Who will clean up Albany?

Paladino threatens New York Post Editor

New Yorkers Speak Out Against Wall Street Harry Wilson

Campaign honcho's bond-biz 'pay-play'

ALBANY -- Carl Paladino, who promises to clean up Albany's corrupt ways, has picked a campaign chairwoman who steered more than $1 billion in bond business to the current treasurer of the state Conservative Party, The Post has learned.

The appointment last week of former longtime Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples by the GOP gubernatorial candidate ame at the same time he and his allies were pressuring Conservative Chairman Mike Long and other party leaders to back him and dump Rick Lazio. c

The Republican Naples, a one-time state motor-vehicles commissioner, resigned as comptroller in 2005 amid a county fiscal crisis following a Buffalo News investigative report that found she was "steering 80 percent of the county's bond business to one politically wired underwriter."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cleanup_carl_mess_H6D4VQR5cP55KvN1vAniHI#ixzz10m8mTzvg

Owens Endorsed by National Rifle Association

Plattsburgh, NY – Last week, the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) endorsed Bill Owens in his re-election campaign for U.S. Congress. Boasting a membership of nearly four million members, Owens was endorsed based on his “solid pro-gun voting record in Congress.”

"I am honored to receive this endorsement in my campaign for re-election,” said Owens. “I fully support the Second Amendment rights of all Americans and have worked hard to uphold those rights during my first year in Congress. Upstate New York is home to thousands of sportsmen and I consider it part of my responsibility to my constituents to preserve and protect the Second Amendment. I will continue to work with the NRA in the future to further protect these rights.”

Please see attached letter from National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund for further details.

Who is Carl Paladion

GOP supply side

Downhill With the G.O.P.

Once upon a time, a Latin American political party promised to help motorists save money on gasoline. How? By building highways that ran only downhill.

I’ve always liked that story, but the truth is that the party received hardly any votes. And that means that the joke is really on us. For these days one of America’s two great political parties routinely makes equally nonsensical promises. Never mind the war on terror, the party’s main concern seems to be the war on arithmetic. And this party has a better than even chance of retaking at least one house of Congress this November.

Banana republic, here we come.

On Thursday, House Republicans released their “Pledge to America,” supposedly outlining their policy agenda. In essence, what they say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.” The document repeatedly condemns federal debt — 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade — about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals.

True, the document talks about the need to cut spending. But as far as I can see, there’s only one specific cut proposed — canceling the rest of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which Republicans claim (implausibly) would save $16 billion. That’s less than half of 1 percent of the budget cost of those tax cuts. As for the rest, everything must be cut, in ways not specified — “except for common-sense exceptions for seniors, veterans, and our troops.” In other words, Social Security, Medicare and the defense budget are off-limits.

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Tea Party-backed Carl Paladino is making $5.2M from taxpayers

Hey, Carl, you don't have to become Gov. Paladino to give taxpayers a break and cut the state budget.

You can do it right now.

Just cut the $5,251,415 in rent you collect each year on 28 leases with 17 state agencies.

How about 20%?

That's your target for cutting the budget.

Surely, you can slice that much off your annual take from the Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance ($454,363), the Office of Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities ($128,425) and the Office of Children & Family Services ($362,028).

There's also the Office of Vocational & Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities ($337,606). You scored big using that agency as the anchor tenant needed to develop a shuttered Buffalo department store into a mixed-use complex you grandly named the Belesario.

Turn the disabled into dollars!

Talk about cojones, Carl.

Of course, you know that is not even the half of it.

Most of the agencies, notably including the Department of Transportation ($1,124,299), previously had their Buffalo branches in the Donovan State Office Building, paying no rent at all.

Back in early 2000, who was it but you, Carl, who suggested the state tear down the Donovan building to make room for 1,500 parking spots, at taxpayer expense, of course.

"It's time we started looking at parking as a public service," you were quoted saying.

Really.

Others proposed knocking down the building for a retail development, but the big plus for you, Carl, was the same: All those agencies would have to relocate and start paying rent.

Nobody heard you cheering, Carl, when the state talked of saving the taxpayers a bundle by consolidating the Buffalo DOT office with the one in Rochester.

