Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign is hardly being taken seriously by the major media in this country, and that fact was on full display Tuesday night when NBC's Tim Russert took time from the Democratic candidates' debate to ask Kucinich's views on little green men.
Russert asked Kucinich about a recent claimby actress Shirley MacLaine, a longtime friend to the Ohio congressman, that he saw was very moved by an encounter with a UFO many years ago. Kucinich acknowledged the encounter with a mysterious, hovering, triangular craft, but he left open whether he thought it was carrying space invaders.
"I did," he said. "It was an unidentified flying object, OK? It's like, it's unidentified; I saw something." MacLaine wrote that Kucinich found the experience "extremely moving."
"The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him," she wrote. "It hovered, soundless, for 10 minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind." Dennis does have a trophy wife- 6' tall red haired Elizabeth Kucinich. She is 30 years younger than "K" and talks a lot about karma.

AND IN A RELATED STORY........
GOP turns impeachment resolution against Dems
By Jonathan E. Kaplan- The Hill
November 07, 2007
House Republicans on Tuesday nearly forced Democratic leaders to vote on a resolution to impeach Vice President Cheney.
Anti-war presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced a privileged resolution, used to circumvent the committee process, to get his impeachment measure to the House floor. Read the full story at: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-turns-impeachment-resolution-against-dems-2007-11-07.html

Pay your dues or lose in Nov.,

Tom Cole says
By Jackie Kucinich- THE HILL- Full Story below
November 07, 2007
House Republican leaders called on rank-and-file members Tuesday to step up their contributions to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) or face life in the minority for many cycles to come.
During a closed-door meeting, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) told members that donations to the campaign committee should be a major priority, according to sources in the room. Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.) said it is normal for leaders to nudge members to part with some of their campaign funds since many have a natural tendency to be stingy. “[Cole] was encouraging members to meet their obligations to the committee, attend dinners and regional events,” he said, adding that it was common to have speeches such as Cole’s when Republicans were in the majority as well. “Members work hard to raise money, and it is a lot harder [in the minority],” he said. “They can get a little tight-fisted.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) also addressed the issue, according to sources in the room, and announced the creation of challenger fund” within the NRCC. The new program would direct funds exclusively to challengers and open-seat races around the country. He stressed that the funds would in no way take from the donations that already go to supporting incumbents in tough races. GOP leaders have a right to be concerned. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has collected $13.4 million from members who have transferred funds from their campaign coffers, while House GOP transfers to NRCC have totaled $6.1 million.
Boehner and Cole clashed earlier this fall over fundraising and staffing issues at the NRCC. Both men downplayed the dispute and claim their differences have been settled.

The NRCC has achieved 42 percent of its member fundraising goal but Cole said during the meeting that if member contributions from the annual fundraising dinners, dues and debt retirement were 100 percent, the NRCC would have raised $33 million. NRCC still has $3.575 million in debt, according to a source familiar with the GOP leaders’ presentation. NRCC’s cash on hand is dwarfed by DCCC’s. At the end of September, DCCC had $28.3 million cash on hand with nearly $3 million in debt while NRCC had $1.6 million cash on hand.
Cole said in an interview later that appealing to members is a part of the job. “We are in the middle of our dues drive,” Cole explained, adding he was confident members had a “pretty good handle” on what they need to do financially to win back the majority.

According to Democratic Party officials, the DCCC strives to collect about one-third from members campaign funds, with the rest of the money coming from grassroots efforts, individual small-dollar donors, and high-dollar donors. In another indication of Cole’s emphasis of the need for Republicans to embrace an anti-Washington message, Massachusetts Republican Jim Ogonowski was asked to address the House GOP conference on Tuesday. Ogonowski came within a handful of percentage points of defeating Democrat Niki Tsongas in a special election to replace Rep. Marty Meehan (D) last month. Due to the left leaning composition of the district, Republicans touted Ogonowski’s narrow race as a victory and billed it as a sign that the base is displeased with how the Democratic majority has run the Congress.

According to sources in the room, Ogonowski explained that his anti-Washington establishment campaign resonated with voters. Ogonowski blasted both parties throughout his campaign, going so far as to criticize Boehner over controversial comments on Iraq. Cole described Ogonowski as the GOP “Rocky,” adding, “He was playing in some very tough terrain.” Asked whether the Massachusetts Republican would run again next year, Cole said Ogonowski had not decided.

