DECEMBER 2006

According to published reports Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is running for president for a second time, his campaign said Wednesday.

Apparently Mr. Edwards' campaign jumped the gun by a day and launched his campaign website and announced his candidacy online. The site was shut down after the mistake was caught.

It may sound trivial but we don't think this says much for his campaign if his staff can't even handle launching a website on the proper day.

Seriously, the campaign better get its act together if they expect to beat Hillary or Obama in the Democratic primaries.

According to the New York Post, "The MTA board member leading the charge to ban the sale of booze on commuter rail platforms and trains works for a law firm that represents several of the restaurants and bars at Penn Station that would stand to benefit from the prohibition."

Okay, so maybe he's not an elected politician but the position is a political appointment.

Apparently, according to the story, this guy "Mitchell Pally was hired three months ago to handle 'government relations' at the Weber Law Group, a Melville-based firm, that talk of the prohibition began."

The law group Pally works for has Riese Restaurants as a client. Riese just happens to own TGI Friday's and Houlihan's and both are located in New York's Penn Station.

Of course the paper contacted Riese for comment and they were told: "There's no question this would be good for business," CEO Dennis Riese said. "But just a little."

Yeah, just a little and how little is the bonus to the Weber Law Group going to be?

December 20, 2006 - Yet another reason McCain should consider running as an Independent

According to a recent Associated Press report U.S. Senator John McCain has been courting voters in South Carolina, a state where he was crushed in the 2000 GOP Primaries.

December 19, 2006 - McCain leads Clinton, no, no, Clinton leads McCain. This is why we hate polls

According to a poll released by Rasmussen Reports McCain now leads Clinton 49% to 45% and it's the second straight poll by Rasmussen that has McCain up by four points over Clinton.

Not to be outdone Newsweek released a poll that has Clinton up 50% to 43% over McCain.

Frankly, we think it's far too early to tell. Both of these candidates have been in the public eye for years and have plenty of baggage. It's entirely possible neither one of them will win their party's nomination.

According to the Associated Press former Pennsylvania State Rep. Mark McNaughton voted against the state's slot machine law in 2004 and opposed gambling for years before that, but he won $15,500 from 2003 to 2005, according to tax returns obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

He disclosed his winnings on his federal income taxes but didn't bother to disclose them on his state ethics forms.

Even better, the anti-gambling crusader is an appointed position on the state's gaming board.

And for the record, he said most of his winnings came from playing slot machines in Las Vegas and stud poker in Atlantic City, N.J.

Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary said there was "a lot more work to do" with regard to FEMA.

Continuing to state the obvious Secretary Chertoff said, there are "tens of thousands of people who suffer the lingering effects" of Hurricane Katrina.

We'll let you know of Mr. Chertoff continues to state the obvious, in the meantime you can read the story we refer to here.

According to their poll, those surveyed prefer a Democrat in the White House but McCain would win a general election contest because independents seem to love the guy.

Apparently their poll seems to say the same thing many Republicans are saying, McCain will have a tough time winning the GOP nomination.

US News and World Report is reporting that a Clinton-Obama ticket is "raising concerns in GOP circles that it might be unbeatable."

We forgot to post today but, thanks to Independent Presidential candidate, Daniel Imperato, we now have something to post, from Egypt where he is away on business. Here is the campaign's press release:

Breaking News: Cairo, Egypt: Daniel Imperato Saves Four boys Lives from Massive Car Accident in Between Cairo and Alexandria

Cairo, Egypt – December 12, 2006 – While on a twilight car-ride on the Cairo-Alexandria Road, 60 miles outside Alexandria, Egypt, 2008 US Presidential Candidate, Daniel Imperato did what any human being would do after seeing an ongoing vehicle flip 3 times in the air. He reacted.

After instructing his driver, Abu Nasser, to pull over, Imperato called the ambulance and flagged down several trucks to beam their lights on the marsh, so that the car and any survivors could be recognized.

Once the car had been identified, ambulance crews spent more than an hour, along with Imperato, before pulling out the four boys that were trapped.

