Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Farewell Claudia Taylor Johnson

America lost former first lady Claudia Taylor Johnson, better known as “Lady Bird” today. Mrs. Johnson was 94. We here at the Real Sporer join the nation in extending our condolences to daughters Lynda Bird and Luci Baines.

Mrs. Johnson was devoted to the beautification of our Country. By avoiding the lecturing, hectoring and condescending tones of today’s environmentalists, Mrs. Johnson brought the nation together to produce the far cleaner America that so many take for granted.

Good-bye Lady Bird, some of your successors could have well learned by your example.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lady Bird was very much a lady. She is responsible for my love of wildflowers. She was a true environmentalist. One that appreciated human beings as having a right to exist too.

Anonymous said...

McCain advisers late yesterday dismissed speculation about the campaign's political plans, saying that McCain could continue to compete in Iowa, for now.

The advisers did not deny reports that reducing his presence in Iowa was one option, although McCain's campaign chairman, Dave Roederer, told a reporter yesterday that he was "quite confident" McCain would mount an aggressive campaign in Iowa.

Anonymous said...

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - A "fat tax" on salty, sugary and fatty foods could save thousands of lives each year, according to a study published on Thursday

Anonymous said...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Thursday, July 12, 2007 7:17 a.m. EDT

John Edwards: I'm Like Bobby Kennedy

The campaign of presidential hopeful John Edwards has a ready answer for all the criticism about his expensive haircuts and expansive home: A man can be wealthy and care about the poor, too.

Just look at a Democratic hero - Robert F. Kennedy.

Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, plans to spend three days next week on a poverty tour reminiscent of Kennedy's 1968 trip. Edwards even plans to end his journey where Kennedy did some 40 years ago, in Prestonsburg, Ky.

The eight-state tour shifts the spotlight to an issue that has been the focus of Edwards' campaign since his first run for the White House four years ago. In recent weeks, publicity about his personal wealth - $400 haircuts, construction of a 28,000-square-foot house, hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary to speak about poverty and advise a hedge fund for the superrich - has opened him to charges of hypocrisy and threatened to undermine his message.

"The last thing you want to do is become the Elmer Gantry of the 2008 election cycle," said former Rep. David Nagle, D-Iowa, referring to the fraudulent preacher depicted in Sinclair Lewis' novel. "His opponents are trying to paint him as Elmer Gantry, and some of that paint is hanging on the canvas."

Anonymous said...

United Way to Award Advocacy Grants
7/9/2007

DES MOINES -- United Way of Central Iowa will award a total of $75,000 to local nonprofits to help them bolster their public policy advocacy efforts.

The grants will help organizations develop their:

Grassroots Lobbying. Urge the public to take action on specific legislation by contacting legislators.

Direct Lobbying. Attempt to influence specific legislation by stating its position or urge a legislator to support, oppose or otherwise take action on a bill or proposed legislation.

Public Awareness. Provide the public with information on specific issue(s) so they understand the issue and how it affects them.

“United Way is interested in public policy engagement because government is a critical decision-maker and major provider and funder of health and human services,” says Sarah Gray Ramsey, Public Policy Director at United Way of Central Iowa.

This is the second year United Way will award the Advocacy Grants.

Anonymous said...

Richardson Falsely Claimed To Have Been Drafted By The Kansas City A's.

"The Albuquerque Journal reported last month that it had found no record of Richardson being drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the 1960s as Richardson had claimed in a biography when he ran for Congress in 1982.

The governor acknowledged the error." (Barry Massey, "GOP Airs Ad Criticizing Governor As 'King Bill,'" The Associated Press, 12/6/05 )

Richardson Struggled To Defend His Long Record Of Contradictions, Including Support Of Both Yankees And Red Sox. "During a recent appearance on 'Meet the Press,' Tim Russert confronted Richardson with a devastating catalogue of the governor's contradictions on Iraq, immigration, his tenure as energy secretary, gun policy, and--the final, cruel shot--how he could be both a Red Sox fan, as he often says he is, and a Yankees fan, as he claims in his book. Richardson seemed deeply offended by the barrage.

'I've been in public life twenty-five years. You're going to find a lot of these,' he sputtered. 'It s eems you've found them all here.'"

(Ryan Lizza, "Paper Candidate," The New Republic, 6/18/07)

Anonymous said...

Irish peace activist's speech at Dallas event gets standing ovation


10:52 AM CDT on Thursday, July 12, 2007
By JAMES HOHMANN / The Dallas Morning News


Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams came from Ireland to Texas to declare that President Bush should be impeached.

In a keynote speech at the International Women's Peace Conference on Wednesday night, Ms. Williams told a crowd of about 1,000 that the Bush administration has been treacherous and wrong and acted unconstitutionally.

"Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said at the Adam's Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. "No, I don't mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that."

"The Muslim world right now is suffering beyond belief," she said.

Anonymous said...

Quote from Mike Huckabee spotlighting Michael Moore's extreme hypocrisy by highlighting his extreme obesity.

