Necessary News

All you need to know to sound brilliant

At Last Minute, Parties Show Candidates The Money

• Anyone will tell you there’s a lot at stake in today’s election. And as the 2006 midterm elections reach their 11th hour, both parties are stepping up their cash efforts. [USA Today]
• Since Friday, Republicans have poured more than $2 million into Senate races in New Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia.
• On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats have put $1.1 million into Senate candidates in Maryland, Montana, Tennessee and Virginia.
• In terms of the House, Republicans spent $1.1 million in a single day to help Peter Roskam hold off Democrat Tammy Duckworth in Illinois.
• In House races in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Washington, Democratic party committees had spent nearly as much as Republicans. And in Connecticut, Arizona, and New Hampshire, the Dems have actually managed to outspend the Republicans
• And the money’s not just coming from the parties. Corporate and ideological groups have been shelling out the cash for candidates, too.
• Surprisingly, the spending field has remained relatively equal, with Democrats raising nearly the same amounts as Republicans. “It’s unprecedented that the Democrats have as much money as the Republicans,” says Michael Malbin, executive director of the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute. He says Republicans have spent an average $1.3 million in each of 38 top races involving GOP incumbents, while Democrats have spent $1 million — “not quite as high, but serious money.”

Money talks.

Iraq? What Iraq? C’mon, Just Enlist.

• How’s this for nasty: ABC News went undercover and found that military recruiters are finding fresh meat for the Iraq war by claiming that the war is over. Yep. That’s pretty nasty. [ABC News]
• “Nobody is going over to Iraq anymore?” one student asks a recruiter. “No, we’re bringing people back,” he replies.
• “We’re not at war. War ended a long time ago,” another recruiter says.
• One recruiter even told a student that if he didn’t like the Army, he could just quit, no questions asked. (That’s called Going AWOL, and we’re pretty sure it’s frowned upon.)
• According to the guy in charge of recruiting for the Northeast, Col. Robert Manning, new recruits are actually likely to go to Iraq.
• Last year, the Army got in big trouble after recruiters were busted for misleading students about dangers in Iraq.

There is a war. If you sign up, you will probably go. The end.

RoboCalls, Sent Just To Annoy You

• It’s that time of year, and the election tricks keep getting dirtier. [Progress Report]
• The new twist: In multiple states, conservatives are relying on robocalls, not to promote their own candidates but to smear their opponents. [Barrington Courier Review]
• Here’s how it works: They set automatic dial machines to place multiple calls to your house either crack-of-dawn early or late at night when everyone’s asleep.
• Sound annoying? That’s the point. When you answer the phone, the message is set to make you believe it’s the candidate’s opponent who just woke you up. Diabolical.[AP]
• In Vermont, one poor woman said she received 21 of these calls since October 24. “They are very annoying.”

And there isn’t even a human on the other end, so you can’t use the loud whistle your mom gave you when you left for college to protect against obscene phone callers.

Voting For Dummies

• Today’s the day! Exercise that most basic of American rights, get out there and vote! But before you do, here are a few helpful tips.
• DO YOUR RESEARCH: Still trying to get your head around your final voting decisions? The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan group, can help. They have info on every issue, every candidate, county by county, at their vote411.org website.
• DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO: (That’s a song reference, not bad grammar, so don’t write in.) The next step is, of course, knowing where to go. The website www.mypollingplace.com has a polling place locator to help you find your voting booth.
• BRING I.D.: Seriously, bring your I.D. Not only do the rules differ state by states, poll workers get confused about the law and may turn away voters by mistake.
• KNOW WHO TO CALL FOR HELP: Write this down and you’ll be fine, no matter what weird election nonsense you run into: The Election Protection Coalition is ready to provide help to voters with their hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Trained volunteers are standing by.
• READ YOUR RIGHTS: Know your rights. The Election Protection Coalition lists when you need ID, why you can (and cannot) be turned away from voting booths. Read it. Learn it. Know it. [EPC]
• BRING A BOOK: Be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. Long lines shouldn’t keep you from exercising your right to have a voice, though. Bring a book, your iPod, a magazine, sudoku, your Christmas cards – anything to pass the time.

Just do it. It’ll make you feel good.

Good News, Bad News

In today’s “OMG-That’s-So-Weird” news: on Sunday, Japanese researchers say that a bottlenosed dolphin that was captured last month has an extra set of fins. Not shocked yet? Try this on for size: scientists are saying the finis could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land. [AP]

GOOD NEWS

Sea World shows get a much-needed boost by an amphibian Shamu; dolphins on a leash at the local dog park? Hilarious.

BAD NEWS

Flipper with feet? That’s just creepy.

Quote Of The Day

“Heavenly Father give us grace and mercy, help us this next week and a half as we go into national elections and Lord we pray for our country. Father we pray lies would be exposed and deception exposed. Father we pray that wisdom would come upon our electorate …”

— Ted Haggard’s sermon last week, four days before accusations of his crystal meth-fueled affair with a gay prostitute became public. Mom always told us be careful what you pray for... [Time Blog] via [Think Progress]

Speed Round

HE HAD A DREAM

Groundbreaking for Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial to take place November 13. [AP]

FUNNY MONEY

GOP election committee takes money from porn. Army porn. [ABC News]

CHENEY’S GOT A GUN

Vice President Cheney to spend election day shooting his friend in the fac…no wait…pheasant. [CBS]

STUCK IN THE MUCK

USS Intrepid gets stuck in the mud outside of New York. [CNN]

DUH

New study shows people like to vote for hotties. We refer these brainiacs to the Nixon/Kennedy debates of ’60 and ask for a refund. [Washington Post]

MY EYE! MY EYYYYYE!

FDA says Bausch & Lomb failed to report infected contact lens solutions. Story includes possibly the grossest three words in the English Language: “Fungal eye infections.” [ABC News]

BILL O’REILLY

How did Bill get his hands on confidential medical records? Attorneys for abortion clinics in Kansas are very, very curious.

TERRORISM CASES REJECTED

87%: Percent of FBI international terrorism cases rejected by federal prosecutors. [CNN]