Hal Rogers voted for Bush $70 Billion Bailout of Wall Street.

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers KY-5 Republican voted for the $70 Billion Bush Bailout of Wall Street. Nay votes: 208. Aye votes: 205. The bill failed. The following is the list of Representatives who voted to give $70 Billion of your tax dollars to the Wall Street crowd and their lobbyists:

"---- AYES 205 ---

"Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Arcuri
Bachus
Baird
Baldwin
Bean
Berman
Berry
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blunt
Boehner
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd (FL)
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Calvert
Camp (MI)
Campbell (CA)
Cannon
Cantor
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Castle
Clarke
Clyburn
Cohen
Cole (OK)
Cooper
Costa
Cramer
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Tom
DeGette
DeLauro
Dicks
Dingell
Donnelly
Doyle
Dreier
Edwards (TX)
Ehlers
Ellison
Ellsworth
Emanuel
Emerson
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Fossella
Foster
Frank (MA)
Gilchrest
Gonzalez
Gordon
Granger
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Herger
Higgins
Hinojosa
Hobson
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Hoyer
Inglis (SC)
Israel
Johnson, E. B.
Kanjorski
Kennedy
Kildee
Kind
King (NY)
Kirk
Klein (FL)
Kline (MN)
LaHood
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mahoney (FL)
Maloney (NY)
Markey
Marshall
Matsui
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum (MN)
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McKeon
McNerney
McNulty
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Miller (NC)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy, Patrick
Murtha
Nadler
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Pallone
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peterson (PA)
Pickering
Pomeroy
Porter
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rahall
Rangel
Regula
Reyes
Reynolds
Richardson
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Ross
Ruppersberger
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Sarbanes
Saxton
Schakowsky
Schwartz
Sessions
Sestak
Shays
Simpson
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Towns
Tsongas
Upton
Van Hollen
Velázquez
Walden (OR)
Walsh (NY)
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Wexler
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (OH)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf"

Let's Ditch Hal in 2010. Kenneth Stepp.

Bruce Lunsford speaks.

McConnell-Lunsford Race a Dead Heat!

Bluegrass poll: McConnell, Lunsford race a dead heat
By Joseph Gerth • jgerth@courier-journal.com • September 27, 2008


The telephone survey of 717 likely voters taken last week showed that McConnell and Lunsford are in a dead heat when respondents were asked who they would vote for if the election were held "today."

McConnell moves ahead by one point when those who are undecided are asked which candidate they are leaning toward. The Bluegrass Poll, which was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

National Democrats have targeted McConnell, who by his role as minority leader must be Bush's chief defender in the U.S. Senate. And some Democrats see it as their chance to get retribution for the 2004 election, when Republicans successfully targeted then-Democratic Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

We'll have poll details later today at courier-journal.com and in tomorrow's Courier-Journal.

Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702.

Say NO to the Bush bailout!

Reader:

Since Monday, progressives around the country have been calling their Senators and Representatives to say "NO" to the Bush Bailout plan. Congress is starting to get the message.

We can't stop now.

Today, America will say NO to the Bush Bailout -- and we need you to be there.

The Bush Bailout is still a new tax on every American that would amount to a $700,000,000,000 check to bail out Wall Street. The Bush Bailout would be the largest giveaway of public money in American history.

Our friends at True Majority are leading the way for over 20 different groups including MoveOn, USaction, and ACORN to name just a few. They organized the events, now we need to turn out and help make the events a success.

Rallies held over the last two days in cities across the country have received a lot of coverage already. These events have helped back up the phone calls, emails, and letters against the Bush Bailout that Congress has been receiving all week.

Now, with a nationwide coordinated action with hundreds of rallies on the same day, we will amp up the pressure and make sure Congress hears the message loud and clear: America says NO to the Bush Bailout.

FIND THE RALLY IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NOW

I hope you will sign up for the rally near you.

Thank you for everything you do,

-Kenneth Stepp

Hillary Clinton speaks up for Bruce Lunsford.

John Mellancamp, a Democrat, sings "Small Town". I was raised in a small town. I live just outside a small town. Kenneth Stepp.

More

More Bush and McConnell Style Leadership
Shawn Dixon September 23rd, 2008



I found this cartoon on a conservative blog. I thought it was the perfect picture to accompany the article I wrote about Bush and McConnell’s failed leadership during the financial crisis.

