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Factcheck.org: Just How Many Bills Has Kerry "Passed?"

Bush said Kerry passed five bills. Kerry said he's passed 56. Who's right? That depends on the definition of "passed" and "bills."

FactCheck.org: New and Recycled Distortions in Debate #3

The debates are over and the results are clear: both candidates are incorrigible fact-twisters.

Bush said most of his tax cuts went to "low- and middle-income Americans" when independent calculations show most went to the richest 10 percent. Kerry claims Bush "cut the Pell Grants" when they've actually increased. Both men repeated misstatements made in earlier debates, and added a few new ones.

Barbour Postpones Medicaid Transition

PR from the Governor's office:

(Jackson, Miss.) -- Saying that a litigation (sic) had confused 50,000 Mississippi Medicaid recipients beyond repair, Governor Haley Barbour said today he would postpone the state's efforts to transition those recipients to Medicare and look to Medicaid reform opponents to come up with the $100 million needed for Mississippi's cash-strapped Medicaid program if the transition does not go into effect.

Factcheck.org: Kerry's Tax Ad: Literally Accurate, But Misleading

[Verbatim alert] [Kerry's] ad says "the middle class is paying a bigger share of America's tax burden." True. But it's a smaller burden all around. And the richest still pay the most.

[Just In] Florida Sued to Prevent Disenfranchisement

[Joint Press Statement by Advancement Project, AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, People For the American Way Foundation, and Service Employee International Union/vertatim]

New GOP Ads to Target ‘Lawsuit Abuse,' Edwards

Time is reporting: "A new wave of Republican attack ads is coming this week, but this time their target is the No. 2 man on the Democratic ticket, John Edwards. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the November Fund, a new 527 group dedicated to attacking Edwards, a former plaintiffs' lawyer, and 'lawsuit abuse,' will this week launch an ad campaign that portrays him as a cause of the crisis in the medical system. [...] The November Fund, started in August by former GOP Senator Bill Brock and former Ronald Reagan White House aide Craig Fuller, begins running TV ads (which can't, by law, mention Edwards' name) and newspaper and direct-mail pieces (which can) in four states this week. [...] The Fund won't have to disclose its funding sources or how much it has raised until Friday, but Brock said the group had more than $5 million "last time I looked," starting with $500,000 from the Chamber.

Cell Phone Users Under-polling?

I have to gloat for a minute. I've been saying this exact thing for the last month to anyone who would listen. I truly believe the polls aren't reflective this year, partly due to this cell phone issue. I know this because Todd and I don't have a home phone and use our cell phones. There are lot more out there like us these days in the tech generation. The political game is changing. AP today:

Factcheck.org: ‘Pro-Bush Puffery on Economy, Medicare'

New ad claims Bush inherited an economy "already in recession" and that 41 million seniors "now have access to lower cost prescriptions." Wrong on both counts.

Distortions Galore as Bush and Kerry Tie in Second Debate

CNN Reports:

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken right after the town hall meeting-style debate found respondents giving a slight, statistically insignificant edge to Kerry over Bush: 47 percent of them went for Kerry and 45 percent for Bush.

Millsaps College Hosts Presidential Hopeful

Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb will speak at Millsaps College on Monday, Oct. 11 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 215 of the Ford Academic Complex on the College campus. Cobb, a native of Texas, served as the General Counsel for the Green Party of the United States until declaring his candidacy and was the Green Party of Texas (GPTX) candidate for Attorney General in 2002. He graduated from the University of Houston Law School in 1993, and had a successful law practice until early 2000. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Darby Ray at 601-974-1337 or email [e-mail missing]

Democrats, NAACP Challenge Fla. Voting Policy

AP is reporting: "The state Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit accusing Florida's secretary of state of violating federal law when she told elections supervisors to reject incomplete voter-registration forms. The party asked a judge to order Glenda Hood to reverse her instructions to the state's 67 counties. Hood's office told counties they should disqualify voters who failed to check a box confirming they are U.S. citizens, even if they signed an oath on the same form swearing they are. She and other state officials maintain that state and federal laws require the box to be checked.

‘Weak' Jobs Report Precedes Bush-Kerry Debate

Reuters reports more bad news for the Bush administration: "U.S. businesses added 96,000 jobs to payrolls in September, the government reported on Friday, a weaker-than-expected total that was expected to sharpen a presidential debate later in the day over the economy's direction. [...] The September job-creation total came in below Wall Street economists' forecasts for 148,000 new jobs. The department also revised down its estimate of August new jobs to 128,000 from 144,000 it reported a month ago. Most jobs in September came in the services sector, while manufacturers shed 18,000 jobs last month after increased hiring in the two prior months."

Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series Presents Political Program

On the eve of what well could be another squeaker of a presidential election, the Millsaps College Arts & Lecture series is bringing two prominent Mississippi politicos to the stage to present their views on the upcoming election. Former governor Ray Mabus and Congressman Chip Pickering will appear Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Ford Academic Complex on the Millsaps College campus to offer their analyses of this year's presidential election.

Voter forum precedes quartet of Mississippi debates

A Political Forum on Saturday will offer the first of five opportunities for Mississippians to study issues and candidates before Election Day. Secretary of State Eric Clark will lead the introductory Political Forum, then U.S. Representative Benny Thompson and Mississippi Supreme Court justices will be featured in four televised debates sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Mississippi and WLBT-TV (Channel 3) this month. A panel of journalists and League members will question the candidates in each debate.

Mississippi Voter Forum, Debates On Way

From the Mississippi League of Women Voters: A Political Forum on Saturday will

Election Day. Secretary of State Eric Clark will lead the introductory Political Forum, then U.S. Representative Benny Thompson and Mississippi Supreme Court justices will be featured in four televised debates sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Mississippi and WLBT-TV (Channel 3) this month. A panel of journalists and League members will question the candidates in each debate.

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