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CNN double checked with its reporter and confirmed that Reid meant Palin personally, everyone on the CNN panel had to admit this term is never used against men and that Reid's remark is a mistake that can help validate Palin's attacks on the democrats. Priceless, they also said Reid hates McCain and Reid played right into the republicans' hands. They said Reid was upset last night too. Guess he thinks only the left should have a political convention. CNN just came back from the break and is still covering this story. Lol now Paul Begala is saying only calling Sarah...

CNN: Harry Reid releases statement, attacking Palin's speech as "shrill".. The talking heads are somewhat aghast, noting the sexist implications of the term "shrill"..

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - While pundits roundly panned Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) convention speech on Tuesday as ineffective, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) seems to think it had sharp enough barbs to merit a statement. Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000, repeatedly impugned Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) message of change and post-partisanship during an address that keynoted the GOP's first full day of convention activities. "Both presidential candidates this year talk about changing the culture of Washington," Lieberman said. "But only one of them has actually done it. Only one leader has shown the courage and the...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was not happy with Sen. Joe Lieberman’s speech before the Republican National Convention Tuesday night.

Democrats and Republicans have scripted their conventions as tightly as possible. But after delegates return home with buttons, badges and banners, the curtain will rise on a more unruly drama: the fall session of Congress. And it could affect the November election more than the conventions. The House and Senate return to Washington Monday, Sept. 8. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hope it will be a short session, ending on Sept. 26. That will allow members to go home and campaign, not to return until after Election Day. Good luck. Congress hasn't yet passed any...

Fears are mounting that Russia may restrict oil deliveries to Western Europe over coming days, in response to the threat of EU sanctions and Nato naval actions in the Black Sea. Any such move would be a dramatic escalation of the Georgia crisis and play havoc with the oil markets. Reports have begun to circulate in Moscow that Russian oil companies are under orders from the Kremlin to prepare for a supply cut to Germany and Poland through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. It is believed that executives from lead-producer LUKoil have been put on weekend alert. "They have been told...

Aug 25, 2008 Several Politicians Named as Punishers of the Poor at Press Conference Denver, CO—A coalition of leaders from the African American, civil rights, faith-based and veteran communities this week blasted several Members of Congress as “Punishers of the Poor,” saying that they all scored a perfect zero on an affordable energy voting scorecard. The six politicians who earned top honors as the “worst of the worst” among those supporting higher energy prices—and who were memoralized in a Punishers of the Poor deck of playing cards—are these: Joker: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Joker: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Ace...

Democrats and Republicans have scripted their conventions as tightly as possible. But after delegates return home with buttons, badges and banners, the curtain will rise on a more unruly drama: the fall session of Congress. And it could affect the November election more than the conventions.The House and Senate return to Washington Monday, Sept. 8. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hope it will be a short session, ending on Sept. 26. That will allow members to go home and campaign, not to return until after Election Day. Good luck.Congress hasn't yet passed any one of...

Reid Statement On Reports Of Agreement To Withdraw U.S. Combat Troops From Iraq By End Of 2011 Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to press reports that U.S. and Iraqi negotiators are close to agreeing to withdraw U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the end of 2011: “While the Administration has spent the last two years doing everything in its power to block a change in course that would made America more secure, it appears the Bush Administration is finally inching toward adopting key elements of the strategy long advocated by Senate Democrats...

Oil, the David Copperfield of financial market assets, pulled another impressive trick out of its hat yesterday. But it's getting harder to believe the illusion any more. Crude surged $5.62 (U.S.) to $121.18 a barrel in New York yesterday, storming back after dipping below $112 earlier in the week. The rebound has certainly caught the attention of the oil-fuelled Canadian stock market, which is up 3.6 per cent over the past two days. Sure, there were a few reasons tossed out there for oil's move: sabre-rattling by major oil producer Russia over a U.S. missile defence pact with Poland, jitters...

TEMECULA, Calif. -- As top Democrats address their national convention in Denver, they will propose "ending" Operation Iraqi Freedom, demand a speedy withdrawal of U.S. forces there, and insist that "Bush lied, and people died." What they will not do is apologize for their nearly universal failure in judgment regarding President Bush's spring 2007 Surge of 20,000 troops into Iraq. Widespread Democratic defeatism and lack of faith in our GIs' ability to win gouged a gap between their forecasts of doom yesterday and Iraq's far sunnier outlook today. With few exceptions, Democrats got this one dead wrong. "I am not...

