Kevorkian really wants you to pull the lever

That is, if you want to vote for “Dr. Death” to be your next Congressman in suburban Detroit.

Hell, I bet he has no problem meeting the requirement of getting 3,000 signatures by July 17. That would get him on the November ballot as an independent. Per the local suburban paper, the Oakland Press:

He lives in the 9th Congressional District. The seat is held by eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills. Democrats currently filed to run include former Michigan Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters.

Kevorkian is still on parole, until June 1, 2009, for his second-degree murder conviction April 13, 1999 for his participation in the assisted suicide of Thomas Youk. Michigan law does not bar him from running for office.

Here’s the take on Jack’s run from the prosecutor in that case:

“I would place Jack Kevorkian’s candidacy in the same ranking with (Texas U.S. Rep.) Ron Paul’s (presidential run),” Dave Gorcyca said.

“It’s probably more of a publicity stunt. To call attention to himself is standard protocol for Jack when he doesn’t have the limelight focused on him. I would not consider his candidacy to be a legitimate one.”

First, while Jack can flock to the limelight, I think this limelight NEEDS his presence.

Second, Gorcyca shows himself to be a stuffed-shirt suburban Republican, with the dismissal of Ron Paul as well. (Not that Ron Paul isn’t a huge nutbar, but, that’s not why Gorcyca is dissing him and you know that.)

Third, Knollenberg was re-elected in 2006 with just 51.6 percent of the vote. And, the economy in Michigan has deteriorated further since then, making him vulnerable.

Could Kevorkian bring out a number of libertarian types who might not otherwise vote? Could he poach senior citizens from both parties? You betcha.

Since WTWC has a no-endorsement policy, you’ll have to read the last few grafs at my blog to know my take. (You shouldn’t be too surprised, though.)

Note: I taught a class in death and dying issues at Baker College in Michigan in the mid-1990s, during Kevorkian’s first trial.

That said, do I consider him the ideal PR person for assisted suicide? No. At one time, he may have been, but, he crossed the line in the Youk case by administering the injection himself. Even if Youk were that seriously incapacitated, surely an cyberwhiz friend or acquaintance of Kevorkian could have rigged up a way for Youk to self-inject by batting his eyelids a certain number of times.

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At the end of the day

All three Democratic presidential candidates -- Hillary, Edwards, and Obama -- support the death penalty "...as have virtually all leading Democrats running for office in the past 20 years.... Why so much longstanding support for capital punishment? It is the easiest way to combat the quadrennial charge that Democrats are 'soft on crime.' "

The NYT editorial board endorsed Hillary as their Democratic "primary choice." Is this a good thing when the Times publishes loony columnists Bill Kristol, David Brooks, and MoDo? They also endorsed McCain as their Repub "primary choice." Well, at least the NYT has Paul Krugman on board. Still...

Michigan and Florida delegates -- When the DNC objected to states moving their primary dates up, they decided to strip the states of their delegates. Edwards and Obama removed their names from the ballot in Michigan but Hillary and Kucinich did not. "Today, Hillary announced that she will demand the DNC seat Michigan's and Florida's delegates. Delegates that only she - in violation of DNC rules - competed for." Yellow Dog provided details. Via Deb-TUD, Josh Marshall had something to say about it, too.

Yesterday, Joe Conason indicated he's gotten some heat for not bashing Hillary enough. His response: "There's no taking sides" and concluded, "I perceive strengths and weaknesses in both of the leading Democrats. They're politicians and human beings, not angels or devils. I can certainly imagine voting for either of them in the general election." His favorite pick for president didn't run. Hmmm, I would guess that's Al Gore!

Mitt and McCain vie for who's the biggest tax cut whore of all! But, wait a minute... Rudy wants the coveted title.

FactCheck.org identified Repub falsehoods in last night's GOP debate in Boca Raton, FL. Mitt "misrepresented" Hillary's health care plan, plus note the Huckster's "FairTax fairy tale," "Giuliani's fables," and "McCain's tax evasion." Some are old lies, and some are new. Unsurprising, isn't it?

Atrios pointed out the Draft Bloomberg effort has recorded "a whopping 3136 signatures." At the time of this posting, the amount has catapulted to 3,375! Wheee-oooo. Are you feeling the "Mikementum"? His favorable rating is "Teh Suck".

The latest Florida poll, a national Gallup primary poll, and Mark Blumenthal discussed variations in SC polling.

Cernig at Newshogger posted an in-depth discourse on a "nuke policy blog tank." An excellent synopsis and worth the time to click the link (h/t to blogging goddess, Avedon).

