] Republicans have accused Democratic U.S. House candidate
] Stephanie Herseth of maintaining a secret Web page to
] receive campaign donations raised from ads on liberal
] groups' Internet sites.
]
] Jason Glodt, executive director of the South Dakota
] Republican Party, said the Herseth campaign arranged
] the special Internet donation site to prevent most
] South Dakotans from knowing about Herseth's relationship
] with such liberal groups.
] ...
] "There's a reason she's got that secret site. She doesn't
] want to advertise the fact she's doing this," Glodt
] said Thursday.

[ Except that she's been explicitly advertising the fact that she's doing this, like, with advertisements. Not to mention, it's about as secret as my distaste for president Bush. As Kos says :

"Thanks to the secret technology called Google, I was able to find the secret page. Check out the secret message clearly inconsistent with South Dakota values:

Thank you for visiting my website! Please take a moment and explore the links to the left and read up on my background, the campaign, and South Dakota. And don’t hesitate to contact our campaign with any questions or concerns. We have an exciting chance to make history in South Dakota on June 1st – and I’m glad you want to be a part from the start.

Thanks for stopping by! "

File under: OH-FUCK!-THE-DEMOCRATS-HAVE-FIGURED-OUT-WHAT-GRASSROOTS-ACTUALLY-MEANS!

-k]

AberdeenNews.com: Your guide to news, sports, jobs, homes, cars

] Unemployed, but not for lack of style! Retro letters are
] in cool felt for a fabulous velvety feel. Casual cotton
] is very soft, with short sleeves and rib-knit crew neck.

Nice, should get one of these.

[ Very cool. I wouldn't wear one for fear of being a poseur, but I totally appreciate the sentiment. I want one that says "I'M A DEFICIT SPENDER, JUST LIKE W!" -k]

Oldnavy.com -- Men's 'Unemployed' Tees

] Hope you have a great day:)

[ Yes, hear-hear! -k]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM!!!!!

] ATLANTA - Genital piercings for women were banned by the
] Georgia House Wednesday as lawmakers considered a bill
] outlining punishments for female genital mutilation.

They just had this report on 11 Alive news in Atlanta. Rep. Bill Heath (R, of course) was asked by the reporter whether he though Genital Piercing was something the state governement should be involved with. His reply "Normally,... I'd say no, but with the state of morals in this country, maybe it is."

I. Hate. The. Bible. Belt.

11 Alive's website sadly doesn't have the story with the quote yet.

[ Holy sweet jesus i hope there are details i'm missing on this. Such as defining "genitals" as the clitoris itself (as differentiated from the "hood" or whatever you call it), which i'm willing to accept is mutilation. Still bullshit, and not something the government should be fucking with. I'm completely on board with banning the horrifying female "circumsiscion" bullshit that they do in some places... that deserves punishment. Anyway, it sounds like another issue of completely out of touch legislators overstepping their bounds. -k]

Georgia House Bans Female Genital Piercings

[ I esp. like the fine text in the first panel... modern republicans have mastered the art of demonizing other people for the very same activities they take part in day after day, and then change the subject when questioned about it.

Back on topic, this comic is absolutely right on the money. -k ]

Salon.com Comics | This Modern World

] More than 27,000 defense contractors owe the federal
] government about $3 billion in unpaid taxes as of
] September 2002, the watchdog agency concluded in a new
] report, "DoD Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax System
] with Little Consequences (GAO-04-95)."

Ryan said some contractors stay in existence just for a short time to get a government contract, and then dissolve and change names to get another contract. He said one contractor used magnetic signs on trucks so it could quickly change names.

In some cases, the tax evasion was flagrant. The owner of one contractor with $10 million in unpaid taxes used corporate funds to buy a home in the Caribbean and a luxury boat. Another owner took $1 million from his company to buy a large home and a luxury car.

Ryan: Corruption at its finest. Sound familiar to anyone?