Here's an intriguing thought: The John McCain-Barack Obama fight isn't this season's biggest political story. That honor should be reserved for the intense Democratic push to win a filibuster-proof Senate majority. Democrats know this is a huge prize, and they are throwing at least as much money and sweat into that effort as they are into electing Mr. Obama. What isn't clear is that voters are as aware of the stakes. An unstoppable Democratic Senate has the potential to alter the balance of power in Washington in ways not yet seen. A quick recap of the numbers: Republicans must defend...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and John McCain have never exactly enjoyed a close relationship, but the Democratic leader was exceedingly blunt Wednesday in his assessment of his colleague from Arizona. "I can't stand John McCain," Reid flatly told his hometown paper, the Las Vegas Review Journal in comments published Thursday. The Nevada Democrat also said he had recently expressed that sentiment to Democrat-turned Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, an ardent supporter of McCain who has agreed to speak at the Republican convention early next month.

Nevada - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that during a phone call with Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, he mentioned his intense dislike of John McCain. "I told him last night, 'You know, Joe, I can't stand John McCain and the way he thinks America is so great.' " Reid said. Lieberman later said his reply was, "Of course you don't like McCain, he's not the Taliban." He continued, "If you  look past his hatred for the United States and his aid and comfort to our enemies, Harry is actually a pretty nice guy. You know, he suffered a severe...

(The Politico) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had some harsh words for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Thursday, telling the Las Vegas Review Journal; "I can't stand John McCain. In the interview, Reid also defended Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, after the former Democratic vice presidential nominee accepted a speaking slot at next month's Republican convention in Minnesota. "He has a close personal relationship with John McCain. I don't fully understand why he does," Reid told the paper. "I told him last night, 'You know, Joe, I can't stand John McCain.' He said, 'I know you feel that way,' " Reid...

As the 110th Congress continues its August recess, the big legislative news is that it has passed fewer laws than any Congress in the last two decades. An outfit known as Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that the fighting 110th has passed a mere 294 laws, while nonetheless finding time to consider 1,932 resolutions favoring such causes as National Watermelon Month. This is apparently supposed to be a matter of public consternation because Congress should be accomplishing more. Sorry, but that's the best thing we've heard about this Congress. What a relief to discover the destruction could have been so...

This is an in-between day. It's as if people are holding their breaths, maybe planning a quick shopping trip to pick up last minute stuff before they head off to Denver where the Democratic National Convention will begin on the 25th. The invitations are in the mail. Mine hasn't arrived yet, so I guess I won't be going. And I won't be going to St. Paul either when the Republicans get together for their big hoohah. That one I'd actually like to go to. Not since Ronald Reagan changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican has there been the...

Oil up six bucks a barrel, drill here, drill now!!!!

Members of Congress Love a Good Resolution; Watermelons and Undertakers Fit the Bill WASHINGTON -- The 110th Congress, whose term officially ends in January, hasn't passed any spending bills or attacked high gasoline prices. But it has used its powers to celebrate watermelons and to decree the origins of the word "baseball." Barring a burst of legislative activity after Labor Day, this group of 535 men and women will have accomplished a rare feat. In two decades of record keeping, no sitting Congress has passed fewer public laws at this point in the session -- 294 so far -- than...

LAS VEGAS -- How do we make Nevada and the rest of the country more energy efficient? That's the question environmental experts and politicians are hoping to answer at a two-day summit at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Former President Bill Clinton kicked off the event Monday night with a challenge to the Silver State. The former president said the only way to get everyone on board to go green is to make one state completely clean energy self-sufficient -- and he thinks Nevada has what it takes. “Maybe what you ought to do is come out of this conference...

Republican John McCain is scheduled to make it today to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico to promote his energy policy -- and bash Democratic rival Barack Obama. The Democratic National Committee is handing out "ExxonMcCain '08" bumper stickers to reporters today, along with a stress reliever shaped like an oil drum. The antiwar advocacy group MoveOn.org is planning protests across the country, including one at noon today at Republican Party offices in Boston. "Senator Obama opposes new drilling," McCain plans to say, according to excerpts released by his campaign. "He has said it will not 'solve our...