"Frankly, Michael Moore is an example of why the health care system costs so much in this country. He clearly is one of the reasons that we have a very expensive system.

I know that from my own personal experience," said Huckabee, who lost more than 110 pounds and became an avid runner after he was diagnosed with diabetes.

"I know how much more my health care cost when I didn't take care of myself than when I do take care of myself, not only in terms of doctor visits but regular diseases, illnesses, chronic things that come up, monthly prescription bills," Huckabee said.

"All of those things have gone dramatically down since I've taken care of myself and worked to live a healthier lifestyle."

Anonymous said...

"Let me ask you, have you ever met anybody when they were really sick say, 'Oh my gosh, I have a desperate disease. Get me to Havana, I've got to have the best health care in the world,'" Huckabee said.

Huckabee earlier told reporters that there should be a greater push toward insurance companies paying for preventive measures such as nutrition counseling and cancer screenings that would cut down on higher health costs in the future.

"Anything we could do to help steer people to healthier habits comes back to us many times over and that's a real focus that needs to happen," Huckabee said.

"Right now, insurance companies will pay $100,000 or more for a quadruple bypass but wouldn't pay a couple hundred dollars for a person to have nutrition counseling and maybe to work with an exercise physiologist to determine how to get those extra pounds off. ... It's a lot better to spend some more money on the prevention side than it is on the intervention side."

Anonymous said...

Ed Failor Jr and Karen Slifka have resigned from the McCain team. Marlys Popma remains with the campaign, but rather than making $12,000 a month, she is getting reduced pay.

Chuck Larson Jr remains on staff without pay. Dave Roederer (most recently,a paid consultant promoting the sales tax increase) is also staying on but without pay.

Anonymous said...

This makes the second presidential candidate this cycle that Ed went to work for to cash in and then bail on when the money dried up.

I think we see what he really believes in.

Anonymous said...

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — State Rep. Bob Allen, a co-chair of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's Florida campaign, is expected to address Thursday charges that he offered to perform oral sex on an undercover male police officer for $20.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289137,00.html

Anonymous said...

From Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic

11 Jul 2007 08:14 am

"Everything is on the table."

That's according to a senior McCain adviser who has spoken with Rick Davis and other remnants of McCain's top campaign staff.

The adviser said that the campaign's new early-state strategy was up for reconsideration, with some McCain allies pressing McCain to once again skip Iowa, putting all of his resources into New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Anonymous said...

From Radio Iowa - O.Kay Henderson

The chairman of John McCain's presidential campaign says he "doesn't believe" McCain will skip Iowa's Caucuses.

During the presidential race in 2000, McCain did not campaign in Iowa to spend his campaign cash in states, like New Hampshire, where he had a better shot at beating George Bush.

Now, with just a couple million dollars left in his campaign treasury, some national reports indicate McCain is again considering a skip Iowa strategy.

Dave Roederer, McCain's Iowa campaign chairman, is offering a less-than-emphatic declaration. "There's always possibilities of anything happening in this business, but I'm quite confident the senator will be participating in the Iowa Caucuses," Roederer says.

Anonymous said...

McCain will return to Iowa "soon" according to Roederer and Roederer says McCain's message won't change just because of the new campaign reality he's facing. "John McCain is John McCain and he has been very consistent," Roederer says. "...He says it the way he sees it and that will not change."

Roederer, a long-time insider on Iowa campaigns for Republican candidates, says changes in campaign are nothing new but in the end, "it always comes down to candidate and whether or not (voters) agree with the candidate."

Anonymous said...

What about the Iraqis?
July 12, 2007 1:50 PM

From today's press conference with the Senate Democratic leaders.

I tried to get an answer to what I blogged earlier today.

I did not succeed.

TAPPER: Senator Reid, what do you say to critics who say, "Look, the Senate voted, including two of you up on the stage, to authorize the president to use force in Iraq. Is there not a moral obligation of the United States to make sure that the Iraqi people are safe before the U.S. withdraws"? It's very clear that withdrawing U.S. troops might make U.S. troops safer, but it won't necessarily make the Iraqi people safer.

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID, D-NEV: As reported in the news this morning, 69 percent of Iraqis feel they are less safe because of the presence of Americans; 21 percent of the Iraqi people feel they're safer. That's pretty clear that American troops who are over there protecting the Shias, the Sunnis and the Kurds -- they're not welcome. That's the reason that they're doing a good job of protecting the Shias, Kurds and Sunnis, but they are all trying to kill our soldiers. That is a recipe to bring our troops home. And that's why the Levin-Reed amendment is so critically important. …It transitions the mission within 120 days, and by the first day of May of next year, our troops will be out of there, our combat troops will be out of there. They will be left to do counterterrorism, training the Iraqis -- continuing to train the Iraqis and protecting our resources. That's what the Iraqi people want and that's what American people want.

TAPPER: I'm sorry, if I could just follow up very quickly...Do you think the Iraqi people will be safer with U.S. troops out?