The four boys were all able to identify themselves by name and provide home addresses. Of the four boys, three were Muslims and one was Christian.

“I, along with Abu Nasser, send out my prayers to the four boys: Alah, Remon-Salah, Abdul Hamid Ali-Ahmed, and Mohammed Kamel-Salah. I hope that they arrive safely to the hospital and have a speedy recovery.”

According to Imperato, one of the boys appeared to have broken his back; another was bleeding profusely from the side of his face and suffered a major head injury. The other two, except for minor cuts and bruises, were able to walk under their own volition after the accident.

“In times of emergencies, there are no barriers. No one asked whether they were saving Muslims, Christians, or Jews. People only wanted to help save the lives of innocent human beings. In the end, that’s what counts.”

This act clearly demonstrates that “The People’s President” Daniel Imperato can show the world that Muslims and Christians are alike and can be brought together to save human beings. All of this comes on the heels of Daniel Imperato’s call for cease fire and peace in the world.

More coverage on this breaking news item will be featured in the Egyptian Newspaper Messahat, who also arrived on the scene.

Now if only the man would stay in the country long enough to gain some traction.

December 12, 2006 - Today is Election Day. Well, at least in Texas' 23rd congressional district.

The showdown between Republican Henry Bonilla against Democrat Ciro Rodriguez is beginning to look like it can be a tough one

We were asked to link to this. Of course we have to ask who is Scott Brownback?

What the hell? Are the voters in Louisiana’s Second Congressional District nuts? Do they simply like corruption? These people sent Representative Jefferson back to Washington, DC by a 57%-43% margin. They did this despite the fact that he is the target of an FBI corruption probe. They voted for him despite the fact that $90,000 in marked bills were found in his freezer and he has never explained how it got there.

The voter of New Orleans get what they deserve for sending this guy back to DC. We’ll laugh even more after he gets indicted. In the meantime let’s see how many more corrupt building contractors get to go into Jefferson’s district to help with the Katrina reconstruction.

December 8, 2006 - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to run for President, then again maybe not

Yesterday evening, according to Fox News, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to formally file papers to form a presidential exploratory committee in January. But today he told FOX News "I am running," as he described the professional and personal experiences that he believes have prepared him for the job.

"I've dealt with the issues that are very important today — national security, immigration and energy," Richardson said in an interview with FOX News' Carl Cameron.

Later in the evening the Governor's office released a statement saying the announcement of Mr. Richardson's candidacy was premature and that he would make a final decision in January.

Richardson also canceled an appearance on "Fox & Friends" scheduled for this morning.

Time will tell.

Yesterday, on NBC's Today Show former Vice President Gore called the war in Iraq "the worst strategic mistake in the entire history of the United States."

Apparently the former VP was too busy inventing the internet during history class because things like Japanese internment camps, slavery, the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam all seem like bigger mistakes to us.

That said, at least one of us thinks Iraq is a pretty big mistake but certainly not as big as those previously mentioned.

December 6, 2006 - Vilsack favors troop reduction; Brownback says energize GOP base

Presidential contenders are starting to campaign. Yesterday, Tom Vilsack told reporters it was time for "tough love" in Iraq. Apparently he hopes troop reductions will force the government to make the hard decisions about repairing the fractured country.

On the other side of the aisle, Sam Brownback was busy selling himself as a "full-scale conservative" while stumping for votes in Iowa.

And we have just made it through a whole post without bashing anyone. Who knows, maybe some other news will get our attention later in the day.

Sorry to write about soon-to-be Speaker Pelosi twice in the same day but, Bloomberg.com is reporting that "Representative Alan Mollohan, a West Virginia Democrat whose finances are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is in line to take over the House panel that sets the bureau's budget."

The story goes on, "His party has a long-standing practice of awarding appropriations subcommittee chairmanships to senior members, and no other Democrat has announced plans to seek the post when the party assumes control of Congress next month."

We beg of you Congresswoman Pelosi please pick someone else to head the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Department of Justice, which includes the FBI. We'd really like to go and beat up on other politicians for a change.

