blasts

In 2007 Rick Perry signed an executive order in Texas requiring all public school girls to get the vaccine Gardasil, which protects against the sexually transmitted disease HPV. The decision caused outrage on all sides of the political spectrum and Perry later had to rescind the order.

Gardasil is manufactured by Merck. During Monday night’s Republican debate, Michele Bachmann went after Perry over the executive order and tied it to money Perry had received from Merck. Perry claimed that he only received $5,000 from the drug maker, but it turns out that’s not the whole story:

As for the claim that Merck has given a $5,000 dollar contribution to the governor's campaign, that is true, but not the whole story.

Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during a different re-election campaign.

Texas Ethics Commission records show he has accepted $29,500 from the Merck PAC during his entire tenure as governor, $22,000 of it prior to his 2007 order.

There’s also the story of Mike Toomey, Perry’s chief of staff. Toomey was the chief lobbyist for Merck and a state legislature before working for Perry. He also gives big to his buddy:

Toomey himself, has contributed more than $48,000 to Texans for Rick Perry during his decade in office.

From Think Progress:

The Baucus bill is the worst piece of healthcare legislation I've seen in 30 years. In fact, it's a $60 billion giveaway to the health insurance industry every year. It was written by healthcare lobbyists, so that's not a surprise. It's an outrage.

Now those are some harsh words, and I mean that in a great sense. Usually politicians try to pussy foot around something when its their own party screwing it up, but Howard Dean isn’t. He just let it rip. Way to go Dr. Dean!

Honestly, I think that Max Baucus should get Joe Wilsoned on this. His bill is so outrageous that he should be forced to take to the floor and apologize to the people of this country for acting like he is working for us. Since that won’t happen, then we need a grass root push to get him out of office. Hell I don’t care if Baucus doesn’t get a primary challenger. It would really say something if some progressive groups backed a Republican just to get Baucus out of office, plus it will send a message to the other Democrats out there who put corporate/lobbyist interests above the interests of the people.

The EPA has finally started to undo the raping of the land that George Bush allowed:

Dozens of mountaintop coal-mining permits are being put on hold until the projects’ impacts on streams and wetlands can be reviewed, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

Announced by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the move targets a controversial practice by coal mining companies that blasts away whole peaks and sends mining waste into streams and wetlands. It does not apply to existing mines, but to requests for new permits, a number estimated to be as high as 250.

The EPA also urged the Army Corps of Engineers not to issue permits for two new projects unless their impacts were reduced. The projects would allow companies to fill thousands of feet of streams with mining waste at two sites in West Virginia and Kentucky.

Hopefully this is the start to the end of this horrible practice. Since pictures speak louder than words:

Of course the damage is already done, so what could we do with these stripped out mountain tops? Perhaps turn it into a prison for Bush, Cheney and Co.?

He takes all her reasons for staying in and possibly trying to become the nominee to task, and does so in a very well thought out way.

8:08 - Opening on the economy.

HRC: Wants to invest in green technologies to create jobs. Bush's rebate plan will leave 50-60 million people out. She did highlight that includes seniors on social security and their expenses have gone up more than their income.

BO: Starts with quoting MLK. GWB has skewed our tax code to the wealthy. Spent billions on a needless war. Wants tax cuts into the pockets of "hard working Americans'. Wants $500 for tax rebates and a supplement to social security payments.

JE: Thanking MLK. Added 5 mil people to the poverty level over last 7 years.Poverty is the "cause of my life". Invest in green infrastructure to create long term jobs. Attacked HRC and BO for supporting Peru trade deal.

BO: Goes after HRC on NAFTA. Attacks JE on voting for trade with China.

WOLF: Wants to get back to immediate economic stimulus

HRC: Doesn't want to open tax codes with GOP in Senate trying to make GWB tax cuts permanent.

8:20 - This is not the Nevada debate. They are going after each other.

JE: Blasts back at BO that Peru trade agreement left GWB enforcing it. BO says in a years time he will be enforcing it.

Suzanne Malveaux - Asked OB about HRC's claim that his package has jobs that can't be guaranteed. OB defends it by going after Bill and saying all the things he said are not true. This is what the media has been waiting for.

HRC - To BO - I think what you say and your record does matter. Going after him on his Reagan comment. Says the Republicans had ideas, but they were bad ideas. Says BO wants to put a lot of money into foreign aide but has not stated how he would pay for it.

Coverage continues here

For our military that is. He told George Stephanopoulos this morning that he doesn't think it's write for Petraeus to have to prove progress to the Congress this September. Yeah - let's not have any kind of tests or benchmarks for Iraq. That is basically the same strategy George Bush has used, the same strategy McCain blasts on the campaign trail.

Thanks for clearing the up John. A vote for you is the same as a vote for George W. Bush.

And a face:

Mike DeWine, who is now using his own incompetence from 12 years ago to attack Sherrod Brown:

Expect fireworks this afternoon as Sherrod Brown's campaign for U.S. Senate blasts the Republican National Committee and Sen. Mike DeWine's reelection committee and demands that they immediately take down commercials with demonstrably false claims.

This goes to the new claim that Brown failed to pay $1,700 in unemployment taxes for 13 years. Brown thought something was wrong about that claim, checked it out through staff and learned today that he had in fact paid the debt in 1994. The state of Ohio -- where DeWine was lieutenant governor at the time -- screwed up matters and never released the lien until last year, according to the Brown campaign and records it unearthed.

"The DeWine campaign and the Republican Party must immediately pull down yet another advertisement that deceived voters with an attack we have proven to be false," said Brown communications chief Joanna Kuebler. "Sen. DeWine should apologize for deceiving voters in a last-ditch attempt to save his career."

Once the Democrats regain control, they must pass tougher laws on campaign finance, and ads. Both of these are a key to the culture of corruption.

Here is an interesting story from the Israeli newspaper
Haaretz

Israelis evacuated from Amman hotel
hours before bombings

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent

A number of Israelis staying on Wednesday at the Radisson hotel were
evacuated before the bombing by Jordanian security forces, apparently due to
a specific security alert. They were escorted back to Israel by security
personnel.

The Foreign Ministry stated Wednesday that no Israeli tourists are known
to have been injured in the blasts. Representatives of Israel's embassy in
Amman were in contact with local authorities to examine any report of
injured Israelis, but none were received. There are often a number of
Israeli businessman and tourists in Amman, including in the hotels hit
Wednesday.

Israel's counter-terror headquarters on Wednesday recommended Israeli
citizens not travel in Jordan. Travel warnings regarding Jordan were
tightened a few months ago, but many Israelis still visit the country. Many
also visit other regions such as the Jordanian Arava and the ancient city of
Petra.

Our intelligence community can certainly learn a thing or two from Israel if
this story is in fact true. Not shocking though is the fact that their
intelligence agency seems to worry only about their citizens and not trying to
help Jordan prevent this deadly tragedy.