You sure did not cry when DOT instead moved its Buffalo operation into your five-story building on Seneca St. in 2006. That 15-year lease will cost the taxpayers more than $15 million.

The Division of Parole moved from the rent-free Donovan building to a $255,480-a-year space that had sat empty for more than a decade. Guess who had bought that building for $370,000? Guess who will be raking in $2.5 million over the nine-year lease?

Your other tenants include the Department of Environmental Conservation, paying $810,861 a year on a 10-year lease. You have a deal pending with the Workers' Compensation Board ($220,576).

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/23/2010-09-23_carl_paladino_can_cut_state_costs_now_by_trimming_52m_rent_hes_collecting_from_t.html#ixzz10MD2VZZv

Rep. Bill Owens has issued two House resolutions that would make the veterans law apply to Congress

Military veterans looking for jobs during Capitol Hill’s upcoming hiring rush won’t be able to take advantage of a law designed to help them land government jobs because of resistance in the Senate, House aides tell POLITICO.

The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act is supposed to give military veterans an advantage when they apply for federal jobs, but the law doesn’t apply to legislative branch jobs because Congress never applied the law to itself.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42570.html#ixzz10MFJlEBj

How can we reduce our dependence on foreign oil? T. Boone Pickens explains his plan for alternative, domestic energy.

Wind Mills...ask why the Republicans are against them????

After watching this...ask the Oswego County Republican Party and their county legislators why they are against wind mills for Oswego County?

Owens Announces Key Patient Rights to Take Effect Today

Washington, Sep 22 - Today, Congressman Bill Owens announced several provisions of recently enacted health care reform to take effect tomorrow, September 23rd. Thursday is the effective date for multiple consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act, including the Patient’s Bill of Rights.

“These new protections enacted by recent health care reform law will put patients back in control of their medical care, and help to put an end to abuses by the insurance industry,” said Owens. “Additionally, these provisions will bring down costs in the health care industry, which will help us to reduce the debt and future annual deficits. Implementing widespread preventive care will cut down on expensive future catastrophic care that drives up both public and private costs.”

For plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, privately-insured consumers will have the following protections:

• Health coverage cannot be arbitrarily cancelled if you become sick. Until now, insurance companies were able to retroactively cancel your policy when you became sick, or if you or your employer made an unintentional mistake on your paper work. Under the new law, health plans are now prohibited from rescinding coverage except in cases involving fraud. Health care reform has made these rescissions a thing of the past.

• Children cannot be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Each year, thousands of children who were either born with or develop a costly medical condition are denied coverage by insurers. New law prohibits insurance plans both from denying coverage and limiting benefits for children based on a pre-existing condition. These protections will be extended to Americans of all ages starting in 2014.

• Children up to age 26 can stay on their parents’ health plan. Currently, one in three young Americans are without health coverage. Under new law, insurance companies are required to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents’ insurance plan, at the parent’s choice. This provision applies to all health plans.

• Health insurance giants cannot put a lifetime limit on health coverage. Millions of Americans who suffer from costly medical conditions are in danger of having their health insurance coverage vanish when the costs of their treatment hit lifetime limits. The new law prohibits the use of lifetime limits in all health plans.

• Health plans’ annual limits are phased out over three years. The annual dollar limits on what an insurance company will pay for health care will also be eliminated gradually over a span of three years.


Beginning Thursday, consumers purchasing new plans will have the following additional protections:

• Patients have the right to choose their own doctor. Being able to choose and keep your doctor is a highly valued aspect of the American medical system. Yet, insurance companies don’t always make it easy to see the provider of choice. The new law guarantees a patient the choice of their primary care doctor; allows a patient to choose a pediatrician as their child’s primary care doctor; and gives women the right to see an OB-GYN without having to obtain a referral first.

• Preventive services will be available without deductable or co-payments. Too many Americans do not get the high-quality preventive care they need to stay healthy, avoid disease and lead productive lives. Nationally, Americans use preventive services at about half the recommended rate. Under the new law, insurance companies must cover recommended preventive services, including mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, and pre-natal and new baby care, without charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance.