Mitch McConnell Comments (0)
Breaking: Lunsford Within Margin of Error
Shawn Dixon September 23rd, 2008

New poll by Survey USA has Bruce Lunsford within 3 points of Mitch McConnell, which is within the poll’s margin of error.

I’ll write more about this later, have to run to class!

UPDATE:

Of the more interesting findings, it appears that Kentuckians are rightly laying the problems of the financial crisis at McConnell’s doorstep.

Six in 10 voters tell SurveyUSA they are focused on the economy, ahead of all other issues. Among voters focused on the economy, McConnell went from a six-point lead six weeks ago to a nine-point deficit in the latest poll, a 15-point swing to Lunsford.

What’s worse for McConnell, his numbers aren’t tied to McCain’s numbers. This poll suggests that Kentuckians are willing to split their ticket this fall.

To put these numbers into context, it is critical to note that the identical survey that polled Kentucky voters on the US Senate race also asked about the Presidential contest. The same respondents rethinking McConnell are sticking with John McCain. McCain, who led by 18 points six weeks ago, leads by 19 points in the latest poll.

It appears that as we close in on the final weeks of the campaign and people start paying attention, they don’t like what they see in Mitch McConnell. These numbers only make sense in light of the unfavorable approval ratings that we’ve been seeing for McConnell for some time now.

This race will likely be very close.

Mitch McConnell Comments (0)
McConnell and BushTrying To Scare Kentuckians Into Writing A Blank Check — No Questions Asked, Please!
Shawn Dixon September 22nd, 2008

During the course of his career Mitch McConnell has taken over $3.6 Million from the banking industry. Now McConnell owes his banker friends a favor and he is asking Kentuckians to pull out their checkbooks and pay them back on his behalf. As Mark Hebert noted earlier this week, an independent group has found that McConnell has accepted millions in campaign cash from Wall St. banks during his four terms as a U.S. senator. That’s why it’s no surprise that Mitch McConnell is calling on congress to quickly pass the $1 trillion bailout, with almost no oversight and no real incentive for Wall Street to tackle its problem of corruption, for his friends in the financial industry

Using the same type of scare tactics and fear mongering he used in the run up to the Iraq War, McConnell is once again asking taxpayers and voters to cede power to him and George W. Bush without asking questions.

McConnell, trying to scare Americans into accepting the administrations plan without asking questions and leaving the the executive totally unaccountable, compared the American economy to a burning house.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said that when you’re house is on fire, you don’t stop and ask the firemen for smoke detectors. “You want them to put out the fire,” McConnell said this afternoon.

Politico also documented McConnell’s “shoot now, ask questions later” strategy for the bailout.

“There will be more questions about this plan. I have many myself,” he said. “But we owe it to the American people to do our due diligence quickly and to act swiftly, Democrats and Republicans alike, to contain this crisis before it’s too late.”

Well then Senator McConnell, if there are questions to be asked, when will they be asked? After the passage of the $1 trillion bailout? I, for one, don’t think Kentuckians or the rest of America is ready to fall for that trick again. The last time the last time McConnell and Bush asked for power from Americans and asked us to trust them, they recklessly led us into a quagmire which will cost the country as much as $3 trillion.

Later in his interview with Politico, McConnell claimed that the bailout package as it is protects folks on Main Street. McConnell insults voters when he makes such outlandish claims. In its current form, the plan actually asks Main Street to clean up the mess made on Wall Street. The bailout package being proposed by the Bush administration asks taxpayers to buy up all the bad investments that Wall Street has made. Essentially the government is asking to write off Wall Street’s losses on the backs of the American taxpayer.

While I agree that something has to be done, writing a blank check to the administration is not the answer. As it currently stands, the bailout package for Wall Street is a complete gift to corporate America with no strings attached. As Paul Krugman pointed out in today’s New York Times, the plan passes the already failed risk to the taxpayer, while all the profit will remain on Wall Street.

The plan being proposed by Bush and supported by Mitch McConnell, as it is, is absolutely unacceptable. I said a few days ago this financial situation would be a real test of McConnell’s leadership. It’s now clear he will continue his pattern of failed leadership.

