Author Archives: pandora

About pandora

A stay-at-home mom with an obsession for National politics.

What’s A Voter To Do?

I honestly have no idea what will end up happening in November, but these numbers aren’t promising for anyone.

52% of the undecideds in the Senate race disapprove of President Obama to 35% who like the job he’s doing. They don’t think much of the Democrats in Congress either- only 26% have a like the job they’re doing.

Those numbers might seem bad- but they pale in comparison to how negatively those voters feel about Congressional Republicans- only 10% approve of the job they’re doing while 61% disapprove. So these voters are down on President Obama and the Democratic majority- but their most negatives feelings are toward the Republican minority.

These are folks who normally would vote to ‘throw the bums out.’ But they think the alternative is even bigger bums. It’ll be interesting to see how folks like this across the country end up voting this fall- and it could determine whether Democrats keep control of the House and a healthy majority in the Senate or not.

Only 10% approve of Congressional Republicans?  I was feeling a little blue until I saw those numbers.

Climate Scientists Cleared

Not that this will matter to the educationally challenged.

A British panel issued a sweeping exoneration on Wednesday of scientists caught up in the controversy known as Climategate, saying it found no evidence that they had manipulated their research to support preconceived ideas about global warming.

John Cole states that the damage is already done, and I tend to agree.  The blame for these lies gaining traction falls on our lazy press – who become breathless over controversy and bored over facts.  Because, let’s face it, gathering facts and educating yourself on a subject is hard work.  And why bother to do the work when you can simply interview some loudmouth wearing a flag shirt and carrying a don’t tread on me sign?  And by raising a faux debate between leading climatologists and conservatives who point to snow outside their window as “scientific” evidence the media doesn’t  even break a sweat.  But hey, those climate-change deniers sure are entertaining.

That said, I wouldn’t count on this story getting as much coverage as all those Congressmen building snowmen in DC with their families.  Really sad.

9500 Liberty At Theater N

Looking for something interesting to do on Friday night?  Check this out.  (Co-hosted by Delaware Tomorrow’s Michael Stafford)

A key part of the national conversation over immigration reform and Arizona’s S.B. 1070 is coming to Delaware this weekend.

I am honored to be co-hosting a screening of the documentary film 9500 Liberty at Wilmington’s Theater N on the evening of Friday, July 2d at 8 pm.   The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on immigration reform featuring  Maria Velasquez from Voices Without Borders,  Eliud Gautier, New Jersey Coordinator of Esperanza for America, and I.  We’ll also be joined by two of the film’s producers, Annabel Park, an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Coffee Party USA, and University of Delaware alumnus Jeff Man!

The film tells the story of a 2008 local enforcement ordinance passed in Prince William County, Virginia, that required  police to check the immigration status of those they had “probable cause” to suspect were undocumented immigrants.  ”Despite a climate of fear and racial tension, ordinary citizens banded together to ask lawmakers to repeal the controversial ‘probable cause’ mandate.  They succeeded with an inventive combination of Internet and grassroots advocacy, pointing to the law’s unexpectedly negative economic impact, and the costly law suits that would burden taxpayers.”

I’m sorry I’m not in town to see this.

Crist Pulls Ahead In The Polls

I’ve been watching Florida very closely mainly because it’s one of the most prominent tests the Tea Party will face.  And while a lot can happen until the election this can’t be good news for the “purge the moderates” group.

Gov. Charlie Crist has a large lead in the three-way race to the be the next Senator from Florida, a new poll found this weekend. The poll, conducted for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, shows Crist with a double-digit lead over both of his opponents in the general election, likely Republican nominee Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek.

The poll, fielded by Republican pollster Cherry Communications, shows Crist with 42% of the vote, Rubio with 31% and Meek with 14%. The poll was conducted June 9-13 among 607 likely voters and has a margin of error of 4%.

Uh oh.

As far as I’m concerned, I want Crist to win – and win big.  Not because I like Crist, but rather because the Tea Party’s 15 minutes is up.  They really need to be put in perspective.

What Happens If The Tea Party Doesn’t Win Big?

Unstable Isotope posted on the laughable poll that shows O’Donnell and Urquhart winning big.  This got me thinking.  These guys, and gals, really, really, really believe they are going to win – and win big.  Take a stroll over to Delaware Politics if you don’t believe me.  On, UI’s thread I asked… The problem is that they really believe she is going to win, and if she doesn’t win then… what?

We may have our answer.

Asked by the host, Lars Larson of Portland, Oregon, where she stands on Second Amendment issues, [Sharron] Angle replied:

You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years.

I hope that’s not where we’re going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.

Larson says Angle was floating the possibility of armed insurrection if Congress keeps it up under Reid et al.

“If it continues to do the things it’s doing, I think she’s leaving open that possibility,” Larson said. “And I think the founders believed that the public should be able to do that when the government becomes out of control. It just matters what you define as going too far.”

Second Amendment remedies?  Take Harry Reid out?  And, no, I’m not envisioning armed armies of tea partiers.  I am expecting more lone wolves.  This talk really concerns me, especially since the only election the Tea Party will ever accept is the one they win.