• Patients have the right to both an internal and external appeal. All too often a health plan tells a patient that it won’t cover a treatment a doctor recommends or it refuses to pay the bill for a child’s last trip to the emergency; consumers may not know where to turn. Most plans have a process that lets you appeal the decision within the plan through an “internal appeal” If one loses this internal appeal, they may not be able to ask for an “external appeal” to an independent reviewer. The new law provides the right to an impartial “internal appeal.” Also, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage for needed care without a chance to appeal to an independent third party.

• Patients have the right to access out-of-network emergency room care at in-network cost-sharing rates. Many insurers charge unreasonably high cost-sharing for emergency care by an out-of-network provider. This can mean financial hardship if a patient if they get sick away from home. Health care reform makes emergency services more accessible to consumers. Health plans will not be able to charge high cost-sharing for emergency services that are obtained out of a plan’s network.

Rep. Pat Barrett for Cuomo

Well, I never thought I would live to see a former NYS Republican Chairman ENDORSE a Democrat for Governor, but here is the proof!!

Meet Harry Wilson

PaladinoFacts.com will break through the malicious rhetoric and deliver people the truth.

The state Democratic Party launched a new fact-check-Paladino Website.

Oswego County Democratic Committee Golf Tournament - Sunday

Golf Tournament Poster 2010

Carl Paladino isn't part of the solution, he's part of the problem.

Bill Owens for Congress

Experience and Independence

Thank You Oswego County Board of Elections

Editorial

Oswego Democrat wants to thank the hard working staff of the Oswego County Board of Elections for a smooth and uneventful Primary Election. Our staff had no problems voting yesterday, machines ran flawlessly, inspectors were well trained and knowledgeable and the sites were open on time.

Good job!

GOP's Rich Tax Cuts

Oswego Primary Results from the Oswego County website

Results from the Oswego County website

GOVERNOR for Oswego County (REPUBLICAN) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Rick A. Lazio	1,857	32.145%
Carl P. Paladino	3,913	67.734%
Write-in	7	0.121%
TOTAL	5,777	100.000%

GOVERNOR for Oswego County (CONSERVATIVE) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Rick A. Lazio	91	56.875%
Ralph C. Lorigo	60	37.500%
Write-in	9	5.625%
TOTAL	160	100.000%

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR for Oswego County (REPUBLICAN) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Gregory J. Edwards	2,537	52.810%
Thomas V. Ognibene	2,259	47.023%
Write-in	8	0.167%
TOTAL	4,804	100.000%

ATTORNEY GENERAL for Oswego County (DEMOCRATIC) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Richard L. Brodsky	129	10.795%
Eric T. Schneiderman	102	8.536%
Sean Coffey	424	35.481%
Eric R. Dinallo	61	5.105%
Kathleen M. Rice	472	39.498%	X
Write-in	7	0.586%
TOTAL	1,195	100.000%

UNITED STATES SENATOR for Oswego County (REPUBLICAN) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Gary Berntsen	1,781	37.151%
Jay Townsend	3,005	62.683%
Write-in	8	0.167%
TOTAL	4,794	100.000%

UNITED STATES SENATOR 2 YEAR UNEXPIRED for Oswego County (DEMOCRATIC) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Kirsten E. Gillibrand	863	75.503%
Gail Goode	273	23.885%
Write-in	7	0.612%
TOTAL	1,143	100.000%

UNITED STATES SENATOR 2 YEAR UNEXPIRED for Oswego County (REPUBLICAN) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Joseph J. DioGuardi	2,055	40.912%
David Malpass	2,105	41.907%
Bruce Blakeman	858	17.081%
Write-in	5	0.100%
TOTAL	5,023	100.000%

REPRESENTIVE IN CONGRESS (23RD DISTRICT) for Oswego County (REPUBLICAN) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Douglas L. Hoffman	2,656	45.573%
Matthew A. Doheny	3,158	54.187%
Write-in	14	0.240%
TOTAL	5,828	100.000%

COUNTY COURT JUDGE for Oswego County (INDEPENDENCE) VOTE FOR 1
124 out of 124 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
David J. Roman	67	44.966%
Donald E. Todd	82	55.034%
Write-in	0	0.000%
TOTAL	149	100.000%

