PA-Sen: Cancer Research Website Really Arlen Specter Campaign Fundraiser - UPDATED!

Arlen Specter has been promoting a new website - www.SpecterForTheCure.com - which appears to be an effort to raise money for medical research. Take a look at the website for yourself and get a first impression of your own - and please share in the comments those first impressions as well as your thoughts after reading the below article. It turns out that the donations solicited by the website do not go to medical research - the donations go to Specter's re-election fund:
In two national TV appearances Sunday, Sen. Arlen Specter plugged specterforthecure.com - a website he said he launched to "put more pressure on Congress" to increase funding for medical research.
What Specter didn't say: The website is owned by his reelection committee, and contributions made there go straight to Specter's 2010 reelection campaign.
No one doubts Specter's commitment to federal funding for medical research. A survivor of two bouts with Hodgkin's disease, the Pennsylvania Republican-turned-Democrat is pushing a bill that would authorize $40 billion a year in baseline funding for the National Institutes of Health.
But critics say Specter's comments Sunday and the layout of specterforthecure.com itself obscure the fact that what looks like a solicitation for medical research is really just a campaign cash come-on.
"While it may meet the technical legal requirements, it's fair to say it's a bit misleading," said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan campaign law watchdog.
As first noted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's PoliTex blog, specterforthecure.com "appears at first glance to be a fundraising site for a reform movement to help Sen. Arlen Specter fund programs that will seek cures for major diseases."
Visitors to specterforthecure.com are greeted with a banner promising "A Giant Leap in Turning Cancer into Cures." While the homepage of most campaign Web sites feature a photo of the candidate, this one offers a picture of a woman with red tape over her mouth. The caption: "Red tape leaves medical research gasping for breath. It's time we let loose the winds of a cure."
The first several paragraphs on the site talk about the fight against cancer, autism, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes and discuss Specter's efforts to push through legislation increasing funding for research.
"It's time to unleash the cure," the site says.
There's a reference to "The Specter Record on Medical Research" at the top of the page, but there's not a word about Specter's reelection above the fold; that comes nine paragraphs in, after readers have scrolled down from a bit. And it takes 11 paragraphs before a reader would have any hint that the "Donate Now!" button displayed prominently at the top of the screen is for contributions to Citizens for Arlen Specter, the senator's campaign committee.
Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said the way the site is designed has "the trappings of a charitable organization" and that it would take a careful read to determine that the Web site is actually campaign-related.
"When you take a quick look, the focus is on finding a cure and it makes it look like a charitable organization," Krumholz said, calling such a site "not at all common" in online fundraising.
The article goes on to include an extremely weak defense from Specter's campaign manager, as well as a recap of Specter's references to the website on Meet the Press and Face the Nation over the weekend, where he encapsulated the references to the site in a context of medical research - not his re-election bid.
As the article mentions, there is one scant reference to Specter's re-election on the front page. Here is paragraph eleven of the twelve-paragraph message:
Become a member, today, of Specter for the Cure. Please contribute to Senator Specter's re-election Committee - Citizens for Arlen Specter. All contributions, of any amount, will be gratefully welcomed. Those who sign up to donate $10 each month for ten months, will receive members only information on the Senator's effort to transform medical research and accelerate cures.
The previous ten paragraphs are all about medical research - finding cures, not funding campaigns. So what do you think? Please share your impressions of the website in the comments.
I would urge Arlen Specter to make public exactly how much money he has raised through this website and contribute that sum from his campaign account to a real medical research organization like the American Cancer Society or the American Association for Cancer Research. I would also urge Arlen Specter to offer a clear disclaimer at the top of all pages of this website that this is a re-election campaign vehicle, to avoid the possibility of any further confusion. To do otherwise would feed into the perception that this website is just a disingenuous and cynical effort by Specter to line his campaign coffers by exploiting people's desire for medical research.
UPDATE: In the Politico story, Specter's campaign manager says:
But Specter campaign manager Christopher Nicholas said that no one could be "genuinely confused about where contributions to this website go," noting that language on the site specifies that contributions are meant for the campaign.
If no one could be confused, why did Specter's staff quietly change the website?!
That's right. Adam Green breaks the news: without comment, Specter's crew changed the message on the front page of the site, obviously in the wake of this story making the rounds, and clearly to tamp down criticism that Specter is trying to mislead people into contributing to his re-election campaign when the donors think that they are contributing to a medical research charity.
Before:
After:
All Specter's team did, apparently, was crowbar in at the beginning of the page the following paragraph:
In 2010, Arlen Specter will seek re-election to the United States Senate. With his unsurpassed record of support for medical research, helping to return Senator Specter to the Senate is a powerful statement on behalf of those suffering with disease. The purpose of this web site is to encourage support for Senator Specter's mission to improve America's health by helping assure Senator Specter's re-election.
So now we can't say that the site (any longer) disguises any mention of Specter's political campaign. However, BarbinMD's criticism is even more pronounced:
This sounds like a new twist on Republican fear-mongering about terrorism ... donate or people may die.
Without Specter's re-election, people will die. That's his message. He explicitly said as much about the recent passing of Jack Kemp, and that will be the theme of his campaign. To paraphrase P. Diddy's voter outreach effort, Specter is saying, "Vote for me or die!"
Ultimately, though, what is clear is that Specter is less concerned about the passing of any of your family members than he is about his own passing into irrelevance by losing his re-election bid.

