California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today endorsed a state ballot measure supporting stem cell research.

Proposition 71 would spend $3 billion of California state money funded through bonds on stem-cell research and use another $3 billion to finance the interest payments over 30 years...."I am, of course, a supporter of stem cell research. Research that we do now holds the promise of cures for tomorrow," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "We are the world's bio-tech leader and Prop. 71 will help ensure that we maintain that position while saving lives in the process."

Polls show the measure is favored among California voters.

Ten new polls taken around the world show that those in other countries think less of America today and that their opinion of us has been sliding the past three years.

By big margins, those questioned said the war in Iraq did not aid the global fight against terrorism.

And in eight out of 10 nations, those polled said - often in landslide proportions - that they hoped to see Democrat John Kerry beat President Bush in next month's election. Bush won backing from a majority of respondents only in Russia and Israel.

The polls were conducted in Canada, France, Britain, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Israel and Russia, with results to be published in the participating newspapers on Friday.

We take this as an Indictment of President Bush and his policies and his war. You have a chance for change on November 2. Use it.

SK Bubba's on a rant, and it's a good one:

only in America can a harmless homemaker/cooking show host be cooling her jets in Federal prison for fibbing about a crime she did not commit and was never charged with while the President of the United States can stand before the people and lie about the economy, taxes, the deficit, and the reasons for taking us into a war that has cost the lives of over 1000 American soldiers, countless civilian lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars.

Only in America can Martha Stewart sit in prison while Ashcroft gets away with shredding the Constitution and Rumsfeld presides over the torture and murder of prisoners of war in violation of international law while Bush pats them on the back for a job well done and nearly half the people in America agree and think this crew ought to be allowed to stay in the White House instead of being sent to jail. Go figure.

OK, then.

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission has completed a report on civil rights under the Bush Administration. It is unflattering to Bush. The Commission has voted to delay release of the report until after the election. But, it's up on their website. From the Times article:

The report says Mr. Bush "has neither exhibited leadership on pressing civil rights issues, nor taken actions that matched his words" on the subject. It finds fault with Mr. Bush's funding requests for civil rights enforcement; his positions on voting rights, educational opportunity and affirmative action; and his actions against hate crimes.

It did have one nice thing to say about him:

Mr. Bush is committed to help people with disabilities and praised him for "a commendably diverse cabinet and moderately diverse judiciary."

Diverse judiciary? Guess they don't mean diversity in judicial philosophy.

The full report is here (pdf).

New York Magazine tracked down Vietnam war records of several of the state's high profile politicians.

Our favorite: Rudy Giuliani. Got a "special deferment" for clerking for a federal judge.

Others:

• Governor Pataki: 4F for poor eyesight
• Mayor Bloomberg: 4F for flat feet
• Sen. Schumer: Says he got a high draft lottery number, was never called.
• Al Sharpton: One year too young for the draft lottery.

Across the river, New Jersey Democratic Senator John Corzine served six years in the U.S. Marine Reserves.

by TChris

The City Museum of Washington decided that a nude President Bush and other works of political art were inconsistent with its mission. The exhibit, entitled "Funky Furniture," was intended to showcase the museum as "the city's livingroom." The museum's board apparently had a cozier room in mind.

Kayti Didriksen, a local artist, decided to paint President Bush and Vice President Cheney in the well-known style of Manet's "Olympia." Bush is nude and reclining on a chaise longue, and Cheney, in a suit and tie, is holding a velvet pillow with a crown topped by an oil rig.

The painting is here for those who have strong stomachs. The local artists are hoping to find a friendlier venue for their work.

Rumors are flying around Texas that Tom DeLay is the subject of a criminal probe and may be indicted. Daily Kos examines them. Bottom line: It's a distinct possibility but not a sure thing.

His office has been burning up the news wires, issuing press releases on legislation at a heavy clip the past few days. Two Thursday, three Wednesday, in addition to a release about a special "pen and paper briefing" for the media on the Ethics Complaint, to be held at his office; four Tuesday and one Monday. These all follow the press releases issued last Friday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on the Ethics Report and Campaign for America's Future , calling on House Republicans to oust DeLay "before he goes to prison for corruption."

To read them all, go here and type in DeLay and the date range you are interested in.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have condemned the weak admonition of the House Ethics Committee against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay over his attempted bribery of Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI). DeLay had strong-armed Smith to vote for the Administration-backed medicare reform bill.

Outrageously, Rep. DeLay has 'thanked' the Committee for its 'guidance' and stated that he would never have knowingly broken any House rules. This statement is laughable given that Rep. DeLay has been reprimanded by the Ethics Committee before and, if anything, has only become more blatant in violating the rules.