Sandy Creek

TOWN JUSTICE for Sandy Creek (REPUBLICAN), Oswego County VOTE FOR 1
3 out of 3 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
Jonn Stoker	97	25.526%
Charles M. Casler	37	9.737%
Jessica M. Rainess	85	22.368%
Victoria Longo	115	30.263%
Tonya E. Grossman	43	11.316%
Write-in	3	0.789%
TOTAL	380	100.000%

115

MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY (115TH DISTRICT) for 115 (REPUBLICAN), Oswego County VOTE FOR 1
32 out of 32 election district(s) reported.
CANDIDATE	VOTES RECEIVED	PERCENTAGE
George E. Joseph	697	38.276%
Claudia Tenney	1,120	61.505%
Write-in	4	0.220%
TOTAL	1,821	100.000%

Click here for Primary Election Results

Click here for Primary Election Results after 9 pm

Rich Americans Save Tax Cuts Instead of Spending, Moody's Says

Hand the wealthiest Americans a tax cut and history suggests they will save the money rather than spend it.

Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush were followed by increases in the saving rate among the rich, according to data from Moody’s Analytics Inc. When taxes were raised under Bill Clinton, the saving rate fell.

The findings may weaken arguments by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who say allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse will prompt them to reduce their spending, harming the economy. President Barack Obama wants to extend the cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 and couples earning less than $250,000 while ending them for those who earn more.

“I would tend to wonder how much the tax cut actually influences spending behavior,” said Chris Cornell, an economist who mined government reports back to 1989 for West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Moody’s Analytics. “Spending by the top 5 percent of households seems much more closely tied to business- cycle issues than it does to tax-cut issues.”

The Moody’s research covering couples earning more than $210,000 found that spending by the wealthy is more likely to be influenced by the ups and downs of the stock market than changes in income-tax rates.

Full Story

Primary Election Today......Polls Open from 12 noon to 9 pm

Where you vote click here.


How to use the new Voting Machines.

Aubertine Secures $50k for Fulton Library Elevator

Elevator in historic library improves accessibility, opens up new opportunities for new programs

FULTON (September 13, 2010)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine today visited the Fulton Public Library to see the new elevator purchased as part of a project to improve accessibility, for which he secured a $50,000 legislative grant.

“We’re so thrilled with the Senator’s help in making the library’s elevator dream come true,” said Marion Stanton, president of the Fulton library’s board, noting that the elevator now gives the library the option of opening up unused space for new uses, ensuring the library has room to grow. “It could never have happened without his help. It will be so important to so many people.”

Construction on the project began almost a year ago and the elevator is now in service. The elevator serves all four floors, including the basement space, in the 105-year-old Carnegie building. At tower was constructed on the backside of the building to accommodate the housing for the elevator.

“It has given adults and children access to areas they couldn’t get to before,” said Penny Kerfien, library director, adding that prior to the elevator, staff would get books for people who could not access them, but now these patrons can peruse the entire selection of books available. “Because of the 22 steps, if there are mobility issues, they couldn’t go down or up the stairs. We are very grateful for the Senator being a library supporter, not just to us, but the whole area he serves.”

“I very much appreciate the Senator obtaining this grant for us,” said Sharon Guyer, trustee and secretary for the library board. “It’s allowing everyone in our community to use this library.”

In 2008, a legislative grant secured by the Senator in the amount of $30,000 paid for new lighting and windows in the library, which have reduced energy use, saving the library money.

“I’m proud to have had the opportunity to be a part of these great projects by helping to secure this funding, but the truth is that these projects happen because of the hard work and commitment of the library board and employees, the volunteers and this community,” Sen. Aubertine said. “Libraries help bring our communities together and they provide the resources we all need to continue learning throughout life from childhood on.”

-30-

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will take a back seat to no one when it comes to fighting for New York

Donald Todd --- Conflict of interest?

