IL-6 Bare Duckworth LEad
ArchPundit
Her campaign released a poll yesterday showing it 44-43
Pollster has the 5 poll average at 44.8% Duckworth to 43.2% Roskam. It’s going to come down to turnout so take the day off–I’d be up there if I had any vacation.
October 2006
CQ’s Illinois Roundup
Phil Hare is looking safer with CQ moving him from Democratic Lean to Democratic Favored. Besides just being a crappy candidate, Zinga isn’t raising much cash in a quite difficulty District to run in.
IL-08 Leans Democratic
IL-10 Republican Favored because of the political environment
IL-06 Pure Toss up.
Hastert and Shimkus are mentioned, but no one else.
What’s Great About Roskam on Social Security
And for the record–it’s a good ad in terms of effect even if it’s a perfect example of truthiness. It’s exactly the kind of ad that makes Peter seem more moderate and likeable. He’s a movement conservative through and through–his demeanor is probably his biggest assett in defusing that issue.
Jack Ryan Meet George Allen, George Allen Meet Jack Ryan
It’s just better to put them out there instead of trying to hide them. Trust me, I’ve seen a good self-immolation up close. In fact, the entire State of Illinois did.
With my luck
It’ll end up being some sort of evil twin doing it all, but the Reader has a fascinating story on the number of properties Jerry Weller has reported buying in Nicaragua and how many local records in Nicaragua bear his name. Hint, the two don’t match.
Exhibit A: Why Americans Hate Trial Lawyers
They sue passengers in car accidents where the passenger is not the owner of the car.
One of my favorite examples comes from
Roskam and Salvi, Attorneys at Law.
The defendant in the case, Jennifer Peeples, was an active duty member of the US Military who was unable to attend an arbitration hearing because she was on active duty. Roskam and Salvi quashed a motion for summary judgment and Peeples had to file a request to not appear. The arbitration went against her from what I follow, but the case then continued for another year.
So Peeples is in the military on duty when she’s sued for an accident in which she wasn’t driving and didn’t own a car in the accident.
Supporting our troops–by suing them for, well, being present at an accident.
Make or Break for Judy
The Levine hearing appears to be the make or break moment for Judy. Either the Levine evidence leads directly to the Governor or it leads to Chris Kelly. To Kelly, it’s more of the same to the average voter. To the Governor, she’s probably alive again.
Just to clarify a poorly written post the other day–I compared MSI to the current scandal and that’s correct in one sense. The allegations are relatively similar and as close to the Governor. There is a huge difference though in that we know there are several investigations going on regarding the Blagojevich adminstration–most notably the hiring scandals that have been turned over to the US Attorney as well.
My point of comparison is not that Rod is no worse than Edgar, it’s that the public pays limited attention to politics and what’s primarily out in the press, especially the television press where most get their information is the Rezko stuff. To most voters then this isn’t a huge deal, but more of the same.
Top that off with a really effective ad campaign making Judy look like she isn’t a saint (she isn’t, but relative to Rod, pretty close) and is out of touch with the average Illinois voter and Rod is rolling to victory barring some bombshell today. I don’t have to like it. I don’t. I don’t have to like that the public doesn’t pay more attention. I don’t. I just recognize what’s going on and while it depresses me, that’s part of being in the reality based community.
And most of this was written before I even read that column so the similarity isn’t due to me copying Rich as much as a similar conclusion about the Levine hearing.
Is Jesse White black?
Who knew? Is he 72?
Ummm…if you are going to lose and are losing this round to build up your name for next round, don’t pull a stunt like this. It just hurts you. Rutherford has a reasonably good reputation amongst Democrats and independents generally like him, but this kind of crappy age baiting race-baiting commercial only gives the Dems ammunition for the next run. Worse, he takes a legit criticism about the family and friends and turns the debate to one about the campaign tactic. Even if you want to argue it wasn’t race baiting and I would like to see a similar family picture held up for a white candidate to show how it’s all irrelevant–it’s just bad campaign tactics.
BTW, Does this mean if McCain gets the GOP nod, Rutherford will be voting Dem?
Just for Fun
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5 More below the fold. Vote on your favorite in comments. I have a feeling I differ ideologically from whomever posted these, but I doubt the reaction is much different.
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Even With Petey Gone, the IFI found just as big of a wanker
But unlike single issue pro-life voters, Fox’s interest in the topic is completely altruistic. That’s right, it’s wholly self-centered.
Playing for the sympathy of the electorate, Fox manipulates the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease to promote stem cell research while at the same time bashing pro-lifers who are opposed to human embryonic stem cell research.
Yes, that’s right. By speaking on the issue and appearing as he is, he’s manipulating the symptons of Parkinson’s disease.
Even better, he just gets the science wrong. From the Wash U piece on stem cell research (which clearly does differentiate between types of stem cells and explains why there is such interest in embryonic stem cell research):
Embryonic stem cells are strikingly different from adult stem cells because they are pluripotent?they can differentiate into any type of mature cell. The possibility is strong that they could replace diseased or deteriorated cells and heal different parts of the human body.
To understand SCNT, one must first understand how the process differs from the early-stage human reproductive cycle. Several days after normal fertilization occurs in human beings, and before implantation in the womb, a pinpoint-sized ball called a blastocyst forms. The structure consists of undifferentiated cells including embryonic stem cells. Once the blastocyst implants itself in the womb, its cells begin to differentiate into various organs and structures. SCNT, however, is different and has nothing to do with the process and products of conception.
What somatic cell nuclear transfer offers medical researchers is a way of generating embryonic stem cells without a sperm fertilizing an egg. (The word somatic applies to all the cells in the body with the exception of sperms and eggs, which are called germ cells.)
Teitelbaum explains the SCNT procedure (see graphic at right): “The nucleus of an unfertilized egg is replaced with the nucleus from a somatic cell, such as a skin cell, from the patient who will ultimately be transplanted with the appropriate differential cells. It becomes a structure that looks similar to?but is very different from?a blastocyst produced by a sperm and an egg. Within it are embryonic stem cells but?and this is critical?they are unable to undergo the genetic reprogramming that, after sexual reproduction, permits the development of a healthy baby. And these SCNT-generated embryonic stem cells (ESC) have nothing to do with products of abortion and nothing to do with a sperm fertilizing an egg.”
Because the cells produced by SCNT contain the patient’s own DNA, there is a strong possibility that they will not be rejected after transplantation, even without the use of anti-rejection medication with its severe side-effects.
Equating undifferentiated cells of a blastocyst with a fully developed human is exactly the kind of misleading argument Smith thinks he is attacking.