Mike's Musings

Cheney and Gonzalas Indicted in Texas

2008-11-18T18:28:00.001-08:00

Not waiting for the dust to settle on the election, a District Attorney in Willacy County, Texas has indicted Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalas on seperate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers. CNN reports:

The indictment stems from Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group -- an investment management company that reportedly has interests in the prison companies in charge of the detention centers, according to The Associated Press. It also charges Gonzales halted an investigation into abuse at the detention centers while he was attorney general.

That seems to me to be a conflict of interest on Cheney's part to begin with. Cheney's spokesperson indicated that he had not recieved an indictment.

Let's see what he tries to use to avoid this circus.

The Obama Transition

2008-11-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks to the day, and Obama has been busy. Settled is his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, and word has it that his Attorney General will be Eric Holder, the first African-American in that post. Holder was assistant AG under Clinton. Obama had also had discussions with Hillary Clinton, and Bill Richardson. Are the rumors about Hillary being nominated for Secretary of State a result of 'leaks' from the transition team to test the waters? He's even had time to sit down with John McCain, a meeting that must have been a bit awkward for them both.

The buzz on the inaugaration are that the demand for tickets is thousands of times higher than the available seats. Even if you are lucky enough to get a ticket (and who knows how our senators and representatives are going to handle the process), the chances of being able to get a flight, a hotel, and a place to sit (or even stand) are pretty small.

Ted Stevens Career Withering

2008-11-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

As the last major block of votes are counted in Alaska today, Mark Begich's lead more than doubled to almost 3,000 votes. That puts him past the margin requiring an automatic recount. It remains to be seen if the Republican party requests one.

Meanwhile, the Alaska Supreme Court delayed issuing an interim suspension of Mr. Stevens law license, giving him a birthday present of a week's delay. According to Alaska law, suspending his license is required upon conviction of a felony. If he were to win his felony appeal, he can then appeal the suspension.

The US Senate also delayed it's vote to oust Mr. Stevens from the Republican caucus, hoping that the election results would make such a vote moot. He would still have the right to vote in the coming week's lame duck session, unless some bold Republican moves to oust him from the senate entirely, which is unlikely.

Mr. Stevens today was insisting that he would win the election. Why can't he just concede and retire like a gentleman? I'm sure his colleagues would appreciate the gesture, and probably find some kind things to say about his long career, ever since Alaska obtained statehood! Instead, he's just withering as we watch.

Count, Count and Recount

2008-11-14T23:02:00.001-08:00

The counting in Alaska continues. Good news for Mark Begich(D) who is now up by 1061 votes. Lots more votes to count on Monday and particularly on Tuesday. He's up by .4% so is still in Recount territory. With his momentum, hopefully he will exceed the .5% automatic recount threshold. One never knows about Ted Stevens though. He's appealing his 7 felony convictions, so don't expect him not to demand a recount as well. Can't he just retire PLEASE!

Is America Ready for Same-Sex Marriage?

2008-11-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

To disallow same-sex marriage by claiming that gay couples can have all the same rights under a civil union flies in the face of a plethora of civil and equal rights decisions by the Supreme Court. For example, desegregation rulings declared that "separate but equal" is not equal enough under the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution. To bar same-sex marriages with this logic would open the door for the return of "Jim Crow" laws against minority groups of all types.

Ready or not, America cannot afford to go backwards to an era of "separation".

California's passage of Proposition 8 poses additional concerns going far beyond same-sex marriage. Using the initiative process to modify the state constitution via a simple plurality vote bypasses the court's jurisdiction and responsibility to protect the rights of the minority against the majority. The proposition reverses the change the court made in determining that the rights of the minority had been abridged. The suit filed against prop. 8 with the court seeks not only to throw out the proposition's results, but will have the effect of throwing out the entire process by which the California State Constitution can be modified. It is a landmark state constitutional question that needs to be answered. The initiative process is too easily influenced by outside special interests. Compared to the process required to modify the US Constitution, it is clearly lacking in the protections and oversight necessary to prevent abuse.

Sarah Palin's Future

2008-11-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

As Sarah Palin makes the rounds of the network interviews, it seems as if she can't stop talking. For all appearances, she seems out to prove that she can talk to the media, although from what I've seen, the McCain campaign wasn't wrong to limit those opportunities. I'm still waiting for something coherent or of substance to be uttered by the former Republican running mate, and I've had no indication that it will be forthcoming anytime soon. If she's trying to disprove the polls showing her negative approval ratings and lack of readiness to be president, this media onslaught is not going to help. It may make it worse. She might do well to remember that the those poll numbers got worse the more people were exposed to her, and Obama's campaign really had little to do with it.

If Sen. Ted Steven's lead holds through the inevitable recount, and his felony convictions appeals fail, he'll be expelled from the Senate, forcing a special election in Alaska to replace him. Perhaps that would be the cracked open door Sarah Palin was talking about in recent network interviews that she is looking for her God to show her. She says she will barge through even the slightest opening in a door, clearly indicating that she's interested in a 2012 or 16 race. She would have to resign her position as governor to run for the Senate seat, but would be setting herself up for a future national campaign.

It would also be a good escape from the Governor's office. Since the price of oil has dropped down to around $60, Alaska's budget may actually face a budget shortfall next year with the drastic drop in oil tax revenue. The huge surplus they ran last year, that Palin refunded to Alaskans this year, goes away next year if oil stays below about $70. All signs are that it would be good to NOT be governor of Alaska next year.

Since Palin took office, she bet heavy on the price of oil staying high to pay for the big tax cuts and cash payouts she is so popular for. It looked great short term, but her budget strategy of taxing oil to replace more traditional and stable sources of revenue made government revenue highly dependent on the price of oil, and that has been in rapid decline to less than 40% of it's peak this year. With the current global recession, America's move to diversified energy under Obama's energy plan, and the Alaska natural gas pipeline at least 20 years away, the horizon for Alaska's economic largess is near. They are in an economic crisis, but "the fundamentals of the economy are strong". All of Palin's "experience" may be found wanting.

If she did end up running for the senate seat (and it's not clear that she would even have that opportunity), she could likely be facing Mark Begich, mayor of Anchorage and Steven's current opponent (if he could afford another run). It would not be a cakewalk. The economic reality of Alaska's oil revenue dependence might have started to show up in the state budget, and Palin has not been able to organize a state level campaign organization while running for national office.

As governor, when that extra check won't come next year, the budget is in crisis, and the taxes that were cut are put back in place, her popularity will quickly sour. Funny how a budget surplus, boldly distributed directly to state residents, will become a political liability as her speculation with the state budget on the price of oil comes to light. Using that surplus to ensure stability in the state budget would have been a better choice. Her failure to hedge the state's risk on the volatility of it's revenue stream will cost her political capital.

The Election Isn't Over Till It's Over

2008-11-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

What you say?
Yes, the electoral college is yet to vote, and elections are yet to be certified. But we all know the outcome right? Let's look at Missouri.

The race has tightened over the last week. McCain now leads by less than 5,000 votes out of something close to 3 million. There are some 7,000 provisional ballots yet to be counted. 3,200 votes were recently 'found' in the electronic voting machines when it was discovered that they weren't tallied properly by poll workers. Until the election is certified in a couple of weeks, no one can request a recount. Why a recount? What's at stake? Missouri's bellwether status!

More important undecided races (unless your from Missouri of course) are Senate races. In Michigan, there are about 200 votes out of almost 3 million deciding the race between Franken(D) and Coleman(R). The lawyers are now wrangling over the recount process ala Florida 2000. In Georgia, the race is starting all over, with Chambliss(R) getting only 49.8% in a state where a plurality is required to win. It looks like every Republican presidential candidate from the primaries will be down there campaigning - McCain, Huckabee, Guliani and Romney are all slated to hit the campaign trail. Obama is sending aids from his campaign staff to assist Jim Martin (D) in getting all those people who voted for Obama to turn out again for this new battle. Too bad they didn't all vote for Martin to begin with. It seem there were a lot of ballots cast for Obama that didn't vote the rest of the ticket.

Of course, there is still the pending election in Alaska, where recently convicted felon and incumbent Ted Stevens is still leading by a few thousand votes. There are over 90,000 votes yet to be counted (mostly absentee ballots), half of which should be counted by this weekend. His opponent, Mark Begich will probably benefit from the absentee and early voter counts that are going on now. Of course, if things tighten up, there will probably be a call for a recount, and more lawyers arguing and deadlines for election certification looming. In any case, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint (R) is calling for a vote next week to eject Stevens from the Republican caucus. While not exactly expulsion from the senate (the GOP wants to wait until his appeals process is complete), it would remove him from any committees and any Republican only decision making process. At least one conservative Senator has some integrity left.

A lot of pundits are questioning the turnout and results in Alaska. I'm sure that many questions will be asked more aggressively if a recount gets underway. Alaska is the only state that pollsters got COMPLETELY wrong. Turnout was lower than 2004, even with historically large turnouts for caucuses earlier in the campaign season. No one expected such a low turnout. Pollers expected Stevens to lose by double digits.

Personally, I think that the major media projecting the Obama victory as early as 3pm Alaska time might has suppressed a lot of the turnout. None of the media pundits are giving that much weight, but I do remember how loudly people here in California complained when they called elections before the polls closed. They didn't call the election, but it was everything BUT that, and anyone who listened or watched knew it. So, how should the media be responsible? Should they not project results until polls are closed everywhere? Is that realistic? Tough questions. Perhaps they should run a poll in Alaska and actually find out why people didn't vote.

Why does all this matter? Politically, it matters because the Senate is close to a filibuster proof majority. More importantly, it's about the integrity of the election process in general. There is still a lot of suspicion surrounding the voting process and voter suppression tactics that we've seen in 2000 and 2004.

Elections like the Michigan senate race highlight the need to have certainty not only in the result, but also in the process by which that result is achieved, down to the individual ballot. Quite the task, and I'm not sure that the systems we have are completely up to it.

Watch the process closely. It will tell us a lot about what progress has been made. In Michigan, expect that every absentee ballot that was rejected will be challenged, and probably any recounts that vary or ballots that don't scan. At least there are no hanging chads in Michigan, but optical ballots have those little boxes to fill in, so be prepared!

Inspiration

2008-11-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

Inspiration is the only word I could come up with to describe the overwhelming emotion when watching Obama's speech in Grant Park last night. It was beyond words. Seeing Jesse Jackson in tears watching in the crowd, history unfolding in front of him, you couldn't help but do the same. Nor could many others. I could only think how lucky I am to witness and be a part of this turning point in American history.

True to form, Obama made his moment about all of us. About all of his supporters, and all that supported McCain too. It was a call to service, a reminder that this is the beginning, not an end, and that history will judge us for what happens next, not for what has just transpired. The real work is coming, and it's time to think about what each of us can do to contribute in the new era that has just now begun to unfold.

There were disappointments too last night. Prop 8 passed in California, with 2 similar propositions passing in other states. It wasn't all bad. Connecticut voted down an attempt at a constitutional convention to reverse their gay marriage laws. New York now recognizes gay marriages from Massachusetts. Today's news is that the 1st lawsuits have been filed with the state supreme court here in California. To allow the majority to strip rights away from the minority by a simple majority vote through the initiative process is antithetical to the role of the judiciary in protecting minority rights. This use of the initiative process to strip away constitutional rights, if allowed to stand, sets a dangerous precedent and would destroy the foundational constitutional principle of equal protection. What would be next? The right to free speech? Could the majority use the same process to say, disallow dissent by minority groups or make it illegal to have an Islamic temple in our state, simply by a majority vote to change the constitution? Scary stuff.

In other news, Michigan became the 13th state to allow the medical use of Marijuana. Life isn't all bad! Hopefully, with the new era, federal arm twisting by the DEA will go away.