Constitution Smonstitution

Buoyed by recent public opinion polls suggesting they’re on the right track with illegal immigration, Arizona Republicans will likely introduce legislation this fall that would deny birth certificates to children born in Arizona – and thus American citizens according to the U.S. Constitution – to parents who are not legal U.S. citizens. The law largely is the brainchild of state Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican whose suburban district, Mesa, is considered the conservative bastion of the Phoenix political scene. He is a leading architect of the Arizona law that sparked outrage throughout the country: Senate Bill 1070, which allows law enforcement officers to ask about someone’s immigration status during a traffic stop, detainment or arrest if reasonable suspicion exists – things like poor English skills, acting nervous or avoiding eye contact during a traffic stop. (See the battle for Arizona: will a border crackdown work?)

But the likely new bill is for the kids. While SB 1070 essentially requires of-age migrants to have the proper citizenship paperwork, the potential “anchor baby” bill blocks the next generation from ever being able to obtain it. The idea is to make the citizenship process so difficult that illegal immigrants pull up the “anchor” and leave.

Hey, why not make a law that denies citizenship to the children of business owners who employ illegal immigrants?

This Week’s C’mon Delaware

Check it out!

Donviti:  Is Tom Carper a Blue Dog? What is Delaware’s reputation nationally? Is “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” the bomb? Will the Flyers win tonight? Will USA soccer kick ass in South Africa and if so will that ruin soccer (aka football)?

Jason:  Yes, Sh*tty, Yes, Prolly, No and Yes.  Can’t f*cking Ecuador have something that it is good at?  Do we have to wreck everything?



Republicans Might Get Taitzed

Ouch!  Orly Taitz could actually win, and… Republican heads are exploding.

“It’d be a disaster for the Republican party,” says James Lacy, a conservative GOP operative in the state. “Can you imagine if [gubernatorial candidate] Meg Whitman and [candidate for Lt. Gov.] Abel Maldonado — both of whom might have a chance to win in November — had to run with Orly Taitz as secretary of state, who would make her cockamamie issues about Obama’s birth certificate problems at the forefront of her activities?”

“There is no Republican candidate for statewide office that would be willing to have her campaign with them,” says Adam Probolsky, a spokesman for the Orange County Republican Party.

But longtime California GOP strategist Allan Hoffenblum, who publishes the California Target Book, says a Taitz victory is entirely possible. “It will be a complete embarrassment if she wins, but these things can happen,” he said.

UI commented on this earlier, but I thought this deserved its own post.  It’s simply too delicious.

John Cole says it all:

The Republicans have spent the last couple of years doing everything they could to feed this kind of nutbaggery in the shadows while “respectable Conservatives” pretended to not know anything about it. The very first thing the Republicans did when Obama won the nomination was to court frothers and birthers in the PUMA movement and court the lunatic fringe with attempts to “otherize” Obama. Whisper campaigns about him not saying the Pledge or refusing to swear on a bible or not wearing enough USA #1 bling on his suit led to “underground” email campaigns that led to the continued existence of birthers and other nutjobs who insist Obama is a socialist Muslim Kenyan. You thought that rhetoric from Sarah Palin was a mistake when she said “He doesn’t look at America the way we do” and he “pals around with terrorists?” They knew what they were and are doing. They teases and teased, introducing citizenship bills and hinting he might not be American, and now Orly is one of them

But somehow or another, they lost control of the freak show and the teabaggers and the frothers are now running things, and now this is going to come back and bite them on the ass.

He’s 100% correct.  It would be like Christine O’Donnell or Glen Urquhart actually having a shot at winning.  Ha!  I just cracked myself up.

File This Under D’oh

Via HuffPo:

Three-quarters of registered voters think Congress should forget about the deficit and preserve extended unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers, according to a new poll commissioned by the National Employment Law Project.

Citing deficit concerns, Democrats in both chambers of Congress have said it’s time to start thinking about how to wrap up the extended unemployment benefits put in place to fight the recession. But 74 percent of people surveyed said they agreed with the statement that “it is too early to start cutting back benefits and health coverage for workers who lost their jobs.“

Ya think?

And remember that famous 21% that makes up the Far Right/Tea Party?  I found them again…

But only 21 percent of 803 voters surveyed by polling firm Hart Research Associates agreed with this statement: “With the federal deficit over one trillion dollars, it is time for the government to start reducing spending on health care subsidies and unemployment benefits for the unemployed.”

Because I Can… Tweet

Alas, I have given in and sent my first tweet 2 hours ago (@Pandoradl).  Needless to say, I have provided two hours of amusement for Nemski.  He even has me performing Twitter Tricks… like challenging me to add a photo without asking my kids for help.  And Geek had a chuckle with a joke about how it could be so warm out since hell has frozen over! Unstable Isotope was charming and welcoming.

But I do need help – in the form of helpful hints to make my Twitter experience all that it should be.  So I turn to you, dear reader.  Also, feel free to chide Nemski on his unchivalrous behavior!  😉

Use the thread below to tell me who I should be following, what that little star at the bottom of my iPhone screen means, etc.  Thanks!