Today,
The Daily Pulse visits New York, perhaps the biggest congressional battleground of them all. The point of
The Daily Pulse is to visit local papers and give regular readers a sense of the "pulse" of the nation, what can be found OUTSIDE the national media. With that in mind, I looked at about 50 papers, but skipped The New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times, and Newsday. Anything in those papers you already have access to, and if interesting enough, has already been blogged to death.
In New York the editorial pages, and particularly the Letters to the Editor pages, are brimming with mid-term electoral content, so read on if you want to see what the locals are saying about John Sweeney, Tom Reynolds, Jack Abramoff, Ken Mehlman, and more.
Previous The Daily Pulse- Battleground Editions covered Tennessee, Idaho, Missouri, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut and Indiana.
And finally, if you're not a Gator basketball fan, you will be when you read to the end. Noah, by the way, grew up in New York.
The Daily Star
This is a LTE in response to a fundy LTE. I really like this guy.
Religion should not rule U.S.
...
Intelligent design is religion and should remain where it belongs _ in the home, in the church or in Kansas. You will not teach your religion to my children in our schools. ...
Abortion has been ruled a woman's right by the Supreme Court. No one favors abortion; any abortion is a tragedy, but you will not determine that my daughter must bear a child because abortion is a sin in your religion. ...
Hate-crime laws exist to protect even the smallest minority from persecution by self-righteous, hateful people like you. ...
We should all hope that the coming election and the one in 2008 will restore the decency that America has always been known for or, at least, create a foreign policy based on truth, not on the Book of Revelations.
Albany Times Union
We are ranked 53rd in the world for freedom of our press. The America I grew up in is rapidly disappearing. But that's okay, because Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.
A national shame
A free press is one of this nation's most cherished freedoms. But many Americans rightly feel that the war on terror has weakened the press protection guaranteed under the First Amendment. And now, sadly, comes a report that justifies those apprehensions. ... The latest survey ranks the U.S. as 53rd, nine places lower than last year and perpetuating a disgraceful trend downward. By contrast, Haiti and Mauritania, nations that are hardly viewed as bastions of free speech, have improved their rankings. Meanwhile, Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands occupy first place, based on the absence of censorship, threats, intimidation or reprisals by public officials in those countries. ...
But the opposite is happening. The U.S. is fast gaining a reputation for intimidation, if not harassment, of reporters. The Reporters Without Borders report notes that the Bush administration regards as suspicious "any journalist who questioned his `war on terrorism.' " ...
Congress must act to protect the public's right to know, and act now.
The Buffalo News
Okay, can somebody tell me if the Buffalo News is Republican or Democratic? Usually, when there is a non-endorsement like this it means the editorial board just can't bring itself to endorse the "other guy," but knows "their guy" sucks beyond all description. So, is this a tacit endorsement of Reynolds or Davis?
House race unravels
Western New Yorkers living within the 26th Congressional District have been ill-served by a campaign marked by elusive candidates, truth-stretching political ads and an overwhelming emphasis on image over substance. Because of a still-incomplete ethics investigation and the scarcity of truly exploratory issues debates or discussions between incumbent Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds and challenger Jack Davis, The Buffalo News will not endorse either candidate in this race. ...
Reynolds' ability to deliver benefits to this community is unquestionable. For example, insiders on both sides of the political fence credit him with a decisive role - aided by his House committee position - in keeping the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station open. He also has been a major force in keeping federal funding for the West Valley nuclear fuels site cleanup effort, and in channeling assistance to development of Buffalo's biomedical research campus. In doing so, he has delivered needed seed money and support for a regionally important project even though it is not in his own district. ...
Davis, too, deserves serious consideration for his passionate championing of jobs and the working class. His campaign has not been marred by moral concerns. For Davis, though, voter questions should hinge instead on practical matters. ...
With ethics issues still unresolved, this newspaper can offer only guidance and not the full candidate support an endorsement implies. Resolution of those key questions looks unlikely by Election Day. The incumbent has a practical edge in this race, and the challenger has a moral one. This has been a critically impaired campaign, and the choice for most voters will be highly individual and anything but easy.
Messenger Post
Jack Abramoff, the gift that keeps on giving. And the most important point, and one worth repeating at every opportunity, is that this is a REPUBLICAN scandal. And perhaps even more important for persuading the on-the-fence voter, it is a single-party rule scandal. You see, those on the fence might not like Democrats, but to a person they find the `the best government is divided government, because then they only do what NEEDS to be done' persuasive enough to at least consider seriously.
A whip hand to Washington desk jockeys
It's not because the convicted Washington lobbyist/crook/swindler/nogoodnik has had a road to Damascus moment and decided to join the ranks of the junior G-men, fighting crime and evildoers.
No, according to US News and World Report, it seems that when you have a lot of juicy stuff on the transgressions of congressmen, their staff members and various people who work at the Bush White House, the Federal Bureau of Investigation likes to keep you close by for easy reference. So Jack has been given a desk and, for all I know, washroom privileges and an autographed photo of the late J. Edgar Hoover in a filmy peignoir. ...
It tells you something that, as the Associated Press reported Tuesday, "Justice Department data show a 60 percent increase over the last five years in government corruption convictions and settlements by its Washington-based public integrity unit. Prosecutions resulted in 84 convictions and settlements in 2005, the data show, compared to 52 in 2001...
"Experts say the spike in reported corruption cases is likely caused by one-party control of both the House and Senate."