About the down-ticket races:

Dole lost. Her "Godless" Sunday school teacher (and democrat) opponent, Kay Hagen, put her in her place. Yes, Dole actually called her "Godless".

There are still Senate races out there in limbo today. There will be some recounts. Franken in Minnesota was within a couple of hundred votes. His incumbent Republican opponent declared victory anyway. In Georgia, Jim Martin (D) held the incumbent Saxby Chambliss (R) to only 49.9 %. to his 46.7 A third party candidate got the rest. This means that there will be a run-off election in 30 days. You need 50%+ to win in Georgia. Forces are gathering to wage this campaign. It's just starting there, and it's all about turnout during a run-off election. In Oregon, Jeff Merkley(D) and Gordon Smith(R) are even. Another recount, and also some issues there with ballots being damaged.

And, of course, there is Ted Stevens in Alaska. Convicted, and re-elected? It's anybody's guess as to what happened there. Beglich was ahead in the polls, but from the MudFlats blog in Alaska:

At last count with 99% of precincts reporting Begich trailed Stevens by only 4000 votes, 46.5% to 48%. But don’t write off Begich just yet. There are tens of thousands of votes yet to be counted - almost 50,000 in all. Absentee ballots have yet to be tallied, and more are arriving daily. In addition, any early votes that happened between last Thursday and Election Eve, are still to be counted. What does all this mean? We won’t know the outcome of this race for two weeks.

Despite what the Pundits on TV say, Palin cannot appoint someone to fill the seat. That issue has been decided by the Alaska Supreme Court. There will be a special election if Stevens wins this one because he'll get expelled from the Senate when his appeal is lost, or he ends up in jail. More drama and bad headlines for Republicans. It would have been so much better if he had bowed out last week. One way or another he won't be seated. It's just a question of who will eventually get that post. Hopefully the Dem will just win, and Alaska can move on.

If for some reason the democrats sweep all these Senate races, they will get to the magic 60 if you include the two independents that caucus with the Dems. I have the feeling that Leiberman will get the boot from the Democratic Caucus unless they need him for this purpose.

It seems there will be no shortage of things to blog about over the next few weeks!

It's All Over But The Counting

2008-11-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

7:05
Ohio goes for Obama ! If the projections hold true, it puts him at 207 without the western states.
With 55 EVs in California alone - we are about done with this whole thing.

I think I'll wait for the numbers to roll in. There are a lot of down-ticket races that are important.

The Election night jitters

2008-11-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

5:07pm PST
I can't help it. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, and nothing will settle my stomach until we see the results from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia and North Dakota.
The big guns at FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics are slowly coming in. They seem to be very careful about results.
5:10 pm
I just checked the map at MSNBC - they update every 2 minutes. They are calling PA, IL, NH, VT, MA, CT, NJ, DE, MD and DC for Obama.. KY, TN, SC, and OK for McCain - 103 to 34 Obama. Amazing since there are no vote tallies on their site. Especially interesting is PA.

5:16 pm
MSNBC shows an 8 pt lead in FL for Obama, with 24% reporting, but isn't calling. Not suprised.
They show a McCain ahead in VA by 13 so who knows. I think a lot of this is exit and Absentee data. The VA number is out of sync with the pre-election polls, so I'm thinking you can't trust any of this much... arrgh!!

5:32pm
Flipped back into fivethirtyeight.com and they have Hagen beating Dole in North Carolina - that's good news for Obama too. AP has called NH for Obama. MSNBC has ME for Obama now, and I'm looking at the state data for VA. It seems they've had a lot of problems polling in the south-east today. There's also a report on CNN about voter suppression activities in the same area that are being investigated. In any case, this is going to be a long night for results for VA.

5:38
McCain is planning his post-election for the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. Most guests in the ballroom, but he won't speak from there - he's got a stage set up outside in a rather small area. It looks like a 'designed for media' type event. Small space - specially picked crowd to fill it, while the rest watch on TV. Obama, on the other hand has got Grant Park in Chicago. Space for 70,000 in the secure area - and probably 1,000,000+ total expected to attend. Some rally.. the coast guard is protecting the lake side, and the Secret Service has swept the secure area. They have snipers on the rooftops and the whole bit. That's going to be a heck of a party.

6:48
Well, MSNBC was wrong about Virginia. It's now all tied up - 7,000 votes out of 3.8 Million.
Some of these early projections seem to be just shadows. Georgia is being flagged for McCain based on rural voting results - but the big suburban counties aren't reporting. I think it's going to look like another Virginia.

6:55
What ever happened to not reporting the results until ALL the polls are closed? Western states are still voting !! This year Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado are all in play.
Well, maybe Colorado was decided yesterday.. they had early voting there that was a very large part of the total vote count.

Anyway - I'll be back to continue this blog later - after the dust has settled a bit.
My nerves can't stand it anymore!

Election Eve

2008-11-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

GO OUT AND VOTE !!!! Honor Mrs. Dunham and elect her grandson.

On the eve of this election I can't help but feel that this will be a historic event. For the 1st time, we have an African-American who not only is leading in the polls, but is leading with an outright majority nationwide. There is far more at stake, however. Here in California, there's Prop. 8 (please vote NO), which I will turn out large numbers of evangelicals. The LDS church is joining with evangelicals to fund the 'yes on 8' campaign. They have delved into politics, not something everyone in the LDS church agrees with, for what it's worth. There's Prop. 4 (please vote NO again), which chips away at a woman's right to privacy by eliminating that right for those under the age of 18. It doesn't outlaw abortion, but rather attacks the fundamental right which is the basis of Roe v. Wade. Since when are constitutional rights magically determined by age?
Sneaking in under the radar on what has been a massive presidential campaign, these Propositions are being funded by right-wing and right-to-life PACs from outside of California. In any other election year, there would be a large outcry.

Obama's rally tonight in Manassas, Virginia drew 90,000 people in a county where George Bush won with 69,000 votes in 2004. But that's just the dot on the I. He's been campaigning in states that were 'Red' and turning out record crowds. St. Louis 100,000, 3 rallies in western states that turned out 250,000. It's been that way all across the country, and been that way for weeks. It is the Obama Phenomena. Curious what a crowd of 90,000 looks like in the middle of the night? Here's a picture of part of the crowd posted by a blogger. As far as the eye can see and beyond.

Meanwhile, McCain and Palin are hitting midnight rallies in Nevada and Arizona tonight to crowds of hundreds. Crowds that fit into a high school gym. In Tampa, McCain started the day with a crowd of 1,000 when 10,000 were expected.

The Obama Phenomena is changing the Electoral map. States that haven't been in play for decades, are now 'toss up' or leaning Obama. Not only does that provide a multitude of ways for Obama to get to the needed 270, it's had a dramatic impact on the down-ticket races for Senate and Congressional seats. No one was thinking that we might get to 60 Democratic Senate seats even 6 weeks ago. If you believe the polls, that possibility is very real. Although still not likely, most pollsters get to that number by including "Independents" like Lieberman (what a jerk).

You've probably noticed that I've not been blogging on the polls lately. It's not that I'm not following them. On the contrary.. I watch these sites and read all the data I can.
RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight are two sites run by wonks that crunch numbers to excess. You can watch the campaign maps of CNN and MSNBC. You can look at Intrade Prediction Markets which would have you trade on the predictions like the stock market.

Here's my take on the polls. They show a steady Obama lead nationwide. The variance day-to-day of the tracking polls are all within the margins of error. There hasn't been any indication of a change in trend. Has it tightened up? Maybe. Not significantly. The national polls tend to not include votes for Nader and Barr.. some say that will be 2-3 %. Interestingly enough, most polls show that Nader and Barr overall will hurt McCain more than Obama. More important are the State-by-State numbers. This election is won State-by-State; something we don't have to tell Al Gore. In all of the toss-up states except perhaps North Carolina, Obama holds some kind of lead. Even there and Missouri, McCain's "lead" is less than 1 %. On the other hand, Georgia, North Dakota, Montana, and Arizona are now 'toss-up'; being within the margins of error.

Here's my problem with the polls. They don't reflect those tens of (or hundreds) of thousands of people that are showing up at the Obama rallies. Either voter turnout from these energized individuals will be the lowest in history or the polls are just not paying attention. The polls have their methods and they stick to them. I think they will learn a new lesson this year about how the dynamics of this election are not being reflected in their numbers.

Here's an example:
In GEORGIA- for all pollsters a 'red' state. Latest polls show McCain's lead down at about the margin of error, in some cases down to 1 point. However here's news that the pollsters didn't pick up. We see this reported at FiveThirtyEight.com today. They don't poll, they run simulations based on other people's polling data.

1,994,990 people voted early in Georgia. 3,301,875 total voted in Georgia's presidential race in 2004. That, with insanely long lines for early voters.

On the Road: Atlanta, Georgia details the 550, 000 new voters registered, the 33 offices, 175 staging areas, at least one in every county, and a highly organized and active volunteer organization.

Indeed, Obama is doing better with white voters in Georgia than either Kerry or Gore. In early voting, African-American voting was 35%. 25% is the historic level. As for totals after election day comes and goes, Adelman said, "anything over 30% and we're gonna win."

The other problem I have with the polls is the early voting movement. No one knows how to account for the early voters, especially in the battleground states. It will be interesting to see if they are more influenced by the GOTV from the campaigns than the electorate in general. Many of these voters are VERY motivated; standing in line for hours. Why, I'm not sure. Perhaps it is from the fear of being disenfranchised as happened in some areas in 2004.
In any case, far more people are voting early - 1/3 of all voters in Virginia voted early. So much for the last 72 hour 'push' by the campaigns.

I'm sure there will be plenty of analysis to listen to tomorrow.
I think there is going to be a big surprise. Obama is going to get results that the polls just don't measure.

In the mean time, there is this: Washington lost this weekend. Some say that means a Democratic win (football fans!).

Then there is this - Dixville Notch, NH polls opened at midnight and closed shortly thereafter. Obama wins 15 to 6 (votes!). It's the 1st result of the night, and not necessarily a good bell weather, however they haven't voted for a Democrat since Humphrey in 1968.

Find me blogging the news tomorrow. !!!

Yet Another Conservative Endorsement

2008-10-31T02:38:00.000-07:00

In today's "The Economist" - an endorsement for Barack Obama "It's Time"

Now America has to choose between them. The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly: the Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence.

30 Minutes in History

2008-10-31T01:02:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama's 30 minute long form advertisement aired Wednesday night. It will go down in history as a masterful success. Millions watched it - Hopefully undecided and moderate Republicans that will now vote Obama. I think we'll see a bounce in the polls announced this weekend.

The last time something like this was done was Ross Perot and his now infamous 'flip chart' presentation. There was a lesson to be learned from that; and Obama's team learned it.

Never mind the content, Obama's choice of the team to conceive, produce and film this project says something about himself. He makes the right choices, and surrounds himself with the finest, most professional experts available. The award winning filmmaker who put this together is a perfectionist, and it shows.

And what about the content?
Obama sends a message of Hope and Unification mixed with personal stories of people that exemplify what is 'right' about America. He adds his personal narration, and stories from his own life, connecting with the listener. He makes the argument that he knows and cares about the average American by example, not in words. He moves smoothly from big concepts to specific policies, and back again. In this presentation, what comes through loud and clear is that he "gets it". "It's not about me, it's about all of you" he says from the campaign trail. No place is that clearer than in this video:

Keeping Up

2008-10-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I missed a day... so let's get to it! I've been busy following this, stirring the pot and commenting and emailing wherever I can.