Texas Rangers Team Report

INSIDE PITCH Center fielder Josh Hamilton continued his rehab assignment Monday with Class AAA Oklahoma City and could be back with the Rangers on Tuesday for the start of a six-game homestand. Playing for a second straight day against the Round Rock Express at the Dell Diamond, Hamilton grounded to second, doubled down the right-field line, struck out swinging and walked twice in five plate appearances. He also scored a run and was walked intentionally in the eighth inning with a runner on third. The Express broke a 5-5 tie in the ninth to defeat the RedHawks 6-5. Hamilton was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 1, retroactive to April 27, with a strained intercostal muscle in his left rib-cage area. The Rangers have gone 9-4 in his absence. "I felt good again today," Hamilton said following the game. "My at-bats felt really good. I got to run around out there for all nine innings and it was hot, so I had the chance to really get my legs going. I thought I might be gassed with the heat, but everything felt great." In two games this weekend for Oklahoma City, Hamilton combined to go 2-for-5 with a double, three walks and two runs scored. He is scheduled to return to Arlington on Tuesday. He will be evaluated by the Rangers medical staff before a decision is rendered on whether to activate him or give him more rehab time.NOTES, QUOTESMLB is investigating a pitch that Chicago's RHP Bobby Jenks threw behind 2B Ian Kinsler over the weekend. After the Rangers hit six White Sox in the first five games between the teams, Jenks threw a pitch behind Kinsler and later admitted it was delivered with a purpose. The Rangers did not try to retaliate in the final game of the series on Sunday. It also isn't likely to be a simmering issue; the teams don't play again this season.3B Michael Young, who left Friday's game early with a stiff lower back, did not start either of the two games over the weekend. It left 2B Ian Kinsler as the only Ranger to start all 31 of the team's games.With Michael Young out for the weekend, the Rangers optioned OF Greg Golson back to Class AAA Oklahoma City and recalled INF Joaquin Arias to give the team some infield insurance. INF Omar Vizquel, who started in place of Michael Young at third for the first time in his career, entered Sunday with 2,669 career hits. He was eight hits shy of passing Luis Aparicio and becoming the all-time hits leader from Venezuela. Vizquel had an RBI double in the Rangers' win, giving him 898 RBI for his career.BY THE NUMBERS: .204 DH Hank Blalock's average for 54 at-bats with runners on base this season. He is hitting .309 with nobody on base. Blalock had a pair of bases empty homers on Sunday, but also popped up with the bases loaded.QUOTE TO NOTE: "When your bell cow has success with something, I think everybody is more willing to follow. You work fast and you throw strikes, you get your defense more involved. Good defense can make a medium pitcher a good pitcher and a good pitcher into a great one." Pitching coach Mike Maddux, on the overall success the starting rotation has enjoyed since RHP Kevin Millwood quickened his pace on the mound to start the season. Since then, the others have followed.ROSTER REPORT3B Michael Young said he expects to be ready to play Tuesday. Young missed most of Friday's game and all of the next two games with a stiff back after slipping on the infield at Chicago. RHP Scott Feldman, who has a 3.24 ERA in three starts this season, will face Seattle LHP Jason Vargas on Tuesday. Feldman is seeking his first win at home as a starter in more than a year. He beat Oakland on May 9 last year. Since then, Feldman is 0-3 at home as a starter. The Rangers are 1-10 in his home starts.RHP Frank Francisco, who has not pitched in five days, will look to inch closer to the Rangers' club record for consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. RHP Jeff Zimmerman (29 2/3 innings) holds the club mark. Francisco is at 27 1/3 innings over 27 appearances dating back to last August. In that time, he has allowed one unearned run and held opponents to a .117 average. MEDICAL WATCH: 3B Michael Young (back stiffness) left the May 8 game, and he didn't play May 9-10. He expects to be back May 12. OF Josh Hamilton (strained left rib-cage muscle) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 27. He played in rehab games for Class AAA Oklahoma on May 10-11, and he is expected to be activated May 12. RHP Willie Eyre (right groin strain) went on the 15-day disabled list April 23. He had begun the season on the DL with the same injury. RHP Dustin Nippert (upper back soreness) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 22. He began a rehab assignment with Class AA Frisco on April 11, but he strained a muscle in his side. RHP Joaquin Benoit (rotator cuff surgery in January 2009) went on the 60-day disabled list April 5. He is out for at least the first half of the season but could miss the entire year. RHP Eric Hurley (rotator cuff surgery in January 2009) went on the 60-day disabled list April 5. He is out for the year. ROTATION: RHP Kevin Millwood RHP Vicente Padilla RHP Brandon McCarthy RHP Scott Feldman LHP Matt Harrison BULLPEN: RHP Frank Francisco (closer) LHP C.J. Wilson LHP Eddie Guardado LHP Derek Holland RHP Jason Jennings RHP Kris Benson RHP Darren O'Day CATCHERS: Jarrod Saltalamacchia Taylor Teagarden INFIELDERS: 1B Chris Davis 2B Ian Kinsler SS Elvis Andrus 3B Michael Young INF Omar Vizquel INF Joaquin Arias OUTFIELDERS: LF David Murphy RF Nelson Cruz DH Hank Blalock OF Andruw Jones OF Marlon ByrdC Jarrod Saltalamacchia (forearm inflammation) was playing well in the Dominican Republic in December.