REID: It is clear that the Iraqi people don't want us there. It is clear that there is now a state of chaos in Iraq. And it is up to the Iraqi people to make themselves safe….We can't do it. It's time the training wheels come off and they take care of their own country. We have spent billions dollars. We're now spending $12 billion a month on Iraq. That's enough. In the last six months of the surge, six months, 600 more dead Americans, $60 billion more of American taxpayers' money. We, Democrats, unitedly believe that's enough.

TAPPER: With all due respect, Senator, you didn't answer my question.

REID: OK. This is not a debate.

TAPPER: Will the Iraqis be safer?

REID: We're answering questions. (calling on someone else) Yes, young man? Anyone else have a question?

*
What do you guys think?

Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior National Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.

Anonymous said...

July 12, 2007
Insider Poll: Mitt-Mentum

The results of the latest Insiders Poll are out and Mitt Romney has pulled into a dead heat with Rudy Giuliani as the frontrunner for the '08 GOP nod.

Following Giuliani and Romney are: Fred Thompson and John McCain, with Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee tied for fifth.

In the volatile GOP contest, Romney’s steady rise in the poll is credited to his org. strength in IA and NH, fundraising, and capacity to break into his own wallet if needed.

Giuliani continues to confound the skeptics, but some think his apparent strategy for sweeping up delegates in states like CA, IL, NY and NJ is a smart one.

Others wonder if he can get there if he doesn’t win early in IA, NH or SC.

Many GOP Insiders think Thompson’s star power helps make him a contender, especially because conservatives have yet to coalesce behind any one GOPer.

McCain -- who was ranked first in the poll as recently as 12/06, second in 3/07, and third in 4/07 -- has fallen to fourth.

Amid continued fundraising woes and a staff shake-up, many GOP Insiders see his campaign in free fall, but some are not ready to count him out.

But as one GOP grimly joked: “The fat lady is about the sing, but she isn’t going to get paid either.”

Anonymous said...

Failor is leaving? The checks must not be clearing anymore.

Anonymous said...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Thursday, July 12, 2007 12:43 a.m. EDT
Mitt Romney's Republican Credibility Attacked

A new video posted on both YouTube and the Internet by Democrats includes a montage of political moments in which Romney repeatedly downplays his Republican Party affiliation while running for governor of heavily Democratic Massachusetts in 2002.

"I've been very clear, I think, to people all across the commonwealth, that my 'R' didn't stand so much for 'Republican,' as it does for 'reform,'" Romney said in a Sept. 21, 2002, interview with WBZ-TV.

The montage, posted by the Massachusetts Democratic Party, includes several clips of Romney complaining about the lack of political balance in heavily Republican Utah, where he spent three years while he headed to 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Romney often made that point as he argued for equilibrium in Massachusetts, which tilted to the opposite end of the political spectrum.

"I lived in a place that had a one-party state that was primarily Republican. I thought, 'Well, won't that be nice?' The answer is no," Romney told the New Beford Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 16, 2002.

Romney won the gubernatorial election. He stepped down in January after one term.

But Romney's comments during the 2002 race and an unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid in 1994 have provided endless fodder for critics who have complained he has flip-flopped on a variety of issues as he moved from seeking support from liberal Democrats to the conservative Republicans who are pivotal in GOP presidential primaries.

© 2007 Associated Press.

Anonymous said...

Thompson Feasts On Rudy's Firefighter Fallout

EXCLUSIVE: Former Senator Holds Cozy Manhattan Breakfast Meeting With Firefighters' Union Chief

Marcia Kramer
Reporting

(CBS) NEW YORK Though he only played one on television, there was a new prosecutor in town today in potential Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson, who spelled big trouble for Rudy Giuliani's campaign.

The visit came just a day after the International Association of Firefighters released a DVD lashing out against the former New York City mayor, and it began with a breakfast huddle with the powerful chief of the firefighters's union, Steve Cassidy, who only had good things to say about the former "Law & Order" star.

"Senator Thompson is someone who is very respected," said Steve Cassidy, President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

Along with the kind words, Cassidy offered a firm handshake while Thompson offered an endorsement pitch over breakfast at a chic Manhattan restaurant. In photos exclusively obtained by CBS 2, the former Tennessee senator is seen teaming up with Cassidy, photos likely to give Giuliani a bad case of heartburn.

Anonymous said...

Soooooo the wheels are falling off of the Bull$h!+ Express, huh?

So why was Eddie Failor, who is VP of ITR, support a candidate who voted AGAINST tax cuts? Did he have a sudden attack of principle and decide to leave the campaign or did the checks no longer clear?

McQuisling forgot that some people have long memories and remember things like the Gang of 14, the Keating Five, McCain/Feingold, McCain/Kennedy/Bush shamnesty, the Al Qaeda Bill of Rights, voting against tax cuts, and hamstringing our troops.

The fat lady is warming up!

Anonymous said...

Hey Defeating:

Don't forget about me!! I was for amnesty before I was against it.

-Senator Sam Switchback

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