http://donklephant.com Big Teeth. Huge Ass. Surprisingly Reasonable. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:12:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We've crossed the psychological barrier and this spells bad news for Dems unless they can turn it around in the next couple months. Because this is the highest rate since 1983 and you'll be hearing that time and time again in the next month. Here's more about those numbers:Among the major ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/06/unemployment-hits-10-2/ Donklephant has been nominated for 'Best Political Blog' in the 2009 Weblog Awards. You can vote for the nomination here. Also, do check out some of the other categories, as there are many great blogs (and bloggers) that are nominated every year. http://donklephant.com/2009/11/06/hear-ye-hear-ye/ It bugs me when either party peddles a false meme before a certain event, as was the case last night with the "GOP is making a comeback if we win anything" talking points. And yet today the media is grabbing it hook, line and sinker. But why? Let's look at the facts... Republicans won ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/05/what-republican-resurgence/ 142,817 VOTES FOR BLOOMBERG ON COLUMN C DELIVERS MARGIN TO CITY'S FIRST INDEPENDENT MAYOR New York, NY-The Independence Party vote for Mike Bloomberg yesterday broke numerous records and re-enforced its ongoing mandate for independent governance and non-partisan reform. Unofficial returns released by the Board of Elections put the IP total on Column "C" at ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/04/new-york-city-independence-party-breaks-records/ The Wash Post's Ezra Klein interviewed the CEO of Kaiser Permanente and found massive differences when looking at health care costs in the US and other countries. Yes, it's not even close. Gee, I wonder why we're going bankrupt... And those are just 3 graphs! Want to see the other 19? Click here ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/03/lets-compare-us-health-care-costs-with-other-countries/ Ahh, I "love" the political critters in the House. Why? Just watch... Here's the thing, the reason these folks can get away with nonsense like this is because congressional districts have been so gerrymandered as to be almost completely red or blue. And given that Rep. Foxx is from North Carolina's ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/03/health-care-bill-more-dangerous-than-terrorism/ As I've said numerous times before, voters aren't stupid. They know who piloted our economic collapse last year and it's going to be extremely hard for Republicans to convince them otherwise. Still, it is kind of telling that Republicans blame Obama more for the economy than Bush, even though it's by ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/03/poll-bush-still-to-blame-for-economic-woes/ Slowly, but surely, we'll be getting health care reform in a matter of months. That is, if Democrats don't overplay their hand. From NY Times:The Senate Finance Committee chairman, Max Baucus of Montana, described “a sense of inevitability, the sense that, yes, we’re going to pass health reform.” In interviews, senior ... http://donklephant.com/2009/11/02/health-care-legislation-continues-to-move-forward/ News Headlines for Independent Voters 10/31/09 Note  in the majority of voters in New Jersey are independent and will play the decisive role in Tuesday Gov election there. Mike Bloomberg, in coalition with the NYC Independence Party, carries out an independent nonpartisan race for the future of New York City. Elsewhere in New ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/31/news-headlines-for-independent-voters-103109/ You've probably noticed that I haven't been posting a lot in the past couple weeks and that's because the day job has been VERY consuming...but in a good way. Basically, over the past year I've been working on developing a new website for AMC Theatres and it just launched Monday. On ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/30/so-what-have-i-been-doing-the-past-few-days/  Over at The Examiner, we checked in with VP Biden to see what he's been up to lately. He's had several different jobs from Nerve Calmer to Envelope Pusher to Robocaller. As the #2 in command, it seems poor Mr. Biden has been traveling domestically to Ohio and New York, internationally ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/29/whats-biden-been-up-to/ News Headlines for Independent Voters 10/29/09 As we head to Election Day 2009, everyone is talking about the Yankees and the Phillies. And a few people are talking about the Mayoral race in NYC, where independent candidate Mike Bloomberg is poised to become the first independent mayor of New York, running ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/29/news-headlines-for-independent-voters-102909/ Whilst walking the dog this rainy evening, I happened upon an illuminated, inflatable lawn ornament of the Halloween variety. These decorations are an easy, relatively inexpensive way to acknowledge the holiday. They require little or no thought beyond which one to buy and where to buy it. The set-up ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/28/prefab-participation/ [caption id="attachment_1327" align="alignnone" width="335" caption="DOUBLE STANDARD? When John Cusack bombards his girlfriend's home with music, it's cute. When the CIA uses a boombox, it's torture."][/caption] So, a pretentious group of musicians is upset that their music is being used to torment America's most dangerous enemies? And now they want the U.S. ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/28/music-torture-at-gitmo/ Atlanta, GA --- Georgia Independent Voters (GIV), a state-based association representing independent voters, announced today its endorsement of former State Senator Kasim Reed for mayor of the City of Atlanta. “We’re proud to announce our support for Kasim Reed for Mayor of Atlanta,” said Thyrsa M. Gravely, a long-time independent political ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/28/independents-endorse-kasim-reed-in-atlanta-mayoral-campaign/ http://donklephant.com/2009/10/28/northwest-pilots/ Well, at least the opt out version. Here's Joe..."We're trying to do too much at once," Lieberman said. “To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don’t think we need ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/27/lieberman-moderate-dems-oppose-public-option/ A new poll of New York's 23rd Congressional District from the Club For Growth, which is backing Conservative Party Candidate Doug Hoffman in the race, effectively shows that the race is now a statistical dead heat among all three candidates: Washington - A poll released today by the Club for Growth ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/26/club-for-growth-poll-shows-three-way-statistical-tie-in-ny-23/ Despite the election of Barack Obama and the continuing misfortunes of the GOP, the United States is still a center-right country: PRINCETON, NJ -- Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June. Forty percent of Americans describe ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/26/gallup-poll-confirms-america-is-a-center-right-country/ Unlikely, but he's making noises yet again. From C-Span via Politics Daily:C-SPAN: "If you were to run, what factors would you take into account? What would lead you to think about running?" GINGRICH: "Callista and I are going to think about this in February 2011. And we are going to reach out ... http://donklephant.com/2009/10/26/gingrich-to-run-in-2012/