In a previous post Beyond Repudiation, I discussed the smear campaign in Pennsylvania targeting the Jewish vote with an email linking a vote to Obama to the Holocaust. I filed an action request with the Anti-Defamation League and got a direct email response. I hope I was one of thousands that asked for action. In any case, their response was appreciated. The Press Release has helped raise some additional media attention. Sadly, it seems that CNN has not seen fit to PRINT a single word on this whole mess. NOTHING!! I sent the tip to them, suggested the story to them, then sent a message to AC360's Keeping Them Honest, blasting their producers for ignoring it. Since, I've heard Lou Dobbs mention it, and one other reference to liberal bloggers, but no call beyond my own for action on the part of the McCain campaign to repudiate it's signatory, who is still on his national staff. I guess it would be too much to expect of the McCain campaign anyway. At least there is this:

Dear Mr. Ben-Yehuda, We released a statement to the press and published it on our web site. You can see the statement by following this link. http://www.adl.org/PresRele/HolNa_52/5379_52.htm
If you have any other questions, please contact me at the number below.
Best
Kevin O’Grady
Kevin O'Grady, Ed.D.
Regional Director
Anti-Defamation League
Orange County/Long Beach Regional Office
kogrady@adl.org
714-979-4733 FAX: 714-979-4138
http://www.adl.org/

And then there is this story that went out on the AP: Ex-PA judge - Sorry

It's getting picked up by AP affiliates all over...
CNN - they had their chance. I think they've lost their edge.

Just Say No

2008-10-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

Dozens Of Call Center Workers In Indiana Walk Off Job In Protest Rather Than Read McCain Script Attacking Obama.

"We were asked to read something saying [Obama and Democrats] were against protecting children from danger," this worker said. "I wouldn't do it. A lot of people left. They thought it was disgusting."

The campaign coincided with a robo-slime call running in other states. Robocalling is illegal in Indiana, which is why it was being read by call center workers.

The Top Ten Reasons Conservatives Should Vote For Obama

2008-10-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

Andrew Sullivan blogs:

10. A body blow to racial identity politics. An end to the era of Jesse Jackson in black America.

9. Less debt. Yes, Obama will raise taxes on those earning over a quarter of a million. And he will spend on healthcare, Iraq, Afghanistan and the environment. But so will McCain. He plans more spending on health, the environment and won't touch defense of entitlements. And his refusal to touch taxes means an extra $4 trillion in debt over the massive increase presided over by Bush. And the CBO estimates that McCain's plans will add more to the debt over four years than Obama's. Fiscal conservatives have a clear choice.

8. A return to realism and prudence in foreign policy. Obama has consistently cited the foreign policy of George H. W. Bush as his inspiration. McCain's knee-jerk reaction to the Georgian conflict, his commitment to stay in Iraq indefinitely, and his brinksmanship over Iran's nuclear ambitions make him a far riskier choice for conservatives. The choice between Obama and McCain is like the choice between George H.W. Bush's first term and George W.'s.

7. An ability to understand the difference between listening to generals and delegating foreign policy to them.

6. Temperament. Obama has the coolest, calmest demeanor of any president since Eisenhower. Conservatism values that kind of constancy, especially compared with the hot-headed, irrational impulsiveness of McCain.

5. Faith. Obama's fusion of Christianity and reason, his non-fundamentalist faith, is a critical bridge between the new atheism and the new Christianism.

4. A truce in the culture war. Obama takes us past the debilitating boomer warfare that has raged since the 1960s. Nothing has distorted our politics so gravely; nothing has made a rational politics more elusive.

3. Two words: President Palin.

2. Conservative reform. Until conservatism can get a distance from the big-spending, privacy-busting, debt-ridden, crony-laden, fundamentalist, intolerant, incompetent and arrogant faux conservatism of the Bush-Cheney years, it will never regain a coherent message to actually govern this country again. The survival of conservatism requires a temporary eclipse of today's Republicanism. Losing would be the best thing to happen to conservatism since 1964. Back then, conservatives lost in a landslide for the right reasons. Now, Republicans are losing in a landslide for the wrong reasons.

1. The War Against Islamist terror. The strategy deployed by Bush and Cheney has failed. It has failed to destroy al Qaeda, except in a country, Iraq, where their presence was minimal before the US invasion. It has failed to bring any of the terrorists to justice, instead creating the excrescence of Gitmo, torture, secret sites, and the collapse of America's reputation abroad. It has empowered Iran, allowed al Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan, made the next vast generation of Muslims loathe America, and imperiled our alliances. We need smarter leadership of the war: balancing force with diplomacy, hard power with better p.r., deploying strategy rather than mere tactics, and self-confidence rather than a bunker mentality.

Those conservatives who remain convinced, as I do, that Islamist terror remains the greatest threat to the West cannot risk a perpetuation of the failed Manichean worldview of the past eight years, and cannot risk the possibility of McCain making rash decisions in the middle of a potentially catastrophic global conflict. If you are serious about the war on terror and believe it is a war we have to win, the only serious candidate is Barack Obama.

McCain Aides Comment on Palin

2008-10-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

Dana Bash travels with the McCain campaign and reports on CNN some pretty damaging stuff.

Quoting sources within the campaign:
"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," this McCain adviser said. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."
A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.
The Politico reported Saturday on Palin's frustration, specifically with McCain advisers Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt. They helped decide to limit Palin's initial media contact to high-profile interviews with Charlie Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, which all McCain sources admit were highly damaging.
In response, Wallace e-mailed CNN the same quote she gave the Politico: "If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honorable thing to do is to lie there."
But two sources, one Palin associate and one McCain adviser, defended the decision to keep her media interaction limited after she was picked, both saying flatly that she was not ready and that the missteps could have been a lot worse. They insisted that she needed time to be briefed on national and international issues and on McCain's record.
"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."

I'm thinking that Wallace and Schmidt wish they'd had another month to prepare her for those interviews. Her lack of "fundamental understanding" is still dramatic.

CNN contributor and Republican strategist Ed Rollins said Palin was "mishandled" during the earlier part of the campaign, and as a result, "she's become a target of a lot of ridicule."
But, he said, "She definitely is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this thing is over."

I disagree with Rollins assessment that she was "mishandled". Wallace and Schmidt weren't given much to work with and did not have enough time to get the job done. I lay the blame on McCain's late decision, not on Wallace and Schmidt for this one.

To say she is the "most popular Republican" with polls showing Palin's unfavorables outweighing her favorables, is a pretty sad comment on the state of the Republican party.

McCain in 2000 - There's Nothing Wrong with the Wealthy Paying More

2008-10-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than showing how John McCain has flip-flopped on his primary tax issue that he's trying to hammer Obama with. In 2000, John McCain was preaching Obama's tax plan - wealthy pay a little more, tax cuts for the middle class. Now he's preaching the opposite. Where's the honor?

Here you go.. in his own words.

Beyond Repudiation

2008-10-26T02:54:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how I can express the level of anger and disgust that I feel reading the following story.

I'm sorry folks, but there needs to be legislation that makes this kind of defamation illegal, no matter what the circumstance. It is beyond simple repudiation. I certainly hope that the backlash from this becomes national news.

Matt Yglesias reports on his blog: Ja, Wir Können? and also reported in the New York Times

Pennsylvania GOP warns Keystone State Jews that Barack Obama is going to send us chosen folk into the ovens:

A new e-mail making the rounds among Jewish voters in Pennsylvania this week falsely alleged that Mr. Obama “taught members of Acorn to commit voter registration fraud,’’ and equated a vote for Senator Barack Obama with the “tragic mistake” of their Jewish ancestors, who “ignored the warning signs in the 1930’s and 1940’s.” […]

But where most of the attack e-mails against Mr. Obama have been mostly either anonymous or from people outside of mainstream politics, this one had an unusually official provenance: It was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Republican Party’s “Victory 2008” committee.

And it was signed by several prominent McCain supporters in the state: Mitchell L. Morgan, a top fund-raiser; Hon. Sandra Schwartz Newman, a member of Mr. McCain’s national task-force monitoring Election Day voting, and I. Michael Coslov, a steel industry executive.

Judge Newman, a former state supreme court justice now in private practice, helped author the letter.

After several calls for comment about the e-mail, leaders of the state party repudiated it on Friday. They said it had been released without their authorization and that they had fired the strategist who helped draft it, Bryan Rudnick.

He said the e-mail was sent to 75,000 voters in Pennsylvania and asked that other questions be e-mailed to him. Mr. Rudnick did not respond to that e-mail. But, contacted again on Friday night, Mr. Rudnick disputed the party’s version of events and said he had approval for the letter from officials at several levels.

Text of the email in part:

"Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008," the e-mail reads. "Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake. Let's not make a similar one this year!"

A copy of the e-mail, provided by Democratic officials, says it was "Paid for by the Republican Federal Committee of PA - Victory 2008."

It warns "Fellow Jewish Voters" of the danger of a second Holocaust due to the threats to Israel from its neighbors and touts Republican presidential candidate John McCain's qualifications over those of Obama.

News from Alaska - OBAMA !!!

2008-10-26T01:56:00.000-07:00

Two news items today from Alaska.
1st - A rally in Anchorage turns out hundreds of people in freezing cold weather to create a human OBAMA logo. Dressing in red, white and blue ponchos, an enthusiastic crowd of Obama supporters turned out in this grassroots effort. Pictures in the link. Remember that there are only 600,000 people in all of Alaska, so turning out this size crowd with a grassroots organization says something! Here's another link from Alaska Daily News

2nd - The Alaska Daily News, the largest newspaper in Alaska has endorsed-- BARACK OBAMA !!! Read the story by following the link. It's a great endorsement - well thought out. Here's a snippit:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

It seems Alaskans are more clear-headed than the right side of the Republican party. The lack of support in Alaska might mean the idea of Palin 2012 that's being floated by some of the national media may not be viable. Of course, to be viable, it would require that she resonate with people outside of the right wing of the Republican party. So far, that doesn't seem to be happening - and with her negatives larger than her positives at this point, it's not likely to change.

McCain Blasts Bush -- Shoots Self Again

2008-10-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

John McCain lashed out at George Bush and the entire Republican party in an interview with Washington Times reporters Joseph Curl and Stephen Dinan. He's desperately trying to separate himself from the rest of the party and Bush's record, but the problem is that he's voted with Bush 90% of the time. When he criticizes them, he criticizes himself. It's inescapable.

"We just let things get completely out of hand," he said of his own party's rule in the past eight years.

"Spending, the conduct of the war in Iraq for years, growth in the size of government, larger than any time since the Great Society, laying a $10 trillion debt on future generations of America, owing $500 billion to China, obviously, failure to both enforce and modernize the [financial] regulatory agencies that were designed for the 1930s and certainly not for the 21st century, failure to address the issue of climate change seriously," Mr. McCain said in an interview with The Washington Times. "Those are just some of them," he said with a laugh

In addition to the long list of failures he attributed to Mr. Bush, Mr. McCain blamed the president for supporting the Medicare prescription-drug bill, saying, "They didn't pay for it."

I'm sure he's not making any friends with his congressional collegues over this, being that they have enough problems getting re-elected without getting blasted from their own party's candidate. We have Palin campaigning to energize the right side of the republican party, most of whom support Bush, and now McCain is doing the opposite.

It's tough to make headway when rowing in the opposite direction from your shipmate.

Taking Back the VP Bet

2008-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

1st off - Let's not forget to say a prayer for Barry's grandma. She did a great job raising her grandson. I hope she makes it to see him inaugurated January 20th

Ok.. Now this is great..
While Barack Obama is in Hawaii visiting his gravely ill grandmother, Sarah and Todd Palin are taking a day off to greet a visitor in St. Louis. They are meeting a special prosecutor from the state of Alaska to give depositions in the ongoing investigation of abuse of power, ethics violations, and mis-use of government funds/property by Sarah Palin as governor.

Hope this helps raise a smile on another bad day on Wall St.

Palin Denies Accepting $150K In Designer Clothes

2008-10-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

Excuse this drift into the minutia. When you iconize your campaign with images such as 'Joe the Plumber', this Icon becomes relevant.

If you thought that McCain's been living in a bubble when it comes to Sarah Palin it's nothing compared to the bubble surrounding Sarah Palin herself.