On November 5, 2008 nearly half of the voting public will be disappointed that their presidential nominee did not win. If history and the most recent presidential elections are any indication, the November presidential election will be another very close election. If my choice for president does not win, so be it. That’s the process and I still had the opportunity to exercise my right and responsibility to vote. But my greater disappointment would be if more Democrats are elected to the House and Senate, which would further empower Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the respective leaders of those chambers...

"I think it's important for the American people to understand we're not going to drill our way out of this problem. It's also important to recognize if you start drilling now you won't see a drop of oil for ten years, which means it's not going to have a significant impact on short-term prices." - U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Aug. 8, 2008 If Senator Obama - as well as every other leading Democrat who's uttered some variation of the above - merely wanted to remind the American people that there are no easy answers to the ongoing energy crisis, I'd...

(The Politico) Barack Obama has chosen Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to carry the Democratic party's message on energy policy, giving Reid a prime Wednesday speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention. Reid will join a heavy hitting lineup that night that includes Bill Clinton, whomever Obama chooses as his vice president,, Bill Richardson and Joseph R. Biden (D-Del.). "One of the greatest security challenges facing the country today is reducing our dependence on oil, especially from foreign sources," the Democratic National Committee said in a release. "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will discuss Barack Obama’s plans to make America...

Republicans are threatening to block the annual extension of the ban on offshore oil drilling, claiming to be building support for an effort that Democrats say smacks of a threat to shut down the government.Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has announced that 36 of the 49 GOP senators had signed a letter to Senate leaders supporting the designation of Oct. 1 - the deadline for renewing the ban for the 28th straight year - as "American Freedom Energy Day" and opposing the extension of the prohibition.The letter, addressed to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,...

Will John McCain turn Tsar Putin’s invasion of Georgia into a drill, drill, drill issue? He should. It will throw Democrats even more on the defensive -- especially Sen. Obama whose weak response to Putin’s neo-Soviet actions have already put him way behind the eight ball on Russia. McCain’s responses have been superb. And President Bush today adopted many of them -- in particular the warnings on world trade, the G8 (G7?), and a Truman-like airlift of humanitarian assistance relief. Even sending Condi Rice over there and putting SecDef Bob Gates into play. McCain has been appropriately tough all along....

Congressional Republicans are poised to shut down the government if they are not allowed a vote on new oil drilling legislation. This comes even as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated she could budge on allowing a drilling vote, which so far she and her Senate counterpart have blocked from seeing daylight in Congress.Current bans on the Outer Continental Shelf and oil shale drilling expire on the first day of the coming fiscal year: Oct. 1. Now, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is leading a group of GOP senators celebrating the day, which they have dubbed "American Energy Freedom Day.""The overwhelming majority...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - As the House GOP began the eighth day of its offshore drilling protest on Tuesday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) led a petition asking the Senate leadership let the ban on drilling expire on Oct. 1.Republicans want to lift the legislative ban on coastal exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). President George W. Bush already lifted a 1990 executive order last month prohibiting drilling.The legislative moratorium expires on the first day of October, a day DeMint calls "American Energy Freedom Day.""We strongly encourage you to allow the expiration of...

President George W. Bush announced the dispatch of a U.S. military aircraft carrying medical supplies to the Georgian capital of Tblisi on Wednesday morning, warning Russia that he expected it to be allowed to deliver its aid by air and sea. The statement, with its echoes of the 1961 Berlin airlift, upped tensions between the two former Cold War adversaries. The day after Russia agreed to a French-brokered cease-fire, Russian troops followed by irregular fighters pushed deep into Georgia, aiming to seize the strategic city of Gori and cutting the main highway that crosses the country to the capital Tbilisi....

Mideast edition, Thursday, August 14, 2008 ARLINGTON, Va. — President Bush has ordered the U.S. military to begin a humanitarian mission in Georgia. "This mission will be vigorous and ongoing," Bush said Wednesday at the White House, adding that a U.S. C-17 aircraft with humanitarian supplies was on its way to Georgia. Russian troops and tanks invaded the country last week in response to a Georgian offensive intended to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia. The Russian president later ordered Russian forces to halt their drive into Georgia, but it was unclear Wednesday whether Russian troops had moved further...