Letter to the Editor

Much has been written recently about the election for the Oswego County Court Judge position this autumn. I encourage voters to realize and seriously consider the issue of a potential conflict of interest. I believe that the conflict will occur if Donald Todd is elected to the county judge position in November and when his brother, Reuel Todd is re-elected as Oswego County sheriff. It seems, based on a recent ruling, it could be correct. The New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics has addressed a similar situation and ruled on such on January 28, 2010. In that situation, a judge’s close relative was in charge of the road patrol division of the sheriff’s department, in the same county where the judge presided. The ethics panel determined that the judge must disqualify himself in all cases where his relative, the division head of the road patrol, was involved. Also, as well as in any cases where officers are subject to the relative’s supervision appear. The committee went on to say that if the need for disqualification became so frequent that it interferes with the judge’s ability to properly perform his judicial duties, he may not continue to hold judicial office. All of this can be found in Opinion 09-242, available on-line at www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialethics/opinions/09-242. Following, I would like to paraphrase a famous American from one of his 4th of July speeches prior to his being elected President of the United States: “It is incumbent on us here today so to act throughout our lives as to leave our children a heritage, for which we will receive their blessing and not their curse. If you fail to work in public life for honesty and uprightness and virtue, if you condone vice because the influential man is powerful and smart, or if you in any other way cast your weight into the scales in favor of evil, you are just so far corrupting and making less valuable the birthright of your children….We must never exercise our rights either thoughtlessly or wickedly, we can only preserve them in one possible way, by making the proper use of them.” These words were spoken by future Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Todd seems to downplay the significance of this conflict issue, are these then, the rationalizations of an influential, powerful, smart man? The issue is, however, compounded by the fact that, if elected judge, he cannot preside over cases involving people who he previously prosecuted. I imagine that he has handled hundreds of cases during his employment in the district attorney’s office. Therefore, with the high degree of repeat offenders involved in criminal cases, there will be a high number of potential cases that he will not be able to handle as well. Do the good voters of Oswego County want to elect a person who effectively cannot serve? Will there be legal challenges to a Todd judgeship? Are we to continue the political tradition of rewarding party loyalty above all else? Good politics does not necessarily translate into good judgeships. I urge all voters to consider the above noted issues as they prepare to cast their ballots this fall. Thank you very much. Kenneth R. Stevens

A G.O.P. Leader Tightly Bound to Lobbyists

WASHINGTON — House Democrats were preparing late last year for the first floor vote on the financial regulatory overhaul when Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders summoned more than 100 industry lobbyists and conservative political activists to Capitol Hill for a private strategy session.

The bill’s passage in the House already seemed inevitable. But Mr. Boehner and his deputies told the Wall Street lobbyists and trade association leaders that by teaming up, they could still perhaps block its final passage or at least water it down.

“We need you to get out there and speak up against this,” Mr. Boehner said that December afternoon, according to three people familiar with his remarks, while also warning against cutting side deals with Democrats.

That sort of alliance — they won a few skirmishes, though they lost the war on the regulatory bill — is business as usual for Mr. Boehner, the House minority leader and would-be speaker if Republicans win the House in November. He maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS.

They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed.

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Aubertine Visits John D. Murray Fire Museum

Board of Directors Thanks Senator for his Visit and Hard Work on Behalf of Community

OSWEGO (September 10, 2010)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine on Thursday met with the board of directors for the John D. Murray Fire Museum, touring exhibit, which honors the city of Oswego Fire Department and Chief Murray who served the department for 37 years, 16 as chief.

“What’s on display here honors the work done by these dedicated first responders to serve and protect this community,” Sen. Aubertine said. “The people of Oswego can be proud of this department, the men and women who serve, and also this exhibit which celebrates more than 130 years of history. I want to thank the board and firefighters for all they do and for taking the time to share with me their stories.”

The Board of Directors thanked the Senator for visiting the museum, his work and recognition of the department. “The Senator is a hard worker and he’s working for the people of Oswego,” Retired Deputy Chief and Museum Treasurer Richard Cummings said. “We want to thank him for taking the time to meet with us and tour the museum.”

Chief John D. Murray served the people of the City of Oswego starting his work in fire department in 1940 and rising steadily through the ranks, attaining the rank of Fire Chief in 1961. Chief Murray, who retired in 1977, had a way with most of the men and was well appreciated. The City fathers listened and John headed one of the best departments in the state.