Government Executive Magazine - 2/12/04 Defense contractors owe billions in unpaid federal taxes

] Every citation of contrast is not a negative attack from
] the opposing smear machine. Campaigns are about
] illuminating differences and arguing why your side is
] right.
]
] But voters are entitled to a minimum level of honesty in
] the argument. On that score, Mr. Bush's initial attacks
] fall short. For example, the respective views of the two
] candidates on the proper use of intelligence in the war
] on terrorism are a legitimate -- indeed a critical --
] issue in the first election of a president after Sept.
] 11, 2001. Yet Mr. Bush's attack on a Kerry proposal nine
] years ago to cut the intelligence budget does more to
] distort than to illuminate. When Mr. Kerry proposed a
] $1.5 billion cut over five years in the intelligence
] budget, the United States was reaping the "peace
] dividend" from the Cold War, and the center of
] congressional debate was not whether cuts could be made
] but how much could be cut from Pentagon and CIA spending.
] Mr. Kerry's proposed 1 percent cut was not a "gutting,"
] as Mr. Bush alleged.

[ The Wash. Post in a rare look through the spin... -k]

October in March (washingtonpost.com)

] A $1 million race across the Mojave Desert by driverless
] robots ended Saturday after all 15 entries either broke
] down or withdrew, a race official said.
]
] Two of the entries covered about seven miles of the
] roughly 150-mile course while eight failed to make it to
] the one-mile mark. Others crashed seconds after starting.

[ Not belittle, or whatever, but, i was kinda hoping for more than 7 miles. Must be kinda disappointing. -k]

CNN.com - Robot race ends without a winner - Mar 13, 2004

] Some have questioned whether liberals can succeed at all
] in the realm of talk radio. Conservatives, the argument
] goes, see the world in black and white, and offer
] more-entertaining points of view, while liberals tend to
] debate shades of gray and put audiences to sleep. In
] addition, corporate advertisers may favor conservative
] hosts who are friendlier to their points of view.
]
] "If you're promoting SUVs, you're more likely to get an
] SUV commercial than if you're bashing them. That's pretty
] elementary," said Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, a liberal
] who had a talk show for several years on Pacifica Radio,
] including Berkeley's KPFA (94.1 FM). "The fact of the
] matter is, the liberal in American terms is offering
] correctives to capitalism, whereas the conservatives are
] singing the praises of capitalism, unfettered and
] unabashed and unapologetic. So, right there you have an
] order of magnitude difference in terms of corporate
] favorability."

[ Food for thought... Air America goes live at the end of march... -k]

Upstart 24-hour talk radio network prepares to turn the dial to the left / Liberal Air America to start national broadcast at end of month

] And let's end the illusion right now that adult voters
] make their decisions based on careful study of the
] candidates and their issues. We all know that's bullshit.
] To pretend that teenagers would vote for the first
] politician who promises to outlaw homework ignores the
] fact that their parents are probably dumb enough to vote
] for a politician who promised to shorten commercial
] breaks and make super-sizing free.
]
]
] People are dumb and lazy. They don't give a shit who wins
] because they don't really understand why voting is
] important. Y'know who does realize how important voting
] is? That's right, kids! While we've mostly forgotten all
] the stuff that we were taught in civics class about "one
] man, one vote" it's still fresh in their minds. Hell,
] this could be one of the only opportunities the kids have
] to actually apply the knowledge they gain in school.
]
]
] So, yeah. I'm strongly in favor of this. In fact, other
] than the last few years, the only other time I was really
] excited about politics was during the 1992 election. I
] actually cared about how the candidates stood on the
] issues and I was pissed that I wasn't considered as
] "mature" as the adults who mostly stayed home on election
] day. If I was old enough at 16 to "rock the vote", are
] 16-year-olds today much different?

A quick retort to opposition against a new bill in California considering a partial vote for 16 and 14 year olds.

The Talent Show: Soccer Moms NASCAR Dads = ?