Mitch McConnell just doesn’t get it. He is once again asking Kentuckians to write a blank check to him and the Bush administration. We’ve seen this show, folks. And it won’t end well this time either — if we let him get away with it.

George W. Bush , Iraq War , Mitch McConnell Comments (6)
John And Cindy McCain 13 Cars, Barack And Michelle Obaama One. Get The Picture?
Jim Pence September 22nd, 2008

When you have seven homes , that’s a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates’ cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here’s the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one. Read more.

More

More Bush and McConnell Style Leadership
Shawn Dixon September 23rd, 2008



I found this cartoon on a conservative blog. I thought it was the perfect picture to accompany the article I wrote about Bush and McConnell’s failed leadership during the financial crisis.

Mitch McConnell Comments (0)
Breaking: Lunsford Within Margin of Error
Shawn Dixon September 23rd, 2008

New poll by Survey USA has Bruce Lunsford within 3 points of Mitch McConnell, which is within the poll’s margin of error.

I’ll write more about this later, have to run to class!

UPDATE:

Of the more interesting findings, it appears that Kentuckians are rightly laying the problems of the financial crisis at McConnell’s doorstep.

Six in 10 voters tell SurveyUSA they are focused on the economy, ahead of all other issues. Among voters focused on the economy, McConnell went from a six-point lead six weeks ago to a nine-point deficit in the latest poll, a 15-point swing to Lunsford.

What’s worse for McConnell, his numbers aren’t tied to McCain’s numbers. This poll suggests that Kentuckians are willing to split their ticket this fall.

To put these numbers into context, it is critical to note that the identical survey that polled Kentucky voters on the US Senate race also asked about the Presidential contest. The same respondents rethinking McConnell are sticking with John McCain. McCain, who led by 18 points six weeks ago, leads by 19 points in the latest poll.

It appears that as we close in on the final weeks of the campaign and people start paying attention, they don’t like what they see in Mitch McConnell. These numbers only make sense in light of the unfavorable approval ratings that we’ve been seeing for McConnell for some time now.

This race will likely be very close.

Mitch McConnell Comments (0)
McConnell and BushTrying To Scare Kentuckians Into Writing A Blank Check — No Questions Asked, Please!
Shawn Dixon September 22nd, 2008

During the course of his career Mitch McConnell has taken over $3.6 Million from the banking industry. Now McConnell owes his banker friends a favor and he is asking Kentuckians to pull out their checkbooks and pay them back on his behalf. As Mark Hebert noted earlier this week, an independent group has found that McConnell has accepted millions in campaign cash from Wall St. banks during his four terms as a U.S. senator. That’s why it’s no surprise that Mitch McConnell is calling on congress to quickly pass the $1 trillion bailout, with almost no oversight and no real incentive for Wall Street to tackle its problem of corruption, for his friends in the financial industry

Using the same type of scare tactics and fear mongering he used in the run up to the Iraq War, McConnell is once again asking taxpayers and voters to cede power to him and George W. Bush without asking questions.

McConnell, trying to scare Americans into accepting the administrations plan without asking questions and leaving the the executive totally unaccountable, compared the American economy to a burning house.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said that when you’re house is on fire, you don’t stop and ask the firemen for smoke detectors. “You want them to put out the fire,” McConnell said this afternoon.

Politico also documented McConnell’s “shoot now, ask questions later” strategy for the bailout.

“There will be more questions about this plan. I have many myself,” he said. “But we owe it to the American people to do our due diligence quickly and to act swiftly, Democrats and Republicans alike, to contain this crisis before it’s too late.”

Well then Senator McConnell, if there are questions to be asked, when will they be asked? After the passage of the $1 trillion bailout? I, for one, don’t think Kentuckians or the rest of America is ready to fall for that trick again. The last time the last time McConnell and Bush asked for power from Americans and asked us to trust them, they recklessly led us into a quagmire which will cost the country as much as $3 trillion.

Later in his interview with Politico, McConnell claimed that the bailout package as it is protects folks on Main Street. McConnell insults voters when he makes such outlandish claims. In its current form, the plan actually asks Main Street to clean up the mess made on Wall Street. The bailout package being proposed by the Bush administration asks taxpayers to buy up all the bad investments that Wall Street has made. Essentially the government is asking to write off Wall Street’s losses on the backs of the American taxpayer.