Walk It, Blog It Challenge: Week 2

what a great day that is! The Losing It In Lebanon walking group, which consists of my husband and myself until someone else in Lebanon is willing to walk with us, was successful considering it was our first week to walk as an official "group". Did it make a difference to walk as a group vs. just going for a walk? Not a lick. Was it fun to come up with a name for a walking group? You bet. Our goal with this week's walks was to keep training for the 10k set for this Saturday. So we did. We walked. We walked a lot. We *finally* made it to 6.2 miles, the exact number of miles in a 10k. The next walk we took....we went even further! Go us!!! It took about 1 hour 45 minutes. I'm not sure if that's good or not. I just know it's faster than what it took for me to finish last year's Flying Pig 10k. So I'm impressed with myself for keeping up with these huge walks, but the REAL test will be after the 10k on Saturday. Last year, I decided exercise was no longer needed in my life once the 10k was over. Isn't that the most hilarious thing you've ever heard? Oh, my sides ache from laughing and laughing about it. And my ass is a little wider from living through it. I'm now on a mad hunt to find a 5k to participate in this June just to keep me honest. Here are just a few pictures from this week's adventures with the Losing In Lebanon walking group. Though, I will add a quick P.S.. P.S., there's a shot I missed. I did not take a picture of the snake Kent saw. Here's how it went down. He said, "Whatever you do, don't look down.". Then I said, ".....whhhy?". And he said, "You don't want to know, Heather.". So I said, "....okay....". When he spoke it was in a really calm, low voice. That only means one thing. SNAKE!!!! So I took off running. And yes, I'm including that little jog in my "I ran some" this week part of my activity journal. It was effort, even it was due to a snake alert. Have I mentioned snakes are a major phobia for me? Sigh. Oh, and if you didn't notice, the two little cherubs on bikes are my kids. They rode their bikes while we walked. It was all good until we had to turn around and come home. That's about the time Riley's butt started to hurt (first bike ride of the season). She complained the ENTIRE way home. Note to self: 6.5 miles is too much for a first bike ride of the season for Ri. lol

Say what?

