The competition to be the number one corrupt Republican legislator in Washington, D.C. is keen.

Recently the corruption spotlight shone brightly on the longest serving Republican senator of all, Ted Stevens of Alaska.

Stevens had become the "King of Pork".  The word "pork" in Senate terms defines pet projects of House and Senate members for an assortment of cash for the people who put them in office.

Stevens had sent a series of huge sums back home to Alaska as the "King of Pork".  His most notorious achievement was the Alaskan Bridge that led to nowhere.  

One of the highlights of this week was a slapdown of a Texas Republican by a Wisconsin Democrat in the House during a debate over funding the Iraq Quagmire. Check out the video. It is wonderful to watch.

Another wonderful video is Chris Matthews, not someone I generally like, slamming a Republican for making references to Neville Chamberlain without having a clue of the real history. Parroting lame talking points is no longer working for the Republicans. Their gross ignorance is showing and even conservative talk show hosts are getting irritated by it.

I have reported many times about how the Republican Parties in Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky were about the most corrupt political establishments in America. One that I have been missing is the Alaska Republican Party. I think it is time I turn northward to discuss what is going on in Alaska.

At the epicenter of Alaska corruption seems to be the Alaska oil services company Veco Corp. Veco, until its recent buyout, was an oil pipeline service and construction company. Perhaps Veco would like to be best known for the fact that it carried out a great deal of the clean up efforts after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. But this is not the only thing they were known for. They were known for illegal influence on Republican politicians.

For those who are focused on Congress, you might be surprised to learn that Alaska may be among our best shots at picking up one Senate and one House seat. Keep an eye on Alaska. Republican corruption has been exploding, with four State level politicians arrested, some pleading guilty. One Alaska Senator and their single House Rep are also  implicated. This gives us a great shot at winning the state. Alaska may turn blue this year if we pay some attention to it.

On a personal note, I have a new scientific paper coming out in the Journal of Cell Biology. This comes from work I did more than two years ago! My current work is going slower, but overall looks promising. I hope to write up my current work within a year.

This week I discuss the Bush family's endorsement of John McCain, re-enforcing my assertion that McCain offers nothing but a Third Bush term. I also discuss Republican corruption in Alaska and voting irregularities in NYC. And I continue to highlight local events in all the states where I have had a good number of readers. I also highlight some peace rallies, alternative energy events and impeachment events around the nation. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

A little photoshop fun for this fine Saturday morning! This one goes out to all you loyal progressive Dems in the great states of Alaska and Tennessee. In the first movie, we have Doofus attempt to help Bill and Ted rewrite history. In the sequel (after the fold) Bill and Ted play games with Death in an attempt to rescue Doofus and preserve their version of history... Hope you enjoy!

This time, he's holding the Defense Spending Bill hostage.  

As disingenuous as it was to consider Arctic Refuge drilling in budget reconciliation, its proponents should not be permitted to trade one cheap trick for another. Their most recent statements claiming the Defense Appropriations bill a suitable vehicle are indefensible. An Arctic drilling provision would force a delay and likely doom passage of funding for our troops on the ground in Iraq and elsewhere.

Please give your reps and senators a call; and tell Stevens to !@#$%& grow up while you're at it.

Senator Russ Feingold has accused the Bush administration of "trying to drill their way out of the national energy crisis," the AP reports. His comment about the Bush administration hits the nail on the head. His constant, steady opposition to the ANWR bill is a big contrast to the moral decay of the Republican Party, whose members can't tell right from wrong.

The AP article notes that Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman made a campaign promise not to vote for the ANWR bill. However, now, he is waffling on the bill like a person who knows he is not supposed to lie, but who wants to do it anyway. Coleman is like the people who call Dr. Laura who waffle about cheating on their spouses or doing a headlong rush into a premarital sexual relationship or something of that nature.