While I agree that something has to be done, writing a blank check to the administration is not the answer. As it currently stands, the bailout package for Wall Street is a complete gift to corporate America with no strings attached. As Paul Krugman pointed out in today’s New York Times, the plan passes the already failed risk to the taxpayer, while all the profit will remain on Wall Street.

The plan being proposed by Bush and supported by Mitch McConnell, as it is, is absolutely unacceptable. I said a few days ago this financial situation would be a real test of McConnell’s leadership. It’s now clear he will continue his pattern of failed leadership.

Mitch McConnell just doesn’t get it. He is once again asking Kentuckians to write a blank check to him and the Bush administration. We’ve seen this show, folks. And it won’t end well this time either — if we let him get away with it.

George W. Bush , Iraq War , Mitch McConnell Comments (6)
John And Cindy McCain 13 Cars, Barack And Michelle Obaama One. Get The Picture?
Jim Pence September 22nd, 2008

When you have seven homes , that’s a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates’ cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here’s the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one. Read more.

Mitch freaks out.

Bruce debates!

Bruce debates!

Stop the $1.8 Trillion Bush Bailout!

Taxpayer:
I assume you have already heard that President Bush wants Congress to give his administration $700 billion dollars to bailout Wall Street. That's right; Bush wants American taxpayers to give the administration that brought us the Katrina response and the War in Iraq a blank check to fix a financial mess Republican deregulation got us into.
Barack Obama calls the Bush Bailout bill a price tag without a plan.
Today, the price tag just got worse as Republicans and Democrats talk about increasing the bailout dollar amount to 1.8 TRILLION -- more then three times the cost of the Iraq War to date.
It took years of Republican led deregulation and little government oversight to get us here; we don't need to fix everything with one blank check.
Call your Senators right now and demand they stop the Bush Bailout. We need a plan that protects the American people not a bailout for Wall Street CEO's.
Senator Jim Bunning
(202) 224-4343

Senator Mitch McConnell
(202) 224-2541

Paul Krugman, in his New York Times column yesterday titled "Cash for Trash," boiled the Bush Bailout down to two words: Trust Me.
"Basically, after having spent a year and a half telling everyone that things were under control, the Bush administration says that the sky is falling, and that to save the world we have to do exactly what it says now now now. But I'd urge Congress to pause for a minute, take a deep breath, and try to seriously rework the structure of the plan, making it a plan that addresses the real problem. Don't let yourself be railroaded -- if this plan goes through in anything like its current form, we'll all be very sorry in the not-too-distant future."
The crisis is real and Congress is moving fast to take action. We need to move even faster to restore fiscal responsibility and demand they protect Main Street from the greed of Wall Street and the incompetence of the Bush administration.

Please make your call right now.

Ken Stepp salutes Sgt. David K. Cooper.

Sgt. David K. Cooper,25, of Williamsburg, Ky.; Forward Support Company, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Tex. Died Aug. 27 in Baghdad of wounds suffered in Qadisiyah.

This from Ditch Mitch, Kentucky.

The Effects of Mitch McConnell’s Failed Leadership Have Never Been Clearer Than They Are Today.
Shawn Dixon September 19th, 2008

With the announcement of a nearly $1 trillion bailout for Wall Street banks, the disastrous effects of misguided Republican economic policies under the leadership of Mitch McConnell and George W. Bush have never been clearer than they are today. While everyone in America (except Jim Bunning) understands that the bailout is necessary, it’s disappointing, to say the least, that the situation comes as a direct result of the extreme economic policy of total deregulation that Mitch McConnell has championed as the top Republican in Congress.

With the fall elections only weeks away, it’s is imperative that Democrats like Bruce Lunsford remind voters that the tumultuous economic situation we now face is not an accident nor has it been brought about by happenstance. The situation has become too severe for Republicans to continue to suggest that the stock market is simply going through an “adjustment” or “correcting itself.” This crisis has come at the hand of McConnell’s policies that have allowed banks and lenders to prey on consumers without any consequence.