The other day, Politico ran an article noting that Barack Obama had carried the "affluent vote" - those voters making more than $200,000 a year - with 52% of the total and wondering breathlessly if, or more exactly when, his support among such influential people would collapse in the face of Obama daring to do what he said he would do during the campaign, such as raising taxes on those making more than a quarter-million dollars a year.There was a lot of tut-tutting about how "these voters are not being repaid for their support" and hand-wringing about the concerns and feelings of those such as couples making more than $250,000 who won't be able to deduct the sales taxes on new cars they buy this year on their 2009 returns. Amid all that comes this gem:“A person making $250,000 isn’t wealthy,” said Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “They still have to work for a living.”And I have to ask: Who the hell are you people? What world do you live in? Where is this magical kingdom where being able to deduct the sales tax on your new Lexus or Jag is a matter for attention and the the definition of "wealthy" is, apparently, never having to work at all but just clipping coupons?* It sure as hell is no place I've ever been.According to US Census Bureau figures for 2006 (the most recent available), households with incomes of $175,000 or more were in the richest 5% of all American households. Of a little over 116 million total households, only 2.24 million had incomes in excess of $250,000 - that puts them in the richest 1.9% of Americans.And they're griping about how tough they have it? I don't care one whit that most of the households making that quarter-mill-plus are clustered at the lower end of that range. It still means their household income exceeds that of more than 98% of their fellow American households and they are making over five times the median household income. That's not wealthy?Put it another way: The article states that there were 4 million tax returns for earners of more than $200,000 in 2006. It also says that in that same year, there were 92.7 million tax returns filed. That means those $200,000+ earners were the richest 4.3% of filers; they made more than over 95% of the people who filed returns. Add the fact of those who didn't even have to file because they didn't make enough, and the percentage of those who they out-earned grows. That's not wealthy?Put it a third way: Look at this graph. It was from a letter sent out by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in September 2007. It tracks the ratio of earnings of two different sets of income percentiles from 1967 to 2005. The meaning is not immediately obvious, so I'll explain. The dotted line represents the ratio of the 50th percentile income level to the 20th percentile income level. The ratio remained fairly steady at about 2.4:1 over that time: That is, the yearly income at the 50th percentile was roughly 2.4 times that of the 20th percentile and remained so over that 38-year period.The solid line is the ratio of the income of the 95th percentile to the 50th percentile. In 1967, that ratio was 2.6:1. Those at the 95th percentile earned about 2.6 times as much as those at the 50th percentile. But that ratio did not remain even roughly constant; it grew steadily until by 2005 it was 3.6:1. Simply put, in comparison to the rest of us, the rich, those at the 95th percentile, were getting richer. Pulling away. They were not just richer than the vast majority of us, they were getting more richer than the vast majority of us.Yet even the generally progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research is insisting someone making $250,000 a year "isn't wealthy," almost like they were just another working stiff. And that is pathetic nonsense which shows how distorted not only our economy is but our perceptions as well, as people making a quarter-million dollars a year "don't feel rich," apparently because they have costs to meet and bills to pay - without recognizing that the fact they can afford those expenses for things far beyond what most can have is what makes them rich. Yes, the rich "were disproportionately hit" by the banking collapse but they were also the ones who disproportionately gained over the preceding four decades and it never seems to register with them or with those who observe and fret over their condition that what they lost was more than most of their fellow citizens will ever have.Our sense of values is seriously, seriously out of whack.*The phrase "clipping coupons" is old slang for the activities of the idle rich whose income was derived from dividends and thus did not depend on their own work but on the labor of others. In his poem "Advertisement for the Waldorf-Astoria," Langston Hughes had these lines:Have luncheon there this afternoon, all you jobless. Why not?Dine with some of the men and women who got rich off of your labor, who clip coupons with clean white fingers because your hands dug coal, drilled stone, sewed gar- ments, poured steel to let other people draw dividends and live easy.

