MONDAY, AUGUST 20
I don’t have that much today. I’ve posted articles on a fascinating Wild West UFO story, an annoyed rant about Staples and their rewards program, and just went around being nasty. Seriously, I am trying to make some changes to the appearance of The Pink Flamingo and blogging on the Mac is driving me a little batty. I have no capacity to add photos unless I go through this disgusting photo album annoyance. I can’t use Blogjet, Flckr, or anything I know how to do. I guess you can tell I am tired, disgusted and just plain _ it _hy about the whole thing. To make it even worse I can’t even copy and paste a photo to set up the blog.
Then – something has happened to the Viao – I can’t get Internet Explorer to load. It won’t accept my Linksys system. I can load a few pages through AOL, but that’s about it. I wonder if I could back end my web postings through AOL?
All I know is I’ve been working since 11AM and have almost nothing to show for it but an aching back. I just don’t understand why something that should be so easy, adding a photo to a current posing, should be so difficult.
I’ve been wondering when this was going to happen. A liberal blogger has filed an FEC complaint against Fred Thompson’s uncampaign. I’m sorry, but I have a lot of questions myself. Is he skirting ethics rules by raising money and not announcing?
FEC requires “5 factors” for ‘testing the waters’:
“…These fits and starts might raise the enigma of when an exploratory committee morphs into an actual campaign — which, under law, starts a 15-day countdown for a candidate to inform the FEC of his or her plans.
Five factors determine whether an individual has crossed over from “testing the waters” to becoming a candidate for federal office, according to Paul Ryan, FEC program director for the Campaign Legal Center. Thompson appears clear on three of them: using political advertising to publish the intention to run for federal office; making or authorizing statements referring to one as a candidate; or taking action to qualify on a ballot under state law.
But on two issues — whether Thompson has raised more money than could be expected to be used for exploratory activities, and whether his months of “testing the waters” have been a “protracted period of time” as outlined by federal law as qualifying someone as a candidate — Thompson could have trouble. While Friends of Fred Thompson raised $3.45 million in June, it spent only $626,000 that month in the process of testing the waters.
“Reasonable minds could disagree” over both those issues, Ryan said.
“Federal law doesn’t say when you have to tell the public you’re a candidate. It does say when you have to tell the FEC you’re a candidate” based on the five factors, he said.
The fact that there have been numerous media reports, citing sources close to Thompson, that he is definitely a candidate could potentially put him in a bind. “To the extent several weeks ago that Mr. Thompson decided he is going to run, I think a fair reading of federal campaign finance law is that that started the 15-day clock for him to register a principal campaign committee,” Ryan said.
Luckily for Thompson, enforcement is a tricky thing. “The other side of that coin, though, is that it would be incredibly difficult to prove as a matter of law that he had decided to run then had 15 days but failed to register the committee when in fact he could come back and say, ‘No, what I decided then was not to run, and then I changed my mind,’” Ryan said….”
Five factors determine whether an individual has crossed over from “testing the waters” to becoming a candidate for federal office, according to Paul Ryan, FEC program director for the Campaign Legal Center. Thompson appears clear on three of them: using political advertising to publish the intention to run for federal office; making or authorizing statements referring to one as a candidate; or taking action to qualify on a ballot under state law.
But on two issues — whether Thompson has raised more money than could be expected to be used for exploratory activities, and whether his months of “testing the waters” have been a “protracted period of time” as outlined by federal law as qualifying someone as a candidate — Thompson could have trouble. While Friends of Fred Thompson raised $3.45 million in June, it spent only $626,000 that month in the process of testing the waters.
“Reasonable minds could disagree” over both those issues, Ryan said.
“Federal law doesn’t say when you have to tell the public you’re a candidate. It does say when you have to tell the FEC you’re a candidate” based on the five factors, he said.
The fact that there have been numerous media reports, citing sources close to Thompson, that he is definitely a candidate could potentially put him in a bind. “To the extent several weeks ago that Mr. Thompson decided he is going to run, I think a fair reading of federal campaign finance law is that that started the 15-day clock for him to register a principal campaign committee,” Ryan said.
Luckily for Thompson, enforcement is a tricky thing. “The other side of that coin, though, is that it would be incredibly difficult to prove as a matter of law that he had decided to run then had 15 days but failed to register the committee when in fact he could come back and say, ‘No, what I decided then was not to run, and then I changed my mind,’” Ryan said….”
Do pedophiles have a “gray matter” disability in the brain?
The Florida Masochist has news of yet another Ron Paul straw poll victory. Ron Paul’s success is being ignored by the MSM. And there are According to David Duke,Christians for Ron Paul. (Guess these aren’t the ones putting pornographic trackbacks on my blog).
MUST READ: The Palmetto Scoop has one of the best editorials about John McCain that I’ve seen.
What Tancredo did today is proof that these anti-immigration conservatives have no shame.
After Malkin’s performance on O’Reilly tonight was just as bad.
A QUICK MINI RANT
How much longer are we going to be 'honored' by immature, un-reasonable, vicious behavior by the anti-immigration right? There is something very nasty and very ugly going on in this country. I know I sound like a broken record, but I think I would rather be wrong on the side of being a little too liberal about human rights and freedoms than way too conservative in the way the ultra-extreme-right views conservative today. What I heard on Laura Ingraham today when she was interviewing Geraldo was disgusting. She was horrible, crude, patronizing and downright mean. I think it is a sad day for the country and for "conservatives" in general when they start sounding and acting like Michael Savage. Ingraham acted like Malkin - take out anyone who disagrees with you. If people don't march lock-step with your beliefs, then treat them like dirt.
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