ORMOND BEACH, FLA. (AP) - Sarah Palin is blaming gender bias for the controversy over $150,000 worth of designer clothes, hairstyling and accessories the Republican Party provided for her, a newspaper reported Thursday.
Palin, who is John McCain's vice presidential running mate, said the clothes were not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. (What, does she think we can't add up the numbers reported by the RNC?).

Most of the clothes have never left the campaign plane, she told the newspaper. (what a waste- more clothes then she can even wear)

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," Palin said.

"That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are."(Frugal? - emphasis added- Yes, tell us again how frugal $23,500 for the convention speech outfit is)

McCain was asked several questions on Thursday about the shopping spree _ and he answered each one more or less the same way: Palin needed clothes and they'll be donated to charity.

"She needed clothes at the time. They'll be donated at end of this campaign. They'll be donated to charity," McCain told reporters on his campaign bus between Florida rallies.
Asked for details on how they'll be donated, McCain said, "It works by her getting some clothes when she was made the nominee of the party and it will be donated back to charity."
Asked if he was surprised at the amount spent, McCain said, "It works that the clothes will be donated to charity. Nothing surprises me."

I guess this means that if McCain and Palin win the election, all those clothes are going to be donated, and she'll have to start all over again. Maybe McCain subconsciously admitted that they're not going to win?

I'm left wondering. Are those $5000 blazers and $1500 pumps are going to show up at a Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries store somewhere? Perhaps they'll have an auction, so that the party faithful can clamor over their spoils; donating the proceeds to the needy or homeless. Oh.. sorry.. that would turn Palin into a 'celebrity' - a 'dirty word' McCain used to attack Obama.

Well, maybe it's best we just leave the question unanswered too.
In any case, $150k at Neiman Marcus, Saks and Macy's is raising eyebrows, and questions.

Also on Thursday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a private watchdog group in Washington, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Palin, the Republican National Committee and several political operatives alleging that the purchase of clothing for Palin and her family violates Federal Election Campaign Act.

It raises another question for me. Who is paying for all those kids traveling around the country with Palin - and shouldn't they be in school? I don't recall McCain selecting the Palin FAMILY for the VP position. Is Palin paying their hotel and food costs (we know the clothes were paid for by the RNC)?

McCain's Latest Twist

2008-10-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

Joe Biden opened a door at a Sunday fundraiser, stating:

"It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. ... We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

Now, not withstanding the fact that an international crisis has tested every recent new president within 6 months, John McCain jumped all over the comment as an opportunity to invoke the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 to incite fear and uncertainty about Obama's readiness to lead. He handled it like everything else he does that hasn't been carefully scripted in advance by his campaign team: He blew it. He said:

“We don’t want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars,”

Then, McCain veered off script to expound:

“Sen. Biden referred to how Jack Kennedy was tested in the Cuban Missile Crisis. My friends, I had a little personal experience in that,” McCain said. “I was on board the USS Enterprise. I sat in the cockpit of a flight deck on the USS Enterprise off of Cuba. I had a target. My friends, do you know how close we came to nuclear war? America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I’ve been tested my friends.”

McCain was tested by sitting in a cockpit on an aircraft carrier? President Kennedy sure didn't call him on the radio to ask his advice on how to resolve the situation. Maybe if he was close enough to see Cuba on the horizon, he can claim, Palin style, that he's an expert on Cuban affairs.

What does any of it have to do with being tested? However brave his military exploits, it was all about following orders, not making international policy decisions or negotiating solutions. Thank you John for reminding us all that your military service does not equate to crisis decision making or foreign policy readiness. Thanks also for reminding us just how old you are.

If anything, this confirms how erratic McCain's campaign is. It's pulled him off onto a new tangent. I have to wonder if Biden's comments were intended to do just that.

McCain and the Decline of the Republican Party

2008-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

McCain spends his time at the rallies lately bashing Obama's tax cuts, carefully choosing to quote 'Joe the Plumber' when calling it 'socialism'. At the same time he proposes a 30% tax cut for corporations - from 35% to 25%. On the campaign trail, he tries to separate himself from GW Bush saying he wants to take America in a new direction, but doesn't say what that direction is. It's simply rhetoric, with nothing to back it up.

The reality is that his own plan for the economy is basically the same as the disaster that GW Bush has had for the last 8 years. Remove regulation and provide huge tax breaks for the large corporations and the generosity will 'trickle down' to the rest of us who work for a paycheck. The problem with that approach is that it assumes corporations are socially benevolent organizations. In practice, the last 8 years especially have shown that the CEOs, executives and shareholders will line their pockets with profits while continuing to cut operating expenses by shipping jobs overseas. He wants to do the same thing to health care, but we have already seen that absent regulation, health care corporations will deny services, and insurance companies will deny claims.

In the past, McCain came out against the Bush tax cuts, calling them 'irresponsible' while the country was at war. Now he wants to cut taxes on corporations even more, while continuing to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan with a cost of over $10 BILLION a MONTH. Who is going to pay for this tax cut? All the rest of us. What has ruined our economy? People cannot continue to 'spend' money they don't have to support an economy while it is being sucked dry by military spending. The credit has been used up, the well is dry. We need to stop spending that money overseas on bullets, and instead spend it here at home on our veterans and on our infrastructure and in ways that produce positive economic results at home.

Obama's tax plan isn't 'socialism'. Taxes - all taxes- are always about 'redistributing the wealth' in one form or another. Our country has come to expect certain services from our government. To suggest that the lower and middle class have been paying too much of the cost, and that the wealthy can afford to pay a little more is what I call 'fairness', not 'socialist'.

The ideals of the Reagan era Republican Party are gone. They have been replaced with greed, power brokering, nation building, corruption and the worst kind of whisper campaigns that use fear mongering, racial prejudice and McCarthyism. Code words like 'terrorist', 'muslim', 'arab' and 'associates with' have no business in a political campaign. It's disgusting, narrow minded and reminds me of the tactics that GW Bush, Carl Rove, and Dick Cheney used to invoke the eras of McCarthy and Wallace in whipping up sentiment to support their hidden agenda of war with Iraq while suppressing their detractors.

This is a dangerous ploy that has to stop. It will divide our country and set us back 50 years. We must not allow candidates to use these tactics and simply deny the obvious truth. They must be held accountable for stoking the embers of extremism in this country. We can stop it with our voices in the press, and we MUST stop it with our votes at the polls.

Block the Vote

2008-10-20T00:11:00.000-07:00

This article, written by ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine. Why isn't the mainstream media pounding this story hard? Contact your local media, Ireport or Keeping Them Honest for CNN, MSNBC, etc. and ask them why they are not covering this outrageous national Voter Fraud (by exclusion) campaign.

Here's a bit from the article:

These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmingly votes Democratic: More than 80 percent of all residents are Hispanic, and one in four lives below the poverty line. On February 5th, the day of the Super Tuesday caucus, a school-bus driver named Paul Maez arrived at his local polling station to cast his ballot. To his surprise, Maez found that his name had vanished from the list of registered voters, thanks to a statewide effort to deter fraudulent voting. For Maez, the shock was especially acute: He is the supervisor of elections in Las Vegas.
Maez was not alone in being denied his right to vote. On Super Tuesday, one in nine Democrats who tried to cast ballots in New Mexico found their names missing from the registration lists. The numbers were even higher in precincts like Las Vegas, where nearly 20 percent of the county's voters were absent from the rolls.

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

2008-10-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Meet the Press was the forum for this important endorsement by a key Republican.

It was not only an endorsement, but a major critical assessment of both campaigns and both candidates. Powell was particularly critical of McCain's campaign, and the RNC. He highlighted McCain's erratic handling of the economic crisis, his pick of Palin, and use of Ayers as several examples of problems he has with McCain. He called Obama a 'transformational candidate' and cited his steady hand, his substance and his style and ability to inspire in his decision to endorse Obama. He had a lot critical to say about the republican party and campaign with it's narrowing and negative focus. Here's a clip from the show to watch.

Marriage Squeaker in California

2008-10-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

The fight for civil marriage equality in California is a dead heat in the latest poll.

We all need to get out the vote against Prop. 8. A LOT of money is being spent by out-of-state evangelical organizations get this 'marriage' constitutional amendment passed to overturn the California Supreme Court ruling.

Republican voter fraud

2008-10-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

This in today's LA Times:
Voters say they were duped into registering as Republicans

YPM, a group hired by the GOP, allegedly deceived Californians who thought they were signing a petition. YPM denies any wrongdoing. Similar accusations have been leveled against the company elsewhere.

The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them -- more than 80% -- said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge.

The American Promise

2008-10-17T18:22:00.001-07:00

Watch the video, get inspired. With all the negative BS on the news, it's easy to forget the positive message of hope and inspiration that this man brings.

If you have time to help, use up your cell minutes this month and make some calls.

FRAUD

2008-10-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

People for the American Way have published this full page ad in the NYT about ACORN. The Republicans will be back to their old tricks again of voter suppression, and they are going to be working it hardest in those Red states that are polling purple/blue.

http://site.pfaw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ads_fraud

I disagree with one point in the ad. When people are 'warned' via anonymous flyers that if they have outstanding traffic tickets they may get arrested if they go to the polls, it could actually happen. In many states, police routinely set up roadblocks and check for registration and traffic scofflaws. All it takes is a little encouragement by local (or sometimes non-local) politicians to make sure that come election day, in certain districts, that 'routine' roadblocks just happen to be set up so that you pass through them to get to your local polling place.

This is exactly what people complained about in Florida in 2004. It is sure to happen again. I suggest that people take that 800 number that CNN published to report voter suppression/fraud activites on with them when they drive to their polling place.

Debate number 3 - Monitoring the Independents

2008-10-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

The CNN Independent focus group twists the dials for Barack Obama again for debate number 3.
The snap polls taken after the debate

McCain started the debate with 'angry angry angry' and looked that way. The split screen told the tale, looking old, angry, and at times contemptuous. None of those win votes, especially with Independent or undecided voters. Dial responses were muted.

On the other hand, Obama was 'cool and collected', and although a bit tense at the open, seemed to get more comfortable and more focused as the debate wore on. It might have seemed 'boring' to some, but the 'even hand on the tiller' of steady leadership can look that way. Net result - similar muted responses.

In contrast, it makes McCain look even more erratic and disjointed when unsuccessfully trying one attack angle after another to get Obama off course. McCain just seemed to get more angry, more frustrated, and at the end, tired. It seemed the focus group ended the same way; positive responses dropped off while McCain was still dragging out his responses.

McCain sounded hollow when complaining about the Obama's negative ads. It's an unbelievable charge. He's not in a position to whine while he's running 100% negative ads and Palin is stoking the hate mongers on the fringe. No one will believe that Obama is spending the most on negative ads, because he's only about 30% negative compared to the 100% negative of McCain. Every time someone sees an positive issue ad by Obama, they are now going to think ' Gee, McCain was wrong about Obama spending so much on negative ads'. This is definitely going to blow back on McCain, especially if he continues to run negative. Needless to say, you don't win votes with this line.

Obama missed the talking point on Ayers that he was voted Chicago Citizen of the Year in 1987, but responded well about the relationship. He told the story, explained the board, who else was on it, and who funded it - Ronald Reagan's friends the Annenburgs. - McCain hurt himself with outbursts. The diallers show they really aren't that interested. McCain follows up saying that he's not that interested in an old former terrorist, but it's about Obama's being forthcoming about the information. The problem was he said that after Obama just got done with a detailed explanation.

McCain is not believable about 'repudiating' all negative personal attacks. How can he say that when his running mate is busy making negative personal attacks? The dial shows people are not particularly impressed.

McCain has some problems with his arguments lately. When asked about Sarah Palin, he can no longer say 'reformer' without people thinking 'troopergate - abuse of power'. Flat Independent response from women until he touched on 'special needs kids'.. Men seemed to like that 'feisty' part of the 'reformer' word.