In late 2006, China for the first time in its history became a net coal importer. This changed the dyanmics of the world's energy market. Korea and Japan, previously importers of Chinese coal, were sent scrambling for alternative sources of energy. What they found in the winter of 2007 was LNG for $18-$20/BTU. China too was a willing buyer. The coal scramble was also felt in Europe. Australian coal was bottlenecked and/or kept in the Asian region. Power outages in South African coal mines made the situation worse for Europeans as they lost out on significant supply. What followed was...

When House Speaker Pelosi abruptly and literally turned off the lights in Congress on August 1st and sent the members on a five-week vacation, she thought she was doing something clever. C-SPAN can only broadcast Congress while Congress is in session. If there was no session, there would be no cameras to cover the debate over providing relief to American families from historically high gas prices. If there were no C-SPAN, Americans would never get to see the Speaker and the anti-energy left's stubborn refusal to lift the ban on offshore drilling, refusal to lift the ban on drilling in...

Democrats Lead by Eight on Generic Ballot Tuesday, August 12, 2008 The Republicans have tightened the gap somewhat in the Generic Congressional Ballot. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that, if given the choice, 45% of voters would choose their district’s Democratic candidate, while 37% would choose the Republican candidate. Support for the Democrats is down just two points from last week, but support for the GOP is up three points from last week.

The mantra from Barack Obama and congressional Democrat leaders is that they represent "change" - and when it comes to gas prices, they certainly have a point. The cost to heat and air-condition American homes is certainly "changing" in very negative ways for the American consumer, as is the cost of getting to work or taking a trip with the family.    Regular readers of this column know that I have been critical of Republicans' performance on many issues. But on energy today, the GOP on Capitol Hill has shown that it understands that oil supply must be increased, and...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are the two most powerful Democrats in Congress and our nation. They have the power to influence the passage or defeat of legislation to be sent to the president for his approval or veto. They also have the power to block or deny debate on legislation that they feel they might lose if such legislation would get to the floor of the two respective chambers of our Congress. If that latter tactic does not achieve their goal of trying to manipulate the will of the people for even...

Russian jets targeted a key oil pipeline with over 50 missiles in a weekend bombing raid in Georgia that raised fears the conflict will tighten Moscow's stranglehold on Europe's energy supplies. Deep craters pockmark the landscape south of the Georgian capital Tblisi in a Y-shaped pattern straddling the British-operated pipeline. The attack left two deep holes less than 100 yards either side of a pressure vent on the pipeline. Shrapnel of highly engineered munitions litters the area. There was no visible damage to the pipeline. Its vulnerability is summed up by a yellow hazard sign next to the vent warning...

After more than two decades on the books, a little-known yet strictly enforced federal law barring foreigners with HIV or AIDS from entering the country is on its way out. Tucked in a bill pledging $48 billion to combat the disease, signed into law by President Bush last week, was language stripping the provision from federal immigration law. But that change didn't fully lift the entry ban on visitors with HIV or AIDS, which applies whether they're on tourist jaunts or seeking longer stays. The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services still needs to delete HIV from...

BREAKING NEWS: Georgian troops are preparing to defend the town of Gori against the advancing Russian army.

THE UN headquarters on New York's East River was supposed to have been in darkness on Friday night, the diplomats tucked up at home to watch the fireworks of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. Instead, they were in their offices long into the night. As overhead television screens outside the Security Council showed Russian tanks invading Georgia, Russian and Georgian envoys traded insults. Russia's irritation with Georgia dates to November 2003 when pro-democracy protestors took to the street ADVERTISEMENT s in the so- called Rose Revolution to denounce an election rigged by pro-Moscow politicians. The result was a new election...

The survey results, obtained prior to Congress breaking for its annual summer recess, is an indication that significant change may be afoot in this year’s congressional elections. In the 1994 and 2006 mid-term elections, just 38 percent of registered voters said they would back incumbents for Congress, which resulted in control of the House switching from one party to the other. In the presidential election year of 1994, only 29 percent of registered voters said they would back incumbents running for re-election, which resulted in a number of congressman losing office, though party control of the House remained unchanged.

