Once you sign up for any liberal e-mail list, you’re going to get e-mails from all of them, and this one came from the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee:
Friend —
My first campaign made me an organizer.
Every day, through a hot Florida summer, I knocked on doors and asked my neighbors for their support. I had five opponents in that primary, but on Election Day, I beat every single one of them — with 53 percent of the vote.
Since that race, I’ve known exactly how important organizing can be. It taught me the principles I hope to bring to the Democratic Party as its Chair.
On my first day in this job, I recorded a short video to talk about my plans for our party. Watch it, then pledge to join us for some organizing on July 16th — when we’ll register voters and ask supporters to commit to help elect President Obama and Democrats up and down the ticket in 2012. . . .
We have big fights ahead, and I want to win them. In order to re-elect the President and win new majorities in Congress, we have to lay the groundwork for those victories now. That means getting started with good, old-fashioned organizing. That’s the message I’ve taken with me to supporters in the 15 states I’ve already visited as Chair.
But it also means embracing new ideas.
When I started, Patrick Gaspard brought me some suggestions that supporters like you submitted to help us make our party better.
I read feedback from people like Bill in Michigan who asked us to expand our organizing programs and Dick in Pennsylvania who said, “The message of all the good the President has done and accomplished must be communicated at the personal level by people in each community.”
I saw ideas from supporters like Kolman in Ohio and Alan in New York — who suggested that we deploy the power of charts, graphics, and striking multimedia to help win arguments and strengthen the facts of our case.
I heard from those like Vanessa in Colorado, who asked us to focus on research and messaging to push back against smears from our opponents, and Angela in North Carolina, who said, “Arm me with facts so I can counter the misinformation my friends seem to have on the tip of their tongues.”
This is exactly the kind of thinking — smart and supporter-driven — that I want to guide our work. That’s part of why I’m so excited about this job.
Are you ready to get to work with me? Join Democrats for our Day of Action on July 16th:
http://my.democrats.org/July-16-Day-Of-Action
Thanks,
Debbie
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Chair
Democratic National Committee
AL's Jose Bautista thrown out at home in the top of the fourth
NL played to win; AL not so much, result is 5-1 victory for Senior Circuit and another year of home-field advantage in the World Series Nationals’ Clippard vultures the win
UPDATE 12:09 a.m. Pacific (3:09 a.m. Eastern): Hahn’s margin of victory was less than 10% in a district that Obama carried by 30% in 2008, perhaps indicating the “Obama fatigue” noted in a recent poll of the district.
Democrat Janice Hahn defeated Republican Craig Huey in a bitterly contested Southern California special election marked by stinging attacks from both sides. . . .
Huey, who stunned political observers by upending Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen in the May primary, attempted to run mostly on a message of austerity. Hahn consistently framed Huey as a “right-wing extremist” whose views were out of place in the district, likening him to Sarah Palin.
Having defeated California Secretary of State Debra Bowen in a multi-candidate “jungle primary” in May, Hahn underperformed in Tuesday’s special election in a district where Harman had won re-election with 59% of the vote in November. And Hahn may be vulnerable when she comes up for re-election next year. “The district will be redrawn, along with others in California, before then, and most expect it to be at least somewhat less Democratic,” the Los Angeles Times noted.
Ok, I know it’s customary to downplay results from “our side”, but I can honestly say I knew this was going to happen. I would have been absolutely shocked if we won here. Seriously folks, this is f–ing California. And with all apologies due to our native California morons, f– California. Seriously, pardon my french, but f– California. We don’t need that POS state. As the country went crimson red in 2010, California kept going further and further left, the only state to do so. Let the lib-f–s who live there enjoy thinking they are our betters, as jobs continue to leave the state in droves and it continues going down the tubes.
If you’re a moron who happens to live in California, LEAVE THE STATE ALREADY. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Your vote is just being wasted. And if you happen to own a business, make the move even sooner. Your profits will be up overnight and you’ll be providing less and less welfare to feed the liberal sh–hole that California has become.
Look, I get it — you love California. You’ve probably got some fond memories even. But be honest with yourself — you love what California USED to be, and hate what it’s become. And it’s only going to become more of what you hate going forward. It’s way too late to save it. Stop trying. Stop being in denial.
Tell your once great (and now sh–y state) to go pound sand and move out. Take my advice and thank me later.