As the subjects turned to energy, Obama blew McCain out of the water. Especially when he talked about making high efficiency cars here in the US, not overseas, and working on new energy sources creating jobs in the US. McCain's drill-drill-drill just didn't resonate. The focus group is from Ohio. Job news is hurting this part of the country. McCain ties jobs to energy, but doesn't say how. Bringing up nuclear powered navy ships seems SO detached, McCain's just not relating to the focus group.

Moving on to Health Care, Obama got the twist to full + both with men and women. McCain's $5000 plan got Neg marks with women.. period! Men also dropped down to only slightly +.
McCain's mocking 'zero' response to Obama's statement about fines to small businesses didn't come off. It made him look like he didn't know Obama's plan. Obama continued with a strong response, detailing McCain's plan and it's faults. McCain is clearly out of it on this one. He didn't explain or counter Obama's arguments - he went back to Joe Plumber.. what? He goes off track then veers back. McCain then goes on to explain that his plan would give people $5000, but then would be taxed .. but the kicker is then he says the average health plan costs $5800.. hmm that seems like a $800 loss, and you then have to go out and find coverage for yourself... Good Luck... needless to say he got flat lined by the diallers on that. His arguments were not coherent at all. Obama's explanation of the McCain plan was far more understandable than McCain's attempt at explaining his own position. Probably convinced more than a few that they're better off without McCain's plan.

On the Supreme court issue - McCain came out and said he's for overturning Roe v. Wade. Called himself a Federalist - (stole that one from Palin!) He then got incoherent again.. no litmus test, but someone who's record supports Roe v. Wade would not be qualified .. huh? Talking out of both sides of his mouth. Obama refers back to supporting the Right to Privacy.. gets a strong uptick. Obama gives a strong empathy position - not 'Pro-Abortion'; support providing alternative solutions. Empathy was apparent; give women the choice, but encourage alternatives and prevent pregnancies to begin with. Very Centrist- and probably acceptable to some who lean pro-life, but are not hard line. Common ground approach mentioning sacred sexuality hits TOP marks, men and women! This line provides a way for people to support Obama from both sides of this issue and is reflected in the focus group response.

Obama hits again with Education. Teacher pay is very good point with the dialer twisters, but college hits the mark 100% + especially with women, but also with men. He does it again when he talks about better parenting -- 100% both men and women. Clear win on this one.
McCain harps on Vouchers.. his only answer. Troops returning to work as teachers without credentials gets a strong neg twist from women. Don't blame them... it's a STUPID idea. What qualifies a veteran to be able to teach without appropriate training? Makes NO sense. The visual of that ex-marine standing in front of a bunch of elementary school kids is pretty stark.
Obama comes out and blasts McCain's lack of help for college education, and uses his campaign's flippant response of not being able to accommodate a 'special interest'

Closing speeches were a mis-match. McCain starts, and gets only small responses. He doesn't have much to say. If anything, this should have been his shining moment. He should have been prepared to espouse all his strong points, but doesn't. He basically just asked for people to trust him. That's pretty tough with the sentiment running so negative these days, and some of his erratic answers. No big positives in response. Obama reviews his policy positions and relates them to the people. He gets a fairly strong positive response on the dials, and closes asking for peoples votes. (Don't forget to ask for their votes!!).

McCain set himself up as the angry attack underdog, but that set up a very negative tone. Response was muted. This is a very dangerous mode to go during a debate. If you are successful with the attacks, throwing your opponent off or getting them to change their game plan, and do it in a way that doesn't set a negative tone on your own message, you can win big. It's the kind of tactic that McCain needs because he needs to make a global shift in the campaign. Unfortunately for McCain, his tactic didn't work. He came across with a negative tone, did not throw Obama off his game plan, and didn't deliver a message of his own.

He ended up attacking Obama, but doing it on Obama's turf. That gives Obama control of the response and the debate. In order to work, he needed to attack Obama from his own turf. From his own strengths, he could have attacked without setting a negative tone on his own message.
The problem is that his own strengths aren't very strong. They don't bear critical analysis. They are also in areas that are not as important as they once were to the voters.

UPDATE - CNN snap poll data shows:
By 23 points, those polled said Obama was the stronger leader during the debate. By 48 points, they said Obama was more likeable. Independents went 57% to 31% for Obama as winning the debate. [Those are blow-away numbers. Clearly McCain's attack underdog persona hurt him]
CNN's Electoral College map now is at 277 Obama - more shifts, and some strong red states are now only 'lean McCain'. Interesting to see it change.

I expect a bounce for Obama in the battleground states out of this. I'm also waiting for the press to bring forward the William Timmons lobbyist issue, which mainstream news organizations haven't delivered on yet. Perhaps they were all waiting for the debates to be over. Obama doesn't need to raise this issue, but the press should still let people know about Timmons. He's an example of the worst of Washington insider politics.

McCain Transition Chief Lobbied for Saddam

2008-10-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

There is a lot more to this breaking story if you follow the link to the full report.
So much for being a 'reformer' and bringing 'outside-of-washington' type changes. McCain hiring a lobbyist to head his transition team is bad enough, but this guy isn't just any lobbiest. He was in the middle of the Iraq 'food for oil' corruption disaster. I'm surprised he didn't end up in jail like his cohorts.

Murry Wass reports:

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.
The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.
During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.
Vincent, an Iraqi-born American citizen with whom Timmons worked most closely, pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in January 2005 that he had acted as an unregistered agent of Saddam Hussein's regime. Tongsun Park, the second lobbyist who Timmons worked closely with, was convicted by a federal jury in July 2006 on charges that he too violated the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
Timmons testified that he first introduced Vincent to Tongsun Park and encouraged him to hire Park to work on the deal.
At the time Timmons introduced the two men, Park's notorious background was well known:
In the 1970s, Park had admitted to making hundreds of thousands in payments and illegal campaign contributions to U.S. congressmen on behalf of the South Korean government. Park was indicted on 36 counts by a federal grand jury, but fled to South Korea before he could face trial. All of the charges were later dismissed in exchange for Park providing information about which public officials received funds from the South Korean government.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, not long after Timmons suggested that Vincent hire Park to assist their influence, lobbying, and back-channel diplomatic efforts on behalf of Saddam Hussein's government, much of that effort became increasingly bizarre, corrupt, and - on occasion - illegal.

Palin's True Nature

2008-10-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Latest Q-Polls

2008-10-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

These surveys of likely voters in Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were conducted by Quinnipiac University in partnership with washingtonpost.com and The Wall Street Journal.

The polls reflect data collected Oct 8-12 (post debate)
Full survey results are available here

Key Findings Among Likely Voters
Presidential Preference
If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Colorado
McCain (R) 43%
Obama (D) 52%
Michigan
McCain (R) 38%
Obama (D) 54%
Minnesota
McCain (R) 40%
Obama (D) 51%
Wisconsin
McCain (R) 37%
Obama (D) 54%

What happened to Troopergate?

2008-10-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised by the lack of coverage on the Sarah Palin Abuse of Power story.
Friday, when the report was released, CNN seemed to be confused by the findings. Obviously, they didn't read it, but relied on the spin of their 'political contributors' (instead of a legal analyst) to tell the story... and it seems they didn't read it either. Since that embarrassing evening, CNN has been strangely quiet; making no almost no mention of it. It seems they'd already blocked their time with the 'Race on Race' story, and weren't going to cover breaking news after flubbing the story out the starting gate.

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC got it right that night.. she read findings directly from the report on the air. Unfortunately, others didn't seem to pick it up. The other news sources were tying this whole thing into one neat package the way the McCain campaign was spinning it; focusing on the 2nd finding's one sentence saying firing Monegan was within her discretion even if the Trooper Wooten issue played a part in the decision.

It seems the Republican spin machine has managed to cloud the issue sufficiently that the weekend news shows didn't even make MENTION of it. WHAT'S GOING ON ???

Here's the specifics - and this is completely clear to anyone who reads the actual report:

There were 2 major findings:
1st - That Governor Palin was guilty of Abuse of Power, and violating the public trust (a violation of state law; ie. criminal) by pressuring, and allowing her Husband to use the office of the Governor to pressure various members of the Alaska State Troopers, and various state officials and personnel agencies to fire Trooper Mike Wooten, her sister's ex-husband.

2nd - That the firing of Walt Monegan was legal, in spite of the fact that his refusal to fire Trooper Wooten likely contributed to the decision.

Now, the McCain campaign and Gov. Palin keep pointing to the 2nd finding - and claim that this exonerates Palin of any wrongdoing. They intentionally combine this with the Abuse of Power finding, to confuse the issues. They are clearly spelled out in the report as separate issues.

The 1st finding is a violation of Alaska State law, and is an impeachable offense. Abuse of Power is a very serious charge. No matter how much the McCain spin team ignore and refuse to address this issue, it is a fact.

Palin's lawyers know it's serious. They issued a 3 page document contesting the findings, claiming that the ethics statute requires financial gain. The report already addresses that point, specifically refuting the 'financial' aspect as a requirement of the law.

The funny thing is looking through the deposition transcripts, it was so heavy handed that it's almost comical. There was NO consideration for what might happen if it were to come to public light; even though the Palin's and others acting on their behalf were warned of the possible legal issues with their continuing to press about a closed case.

Finally there is an article on Time Online now that covers thing pretty well.

I'm waiting to see if the Alaska legislature decides to take further action. Don't be surprised if they wait until after November 4th. If McCain/Palin win, it becomes moot, as she will no longer be Governor. If not, Alaska will be able to clean up the embarrassing mess without the glare and scrutiny the national spotlight.

McCain's Housing proposal - really Frank-Dodd?

2008-10-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd be quoting a NR article, much less agreeing with it. Either McCain is actually proposing the Frank-Dodd bill that is already law and trying to take credit for it while exaggerating on the numbers of homeowners that will benefit, or he's gone completely beyond it with a complete lender bailout with no hope of the taxpayers recovering any of the money spent. Either way, 'his' idea is NOT new. If the latter, it is simply Frank-Dodd with all the restraint and lender responsibility aspects removed. This is exactly what the public at large and house Republicans are so strongly against and what McCain supposedly suspended his campaign to help resolve. He's either out-of-touch with the legislation, or this is a huge flip-flop of $300B proportions.

The editors of the National Review weigh in against McCain's latest proposal in an article titled Frank-Dodd 2008!

Here is what is wrong with McCain’s new housing proposal: It can’t improve on current law without rewarding an unacceptable amount of bad behavior.

Under the Frank-Dodd housing bill that was signed into law last summer, borrowers qualify for a federally subsidized workout only if they meet the following criteria:

1) The borrower must live in his house — no investment properties.
2) The borrower must show that he has been spending at least a third of his income on mortgage payments since March of this year.
3) He must also show that he can afford to make lower payments if his lender agrees to a write-down.

This is obviously a narrow slice of borrowers — around 400,000, according to most estimates. It excludes people who borrowed to buy investment properties in order to flip them for a profit. It excludes people who are hopelessly in over their heads and simply cannot afford the homes they’re in. And it excludes people who could afford to pay their mortgages if they wanted to but have instead decided to mail the keys to the bank rather than continue making payments on a house that is worth less today than when they bought it.

McCain’s campaign says his plan would help “millions” of borrowers stay in their homes without authorizing any new spending. But he has not said how he plans to accomplish this without lowering the standards set forth in the Frank-Dodd bill. And if he does lower the standards — by, for example, letting people who can afford their current payments get a write-down just because their property value has fallen — then he would be offering taxpayer assistance to “ruthless borrowers,” which is an industry term for borrowers who default on their obligations not because they can’t pay but because they’ve decided it’s not in their interest to pay.

