cnewmark

McCain in his own words

flip-flop, flip-flop...

A's first sushi!

MN Senator Norm Coleman linked to swiftboaters

From Coleman’s Ties to Disgraced Lobbying Group Run Deep:

Norm Coleman still refuses to return contributions from the disgraced lobbying consortium DCI Group despite John McCain’s firing of two DCI lobbyists from high ranking positions in his campaign and despite the fact that Norm has divested contributions from far less sinister sources (Larry Craig for instance).

It seems the senior Senator’s ties to DCI run far deeper than imagined. A consulting firm known as FLS-DCI (until last year when it was renamed FLS-Connect) serves as a general consultant to Coleman’s campaign. In the last several years, Coleman and his PAC have paid some $1.5 million to FLS-DCI.

FLS-DCI are among the worst of the swiftboaters, with close ties to Karl Rove. Check out this investigative report:

FLS-DCI specializes in creating phony front groups to make it appear as if there's a groundswell of support for its clients' issues.

One of its most prominent front groups is Voices for Choices. This fake coalition of conservative groups is runing ads nationwide in support of AT&T's key issues. AT&T, which has donated millions to the Republican Party and the Bush Campaign in 2004 - and whose general counsel served on Bush's transition team, is one of FLS-DCI's largest and most important clients.

Other FLS-DCI phony productions include Responsible Electronic Communications Alliance and Hands Off the Internet.

I'm *such* a nerd

Back at my alma mater, Case Western, I realized how much I didn't do in school, so isolated...

Much better now, but I really needed to get into a little trouble.

Ah well, focusing on present and future.

UPDATE: for DB... "crazy piercings and pink dreds"... oh sure, I did that.

Senator Stevens caught undermining the troops

Stevens is the guy best known for the "Internet is a series of tubes" thing and for ongoing corruption investigations.

He's against the new GI Bill, and is openly against helping out vets. Check out GOP Senator, VA Secretary Disrespect Troops on Memorial Day:

Speaking at the Disabled American Veterans' 19th Annual Department Convention, Senator Stevens told the majority of America's most recent war veterans that they had not yet sacrificed enough to have earned a GI Bill that would cover the full cost of their educations.

Sen. Ted Stevens warned of a "mass exodus" from the military Saturday if the so-called 21st Century GI Bill goes into law without major changes.

"There are worries that people who are already in for two years will serve one more and leave, and there's really no incentive to stay," Stevens said.

What Stevens is really saying is that today's troops are unpatriotic--that they're only in it for the money and the college. And while Stevens' "mass exodus" theory has been thoroughly discredited by the Congressional Budget Office, the true irony of the situation lies in the fact that Stevens earned his own college degree after World War Two by using the same GI Bill he's aiming to prevent today's veterans from receiving.

Found Footage Festival

Hey, this looks pretty good:

The Found Footage Festival, the acclaimed touring showcase of odd and hilarious found videos, will make its triumphant return to the Bay Area next month with an all-new show for 2008. Hosts Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, whose credits include The Onion and the Late Show with David Letterman, are excited to present their new lineup of found video clips and live comedy in four big shows at the Red Vic Movie House (1727 Haight St.) on Friday, June 6th and Saturday, June 7th (7:15 and 9:15 pm) and a special matinee on Sunday, June 8th at 5 pm at The Parkway Theater in Oakland.

NY Times on Bush undermining the troops

Hey, there's a good editorial here:

Having saddled the military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers’ lives and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform. He does this on the ground that the bill is too generous and may discourage re-enlistment, further weakening the military he has done so much to break.

So lavish with other people’s sacrifices, so reckless in pouring the national treasure into the sandy pit of Iraq, Mr. Bush remains as cheap as ever when it comes to helping people at home.

I hear the White House is still running the scam regarding the GI bill, shown to be a scam by the Congressional Budget Office.

Finding me on twitter

I'm "craignewmark", you can use twitter.com/craignewmark

for what it's worth...?

DonorsChoose.org success via Colbert Democralypse Now!

Hey, the Stephen Colbert challenged us to "vote" in Pennsylvania via DonorsChoose, which allows anyone to contribute to classroom projects, cutting out the usual middleman.

here's a report on those efforts.

Following are a coupla results from one project I funded:

GI Bill passes in Senate!

Hey, looks like folks are getting genuine about this:

Overwhelming GI Bill Victory in the Senate
World War II-Style GI Bill Passed as Part of War Supplemental

NEW YORK - Today, by an overwhelming 75-22 margin, the Senate passed the "Post-9/11 GI Bill" as part of the war supplemental funding bill. This bipartisan legislation, originally introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and John Warner (R-VA), is whole-heartedly endorsed by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest nonpartisan Iraq veterans organization, and all the leading Veterans Service Organizations.

Bush and McCain claim that the Bill would hurt enlistment, but this has been exposed as a scam by the (non partisan) Congressional Budget Office here.

fyi, I hear that McCain avoided the vote. (I mean 2008 McCain, not 2000 McCain.)