."

My first thought on the running mate question is that to balance his ticket, Barack Obama should pick a really old white general. Therefore, he should pick Dwight Eisenhower. John McCain, on the other hand, needs to pick someone younger than himself. Therefore, he also should pick Dwight Eisenhower.

After his release from Vietnam, McCain was evaluated for years by Navy psychiatrists and deemed on the whole to be coping well with the horrors of his captivity, which included malnourishment, regular beatings and two suicide attempts. Doctors determined that he had an "overdeveloped superego" and an "unrealistically high" need for achievement, two characteristics that have put him in the mainstream of presidential candidates. In 1999, before his first White House bid, McCain released 1,500 pages of medical records dating back to his days in the Navy, as well as the psychiatric evaluations he received after his return from Vietnam. He has long maintained that he never suffered flashbacks or posttraumatic stress disorder, though he admitted in his memoir that "for a long time after coming home, I would tense up whenever I heard keys rattle," a sound made by his prison guards.

One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.

Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party?s most reliable constituency.

Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote ? which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle ? and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.

People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.

As it happens, many people inside Clinton?s campaign live right here on Earth. One important Clinton adviser estimated to Politico privately that she has no more than a 10 percent chance of winning her race against Barack Obama, an appraisal that was echoed by other operatives.

In other words: The notion of the Democratic contest being a dramatic cliffhanger is a game of make-believe.

*** Veep chatter: The big Clinton-Obama story yesterday was Obama pushing back against the idea that he would be Clinton?s vice president. Interestingly, Clinton supporter Ed Rendell seemed to backtrack a bit more than anyone else in the Clinton campaign when he admitted that he thinks Clinton would make a good veep for Obama. "It would be great and either way,? he said, per NBC/NJ?s Athena Jones. He added: "Whether it was Sen. Obama for the president and Sen. Clinton for vice president or vice versa. I think it would be great." While many analysts have picked up on this Clinton storyline as proof Clinton is trying to diminish Obama, don't assume this isn't ALSO an attempt by the Clintons to remind Obama that she should be considered for the veep slot if he's the nominee. It appears more likely every day that Clinton's Plan B is the VP slot, not Senate majority leader as so many others have speculated.

REAL CLEAR POLITICS ELECTION 2008 Democrats Obama-Clinton Spread Total Delegates 1589 - 1470 Obama + 119 Pledged Delegates 1378 - 1223 Obama + 155 Popular Vote 49.4 - 47.1 Obama +2.3 Popular Vote (w/FL) 48.3 - 47.2 Obama +1.1 Nat'l RCP Average 47.5 - 43.8 Obama +3.7 Pennsylvania 35.8 - 47.5 Clinton +11.7 North Carolina 47.3 - 38.5 Obama +8.8 General Election McCain-Obama McCain-Clinton National Obama +5.0 Clinton +2.0 Pennsylvania Obama +2.0 McCain +0.3 Ohio Obama +0.2 Clinton +0.5 Florida McCain +9.3 McCain +5.6 More General Election Polls | Charts | Latest Polls Politics & Election 2008 Videos Spitzer Speaks about His Involvement With Prostitution Ring Daschle & Rendell Spar on Role of Superdelegates Howard Dean on "Face the Nation" More Politics & Election 2008 Videos election 2008 commentary Dems Face a Long Brawl - J. Harris, M. Allen & J. VandeHei, The Politico How Clinton Won Texas & Ohio - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics Hillary Rises: The Race Goes On - Joe Klein, Time Obama's First 100 Days - Michael Gerson, Washington Post Obama, Not Clinton, Faces Tough Math - Marie Cocco, RealClearPolitics $3 Trillion War is a Domestic Issue - Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post The World in 2009 - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics About Us | Contact | Advertise | Privacy Policy         ? RealClearPolitics 2008

America's disenfranchised mobilizing

Obama will crush Hillary and then McCain in the fall, a new comprehensive poll shows. This is because America is not working like it used to and has deteriorated in the past generation into more have-nots than haves and the have-nots are turning out in enormous numbers to vote. A new poll this week shows that Obama has a 14-point edge over Clinton, 52 percent to 38 percent, after being in a statistical tie last month.

Hillary in '08

Hillary Clinton announced that she will run for president in the 2008 election. What do you think?

Mike Irving,
Snow Removal Worker
"Is she too polarizing a figure? I say no, but apparently some fucking assholes disagree."

Lydia Pontani,
Algebra Teacher
"The last thing America needs is a radical liberal who supports the war and the death penalty while opposing flag-burning and gay marriage."

Malcom Thewlis,
Labor Mediator
"What's she going to do next?run for president?"