Republicans of course will want to lay blame at the Democrats doorstep. However, folks know that this situation did not happen overnight , and it would be insulting to voters to suggest that the Democrats created this mess during the less than two years they’ve had control of Congress. No matter who created the situation, it’s now time to come together to prevent a total meltdown of the economy. How McConnell reacts in the coming days will be telling about what kind of Senator he is. I hope he’ll step up to the plate, admit his mistakes and work with the Democratic leadership. Unfortunately, if his last 24 years have taught us anything, we know we’re probably in for typical McConnell mudslinging and stubborn partisanship with the costs again going to American taxpayers.

(Thanks to everyone for letting me continue to post around here. I took at job this summer that demanded most of my time. Now I’m back in school and I’m going to make every effort to post quite frequently. I’m very excited about watching Kentuckians usher in new leadership this fall!)

Mitch McConnell Comments (6)
Senator Mitch McConnell, Where Is Your Heart?
Jim Pence September 18th, 2008

It has been said “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." So let’s take a few minutes and examine where Mitch McConnell’s heart is.
Remember Senator Mitch McConnell saying this March. 6, 2005 on Meet The Press? " That personal accounts are is an extraordinarily good investment. Let’s take a 25-year-old, for example. Invests $1,000 in regular Social Security, gets a 2 percent return over 40 years, he gets $61,000. That same young person investing that same $1,000 in a personal retirement account, looking at the average return on investment of the stock market, would get $100,000 more. Why don’t we at least discuss that in the context of the overall effort to save Social Security for our children and our grandchildren?"
Those of of that knew what was going on then and now, know now what Senator Mitch McConnell wanted, he wanted to infuse Social Security money into the stock market to drive the market up temporarily, so his rich pals could make a quick killing and increase their wealth and then his rich pals would bail out of the market, leaving regular folks holding the proverbial empty bag.

Remember SCHIP and how folks like Senator Mitch McConnell fought tooth and nail to defeat a program that would help provide healthcare to our children at a cost of $35 billion over five years.
Remember Mitch saying this "Our Democratic colleagues have taken SCHIP hostage , and what they want in exchange is Republican support for government-run health care., courtesy of Washington."

Remember Medicare Part D and how folks like Senator Mitch McConnell voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug makers to lower the price of medicine for seniors.

OK I could go on and on here, but it’s obvious where Senator Mitch McConnell’s heart is when it comes to regular folks and he, Senator Mitch McConnell, has no problem telling us, but when it comes to his rich pals receiving gaudy amounts of money while running their companies in the ground he , Senator Mitch McConnell, is silent.

Senator Mitch McConnell’s ties with AIG .



Senator Mitch McConnell seemed to approve of AIG CEO Martin Sullivan’s $47 million severance package back in July and the reason I say this is because Senator Mitch McConnell never hesitates to express how he feels and he approved of this gaudy $47 million severance package for his pal Martin Sullivan with his silence. Here in Kentucky we call that welfare for the rich!



Senator Mitch McConnell, with his silence, also approved the gaudy millions paid to the CEO’s of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd reaped a 7 percent rise in pay to $13.4 million in 2007 while the company lost $2.1 billion and its shared fell 33%. How would you like to have a job like that?
Using a pay-disclosure measure that the SEC prefers, which treats the value of stock and options differently, Freddie Mac chief Richard Syron ‘s pay for 2007 was $18.3 million , up 24% from 2006. That ain’t bad either.

Where is Senator Mitch McConnell’s heart? Follow the money all $800 billion of it!

2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , AIG , Bailouts , Bear Stearns , Daniel Mudd , Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac , Martin Sullivan , Mitch McConnell , Richard Syron Comments (4)
AIG And Welfare Golfing
Jim Pence September 17th, 2008