Visitors to this site know we do our best to remain "neutral" when it comes to politics. One of us is a very liberal Democrat and the other extremely conservative. That said, we both agree raising the minimum wage is nothing but a feel good bill.

Before you go and tell us we're wrong, even Ellen Simon an AP Business Writer knew it was true when she wrote in a story, "But some low-income workers and their advocates say the wage increase won't affect many workers and is not a way out of poverty for minimum wage workers. Since the last hike, wages for most of the lowest-paid workers have risen above the federal minimum wage, while prices for necessities such as housing and transportation have grown faster." (The story is here)

Even low-income workers understand raising the minimum wage is not going to help them. Economists have said repeatedly that raising the minimum wage may hurt low-income workers. The only thing that will really help is getting illegal immigrant (undocumented for the liberals) workers out of here. Illegal (undocumented) workers depress wages and hurt low-income workers, not the federal minimum wage.

In November we (and just about everyone else) reported Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) was likely going to run for President.

It's now official, he's in. Now there are two conservatives running, Brownback and Chicago businessman John Cox in the GOP Primaries.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, "Severe weather in Chicago forced the cancellation of a flight to Philadelphia for members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas congregation that believes U.S. casualties in Iraq are God's way of punishing America for tolerating gays and lesbians."

Frankly, in our opinion, we feel no matter what your views are on Iraq or homosexuality it's wrong to protest at a funeral. Let the family grieve.

Apparently folks at this church disagree with our opinion and believe, according to the article, God's will that church members protest.

December 3, 2006 - A rare Sunday post because someone was nice enough to send us their White House Christmas card

Conservatives complain about the assault on Christmas but, judging by the card sent to us conservatives better call the White House and ask what's going on.

The word Christmas does not appear on the "official" White House Christmas card, signed by the President and the First Lady. No Christmas, no Jesus, no God, no Lord, no nothing.

Is the President really a closet Christmas hater? Did he forget his Christian beliefs? Has he given up his fight against the big bad Democrats? Is he suddenly scared of the ACLU? President Bush please tell us what the heck is going on?

According to the Associated Press, the Boston Globe interviewed in Spanish four current and former employees of Community Lawn Service with a Heart who worked on Romney's property. All but one said they were in the United States illegally.

According to the owner of the company, Ricardo Saenz, Romney has used the company for 10 years.

You would think the Governor would have asked if the company employs illegals, especially considering he wants to be President and has been critical of illegal immigration and wants a fence on the Mexican border.

Here at PoliticsAmerica we have a soft spot for guys who think they can become President running as an independent. As such, we suggest you check out Daniel Imperato.

He's always indexed in Google News but, it appears he pays to make that happen through some press release services. Now, it seems he is getting serious.

Mr. Imperato has hired Tony Hernandez who worked with Ross Perot. In addition to Hernandez, it appears the Imperato campaign has lured one of our advertisers, Kush and Associates, away from GOP Presidential candidate John Cox.

We gave Kush and Associates a call (mostly to get our $10 for their monthly ad) and discovered they are putting all their resources into this campaign.

It's a pretty diverse group of resources. There's Kush, of course, who has built a career on running long-shot Republican campaigns, Richard Holt, who interned for former Congressman Ted Strickland (D-OH) and apparently decided to become more conservative and become a founding member of the National Black Republican Association and model turned actress turned publicist/politico, Paulette dePascal who has worked for both Democrats and Republicans. Kush and Associates also has plenty of support staff.

With Hernandez and Kush and Associates Mr. Imperato should be able to build a pretty diverse coalition and he has the personal wealth to go the distance.

As to Mr. Imperato's views, at first glance we thought he would be a good fit for the GOP with his conservative social views BUT then we learned of his pro-union, pro-labor stances and started looking harder. Go to his website, www.imperatobrooks.com and check out his views. We think you'll agree he is a centrist.

A centrist with a team of professionals from both sides of the aisle, things can happen and we look forward to watching.