She just knew she had it this time. He had made the wrong move - the big error. He had dared to tell the truth, and now, all of the bitter elitists in the DNC crowd would be free to spew Rush Limbaugh talking points about him and her rightful coronation as the leader of the free world would be completed. After all, she had married into the royal name.

Yes, she would assume her rightful place as head of the most expensive table in the nicest restaurant in town. Victory was near. All that she had planned for was within her grasp. She downed a shot, pulled out a six shooter and blasted an unsuspecting mallard into oblivion, all the while assuming a position that looked very much like she might be praying.

Contrary to the ABC, Gallup and Pew Polls and closer to the Newsweek and Time polls, as well as a slightly older CBS poll, a new CNN poll by Opinion Research conducted November 3 through 5 shows the Dems up by 20 points among likely voters (margin or error 3%).

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/ 06/monday/index.html

This is up for Dems from 53% to 42% the week before. Why isn't this on their home page? I have CNN Morning on now and they have yet to mention it.

CNN also has Bush's approval rating falling to 35% with 41% of voters saying that they will be voting to send a message of disapproval to Bush.

I think far from momentum going toward the Repugs as the ABC, Gallup and Pew Polls might suggest, I think the CNN is more accurate. Here's why:

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that if enacted could make it a felony to assist an undocumented immigrant, even if such assistance might save their life. Called H.R. 4437, the bill could also have other consequences for the even legal immigrants. This bill will deny legal rights and due process to millions. It has many unjust and terribly punative provisions, detailed below:

·  The bill makes undocumented status a felony. Even minor immigration violations such as accidentally filling out an immigration form improperly could result in an immigrant being classified as a felon. It would permanently bar all undocumented immigrants who are currently in the U.S. from ever being able to apply for citizenship, including 1.6 million children. (more below the fold)

I work for a non-profit that among other things provides healthcare and health education and case management. Over the past few weeks, we have noticed several clients that have actually been harmed by the new Medicare prescription drug coverage. Most of these clients were on Medicare and disability for various types of chronic long-term conditions but a few were elderly who had some form of private prescription drug coverage though a private supplemental policy.

Our clients are getting letters from their private insurance companies stating that these companies will no longer be paying for prescription drugs since they now have Medicare prescription drug coverage. This then forces them into one of the (many and confusing) Medicare prescription drug plans administered often by the same private companies that had been covering their drugs. With the infamous gap in coverage, our clients often end up with even more out of pocket expense for their drugs under Medicare, than they had under their private plans.

Just so we do not forget what we are really up against and what the true motivations for many Repubican voters are, a quick review of some of their own comments since Katrina:

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." - Bill Bennett, Republican, former official in the Reagan and Bush I administrations

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them." - Barbara Bush, Republican, Former First Lady speaking about mostly African American Katrina evacuees in the Houston Astrodome

Raw Story has an interesting story on the ACU hitting Bush and Republican Congressions Republicans over spending. Not that I agree with anything for which the ACU stands but is interesting that they are starting to wake up to the fact that what those in the Republican leadership now are not true conservatives. They are corporate facists or religious theocrats or both.

The ACU's Keene said conservatives are increasingly "losing faith" in Bush and GOP leaders.

"Because of these massive increases in federal largess, conservatives throughout the United States are increasingly losing faith in the President and the Republican Leadership in Congress to adequately prioritize and rein in overall federal spending," Keene remarked.

"Let us not lose sight of the fact that prior to Hurricane Katrina, federal government spending was already spiraling out of control," Keene added. "Excluding military and homeland security, American taxpayers have witnessed the largest spending increase under any preceding president and Congress since the Great Depression."

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/bushresign

Here is a link http://reid.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=245329 to the letter Harry Reid has sent to the Committee on Homeland Secutity and Government Affairs that will investigating the failed reponse to Katrina. In it, he asks the questions (posted below) that Democrats should be raising with unified voices. Let's hope they follow their Senate leader and raise the volume!

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/bushresign

1. Administration inaction to warnings of catastrophic flooding in New Orleans. President Bush, Secretary Chertoff, and other top Administration officials have repeatedly stated that no one "anticipated the breach of the levees." Yet, public studies and analyses made available to the Administration have long warned that a major storm was inevitable and would lead to the breeching of New Orleans' levees with catastrophic results. Why, then, was the Administration so unprepared to deal with the breaching of the levees?

THE WHITE HOUSE
UNDER WATER
by David Remnick
Issue of 2005-09-12
Posted 2005-09-03

One of the creepier vanities of most political leaders is the private yearning to be tested on a historical scale. Bill Clinton used to confide that, no matter what else he did as President, without a major war to fight he could never join the ranks of Lincoln and F.D.R. During the Presidential debates in 2000, George W. Bush informed his opponent, Al Gore, that natural catastrophes are "a time to test your mettle." Bush had seen his father falter after a hurricane in South Florida. But now he has done far worse. Over five days last week, from the onset of the hurricane on the Gulf Coast on Monday morning to his belated visit to the region on Friday, Bush's mettle was tested--and he failed in almost every respect.