In 1971, Chief Murray became president of the New York State Chief's Association and served until 1972. In 1994 the Fire Museum was started and named in his honor. The history of the department started in 1876, when the City of Oswego saw the need to change from many volunteer units to one paid fire department. In 1994 several of the firefighters formed a committee to preserve their heritage and the dream of a fire museum was developed.

Later a Board of Directors was formed, the men involved in this endeavor were Dick Ackerman, Tom Amedio, Hank Babcock, Bill Crego, Bob Clark, Richard Cummings, Tom Jones, Jack Saddington, David Thompson and Bruce Turner. Community members donated scrap books and collections, helping the department’s past to reappear. The museum features three fire trucks—a 1925 LaFrance, a 1939 LaFrance and a 1952 Mack pumper. The Museum is now filled with memories of the department’s long history. For more information visit: oswegonyfiremuseum.com.

###

9/11

In honor of all those who died, responded, rescued, fled, cried, persevered, advocated, grieved, cleaned up, sickened, supported, rebuilt…We will never forget.

Aubertine picked for "Circle of Friends"

The New York Farm Bureau has named 79 state legislators, including six representing the north country, to its “Circle of Friends” this year.

The award recognizes each individual lawmaker’s support of the Farm Bureau’s legislative priorities. Those honored were Sens. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, and five other legislators.

Letter to the Editor by Mark Green



Many of those opposed to the proposed Islamic cultural center (and mosque within) say they're all for religious freedom -- and then comes the "but." But not Islam. But not there. But not if it offends 9/11 families.

"But" is un-American.

The entire point of the First Amendment's protections of freedom of speech, assembly and religion is that these rights can't be restricted based on their substance. Of course there are "time, place and manner" restrictions on speech and prayer -- so people are not entitled to talk at 120 decibels in a residential neighborhood no matter their religion or views. Zoning laws can prohibit incompatible or dangerous activities, like a liquor store near a school. And obviously government can punish the bad conduct of anyone claiming to act in the name of a religion or group: For example, would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad or anyone conspiring with him.

What we cannot do, however, is condition speech or religion based on its content. That's the bedrock of the First Amendment.

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Social Security is once again under attack,

Social Security is once again under attack, just as it was under George Bush in 2005.

Alan Simpson (R-WY), the Republican co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, gave away the game in a nasty, sexist letter to the Older Women's League when he called it "a milk cow with 310 million tits."

Simpson and other commission members want to cut benefits, raise the retirement age, and push working Americans into private accounts that could become worthless in a Wall Street second.

Tell your Representatives: Don't Cut Social Security
http://www.democrats.com/dont-cut-social-security

Social Security is funded entirely by working Americans and their employers. It takes no money from the Treasury and has no impact on the national debt. By 2023, Social Security will have a $4.3 trillion surplus; it can pay 100% of benefits until 2037 and 75% of all benefits thereafter. All projected shortfalls can be readily fixed without cuts.

For 75 years, Social Security has been a promise to the American people that if they work hard and pay their fair share, they will have a financially secure retirement. Social Security benefits are often the only source of income helping families maintain a decent standard of living. Social Security's benefits are modest, averaging less than $13,000 a year, but they are vital to the vast majority of Americans who receive them.

Tell your Representatives: Don't Cut Social Security
http://www.democrats.com/dont-cut-social-security

In 2008, Wall Street greed destroyed trillions in private retirement savings, making Social Security even more essential for retirees. Diverting any Social Security funds to Wall Street would inevitably lead to disaster.

Tell your Representatives: Don't Cut Social Security
http://www.democrats.com/dont-cut-social-security

Lindsey Graham Gets It Wrong On The Stimulus: Blames Legislation For U.S. Job Losses

A top issue on the Sunday morning talk shows was the Obama administration's record on jobs, with Republicans hitting the stimulus and calling for an extension of the Bush tax cuts. To make, his case, however, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) completely distorted the effects of the stimulus, calling it a "disaster" and trying to tie it to millions of U.S. jobs lost.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Graham called for extending the Bush tax cuts, saying the U.S. taxes and spends too much. To make his claim, he said that the country has lost 2.5 million jobs since the stimulus passed.