1. Is Harry Reid keeping the Senate open again? It doesn't seem like it.... 2. In that case - is Bush making recess appointments? He ought to. Thanks.

As John McCain and the GOP leaders nationalize the drill, drill, drill message, the Republican Party might conceivably be riding a summer political rally. The question of offshore drilling, along with expanded domestic energy production, has suddenly become the biggest political and economic wedge issue of this election. Is there a Republican tsunami in the making? According to the major polls, Sen. McCain has overcome a big deficit to pull even with Obama. Meanwhile, according to a Rasmussen survey, Democratic Party identification has slumped. As Republicans on the House floor shouted "vote, vote, vote" and "lower gas prices," the Democratic...

Oil prices jumped Monday in Asia on concern that a showdown over Iran's nuclear program could threaten crude supplies out of the Middle East. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that the United States would have no choice "but to begin again to prepare sanctions resolutions for the (U.N.) Security Council" if Iran did not halt the development of its uranium enrichment program. Rice said that given the U.N.'s current scheduling, sanctions probably could not be expected in the next few weeks, but the U.S. will begin working with allies toward that goal. "There's concern about a potential...

Big Oil Continues to Rake in Record Profits August 1, 2008 Washington, DC—Senate Democrats responded today to a Department of Labor report which indicates that the nation shed another 51,000 jobs in July – the seventh straight month of losses – as unemployment rose to a four-year high of 5.7 percent and Chevron announced a second-quarter profits of nearly $6 billion. Democrats also called attention to the disproportionately higher unemployment rate among Hispanic American workers.According to the Department of Labor report, the unemployment rate among Hispanics was 7.4 % last month. The disproportionately higher jobless rate among Latinos underscores the...

Partisan Trends Number of Democrats in US Declines in July Saturday, August 02, 2008 During July, the number of Americans who consider themselves to be Democrats fell two percentage points to 39.2%. That’s the first time since January that the number of Democrats has fallen below 41% (see history from January 2004 to present). While the number of Democrats declined, there was virtually no change in the number of Republicans. In July, 31.6% said they were Republicans, the fourth straight month that number has been below 31.4% and 31.6%.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators seeking to end the energy wars raging in Congress unveiled new legislation Friday that would allow some offshore oil drilling but also would invest heavily in wind and solar power, electric vehicles and alternative fuels. The new proposal arose as tempers flared anew over energy in Congress on Friday. As the House adjourned for its August break without a vote on new oil drilling, Republicans refused to leave, continuing the debate in a darkened chamber with the microphones off. Democrats called it a stunt. Republicans likened it to "a Boston tea party on energy"...

In the Senate, it nowadays apparently takes a self-appointed, biparitsan "gang" of senators to get past the partisan gridlock. For instance, there was the Gang of 14 group of senators who helped the Senate get beyond an impasse on judicial appointments a few years ago. Today, a new group of senators calling itself the Gang of Ten, announced that it had arrived at a compromise energy proposal meant to break the partisan logjam that exists on the issue. The group's members are: Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu...

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday he would back limited offshore drilling as part of a broader energy package that attempted to bring down gas prices and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Obama dropped his blanket opposition to any expansion of offshore drilling and signaled support for a bipartisan compromise in Congress aimed at breaking a deadlock on energy that includes limited drilling. "My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post...

<p>I just called and said "There's a Republican revolt going on int the House Chamber and I wasn't seeing much coverage of it." I got a run around on it. Was told several times "There are no cameras on now. Cameras are not allowed." I objected, politely, that the story could still be covered.</p>

The increasingly overt madness of America’s so-called progressive left makes one wonder what people on earth the DNC might be the party of…? It certainly isn’t the average American. When average Democrats across the country rejected Howard Dean as a left-wing nut in his White House bid, progressive party elites decided he was the perfect nut to become chairman of the entire Democrat Party. (snip) This Is the Party of What People? Black racists? International socialists? Foul mouthed adolescent misfits and malcontents? Who? (snip) If today’s DNC is the “party of the people,” I want to know “what people?” (snip)...