“Phil” was utterly discredited when it was revealed he lived in the right-wing bastion of — wait for it — Illinois.
Say what you will about the political, demographic and economic trends in California, it’s got a lot more sunshine and palm trees than Illinois.
UPDATE 11:25 p.m. Pacific (2:25 a.m. Eastern): It appears that Democrat Janice Hahn is cruising to a solid win. With 127 of 261 precincts reporting:
PREVIOUSLY: Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific time (that’s 11 p.m. Eastern) in California’s 36th Congressional District and we’ll have all the results here. This special election is to replace retiring Democrat Rep. Jane Harman, and Guy Benson at Townhall summarizes:
President Obama won this district by thirty points in 2008, and Harman sailed to a comfortable win in 2010. This should be a slam dunk, blow-out hold for Democrats — and yet, they’re reportedly worried.
As voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a hard-fought special congressional election in the South Bay area, attorneys for Democrat Janice Hahn filed complaints alleging that supporters of her opponent, Republican Craig Huey, were trying to suppress turnout of her voters.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Los Angeles County district attorney, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and the California attorney general, Hahn lawyers Stephen J. Kaufman and Steven J. Reyes asked for immediate investigations into “voter suppression actitivies” in the 36th Congressional District race.
The attorneys said several voters reported receiving telephone calls Monday night telling them the election had been postponed to Wednesday at Hahn’s request ,and others were given wrong polling place addresses.
Within the last 36 hours [Janice Hahn] and her staff . . .
• Falsely claimed a political endorsement from a local hero;
• Then lied about it when confronted with the truth that he didn’t endorse her;
• And then posted a stalker video of one of her “trackers” (Democratic agents who follow opponents around night and day, video cameras in hand) tailing Craig Huey in a parking lot as a process server tries to hand him some documents about a bogus back payment he supposedly owed.
UPDATE III: Polls have now closed, but While still awaiting the first results, I was reading Mickey Kaus about how the Daily Kos was trying to spin their final poll in CA-36. Look, if Hahn wins by less than 10 points, that’s a huge GOP victory in this heavily Democrat-leaning district. If the margin is less than 5 points . . . Well, that’s hard to imagine. If Huey should somehow win, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today announced that businesswoman and civic leader Carly Fiorina will join the organization as a Vice Chair for the 2012 election cycle.
Serving alongside Cornyn and NRSC Vice Chairman U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Fiorina will amplify Senate Republicans’ focus on healing America’s troubled economy, and assist with the NRSC’s crucial fundraising efforts in support of a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. “I’m pleased to welcome my friend Carly Fiorina to the NRSC team, where her many business and civic achievements will make her an invaluable leader and fundraiser during this critical election cycle,” Senator Cornyn said today. “I look forward to working with Carly to elect strong Republican Senators who will finally put a stop to President Obama’s failed tax-and-spend agenda, and instead promote the economic growth and job creation Americans so badly need.”
Former Chairman and CEO of HP and one of the most recognized business leaders in the world, Carly Fiorina has consistently championed competitiveness, innovation, job creation and economic growth. She has been politically active, serving as Republican Victory Chair supporting John McCain’s presidential run, and most recently challenging four-term California Senator Barbara Boxer in her own first-time political candidacy.
“The Senate sets the legislative agenda for the nation. I am proud to work alongside Chairman Cornyn, Vice Chairman Hatch and all Republican Senators to restore a Republican majority in 2012,” said Fiorina. “Republicans in the Senate will provide job creators the opportunities and environment they need to grow our economy, decentralize power out of Washington, and restore fiscal accountability.”
In 2010, a year when Republicans were winning a nationwide landslide, Carly Fiorina pissed away $21.5 million — including more than $5 million of her own money — and lost to Barbara Boxer by a 10% margin. And this is the loser whom John Cornyn has asked to help lead the committee to elect Republicans to the Senate in 2012. Four words:
Forget all those scientific studies about the health effects of coffee. What about the economic impact?
As a registered investment advisor, Steve Orr is used to juggling millions, but he knows those millions started out as pennies.
“It’s the little things,” said Orr, president and owner of the Orr Financial Group. “It’s the dollar here, two dollars there things that we pick up every day that start to add up. The insidious thing is that it still doesn’t add up to so much that we think it could make a difference in our futures, because we only see those expenses in terms of the dollars we spend, but not the dollars – plus the interest – we could be earning on them.” . . .