"Rep. DeLay's offer to support Mr. Smith's son's candidacy in return for Mr. Smith's vote on the Medicare bill is nothing less bribery -- a federal crime. It is impossible to believe that Rep. DeLay is not aware that bribery is against the law. Neither Rep. DeLay -- nor any other federal official -- should need 'guidance' on this point. In any event, ignorance of the law is not a defense to a bribery charge. A mere admonition is not sufficient. It is time for the Department of Justice to step in and prosecute Rep. DeLay for this crime.

There's more. The group accuses the Ethics Committee of purposely timing the release of the repriminand with yesterday's debate hoping it would get lost in debate coverage.

While researching something else,Trent Lott's Vietnam draft deferments popped up on my screen. Turns out there's his version, and the Selective Service System's version. From the January, 1997 (Memphis) Commercial Appeal [available at lexis.com):

Sen. Lott's version:

''I was a little bit ahead of the Vietnam curve,'' says Lott. ''Very few of my classmates went to Vietnam, but it was the next year or two after that when they really did start.'' Lott says, ''I never had an actual deferment, as I recall. But I never got drafted. I went from whatever it was, 1-A (eligible for the draft) to whatever you got in those years when you got married.''
(our emphasis)

The Selective Service System's version:

Official records, though, indicate Lott did receive two types of deferments. The Selective Service System says Lott was classified 1-A, or eligible, on Oct. 20, 1960. But he received an educational deferment on Sept. 12, 1963, a year before what the Selective Service considers the 1964-72 Vietnam era. (The United States halted the draft in 1972 when the military became an all-volunteer force.)

...Lott returned to 1-A status from March 11 to Sept. 20, 1965 - a heavy Vietnam draft year. But his enrollment in law school qualified him for a graduate educational deferment. As Lott neared law school graduation, he received a 3-A hardship deferment on April 12, 1967. [Lew Brodsky, director of public and congressional affairs for the Selective Service System } said the 3-A was available to men who declared family hardships, ranging from a dependent parent to a child, or even one on the way, as was Lott's first child.

All of Lott's deferments were legitimate, so why didn't he acknowledge them?

This story is so typical -

I am a senior citizen. During the Clinton Administration I had an extremely good and well paying job. I took numerous vacations and had several vacation homes.

Since President Bush took office, I have watched my entire life change for the worse. I lost my job. I lost my two sons in that terrible Iraqi War. I lost my homes. I lost my health insurance. As a matter of fact I lost virtually everything and became homeless.

Adding insult to injury, when the authorities found me living like an animal, instead of helping me, they arrested me. I will do anything that Senator Kerry wants to insure that a Democrat is back in the White House come next year. Bush has to go.
Sincerely,

Saddam Hussein

Author Kitty Kelly was on Aaron Brown's Newsnight discussing her book on the Bush family. A summary of the interview:

Ms. Kelly said the book is an unsettling image of the Bush family, and a realistic one. She stands behind everything in it. She's 100% comfortable with her sources and documentation. Even on Sharon Bush. On Sharon and the cocaine allegation that Bush and one of his brothers used cocaine many times --including at Camp David while Bush, Sr. was President. She says the interview with Sharon occurred on 4/1/2003. there was another person named Lou present (I didn't catch the last name) . Kelly said Sharon came to her, not the other way around, and even confirmed the quotes next day in front of Kelly's editor. Kelly said she took Sharon to see her editor because she wanted to give speeches. She says she has two independent witnesses for the Sharon Bush allegations.

Kelly said Sharon talked about former President Bush's infidelity. During her interview over lunch, told Kitty and Lou that Neil left her a telephone message that if she didn't watch herself, she might find herself in a dark alley.

Kelly said George would drink and ignore Laura. She talked about how abusive GW was to Laura and that Bush Sr and Barbara didn't speak to him because of it for a year. She says that lots of people she interviewed said there was spousal abuse, but she couldn't find one to go on record who had first hand knowledge of it and said that there were no police or other written reports to confirm what people told her.

Regarding the National Guard service, Kelly said the Guard began drug testing around April, 1972, when Bush didn't show for his physical. She says, "connect the dots." She says "it bears examination" whether he didn't take the physical because he would have had to take a drug test. She doesn't think it's a coincidence that between April, 1972 to October, 1972, he didn't fly or take a physical.

Kelly said that if we could find the Flight Inquiry board records, they would tell the story. It has the medical information.

She was matter of fact, non-emotive and kind of boring.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has accused the Bush Administration of leaking classified data to a journalist for partisan purposes. Who? Bob Woodward.