AIG is holding a golf challenge for a bunch of lazy ass greedy CEO’s, with our tax dollars and folks like us that are paying to bail out AIG don’t qualify as participants.
This event is only open to CEO’s, Presidents, and Owners of companies with at least $2 million in annual gross revenue (C-Suite executives of companies with at least $5 million revenue also invited to attend) at a all-inclusive cost: $3,800 per person (add $500 for guest fee).
What a joke (Welfare Golfers).
CEO Golf Challenge Presented by AIG
The CEO Golf Challenge and AIG Private Client Group are very proud to present this amazing opportunity.
Play in the CEO Golf Challenge and you could win one of two spots in the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am where you will play with PGA TOUR professionals.
Don’t delay we anticipate this event to sell out quickly!
Space is limited to 24 players.
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort - Naples, Florida
Schedule of Events:
Monday December 8:
Arrival and check-in at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort
12 noon - Practice round at the Greg Norman designed Black Course at Tiburón Golf Club
After golf - CEO Welcome Reception, Dinner and Pairings Party
Tuesday December 9:
CEO Golf Challenge Competition Day:
9am - CEO Golf Challenge tournament is contested on the Greg Norman designed Black Course at Tiburon Golf Club
Boxed lunch at the turn
CEO Cocktail Reception and Awards Dinner to follow
Top 2 golfers will accompany Greg Norman to the Merrill Lynch Shootout
Pro-Am Pairings Party
Wednesday December 10:
Depart. Top 2 golfers play as guest of AIG in the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am First Round (Shamble)
Thursday December 11:
Top 2 golfers participate in the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am Final Round (Best-Ball)
Friday, December 12 - Sunday, December 14:
Opportunity for CEO golfers to stay and attend the Merrill Lynch Shootout tournament (incremental fee)
What’s Included:
* Opportunity to win one of two spots to play with AIG executives in both rounds of the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am on December 10 & 11
* Private reception with Greg Norman
* Two rounds of golf at the Greg Norman designed Black Course at Tiburon Golf Club
* Full use of the practice facility on Monday and Tuesday
* Two nights accommodations at The Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples Florida (Dec 8 & 9)
* Extra two nights accommodations for the top two golfers participating in the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am (Dec 10 & 11)
* CEO Welcome Reception & Dinner
* Lunch on competition day
* CEO Awards Reception & Dinner
* Crystal awards for the top three golfers presented by Greg Norman
* CEO Golf Challenge apparel
* Fabulous entrance package
* Biography of each CEO, and their company, listed on the CEO Golf Challenge web site and in a special printed program for the event
* Charity contribution to CureSearch on behalf of each CEO Golf Challenge participant
* Fantastic networking opportunities
Tournament Format:
* 18 hole stroke play
* Award to CEO for low gross score and spot in the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am
* Award to CEO with second low gross score and spot in the Merrill Lynch Shootout Pro-Am
* Award to CEO for low net score
* All players must present USGA cards signed and dated with current handicap factor
Qualification:
* Open to CEO’s, Presidents, and Owners of companies with at least $2 million in annual gross revenue (C-Suite executives of companies with at least $5 million revenue also invited to attend).
* All-inclusive cost: $3,800 per person (add $500 for guest fee)
* $1,000 deposit required upon registration
* Balance due: November 1, 2008
* Register online at www.ceogolfchallenge.com

Hillary is coming back to Kentucky!

"Hillary Clinton to campaign for Lunsford
"Senator to visit state on Sept. 20
"By Joseph Gerth • jgerth@courier-journal.com • September 13, 2008
"U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who swamped Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in the Kentucky primary, is hoping to bring some of her vote-getting magic to U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford.
Lunsford's campaign announced yesterday that Clinton, of New York, would attend campaign events on Sept. 20 in Lexington and Pikeville.
The nature of the events is still unclear. Cary Stemle, a spokesman for the campaign, said he didn't know if the events are rallies, fundraisers or both.
But Lunsford, a Louisville businessman, is clearly hoping that the Clinton family's ability to get votes in Kentucky will transfer to him on Nov. 4 when he tries to oust Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Clinton beat Obama in Kentucky by more than a 2-1 margin. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, is the only Democrat to win Kentucky in a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Lunsford's campaign said he has talked with Clinton about making the visit for some time and that former state Democratic Chairman Jerry Lundergan, who is helping Lunsford raise money, probably helped secure her visit.
Lundergan, Clinton's campaign chairman in Kentucky, is arguably her closest confidant in the state. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The campaign said it will release more details about the events next week.
Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702."
Let's Ditch Mitch.

The Hillbilly singin'.

The Hillbilly singin'.