To illustrate that, Orr can demonstrate how simple, everyday expenses – when eliminated – can turn into big bucks down the road.
For instance, the daily specialty coffee from the local coffee stand costs about $3.95, depending on where you live in the U.S. If you got one every day of the week for about 40 weeks out of the year for the typical 35 year employment span between ages 25 and 60, it would cost you about $27,650 over that 35 years.
The formula looks like this:
Coffee or Latte — $3.95 X 5 = $19.75 X 40 = $790 X 35 = $27,650
Energy shot — $3.99 X 5 = $19.95 X 40 = $798 X 35 = $27,930
Muffin — $3 X 5 = $15 X 40 = $600 X 35 = $21,000
Lunch — $8 X 5 = $40 X 40 = $1,600 X 35 = $56,000
“If you were to put the total of all these items into your 401(k) or Roth IRA or any other type of retirement investment vehicle every year for 35 years and you earned a minimum of 3 percent interest every year on that money, you’d have an extra $246,560 in your retirement account at the end of that 35 years,” Orr said.
President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.
Doug Powers: “Hopefully Social Security recipients are familiar with chess, because they’re now officially pawns in the president’s debt ceiling game.”
UPDATE: Who can we count on to spin it exactly the way Democrats want to spin it? Alan Colmes:
Read that headline carefully and ask yourself, what’s missing? Democrats.
Democrats are insisting that there can be no budget deal unless the deal includes tax increases. Yet Obama and the Democrats want to spin this (as Colmes obligingly does) as a story about Republican intransigence.
It is Republicans, they want you to believe, who are imperiling Granny’s pension check, because Republicans “won’t agree to a deal.” And in their coverage of this negotiation, it is vitally important to the liberal media that Granny never be encouraged to ask herself one question: “Why are Democrats insisting on a tax increase?”
That Mr. G Guy: “Well, at least he isn’t trying to use our troops as hostages again.” Not today. Maybe tomorrow. Be patient and enjoy the show. I’m sure Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) have got this kabuki dance choreographed all the way to the end.
UPDATE IV: The all-purpose punchline of an era: “They told me if I voted for John McCain . . . the President would stop paying social security to our most vulnerable elderly and disabled Americans — and they were right!”
Once upon a time, Mila Kunis was on the beach.
And she got a bit of sand on her foot.
A lonely Marine with an eagle eye, in a place of much sand on the other side of the world, seeing this, decided to, as Marines will, take the beach. Also, the lady. To the Marine Corps Birthday ball this November.
After questioning her publicist if she knew about the invitation, the clearly flattered 27-year-old actress agreed.
“I’ll go, I’ll do it for you,” she said, turning to Timberlake. “Are you going to come?”
“They don’t want me! They want you,” Timberlake responded. “You need to do it for your country.”
Kunis nodded.
“I’ll do it,” she confirmed.
The bad news is that the rest of the bachelors in the Marine Corps, doughty men all, and not easily outdone, have now set about composing lists of women they want to invite to the ball. So, if you’re trying to do anything in the near future, and the internet no worky-worky, it’s probably some jarheads uploading videos to beg starlets to go out with them. As soon as some trust Navy Corspman helps the jarheads figure out the packaging on their camcorders.
The End.
Note to POTUS: the ‘p’ in corpsman, as with the one in Marine Corps, is still silent.
(h/t Gerard, Photos from Mavrixonline)
Update: Don Surber accuses me of jealousy, and points out that Kunis also does voice-over for a cartoon character. I am not jealous. Much. Often. Frequently. Not me.
More M.K. at the Donald Douglas digs.
For every tragic action, there is a correspondingly idiotic, bureaucratic jerk of the knee, whose only real effects are to throw liberty further off balance, and make it a still easier prey for lawyers.
The recent controversial acquittal of Casey Anthony has stimulated efforts in many states to enact “Caylee’s Law” as a response. The law would require parents to report a missing child to the authorities within 24 hours, and the death of a child within 1 hour. If they fail to do either, they would be guilty of a felony (a federal one if the law is enacted by Congress).
Let this be a campaign point. Let a thousand attack ads flourish against any politician sponsoring legislation that is pure emotional pandering, and which is more despicable than the evil act which spawned the legislation.