The corruption rolls down to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Two and a half weeks ago, as is its custom when bad news is afoot, the White House chose to announce late on a Friday afternoon, the media's blind spot, that Susan Ralston, aide to Karl Rove and former assistant to Jack Abramoff, had resigned. Ralston, who acted as a go-between for Abramoff with Rove and then-White House political director and current Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman, departed shortly after the release of a report from the House Government Reform Committee. ...
But what we do know, by way of reports of bribes for contracts, congressional family members on payrolls, government employees hired and fired at lobbyists' requests, and progressive legislation log-jammed by special interests, is just another huge reason why it's time for a change. Guilty incumbents -- and you know who you are -- clean out your desks.
Messenger Post
The Republican "Culture of Corruption" is worth running against, and this letter writer takes advantage.
Kuhl 'just doesn't get it'
A culture of corruption; dishonesty, deceit and cover-ups in high places; favors for the rich and powerful. A foreign policy that alienates friends while our best and brightest young people die for no purpose. Pollution and climate warming that go unchecked. Budget deficits that are out of control.
We need to send Eric Massa to Washington to help clean up this mess and bring honor and integrity to the United States Congress. ...
Eric Massa believes that health care programs like Medicare should be allowed to negotiate with drug companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and that efficiencies can be made through competitive bidding and sale re-importation from Canada. Medical decisions should be made by patients and their doctors, not HMOs and the government.
It's time for a change. By electing Democrat Eric Massa to Congress, we in the 29th District will have a real voice in Washington.
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
What a great analogy for the Iraq debate- a spinning top. It spins and spins, but doesn't move an inch.
Deepen Iraq debate
Tracking the Iraq war story, especially during the heated election season, is like watching a spinning top. The object revolves at a dizzying pace without moving an inch. After a while, you no longer expect it to move. You just wait for it to stop. ...
What's disturbing is how seldom officialdom mentions, with any degree of empathy, the truly disturbing death toll in Iraq. The American death toll in October was, after last Thursday's combat deaths, at 96, the highest in a year. And that's a fraction of the mortality rate among Iraqis. ...
The ongoing campaigns are missing the heart and mind of the Iraq debate. The heart is the casket with a 19-year-old inside. The mind is the need for an allied force to aid America and Iraq in their hour of need.
Poughkeepsie Journal
John Sweeney is running away from the issues that matter, and running purely upon his incumbent status. As this letter writer points out, his web site doesn't mention Iraq, Katrina, or the deficit. If you don't have a position on the issues that count, why should anybody vote for you? Answer- they shouldn't.
Sweeney keeps mum on important issues
I have one question for John Sweeney: Where do you stand on any of the big issues that affect Americans? ...
Did you know Sweeney's campaign Web site does not mention the words Iraq, Katrina or deficit? Did you know Sweeney is on the House Appropriations Committee? He is one the people who gets to vote on every dollar spent by the federal government and he has nothing to say on any of those three issues? ...
Staten Island Advance
One candidate understands that the Military Commissions Act is a terrifying and unique expansion of Presidential power, the other doesn't understand the question.
Candidate does not understand
In one of their debates, both congressional candidates, Vito Fossella and Stephen A. Harrison, were asked an important question regarding the Bush administration's claim that, under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, the president, as commander-in-chief, has authority the ignore any law if he, in his sole discretion, decides it prevents actions he determines are needed for national security. ...
The question to the candidates was: Would you, if elected, agree to challenge this blanket claim of presidential power? This is a different issue from whether various laws should be amended in response to the threat of terrorism, such as debates over the recent Military Commissions Act. ...
Mr. Harrison made a strong statement as to the illegitimacy of this claim and its danger to America's basic system of government, and he committed himself to challenge it if elected.
Mr. Fossella seemed not to understand the issue and, in any case, made no commitment to challenge this claim that basically undermines our constitutional system. ...
And shouldn't we send a representative to Congress who is committed to challenging this unconstitutional claim of extra-legal power?
Gainesville Sun
Yannick Noah's trip to the White House, under protest
Kuhl 'just doesn't get it'
Politically speaking, Florida's coach and big man choose to agree to disagree on certain issues. ...
"I think Jo is a great kid," Donovan said. "I have no issue with Jo. Jo loves his country, loves his teammates."
Noah considered boycotting Florida's visit to the White House after the Gators won their first national championship in school history because of his stance against the war in Iraq. Donovan convinced Noah to go out of respect for his teammates, but Noah created a spectacle anyway. The last of the players to make it down the stairs to the South Lawn, Noah wore his shirt untucked and strode with both arms around two Florida female staff members. He flashed the peace sign with two fingers before taking his seat. ...
But Noah, the biracial son of French-Cameroonian tennis pro Yannick Noah and former Miss Sweden Cecelia Rodhe, hasn't been shy about making his voice heard on political issues. During Florida's national championship celebration, Noah was vocal against the U.S. Naval bomb testing in Vieques, an island off the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. Florida guard Walter Hodge and former teammate David Huertas, who has since transferred to Ole Miss, are from Puerto Rico. ...
"I don't know too much about the Middle East but I try to understand where some of those people are coming from," Noah said. "I feel like, if I was from Iraq, for example, would my perspective change on how I saw certain parts of the world? Because of what's going on in Lebanon and all those places and Israel?
"If I was a Palestinian how would I view a person from Israel? If I was from Israel, how would I view a Palestinian? I think that we don't really think about questions like that, especially when we're so far away." ...