"Guantanamo Interrogations Based on Communist Chinese Methods

"Guantanamo Interrogations Based on Communist Chinese Methods
The New American magazine, August 4, 2008, page 7
"A Senate Armed Services Committee hearing held on June 17 made public several documents from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including a chart that outlined the use of 'coercive management techniques' by military interrogators. Subsequent information revealed by the New York Times on July 2, after the newspaper had been tipped off by 'an independent expert on interrogation who spoke on condition of anonymity,' indicated that the chart used at Guantanamo had been copied from a 1957 article, 'Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions From Air Force Prisoners of War.' The article had been written by Alfred D. Biderman, a sociologist then working for the Air Force. Authorities at Guantanamo dropped the chart’s original title: 'Communist Coercive Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance.'
"In reaction to his discovery of the chart's origins in the 1957 article, the chairman of the committee, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), said that 'every American would be shocked' by the source of the document, which was used to train American interrogators. 'What makes this document doubly stunning is that these were techniques to get false confessions,' said Senator Levin. 'People say we need intelligence, and we do. But we don't need false intelligence.'"
So why does the GOP-directed operation at Guantanamo Bay use Chinese Communist interrogation techniques?

Let's Ditch Mitch.

KENNETH STEPP SALUTES SPC STEVEN J. FITZMORRIS.

"COLUMBIA - Service member Spc. Steven J. Fitzmorris was recently killed in action while serving in Iraq.
His body is returning to Columbia Sunday, August 31 and will be flown in to the Columbia Regional Airport.
Services for Fitzmorris will be held at Memorial Funeral Home Tuesday September 2 at 11 a.m. The family has asked for the public to line the streets with American flags to honor Fitzmorris as they bring the body home.
Contributions to can be made to the Steven J. Fitzmorris Memorial Fund, in care of Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 W. Columbia, Mo. 65202.
Written by: Jessica Holley"
KENNETH STEPP SALUTES SPC STEVEN J. FITZMORRIS WHO WAS RECENTLY KILLED IN ACTION WHILE SERVING IN IRAQ.
Let's Ditch Mitch.

4,097 U.S. Reported Dead in Iraq War to date.

What do you consider to be an acceptable level?

You have a Happy Labor Day.

You have a Happy Labor Day. Remember, America was built by the hands of the working men and working women. It took a lot of labor to build a great nation, and we celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September this year, and every year. It's something to celebrate. You have a great Labor Day. Kenneth Stepp.

Vote for Bruce Lunsford, the horses' friend.

McConnell in the pocket of the horse-torturing industry
Joe Sonka August 31st, 2008

(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)

Just when you thought that Mitch McConnell couldn’t become any more of a heartless, lipless villain, we get a story like this which launches him to comic book super-villain status.

Adding to the list of lobbyist groups that Mitch is a paid shill for, we are introduced to …. the Horse-cruelty lobby. Kentucky’s best journalist John Cheves brings home the goods:

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pressured the U.S. Department of Agriculture for years to back off its enforcement of the Horse Protection Act, even threatening to cut the agency’s funding, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Leader.

McConnell has supported the Tennessee Walking Horse industry in its battle against USDA inspectors who look for evidence of soring, the illegal practice of deliberately injuring a horse’s front feet to get it to step higher in an exaggerated style known as “the Big Lick.”

McConnell backed the industry’s demand for its own inspectors — paid by the industry, drawn from the ranks of horse owners and trainers — to have a greater role in soring inspections, rather than the independent USDA veterinarians who uncover and report soring more frequently.

At the same time, the industry gave McConnell tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and hired his Senate chief of staff, Niels Holch, as its Washington lobbyist and attorney.

“McConnell probably has caused more problems for horse protection single-handedly than any other person. He set the cause of horse protection back by years,” said Donna Benefield, administrative director of the Horse Protection Commission, a USDA-certified inspection organization in Gallatin, Tenn.

“He has supporters here (in Tennessee) — financial supporters, if not people who can vote for him — who are doing illegal things and don’t want to get caught,” Benefield said. “It’s very important to them that the law be loosely enforced. Sen. McConnell has been their champion in that.”

Just another example of the type of powerful leadership that Mitch provides in the Senate for the people of Kentucky, eh?

My sources report that Mitch also has ties to the “Poke Neighborhood Dog with a Stick” industry and the “Throw Cat off the Roof to See if it Lands on Feet” lobby.

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