Brownback to endorse McCain
Wednesday, November 07, 2007 07:21:53 AM
from the Conservative Voice

Sam Brownback, a Kansas conservative and favorite of evangelical Christians, will endorse his former Republican presidential rival John McCain, GOP officials said Wednesday.
The nod could provide a much-needed boost, particularly in Iowa, for the Arizona senator and one-time presumed GOP front-runner whose bid faltered and is now looking for a comeback.
Republican officials said Brownback will announce his support for McCain later Wednesday in Dubuque, Iowa, and then travel with the candidate to campaign in two other cities in the state. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid publicly pre-empting the announcement.
It's uncertain how much weight the Brownback's backing will carry; the Kansas senator dropped out of the race last month with little money and little support. While he is a favorite of religious conservatives, he failed to persuade them to embrace him as the GOP's consensus conservative candidate. He spent months emphasizing his rock-solid opposition to abortion, gay marriage and other issues important to the party's right flank, but left the race ranking low in national polls and state surveys.
Still, Brownback's backing could signal to evangelical Christians that they can trust McCain and could help solidify McCain's credentials on social issues. The endorsement could be especially important in Iowa, where McCain trails in polls. This is a surprise because most thought Brownback would endorse fellow social conservative Mike Huckabee, however Brownback and McCain serve in the Senate together and that is a tight fraternity. Read the entire story at the link:

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D8SOQSPG0&apc=9008

Blogger Mike McCarville has a series on his blog of the State's Most Influential Political Figures...And Why. I did not show up on the list- Mike is presenting them alphabetically and he is past the "F"s, but there is always next year. Duncan native and Lt. Governor Jari Askins is on the list, as are all the Congressional delegation. Check it out at
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/

http://egopnews.com/

This is a new link that has some excellent information for the political junkie. It includes national and state updates. Well worth hitting on a regular basis

QUR'AN CONTROVERSY CONTINUES!
Evidently, a Pete Lamb sent a letter to the Norman Transcript that ran Sunday attacking State Representative Scott Martin for not accepting the Centennial Qur'an. I have stated my opinion in previous posts and while I see nothing wrong with taking the book, others disagree. Lamb is using the issue to attack a good legislator and that is wrong. Below is a letter to The Transcript that defends Martin and I have obtained the authors permission to post.
Dear Editor Rieger:
Pete Lamb’s open letter to Rep. Scott Martin published on The Transcript’s Nov. 1st editorial page revealed that Pete was perplexed concerning Scott’s decline of an offer to receive a copy of the Quran from the Governor’s Ethnic Advisory Council, which I understand consist of Muslin’s only. Let me shed some light on this for Pete: The Muslim members were providing these copies at their own personal expense, and to avoid ordering more copies than would be accepted, they sent e-mails to each representative to determine how many to order, asking for a "Yes" or "No" response to their offer.

Those making the offer are well acquainted with Scott and some of the other legislators, and the Muslims who made the offer are too polite to embarrass anyone or put them on the spot. It was a good-will gesture, and it was not their intention to make a big deal of their offer being refused or accepted.

Let me explain further: If a hospitable Okie invited his Muslim friend to Van’s Pig Stand for some pork ribs, a devout Muslim might appreciate the invitation, but would refuse the offer, and the Okie should not take offense at the refusal to dine with him, particularly when the Muslim explains that he understands it is wrong to eat pork. And chances are, the Muslim won’t mind if his Okie friend does go alone and enjoy lunch at Van’s.

Scott is a devout Christian, and his decline of the Quran copy was a reflection of his own convictions. Being straightforward sort he is, Scott did not pretend that he would accept the book, but then turn and let it gather dust: Being painfully polite Scott thankfully declined their offer, allowing them to accurately count those who wanted a copy. Yes, maybe it would be better politics to accept it and pretend to have intentions of reading or studying it. But with Scott, what you see is what you get!

Mr. Lamb has let the rude response from a Sands Springs State Representative get confused with the polite decline from our Representative Martin. The Muslims who know Scott Martin are not upset with him, and we can all be proud of him!

Sincerely,

Bobby Cleveland

Clinton Papers Won't Be

Released Until After Election
Diane Blair Papers Detailing 1992 Clinton Campaign Won't Be Released Until 2009
By JAKE TAPPER
Nov. 6, 2007 —
Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has been taking heat from her Democratic and Republican opponents for the reams of papers detailing her various activities as First Lady that the National Archives has yet to release from the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library.
And now questions are being raised about why another set of papers relevant to her political career at yet another Arkansas library will not be available to the public until well after election day 2008, despite earlier indications that the papers would have been released by now.
Those papers were written by Diane Blair, a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, who taught and engaged in Arkansas politics until her death due to lung cancer in 2000. This is an obvious attempt to keep damaging information out of the public eye until after the November 2008 election. Does the public have a right to know? When we are electing the President of the United States, we not only have a right, but a responsibility to know what is in those documents Hillary doesn't want released until after the election. Read the entire story at http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=3825609.