Toe-tappin' Larry Craig sex sting -- "No one on the tight-lipped Senate committee will say how far along any investigation is or whether they expect it to yield any findings." CREW hasn't heard anything. Craig's lawyer remains silent. Is anything being investigated? "No one with the committee has asked to speak with anyone connected with Craig's arrest or asked for more information about it, said Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport." McClatchy

Tortured silence -- Today during a press conference, AG Mike Mukasey wouldn't say if waterboarding is torture. "In a letter to Mr. Mukasey this week, all 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed him again for an answer to the question of whether waterboarding is torture and suggested it would be a focus of an oversight hearing next week at which the attorney general is scheduled to testify." Tomorrow's NYT

Bloody Iraq -- Today Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said "that Iraqi reinforcements have begun moving toward the northern city of Mosul for a 'decisive' battle with the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda." Also in Mosul, "A provincial police chief was killed by a suicide bomber" on Thursday. "Duraid Kashmoula, the governor of Nineveh province, said the number of people killed in Wednesday's attack had increased from 15 to 38.... The revised death toll made Wednesday's bombing the deadliest in Iraq since mid-December. Kashmoula said 134 people had been wounded."

Pakistan -- SecDef Gates said the U.S. will send "troops to conduct joint combat operations with Pakistan's military against al-Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas."

Check out Corpus Juris' funny video post below. Hilarious! Our hyperbolic media stars... erupt!

[That's all...no more after the jump.]

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Michigan: The 100-Hour Agenda

I ran across this tidbit from the Associated Press from a few days ago:

Michigan's congressional delegation showed divisions over proposals to increase the minimum wage, expand stem cell research and implement more of the anti-terror measures offered by the 9/11 commission.

This is Michigan's delegation to the House of Representatives:

Democrat (6)	Republican (9)
Bart Stupak, Dale Kildee, Sander Levin, Carolyn Kilpatrick, John Conyers, John Dingell	Peter Hoekstra, Vern Ehlers, Dave Camp, Fred Upton, Tim Walberg, Mike Rogers, Joe Knollenberg, Candace S. Miller, Thaddeus McCotter

So here's the voting breakdown:

- Minimum Wage: Six Democrats and four Republicans (Ehlers, McCotter, Upton, and Miller) voted for the measure to increase the minimum wage to $7.25/hour. Comment:

Upton said the move was long overdue, noting that someone working 40 hours a week on a minimum wage job would earn less than $11,000 a year. "I have always considered the minimum wage to be a starting wage and one that will not suffice for a 'head of household,'" Upton said.

Note that Michigan already has a minimum wage increase in place, rising to $7.40/hr in mid-2008, possibly meaning that the few R's voting against the measure did so for partisan or other reasons, such as trying to include pro-business amendments.

- Stem Cell Research: Six Democrats and one Republican (Upton) voted for the law. Comments:

"We need to focus on exploring alternatives to the only method of stem cell research that requires the destruction of human life," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra..

Funny thought, considering that Bart Stupak is a pro-life Dem who supported the measure.

- 9/11 Commission Recommendations: Six Democrats and five Republicans (Camp, McCotter, Miller, Rogers and Upton. Knollenberg didn't vote.) Comment:

Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the bill "was in no way about national security and intelligence, it was a heavy-handed effort to check a box on a campaign promise that remains unfulfilled."

Umm, sure thing, Pete....

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Michigan: Carl Levin on Iraq

From today's Detroit Free Press, an article on Michigan Senator Carl Levin doing his job:

Michigan's senior U.S. senator, Carl Levin, used his first hearing as chairman of the Armed Services Committee to say that adding more U.S. troops will lengthen, not shorten the war.

"We've got to let the Iraqis know that we're going to have to reduce troops, not increase troops, and that needs to begin in four to six months," Levin said after the committee's four-hour grilling of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The hearing followed a similar interrogation of Gates and Pace by the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, and the contentious Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting where senators from both parties chastised Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Both sessions left an unanswered question: What will the United States do if an increase in troops cannot help stabilize the situation in Iraq?

After the hearing, Levin said the Iraqi government can't be trusted to get the country under control. "Of course we would reconsider our strategy," he said. "I presume next time, we'll send in 40,000 more troops. Get in deeper and deeper."

Sounds about right; in watching some of the House and Senate hearings, worrisome questions-without-answers kept popping up: If this 'surge' doesn't bring the country under control, then what? How long will this 'surge' last? Despite Gates' assertion that he would know in "a couple months" whether or not this escalati...I mean, surge is working, any information regarding what happens afterward has been basically nonexistent. I really don't like the idea of an open-ended committment allowing Dubya to extend the US occupation of Iraq indefinitely, or at least until the next President is elected.

Kudos to Levin and to all the other members of Congress who are asking the questions that need to be asked...Oversight is good, and we've had little of it over the past few years.

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