Does Kerry moonlight as a writer for Creepy Dave?

One would think Sen. John Kerry (D-Cambodia) would have realized by now that his idea of humor doesn't go over very well. It must be because he's a nasty person, and his pathetic attempts at being funny just turn out to be... well, nasty.

He should have remembered the firestorm he set off with this crack:



That prompted this response from the First Brigade, 34th Infrantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard, which was deployed to Iraq at the time:



Yes, the photo was for real, not photo shopped. The outcry from both sides of the aisle was so loud that Kerry was forced to offer up an excuse disguised as an apology, which was just as lame as the joke.

After all that, you would think that Kerry would avoid trying his hand at humor, but the nasty in him just can't stay bottled up. On top of that, he has lousy timing, and tried to attacked Sarah Palin when it was still thought that Gov. Mark Sanford was somewhere on the Appalachian Trail. Kerry told a gathering of Boston business and civic leaders Tuesday:

"Too bad," Kerry said, "if a governor had to go missing it couldn't have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin."

Even joking that you are hoping for a member of the political opposition to disappear is... nasty.

But he's a Democrat. Nasty is what they do.

- JP

Will AK legislature override Gov's stimulus veto?

This McCalatchy report by the ADN's Sean Cockerham says they do:

Legislative leaders say they appear to have enough votes to override Gov. Sarah Palin's veto of $28.6 million in federal stimulus money for energy cost relief. Alaska is the only state to have rejected these funds, and that's not sitting well.

"I would be surprised if we didn't override her," North Pole Republican Rep. John Coghill said Thursday.

Rep. Mike Hawker, another member of the legislative leadership, said that's his count too.

"This is just one of those cases where there is such a profound difference of opinion between the legislative branch of government and the executive branch," the Anchorage Republican said. "We could have one of those rare and difficult instances where we are actually able to override a governor's veto of an appropriation item."

What Hawker means by "rare and difficult" means that Alaska state law it requires a 75 percent vote of the Legislature in joint session.

Fiscally responsible governors have had a hard time trying to persuade their states to reject even just a portion of the federal stimulus money. State lawmakers see it as "free money," while a few governors are worried about the additional debt the porkulust will burden future generations with.

In South Carolina, Gov. Mark Sanford's battle with his legislature over "free money" went all the way to the state's supreme court, which ruled against the governor. Thursday, the high court ordered Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus money earmarked primarily for education, ending a months-long battle with SC legislators.

Gov. Sanford said Thursday that he will not appeal the ruling and will sign the forms to request the funds Monday.

- JP