McCain’s plan would also be a gift to lenders who abandoned any sense of prudence during the boom years. Under the Frank-Dodd bill, lenders must agree to “take a haircut” — slang for writing down the value of a mortgage — in order to qualify for federal insurance on a distressed mortgage. The lender bears an initial loss but is protected if the borrower eventually defaults. McCain would transfer that initial loss to the taxpayers. Under his plan, the government would buy mortgage loans at face value and then reduce the principal and interest on these loans to accommodate distressed borrowers. Taxpayers would take so many haircuts we would all look like Britney Spears after a three-day bender.

Defenders of McCain’s plan argue that the lenders are already getting a bailout through the Treasury Department’s purchase of mortgage-backed assets from banks and other financial firms. They argue that McCain’s plan actually saves taxpayers money by preventing foreclosures and preserving the value of the assets the Treasury Department is about to buy.

There is a big difference between Treasury’s plan to buy mortgage-backed assets through a reverse auction and McCain’s plan to buy the mortgages themselves at face value. It gets complicated, but here’s the bottom line: There must be a limit to the level of reckless behavior we are prepared to reward in a given bailout, especially if we are only improving on previous bailouts in a marginal way.

The Frank-Dodd housing bill has only been in effect since Oct. 1. It gives lenders who own mortgages ample incentive to work out deals with distressed borrowers and avoid costly foreclosures. It also provides liability protection for loan originators who sold their mortgages to Wall Street. These lenders are authorized to work out deals on behalf of investors in mortgage-backed securities (of which the U.S. government is soon to be the biggest). Most important, Frank-Dodd sets reasonable limits on what kinds of borrowers will be eligible for taxpayer assistance.

We never thought we would defend the Frank-Dodd legislation, which we bitterly opposed last summer. But it looks downright prudent compared to what McCain has proposed. McCain’s plan is a full bailout for lenders, and it cannot do much more than the Frank-Dodd bill without letting “ruthless borrowers” and other reckless types off the hook. It is time to acknowledge that the government has gone as far as it can without creating a level of moral hazard that is unacceptable. Give Frank-Dodd — and the Paulson plan — time to work.

No Press Conference for Palin before the election

2008-10-10T04:09:00.000-07:00

In what is clear disdain for the press and the concepts of accountability and transparency, the McCain campaign announced there would be no press conference with Sarah Palin before the election. Similar to the hard line they used during Palin's interviews at the UN, the press should boycot the McCain campaign until they agree to set press conferences with Palin on a regular interval. Their campaign needs coverage, and we need to hear the candidates answer questions and follow-ups.
Here's Andrew Sullivan's reaction:

It seems to me that in the absence of a real press conference, the networks and cable news networks should simply cease broadcasting her speeches live and demand of every Republican guest that they explain this descent into anti-democratic territory. Bush and Cheney despise the press and despise the constitutional balances that restrict their dictatorial impulses. They don't recognize the rule of law as an impediment to the exercise of their power and they don't acknowledge any democratic input, apart from a single "accountability moment" every four years. And now they want to prevent the public's ability through the press to ask the toughest questions and toughest follow-ups even during that one "accountability moment".

This is how Putin behaves. It is anti-American. It has never been tried in modern times before. It is a chilling attack on an open society and the accountability of its leaders to the people they serve. The press has a duty to stand up against it - and to care more about the process than its own precious reputation in the mouths of Hannity, Steyn, Palin and the rest of them.

McCain's Hero Petraeus: "I Do Think You Have To Talk To Enemies"

2008-10-10T03:24:00.000-07:00

Did I say there was a lot of news today?
Greg Sargent reports on TPM Thursday:

So General Petraeus agrees with Barack Obama -- and not John McCain -- on the question of whether we should meet with hostile enemies?
In a case of comically awful timing, Petraeus yesterday gave a talk at the Heritage Foundation in which he more or less echoed Barack Obama's views on negotiating with hostile foreign leaders -- views that McCain has repeatedly subjected to criticism and ridicule.
Asked by a questioner specifically about the disagreement on this topic that McCain and Obama had at Tuesday night's debate, Petraeus demurred a bit, but said: "I do think you have to talk to enemies."
What Petraeus said isn't a perfect endorsement of Obama's views -- he didn't specifically discuss Iran, and the question of "no preconditions" didn't come up -- but it's pretty darn close.
That's because it's as clear as day that the context specifically was the debate between Obama and McCain on this topic on Tuesday night. During that exchange, the candidates clashed on whether to meet with the leaders of Iran, and the questioner at Heritage posed the subject about talking to enemies specifically in that light.

Listen for yourself - it's a short video - and completely clear on the subject. It mirrors Obama's approach exactly, one that McCain ridicules as 'dangerous'. McCain's argument blown by his biggest hero the day after the debate. How sad. McCain has nothing to campaign with anymore.

McCain in a Bear Market

2008-10-10T02:44:00.000-07:00

George F. Will, our conservative stalwart comes out with another blast against the McCain campaign in his latest article. He opens with

Time was, the Baltimore Orioles' manager was Earl Weaver, a short, irascible, Napoleonic figure who, when cranky, as he frequently was, would shout at an umpire, "Are you going to get any better or is this it?" With, mercifully, only one debate to go, that is the question about John McCain's campaign.

In the closing days of his 10-year quest for the presidency, McCain finds it galling that Barack Obama is winning the first serious campaign he has ever run against a Republican. Before Tuesday night's uneventful event, gall was fueling what might be the McCain-Palin campaign's closing argument. It is less that Obama has bad ideas than that Obama is a bad person.

He goes on, calling Sarah Palin McCain's "Sancho Panza" and describes the McCain/Palin attempts to distract voters by focusing on Barack Obama associations as "like being savaged by a dead sheep"

It's clear that George Will has written off John McCain's campaign.
He's not the only one - the other end of the Republican Party (the populist, Rush Limbaugh side) is angry with him too. What remains is only whether he will take down the rest of the republican party with him.

Where do I start? Troopergate Marchs Forward

2008-10-10T02:02:00.000-07:00

On this day when the stock market dropped another 675 points, there is so much in the news, it's hard to know where to start. I'm just going to hit some points in no particular order.

The Alaska Supreme Court declines to stop the 'Troopergate' investigation. Hopefully all those big Texas Republican lawyers can now get out of town and far away from the report that's scheduled to be released tomorrow. In a last ditch effort to suppress, there is pressure being put on the republicans on the legislature's committee to vote against releasing the results. If any of them have felt Palin's wrath, or seen others who have, hopefully they'll be smart and do everything they can to end her career while she's out of town. Since it's pretty clear that she's not going to to Washington, when she gets back to town, retribution will be a bitch otherwise (no lipstick required). Certainly, there are plenty of additional issues - mis-use of state funds, use of private email for government use with intent to subvert recordkeeping requirements, etc.

In predictable Palin-Republican style, she and the McCain campaign released her own 'investigation' and proclaimed herself 'Innocent' although it looks like Todd has admitted making calls and now the clain is that Sarah didn't know anything about it. That's gonna be hard to sell, since it's documented that Todd was working in her office all the time, at least when she was there.

Rednecks for Obama

2008-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

From Yahoo! News:

Tony Viessman, 74, and Les Spencer, 60, got politically active last year when it occurred to them there must be other lower income, rural, beer-drinking, gun-loving, NASCAR race enthusiasts fed up with business as usual in Washington.

Viessman had a red, white and blue "Rednecks for Obama" banner made, and began causing a stir in Missouri, which has emerged as a key battleground in the run-up to the November 4 presidential election.

"I didn't expect it would get as much steam and attention as it's gotten," Spencer told AFP on the campus of Washington University in Saint Louis, the state's biggest city and site of last week's vice-presidential debate.

"We believe in him. He's the best person for the job," Viessman, a former state trooper from Rolla, said of Obama, who met the pair briefly on that July day in Union, Missouri.

Rednecks4obama.com claims more than 800,000 online visits. In Denver, Colorado, Viessman and Spencer drew crowds at the Democratic convention, and at Washington University last Thursday they were two of the most popular senior citizens on campus.

Quote of the Day -

2008-10-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

John McCain gives his opinion on Negative Attack Ads

"I just have to rely on the good judgment of the voters not to buy into these negative attack ads. Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads you don't have much of a vision for the future or you're not ready to articulate it."
John McCain,[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, 2/21/2000]

Video of this quote is being used in a DNC ad released a few days ago.

Global Economic Crisis Overshadows Debate

2008-10-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

Americans woke up this morning thinking about last night's debate, but the news headlines are all about the global crisis in the stock markets. Yesterday, the Dow dropped 500 points as an introduction to the debate. The Nikki is down 9.38% overnight in a post debate curtain-call. All the other Asian markets are down as well. The British now have their version of a bank bailout plan worth $87 Billion that will partially nationalize British banks. The Fed cut their rate 1/2 point this morning in a coordinated effort with international central banks to stop the losses - trillions of dollars in the past few days alone.

Congress voted, passing legislation, but that isn't the same as implementing it. You can't unwind years of mis-management in a couple of weeks. The world markets voted today with a no confidence vote on the US economy. This ripple effect isn't unexpected, just feared.

What we have to do November 4th is clear. We need to elect the brightest, best educated candidate we can in Barack Obama and make real changes to our financial market regulatory practices to restore investor confidence. The recovery from this crisis will be rooted in fundamentals. Americans are not going to be able to 'shop' their way out of this. That card has already been played, and now we are all having to pay for it.

Debate take 2 - What's New, and What's Not

2008-10-08T01:32:00.000-07:00

If anything should be the headliner coming from this debate it's this new statement from McCain. Unfortunately for McCain it's a negative headline.

In regard to Social Security, McCain said “we are not going to be able to provide present day workers with the same benefits as present day retirees get today.” That means that he intends on CUTTING Social Security benefits for the middle ‘working’ class.

McCain tried to claim something new when he talked about the treasury buying out ‘bad’ mortgages. THAT ISN’T NEW - it’s authorized by the bailout package voted on last week. McCain never read the 3 page proposal from Paulson; now it seems he hasn’t read the legislation he just voted for. What is new is the way he suggests that the treasury implement this; direct with homeowners like a giant mortgage company. He would effectively nationalize the mortgage industry. That's an approach most Republicans would scream over. He clearly got off his talking points and campaign positions on this one, so I expect the spin from the campaign to be revising this tomorrow.

McCain suggested the former CEO of Ebay, Meg Whitman for heading up the Federal Reserve. What she knows about money policy or economics comes from business; not on the banking side which is what the Fed deals with. She is a quite capable CEO, but without a banking background I'm not convinced.

McCain seemed on edge and uncomfortable for most of the debate. Particularly while throwing his barbs at Obama he seemed very contrived. I have to say that his "That One" snipe was well beyond just disrespecting Obama; to me is smacked of a racial cast. Remember, that's SENATOR OBAMA you are referring to. He only looked at Obama briefly, never mentioned 'middle class'. There was a strange attitude coming from McCain all night affecting the entire tone of the debate. Perhaps it was because Obama got off to a great start, scoring points early. To me, McCain came across as a mix of desperate, condescending and petty. Not likable at all, and certainly not Presidential.

Clearly Obama made a strategic choice to not contest, nor argue these types of attacks, although clearly he could have, especially since they've all been contested and responded to in the press, in ads and on the campaign trail. Most of McCain's attacks have been proven to be either untrue or misleading by independent organizations. Obama didn't play into McCain's sleaze, taking and maintaining control of the debate by choosing his attacks on McCain on his own terms. When Obama did strike, it clearly set McCain back on his heels; particularly when he reminded McCain about his 'Bomb Bomb Iran', Bagdad's next, and obliterate North Korea statements. You could visibly see the reaction on McCain's face.