While it's true that there have still been jobs lost since the stimulus passed, it's not because of the legislation and it's lower than between December 2007(when the recession began) and February 2009 (when the stimulus passed). According to an Aug. 24 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, there would have been significantly higher job loss without the Recovery Act:

Full Story

Former President Bill Clinton: Democrats need more time to undo GOP's damage to country

Democrats need more time to get out of the economic hole dug by Republicans during the Bush years, ex-President Bill Clinton said yesterday at a campaign rally for Staten Island Rep. Mike McMahon.

"The Republicans say you have to throw all the Democrats out because of the economy," Clinton told a crowd of 1,600 at Wagner College. "We knew we could not get out of the hole in 21 months."

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Vanity Fair's Sarah Palin Profiler: 'The Worst Stuff Isn't Even In There'

Backstage in the arena, a little girl in Mary Janes pushes her brother in a baby carriage, stopping a few yards shy of a heavy, 100-foot-long black curtain. The curtain splits the arena in two, shielding the children from an audience of 4,000 people clapping their hands in time to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The music accompanies a video “Salute to Military Heroes” that plays above the stage where, in a few moments, the children’s mother will appear.

When the girl, Piper Palin, turns around, she sees her parents thronged by admirers, and the crowd rolling toward her and the baby, her brother Trig, born with Down syndrome in 2008. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, bend down and give a moment to the children; a woman, perhaps a nanny, whisks the boy away; and Todd hands Sarah her speech and walks her to the stage. He pokes the air with one finger. She mimes the gesture, whips around, strides on four-inch heels to stage center, and turns it on.

And how. Palin and the crowd might as well be one. She’s glad to be here with the people of Independence, Missouri, “where so many of you proudly cling to your guns and your religion”—the first laughline in a 40-minute stump speech that alludes to many of the perceived insults she and her audience have suffered together, and that transforms their resentments into badges of honor. Palin waves her scribbled-on palm to the crowd, proclaiming that she’s using “the poor man’s teleprompter.” Of the Obama administration, she says, “They talk down to us. Especially here in the heartland. Oh, man. They think that, if we were just smart enough, we’d be able to understand their policies. And I so want to tell ’em, and I do tell ’em, Oh, we’re plenty smart, oh yeah—we know what’s goin’ on. And we don’t like what’s goin’ on. And we’re not gonna let them tell us to sit down and shut up.”

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Pelosi Slams Senate Republicans For Letting Jobs-Creation Program Expire

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Senate Republicans Thursday for failing to reauthorize funding for a subsidized jobs program that has created 240,000 jobs in 37 states.

The federal wage subsidy will expire Sept. 30 unless Congress extends the program by ponying up another $2.5 billion.

"It's been as positive an initiative for job creation as you can make," Pelosi told reporters after a speech at San Francisco State University Thursday. "Unfortunately -- you'll hear me say this many times -- we have passed it over and over again in the House, waiting for some action from the Senate."

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Palin ..."I was just shocked and appalled at every step at what I found...MUST Watch

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Glenn Beck's George Washington Whopper

During his much-ballyhooed "Restoring Honor" rally on Saturday, Glenn Beck told a whopper involving the founding father who was supposedly unable to tell a lie: George Washington.

Speechifying at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, the controversial Fox News host highlighted the legacy of the nation's first president to drive home his claim that encouraging honesty and integrity was a main aim of the event. Beck even told attendees that "the next George Washington" was "in this crowd. He may be 8 years old, but this is the moment. This is the moment that he dedicates his life, that he sees giants around him. And 25 years from now, he will come not to this stair, but to those stairs. And he can proclaim, 'I have a new dream.'"

Beck also invoked Washington while describing the inspiring experience of visiting famous tourist destinations around the nation's capital. "I have been going to Mt. Vernon," he explained. Holding out his hands for emphasis, he declared with emotion, "I went to the National Archives, and I held the first inaugural address written in his own hand by George Washington."

It was an eyebrow-raising revelation and certainly an original image: Beck cradling the actual words of the first president. But would the persnickety gatekeepers of the nation's historical legacy at the National Archives allow some talk show bomb thrower to put his mitts on a rare (and fragile) artifact? The answer, it turns out, is no way. Beck was not telling the truth.

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