ATV Safety Workshop Sept. 13th 2008

Alachua CountyPublic Safety / 4-HATV Safety EducationWorkshopsFor youth ages 8-16Learn atv safety knowledge and skills in a fun, safe, fast paced classroom atmosphere!Mebane Middle SchoolSept. 13, 20089:00 am-3:30 pmTo register call 352-384-3106or email lsw@alachuacounty.usThere is no ATV riding in these workshops. This is not the state required certificationcourse for riding on public lands. The same safety information is presented in hands-on, dynamic activities without the actual ATV riding. This workshop is a good prep for the ASI ATV Ridercourse.Cost is $5.00 Free for 4-H and FFA members.Bring a lunch, snacks will be provided.For information on the state required certification course for ATV riding please contact the ATV Safety Institute at 800-887-2887 or at www.atvsafety.orgFor persons requiring special accommodations to 4-H activities contact (352)955-2402 or TDD/TYY (352)955-2406. Please call at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request. Upon request, for persons with print-related disabilities, this information is available in alternate formats. 4-H is for youth ages 5-18. Membership is open to all youth regardless of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, handicap or geographic location within Alachua County.

Fish shape dress

Wingnut DeMint’s Anti-Dem Specter “Spin”

And you guess it - I also posted here.)I’m sure you’ve read, as have I, a variety of explanations as to why Arlen Specter switched from a U.S. Senate Repug from PA to a Dem, but I have to tell you that the one from Specter’s former party colleague Jim DeMint may be the biggest stretch of all.As TPM tells us here…(DeMint) attributes the non-viability of the Republican party in states like Pennsylvania to the fact that voters have fled "forced unionization" in the northeast for the safety and comfort of the southern motherland.("the southern motherland" - tee hee...)I would say that that type of non-thinking has led the party to its current state of near collapse, particularly in the northeast, as kos tells us here.Well, maybe instead of criticizing all of us in the Keystone State for allegedly driving out those Repugs voters with our nasty unions and prevailing wage law, DeMint should pay more attention to his own backyard, as it were, particularly given this story which tells us…According to the Economic Research Service, the average per-capita income for all South Carolina residents in 2006 was $29,767, although rural per-capita income lagged at $27,004. Estimates from 2007 indicate a poverty rate of 19.2% exists in rural South Carolina, compared to 13.8% in urban areas of the state. Data from 2000 finds that 29.1% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 21.8% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma. The unemployment rate in rural South Carolina is 7.7%, while in urban South Carolina, it is 5.3% (USDA-ERS, 2008).Also, this tells us that “about 4.6 percent of the population of South Carolina currently lives at or below the poverty level, despite working 40 or more hours per week, compared with the national rate of 4.1 percent” (not sure of the exact time periods for some of these numbers, but they are fairly recent and do not paint a pretty picture).And here’s a WaPo update providing even more bad news…On Day 88 (of the Obama presidency), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that South Carolina had set a record for its highest unemployment rate in state history, at 11.4 percent. Greenwood's unemployment is 13 percent -- more than twice what it was (in 2007).Also, South Carolina has no state minimum wage law, making it easy prey for the Walton family and other corporate vultures; this tells us that the company with the yellow smiley face settled a lawsuit for wage nonpayment dating back to 2000 nationwide, including in The Palmetto State (I have to admit that the state did create this rather interesting tourism promotion, though).But anti-unionism is as natural as breathing for DeMint; as noted here, he blocked a Democratic attempt to implement one of the 9/11 Commission recommendations that would have “require(d) that all containers on U.S.-bound vessels be screened in foreign ports for radiation, and all cargo loaded onto U.S. airliners be screened for explosives”…see, the “problem,” as far as DeMint is concerned, is that the bill would have allowed the Transportation Security Agency screeners to unionize.I would say that a union would have been able to provide for at least some of the residents of Greenwood, SC, were they to join through their employer (the town was profiled in the WaPo story); I’m sure Councilwoman Edith Childs, also profiled, could convince DeMint of that fact if she had the opportunity.But of course, DeMint would have to admit that she and her issues even exist at all (I would guess that that’s part of the reason why DeMint hasn’t even cracked the 50-percent incumbent approval mark, as Nate Silver notes here, with DeMint defending his seat next year – looks like the incumbent is only one credible Democratic challenger away from being retired from public life…we can only hope).Update: I meant to note this earlier concerning this notion DeMint is trying to propagate that all workers in PA are unionized; as noted here, "Union density in Pennsylvania rose from 15.1 percent in 2007 to 15.4 percent in 2008. In 2007 there were 830,000 union members in Pennsylvania among 5.496 million employed workers. In 2008 the number of union members increased to 847,000 among a workforce of 5.504 (million) employed workers."