There wasn't much new on Health Care or Foreign Policy. The Health care issue question 'is Health Care a Privilege, Responsibility, or a Right?' put an interesting twist in the discussion. McCain feels it's a responsibility; Obama a Right. Clearly that fits with the Obama plan's goal to cover Everyone. McCain's plan leaves it up to individual families to set their priority in the context of food, housing, and other necessities, without setting a goal of providing health care for anyone. They spent the usual time on McCain's $5000 tax credit, or dividend, or whatever he wants to call it today. At least McCain didn't try to call it 'budget-neutral' like his running mate. I call it the largest windfall for insurance companies in history. Obama missed the opportunity again to call McCain's tax on employer paid health care benefits a new tax on the middle class. Every time McCain talks about Obama taxing the middle class, Obama should be striking back with what would be a huge new payroll tax that would hit the lower and middle class workers hardest of all. Those with the best health care plans through their employers or union would get hit the hardest on McCain's plan.

The ‘other’ news is the McCains left moments after the debate ended. The Obamas hung around for more than 20 minutes, shaking hands, signing autographs, posing for pictures, talking and greeting everyone personally. Big win for Obama on that; it was noted on the news coverage as well. It was a contrast from the 1st debate, when McCain tried to act victorious at the end. Clearly, McCain must have known that he didn't do what he needed to do, that he didn't win the debate or do anything to turn the tide of the election. There was no celebration. On a modicum of hand shaking, a few akward moments with Cindy clearly being uncomfortable, and a couple of waves - McCain was gone. So are his chances November 4th.

McCain Has Erratic Aviator Record Full of Mishaps

2008-10-07T03:35:00.001-07:00

Three crashes early in his career led Navy officials to question or fault his judgment.

An article published in the LA Times outlines three separate crashes that were caused by pilot error and "clowning around". Furthermore, McCain in some cases lied about the circumstances in his autobiography

John McCain was training in his AD-6 Skyraider on an overcast Texas morning in 1960 when he slammed into Corpus Christi Bay and sheared the skin off his plane's wings.

McCain recounted the accident decades later in his autobiography. "The engine quit while I was practicing landings," he wrote. But an investigation board at the Naval Aviation Safety Center found no evidence of engine failure. The 23-year-old junior lieutenant wasn't paying attention and erred in using "a power setting too low to maintain level flight in a turn," investigators concluded.

The crash was one of three early in McCain's aviation career in which his flying skills and judgment were faulted or questioned by Navy officials.

In his most serious lapse, McCain was "clowning" around in a Skyraider over southern Spain about December 1961 and flew into electrical wires, causing a blackout, according to McCain's own account as well as those of naval officers and enlistees aboard the carrier Intrepid. In his 1999 autobiography, "Faith of My Fathers," McCain briefly recounts the incident, calling it the result of "daredevil clowning" and "flying too low."

Over the Eastern Shore of Virginia, McCain descended below 7,000 feet on a landing approach in a T-2 trainer jet, according to accident records. He said he heard an explosion in his engine and lost power. He said he tried unsuccessfully to restart the engine. He spotted a local drag strip and considered trying to glide to a landing there but finally had to eject at 1,000 feet.

In his autobiography, McCain said he had flown on a Saturday to Philadelphia to watch the annual Army-Navy football game with his parents. The accident report does not mention Philadelphia but rather indicates that McCain departed from a now-closed Navy field in New York City on Sunday afternoon and was headed to Norfolk, Va.

In a report dated Jan. 18, 1966, the Naval Aviation Safety Center said it could not determine the cause of the accident or corroborate McCain's account of an explosion in the engine. A close examination of the engine found "no discrepancies which would have caused or contributed to engine failure or malfunction."

The report found that McCain, then assigned to squadron VT-7 in Meridian, Miss., had made several errors: He failed to switch the plane's power system to battery backup, which "seriously jeopardized his survival chances." His idea of landing on the drag strip was "viewed with concern and is indicative of questionable emergency procedure." The report added, "It may be indeed fortunate that the pilot was not in a position to attempt such a landing."

Edward M. Morrison, a mechanic for VT-7 who is now retired and living in Washington state, said that the plane McCain checked out that day had just been refurbished and that he knew of no engine problems.

In today's military, a lapse in judgment that causes a crash can end a pilot's career. Though standards were looser and crashes more frequent in the 1960s, McCain's record stands out.

"Three mishaps are unusual," said Michael L. Barr, a former Air Force pilot with 137 combat missions in Vietnam and an internationally known aviation safety expert who teaches in USC's Aviation Safety and Security Program. "After the third accident, you would say: Is there a trend here in terms of his flying skills and his judgment?"

Naval aviation experts say the three accidents before McCain's deployment to Vietnam probably triggered a review to determine whether he should be allowed to continue flying. The results of the review would have been confidential.

McCain was on his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when a surface-to-air missile struck his A-4 attack jet. He was flying 3,000 feet above Hanoi.

A then-secret report issued in 1967 by McCain's squadron said the aviators had learned to stay at an altitude of 4,000 to 10,000 feet in heavy surface-to-air missile environments and look for approaching missiles.

In his autobiography, McCain said 22 missiles were fired at his squadron that day. "I knew I should roll out and fly evasive maneuvers, 'jinking,' in fliers' parlance, when I heard the tone," he wrote. But, he said, he continued on and released his bombs. Then a missile blew off his right wing.

"Nobody broke off on a bombing run," said Tullo, later a commercial pilot and now an accident investigation instructor at USC. "It was a matter of manhood."

Great... Just who I want with his finger on the nuclear button.

More Polling - Gallup quote and Yahoo EC map

2008-10-07T02:06:00.000-07:00

The economy is tanking, and my portfolio is sinking, but I'm being buoyed by the Polls.

This economic mess is going to be handed to our next President to fix, so it's more important then ever, now that the $700 Billion has been approved, that we make sure the right man gets elected to do the job. Who would you rather have; A man who barely made it through the Naval College, graduating fifth from the bottom, known to all to be the 'maverick' because he was in more trouble than he was anything else, not getting kicked out because his daddy was an Admiral, or a man who broke barriers at Harvard and was elected to be President of the Harvard Law Review?

Here's the Yahoo! News Political Dashboard - EC map. This one is based on the RealClearPolitics organization. Look at this map and reason for John McCain's desperation is obvious. The data is a little different than CNNs, but they aren't bashful about the projected 341 EC votes for Obama either. Also, included is the InTrade market prediction. Interesting stuff, and lots of data behind it. You can click on a state and see the polling numbers graphed to see trends, etc.

Gallup:

This 10-day stretch of a significant Obama lead is the longest since [Obama] became the presumptive nominee back in early June, and the longest for either candidate at any point in the campaign.

Hope that helps take your mind off your 401k balance.

On another note, Republicans are hinting voter registration fraud in Indiana. We should remind them of voter fraud in Ohio and Florida (insufficient polling places/machines, 'roadblocks' and intimidation of black voters) during the '04 election. They are just tired of getting their butts kicked by the best grassroots campaign organization ever assembled.

A heartwarming example is what's going on in North Carolina. This state has gone Republican since 1976. McCain is being forced to defend this state, one that most of the politicos thought was safely in the fold. Why? Because of massive voter registrations drives that are 6 to 1 Democratic.

As written in the Washington Post yesterday:

The ratio is more lopsided in North Carolina, where Democrats have added 208,000 voters this year. The 34,000 voters the Republicans have added lags well behind the 148,000 new independents. Four years ago, when Bush won the state with 56 percent of the vote, the picture was different -- Democrats added 192,000 voters during all of 2004, but Republicans nearly matched them with 179,000 new voters of their own.

A disproportionate share of the new voters in North Carolina are minorities. At the start of the year, white voters in the state outnumbered blacks by nearly 4 to 1, and Hispanic voters by 10 to 1. Yet the 146,000 black and Hispanic voters added to the rolls represented nearly three-quarters of the growth among white voters.

Gary Pearce, a Democratic political consultant in North Carolina, said the gap in new registrations is a big reason he thinks Democrats have a chance of carrying the state for the first time since 1976. "It's huge. You talk about a surge -- we think we're going to see it here," Pearce said.

Latest CNN polls show Obama widening lead

2008-10-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

The latest poll results are in from Time/CNN. CNN shows an 8 point lead nationally for Obama. The CNN 'Poll of Polls' shows his lead as 6 points.

Their election calculator map shows 250 Obama, 189 McCain however their poll tracker shows an even better story. The latest polls show Obama with leads in Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Florida. In fact, the only states left that are within a 'margin of error' are Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina
Total EC votes up for grabs - 64. Obama at 311 and McCain is at 163.
Two states that were 'leaning McCain' , Indiana and North Carolina, are now 'toss up' states.
Moved to Obama from toss up now are Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire and Florida.

Smile ! Stay Positive ! Keep Working !!!!!!

Keating Economics - Responding to the Smear Campaign with FACTS

2008-10-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Obama campaign is not going to let the mudslinging and 'swiftboating' go by without launching a salvo of it's own. Remember this - Obama is responding with FACTS to McCain's LIES and mis-representations.

Launched today is the Keating Economics website. This is a comprehensive review of John McCain's involvement with the S&L bailout of the late 80's and early 90's. There is research and reference material along with a 13 minute video documentary. It's clear that he hasn't learned his lesson. McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis is/was a lobbyist for Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Taking a LOA while holding a ownership position in the lobbying firm is a joke. He did the same thing to head McCain's 2000 campaign only to return to his lobbyist ways immediately afterwards. Read about McCain's current ties, and Rick Davis on my previous post "The $2 Million Man" .

It's clear to me that McCain is desperate to turn the tide of the campaign. Obama is expanding his lead, especially among independents and women voters. McCain has nothing left to campaign on other than 'character' issues (code word for Race, Patriotism and Smear tactics). Sending his fuzzy bunny Sarah Palin out to sling the mud is probably a good idea. If the Obama campaign tries to combat her winks and folksy sarcasm, she can cry 'foul' and 'unfair' and 'sexist'. Besides, she can't say anything worthwhile anyway and we've heard all her talking points already.

Obama, on the other hand is playing hardball against McCain. His associations with the financial industry and clear track record of calling for Deregulation are FACTS. I just saw a bit of video from a public press conference in March of this year where he called for "deregulation and removing impediments to capitalization' in response to the housing market weakness. Now THAT is a FACT.

Hey Sarah Palin - another Musical Missive

2008-10-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

So I start posting musical missives, and now they are arriving in my mailbox. Here's one I couldn't help but laugh through:

The Musical Tributes Continue - this one for Swing Voters

2008-10-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

Takin' it Back with Barack Jack! (for Swing Voters!!!)

This one with much musical taste, makes the case
(Thanks Julie for passing these along - they made my day!)

Brain to Nowhere

2008-10-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

While I'm digesting the aftermath of the VP debate, (wink, gotcha, wink, nudge) a friend sends me this link. Being a musician, I just had to post this musical commentary. Commentary on the debate, and the latest tactic of sending the fuzzy bunny out to be the Republican attack dog (can anyone really take her seriously when she tries to smear Obama's character with 'palling around with terrorists'?) can wait. What we all could use right now is a little dose of laughter.

Bill Clinton Campaigns for Obama

2008-10-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

Bill Clinton opened his campaign tour for Obama in Florida on Wednesday, with a wonderful 22 minute speech. I think his positive campaigning - and avoidance of the negative attacks will be a strong positive for independent and undecided voters. He is SO inspiring to listen to. Some have felt that he's been slow to come aboard, but the reality is that he only first met Obama in mid-September. He is not playing the obvious partisan card which goes to his credibility when he does speak out in support of Obama. He's also been heavily engaged in his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting that occurred in New York last week; so being non-partisan is his mode of operation these days for this reason as well. Let there be no question - he is totally behind Obama in this race.

It was nice to hear positive campaigning on the issues after all the negative spin of which there will be plenty in these next 30 days. I hope they will be sending him to Ohio next

McCain steals the VP Debate Thunder - Pulls out of Michigan

2008-10-03T01:03:00.000-07:00

The McCain camp announced this afternoon that it was pulling out of Michigan - conceding that state to Obama. Well, the polls were pretty clear, but making that announcement puts the McCain campaign in dire straights. They recently announced that they had raised a record amount of money, so clearly they could campaign there if they wanted to.

