Polls

Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire has links tonight to a couple of new polls, one from Iowa and another from the national scene.

Deadlocked in Iowa

Clinton, Huckabee Lead National Poll

Tags: 2008 Election

Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile File

Don’t Rush For That Refund

Those of you who like to grab your tax forms as soon as possible to get a fast refund will have to sit tight for a while this year. Blame it on Congress, not the IRS, though!

IRS: Refunds for Over 3 Million Delayed

…Congress put a one-year freeze on growth of the alternative minimum tax last week, shielding many middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from first exposure to the tax. But Congress’ late action means the Internal Revenue Service won’t be able to start processing five AMT-related forms until February, delaying [...]

Tags: Congress, Taxes, AMT

Is The Pakistan Story Important?

You bet it is. But it’s not the kind of thing most of us spend time keeping up with. That’s where the blogosphere becomes handy. Experts abound, people who have the time and inclination to track the events and the ability to put them in perspective with other world events. Here’s a marvelous piece by Digby that pulls everything together:

Pakistan Crisis for Dummies

 

Tags: Bush Administration, Bhutto, Pakistan

 

Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile Files

Presidential Logic

This would be funny, if it weren’t so outright frightening. President Bush’s stem-cell policy was influenced by a science fiction novel. I ain’t makin’ this stuff up, folks.

Brave New World

One of the more annoying qualities of the Bush White House’s policy on stem-cell research the last several years is its incoherence. It’s not just that the president has blocked potentially life-saving medical research, it’s that his rationale [...]

Tags: Bush Administration, Health Care

Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile Files

Holiday Sales

There are some interesting comments to the post below by Kevin Drum. He mentions that he went to a mall and there was no holiday crowd. I can relate. I try my best to avoid malls this time of year. Actually, I try to avoid them ANY time of the year; I’m just not into bumping shoulders with dozens of strangers, fighting for gifts and waiting in lines to pay for them. However, I was forced to make a run to one of the major national retailers, looking for a specific gift. And that retailer was at our mall. I went on Saturday, anticipating the usual crowd. To my amazement, there was no crowd at that story, nor did the parking lot appear to be any more crowded than a normal weekend. My “instant analysis”? That was not a good sign for the stores. Others, it seems, experienced much the same, all around the country.

Michael Barbaro has a followup story about weak holiday season sales today, and this time he takes inflation into account: “A final sales tally from the season will not be available from most chains until next week. But an early projection [...]

Tags: Economy

Just A Tad Bit Sexist

He might think it. He might believe it. But, it’s downright stupid to say it.

Thompson: No Woman Ought To Be President Next Year

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson says there’s not a woman who should be president next year. It was a jab aimed at Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. The former Tennessee senator was in Iowa today, challenging potential caucus-goers to choose the best man to [...]

Tags: 2008 Election, Fred Thompson, Iowa Caucuses

Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile Files

Get Those Credit Cards Ready

That Easter visit to grandma could be a pricey one. I know you want some good news, but…

Analysts: Expect Gas Prices To Surge in Spring

Gasoline could average $3.75 a gallon across the U.S. in a few months, pushing the price in California up and over the $4 mark, energy analysts said Wednesday. Several factors point toward a nightmarish spring for motorists, they said, including [...]

Tags: Economy, Gas Prices

Thursday Night Huck Collection

Say what you want about Mike Huckabee, the guy is still collecting headlines. Some positive, some negative. Here, for you perusal, is tonight’s collection:

Huckabee’s Amazing Coincidences

What makes Mike Huckabee run? His last term as governor was not conservative, but populist, like Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Huey Long [...]

Pheasants I Have Known

Pheasants were much in the news yesterday as the fowl of choice for proving Mike Huckabee’s manliness to the media pool in Iowa. Commenting on Huckabee’s photo-op, dday observes that when a Democratic presidential candidate goes bird hunting he’s depicted by journalists as a phony; when a Republican does the same, he’s authentically virile. Another, more direct way of [...]

Huckabee Still Getting Paid on the Speech Circuit

Even as he runs for president, Mike Huckabee is still getting paid on the speaking circuit, a campaign spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday. The former Arkansas governor gave two or three speeches in November and plans to give several more in February and [...]

Hope For Huckabee

With little more than a week left until the Iowa Caucuses, it seems that conventional wisdom has been swept aside and the candidacy of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is for real. Huckabee is formidable not for his resources - [...]

Huckabee on Bhutto

According to this report from CBS News, Mike Huckabee reacted to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto by expressing “our sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan.” I’m hoping that Huckabee simply misspoke because otherwise [...]

Tags: 2008 Election, Huckabee

Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile Files

Caged Voters

It’s illegal, but that isn’t stopping some Republicans from bragging about how effectively they’re doing it!

Karl Rove’s Legacy: Win By Whatever Means Necessary

…The very REAL problem of “vote rigging” has morphed into the imaginary problem of “voter fraud.” But the real problem, the problem that gave us George W. Bush in the White House in the first place, is Republicans deciding that only those likely to vote Republican should be permitted to vote. Greg Palast has been writing about this for years, and Brad Friedman is on the case as well. The Republicans have become so good at this that they no longer even feel they have to try to cover their tracks. Blue Tide Rising (via Crooks and Liars) reveals [...]

Tags: 2008 Election, Republicans, Caging

Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile Files

Big Issue

Simple solution: don’t get old.

Okay. This is Orwellian evil: WASHINGTON “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. The policy, set forth in a new regulation, allows employers to establish two classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65 and [...]

Tags: Bush Administration, Health Care, Medicare

Don’t Flinch!

Or even scowl. It could get you singled out in the security line at the airport. That’s right, they’re down to watching your facial expressions to determine whether you’re a potential “bad one”.

Airport Profilers Are Watching Your Minutest Expressions

While reading this story about TSA officials who are “trained” to watch traveler’s expressions, how cops are using tasers on citizens who don’t do exactly as they are told, and for being fingerprinted during a traffic stop I began to think that perhaps I shouldn’t argue with “conspiracy theorists” because they just may be on to something. We seem to be living in a dystopian novel. Pretty soon the [...]

Tags: Airport Security, Homeland Security, DHS

No Doubt

No real question about a first post for tonight. The assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, has topped the cable news channels since my alarm clock went off this morning. Steve Clemons has some insights at The Washington Note.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

Benazir Bhutto had not yet become president or prime minister in her recent return to Pakistan’s political arena — but she was the leading opposition leader in Pakistan. While it is doubtful that she could have easily calmed Pakistan’s increasing turmoil if she had ascended to officialdom while in some power-sharing arrangement with President Musharraf, her death today makes everything much more fragile. I met Bhutto during [...]

“It’s Almost Impossible to Imagine How Much Turmoil This is Going to Cause in Pakistan”

Sky News: “The Russian foreign ministry said it feared the country could descend into terrorism or civil war [....]

Bhutto Adviser: Musharraf Is To Blame

A longtime adviser and close friend of assassinated Pakistani ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto places blame for Bhutto’s death squarely on the shoulders of U.S.-supported dictator Pervez Musharraf. After an October attack on Bhutto’s life in Karachi, the ex-prime minister warned “certain individuals in the security establishment [about the threat] and nothing was done,” says Husain Haqqani, a confidante of Bhutto’s for decades. “There is only one possibility: [...]

Why Benazir Bhutto’s Blood is on George Bush’s Hands

Tags: Pakistan, Bhutto