Looking at the electoral college map on CNN, they have moved Obama to 250 EC votes, with McCain at 189. With Obama only 20 points away, McCain would literally have to win almost ALL of the remaining battleground states to win this election. That map still does not reflect significant Obama gains in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, and Virginia since last weeks debate.

This certainly doesn't look good for McCain. I'd be watching for some pretty major mud-slinging in McCain ads soon. His biggest problems are that he really doesn't have anything new to offer, and independants tend to really dislike negative campaigning.

VP Debate - Talking Points vs Content

2008-10-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin managed to survive the VP debate, mostly because the bar has been set so low for her to begin with. Babbling was kept to a minimum, unlike her interviews with Katie Couric. I supposed several days of non-stop prep will help issues like that. It also helps that she didn't respond to questions asked, and didn't have anyone drill down in depth on any subject.

It was obvious that the plan was to answer questions when they fit into talking points that she had prepared for her stump speech, and when they didn't, answer with talking points from her stump speech anyway. She even admitted such when it was remarked early on that she didn't respond at all to the question asked. That was an obvious tactic for those who are not prepared. It was also obvious to some that she was referring to notes very frequently on her answers, frequently glancing down, sometimes appearing to be reading.

In some questions, the moderator did a very poor job, suggesting answers as part of her questions. She also did not press for answers to the questions asked, when Palin kept changing the topic and wasn't responsive. The only real break from McCain and Bush was on the subject of rights and recognition of same-sex couples. I'm sure there will be 'clarifications' on that response by first thing this morning.

The other major gaff was her statement in regard to the job of the VP. She states that she would like to expand the roll of the VP - in the legislative branch. Does she mean that she'd like to re-write the Constitution and 'run' the senate? That is NOT how the Senate runs, nor how the Constitution lays this job out.

Who is McClellan? The top general in Afghanistan is McKiernan. Since she was reading - what happened? Fact Check Please !! She didn't address any of the issues, or supply any answers to what McCain/Palin would actually DO. No Beef!

On the other hand, Biden was specific, answered the questions thoughtfully, and stayed away from any hint of sexism, or condescension. He hit some home runs connecting with women (at least from the CNN real-time focus group results) even more than with men. He came across as eminently qualified and a master of foreign policy. I particularly liked his response to Palin's sarcastic comment about looking at the past when he said 'prologue', when she tried to characterize it as irrelevant and unimportant. I also felt that his choke when talking about his family was real, a 'human' connection, but Palin ignored it, and she came off cold as a result.

Poll stats show Biden won this debate easily, and gained positive impression numbers for himself. Although Palin managed not to trip over ankle high bar; she also did not help McCain or her party win over any significant numbers of undecided voters. It seems that initial poll results show that undecideds are still moving steadily to Obama, and those leaning McCain are going more to neutral. Time will tell over the next few days whether her 'favorable numbers' go up. I expect they will, if only until the next segment that CBS releases of her Couric interview, or if she has to actually have a press conference where she has to answer questions.

Correction to Sarah Palin's latest- Supreme Court..

2008-10-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I have checked references to "Federalist" and found reference to "New Federalism" - as defined by (and this is in some dispute) FDR and Richard Nixon, but certainly Ronald Reagan, who used the exact term 'New Federalism'. The concept gives more autonomy to regions and states, with direct payment of federal funds in the form of block grants to states to use as they see fit, ie. no federal control. Reagan ended the practice in the mid 80's, seeing that it seeing that it simply encouraged states to spend more money. Certainly Palin seems to subscribe to the practice as governor of Alaska, with direct undefined cash payments to municipalities and individuals.
So, I will give her that she uses this term in the "New Federalism" sense, not in the historical sense.
I still stand by the rest of the article in all aspects.

Shana Tovah - and a message from Barack Obama

2008-10-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

In celebrating the New Year, Here's a message for all of those that might
doubt Barack Obama's support of the Jewish Community straight from the Jewish community of Chicago - where he's known best. I post this, because amazingly, there are still people who believe in the baseless internet rumors about being Muslim or not supporting Israel. Being willing to use diplomacy does not equal weakness!!!

Biden does a Great job. Palin's latest - Supreme Court, Church and State.

2008-10-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

I could have titled this "Palin blows another 2 segments with Katie Couric".

I'd like to say first what a great job Joe Biden did answering these questions. For a Catholic, stating his position on Roe v. Wade could be considered big news. Of course, the advantage of having all that experience is he's already weighed in on the matter multiple times.

He did a masterful job of responding in depth to the questions, the nature of our country and how this ruling related. He also continued to describe his support of the core principle behind the Roe decision of the 'right to privacy'. Bravo too for picking as a disagreement his "Violence against Women Act" which he tried to get through the Supreme Court. He certainly had plenty of choices. As to his answer on separation of Church and State, what a creative way of describing why this governing principle is so important to maintain. Very thoughtful and enlightening.

Well, on to the obvious, and latest Palin disaster:
Discussing why she opposes the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, her primary answer was "it should be a states' issue". What? Her next sentence - and I'll quote it here says:

I'm, in that sense, a federalist, where I believe that states should have more say in the laws of their lands and individual areas.

What? A Federalist?
OK.. I am SO confused... So read the link on the word above and read all about it for yourself just to be sure you know all that it implies! This is the TRUE disaster of this interview... regardless of your agreement on her position on Roe or anything else.

First off, to oppose Roe based on states rights isn't a credible argument. Then in the very next sentence to say you are a Federalist, is saying exactly the opposite. Federalists believe in a strong central government, and care little about states rights. She's clearly got this exactly backwards.. a 'states rights' proponent claiming to be 'Federalist' - come ON !!

Well, Ms. fuzzball Katie Couric doesn't challenge her on this, but moves on to the next part of the question, and asks her about if she believes in a 'Right to Privacy' being inherent in the Constitution. I suppose if she had answered the Roe question on ideological terms, this would be an important follow-up. Surprisingly, she answers that she DOES support the 'Right to Privacy' which is the cornerstone of the Roe decision (which Ms. Couric dutifully reminds her, and us), and then goes on to expound again how she feels it should be a 'states' issue, not federal! It sure doesn't sound very 'Federalist' to me!! I think Ms. Couric was in shock by this point.

I'm wondering what McCain and the rest of the Republican Party have to say about their 'Federalist - States Rights' candidate much less the right side of the Party - those who support constitutional amendments to ban Gay marriage and outlaw abortion. Watching the Conservatives scramble will be fun these next few days. They have been running away from this candidate as fast as they can.

Keeping up the pace, Ms. Couric moves on again, and asks what other decisions that Gov. Palin disagrees with the Court about. She couldn't come up with a single thing... not ONE! Even the Court's decision to overturn the Exxon-Valdez multi-billion dollar jury award, and reduce it to $500 million - something she spoke out against at the time!

Of course, not to let us down on the Separation of Church and State issue, Palin trys to quote Thomas Jefferson - but says 'never underestimate the wisdom of the people' - which I can't find as a Jefferson quote anywhere - (and so far no one else I know of either, paraphrased or otherwise). What's worse, is that she does this after claiming to be a "Federalist", which party Jefferson defeated in 1800. She said "government did not mandate a religion on people". In the strict one phrase response to the 'wall between Church and State' that answer is accurate, in an elementary school approach to American History. Separation of Church and State goes far beyond that. It means, especially in regards to Jeffersonian politics, that the Church should not be a part of Government and politics. It was a principle argument in the election of 1800, so is quite appropriate to bring into the conversation. Palin fails, however to say anything else, so fills the time with meaningless babble about 'wisdom of the people' whatever that means.

I have two Jefferson quotes to share - that have been part of my email signature block for a long time now. In an open attempt to provide an accurate quote for Gov. Palin to use next time, I'm including them here:

"The presumption of dictating to an independent nation the form of its government is so arrogant, so atrocious, that indignation as well as moral sentiment enlists all our partialities and prayers in favor of one and our equal execrations against the other. I do not know, indeed, whether all nations do not owe to one another a bold and open declaration of their sympathies with the one party and their detestation of the conduct of the other. But farther than this we are not bound to go; and, indeed, for the sake of the world, we ought not to increase the jealousies or draw on ourselves the power of [a] formidable confederacy." --Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, 1823. ME 15:435
"Nor is the occasion to be slighted... of declaring our protest against the atrocious violations of the rights of nations by the interference of any one in the internal affairs of another." --Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, 1823. ME 15:478

Here are the videos - from CBS News - It's ABOUT TIME YOU PUBLISHED THESE!!!!!!!
1st - Supreme Court - Roe v. Wade

And the 2nd one - Church and State

Happy New Year folks -

CNN Election Tracker shows Obama gains in EC map

2008-09-27T23:58:00.001-07:00

I noticed some discrepancies between CNN's Electoral College map and their 'Election Tracker' map.

Click this link for the Election Tracker map. Notice that this map shows the latest polling data, all prior to the debate, in the swing states - if you mouse over the CNN symbol of a swing state - it will provide the data. On this map, light blue is still 'even-within margin of error'. Notice that Wisconsin is DARK blue - called for Obama. Also notice that the data for Minnesota and New Hampshire are favoring Obama, but are not called for him yet, however the leads are right at the 'margin of error' for the polls. WI, MN and NH total 24 electoral votes.

Now notice the CNN Electoral College map linked from their main politics page. This is the interactive 'calculator' map that allows you to change states and see what happens to the EC count. With CNN's estimate they show Obama at 240, McCain at 200.

Notice that this map does NOT have WI for Obama, and shows MO and NC as leaning McCain, even though the Tracker maps shows them as 'even - within margin of error'.

It appears that they have not updated the 'Calculator' map linked from their leading 'Politics' page with the latest data from the Election Tracker. If you update the map with the WI, MN and NH, Obama moves up to 264 EC votes - 6 votes shy of the 270 required. MO and NC should be moved back into the 'toss-up' pile, as they are both within 1 pt, and the data is 2 weeks old. This leaves McCain with 176 EC votes, and 100 in the toss-up group.

This shows a VERY different picture of the EC vote status - 264 Obama to 176 McCain with 100 still in the 'toss-up' states. Keep in mind that this data is all PRIOR to the Debate. New post-debate polling data will move things around a bit. If Obama gets a bounce in Ohio or any of the other swing states, which judging from the debate viewer polls , he will, and with his current momentum, the Election Tracker map should start to show Obama polling over the top with the next poll results update.

This is especially true if Palin does not get a huge bounce out of the VP debate. Somehow, based on her press interviews, I don't think that will be likely, unless it's a sympathy bounce because somehow it's 'unfair' or 'sexist' to expect her to answer the same questions as Biden. It's really just another press interview, since they won't be addressing each other based on the 'special rules' for this debate session. Most people don't know Joe Biden, although he has a long record in the Senate. They will learn that he is a very capable, eloquent speaker, and knowledgeable on the issues and the record. Palin has a problem putting together a coherent grammatically correct sentence if she's not repeating a memorized talking point. The best thing she could do is find a reason not to be there on Thursday. The best thing Biden can do is to let her hang herself and stay as far away from the self-destruct as possible, to avoid any 'blame' from the Republican spin doctors.

My only other expectation is that CNN will be slow to update their maps, because of the debacle of the last election, where they missed their predictions by small but important margins.

CBS Poll of Undecided Voters

2008-09-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

40 percent said Obama wins. 22 percent. say McCain
McCain won slightly on right decisions on the war in Iraq.

Obama won 68 percent for right decisions on the economy. (!)

CNN Opinion Research Poll on the Debate

2008-09-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

Update - 48% to 40% for Obama for responders 50+

This says it all - forget the spinners... ask the public.
Who Did the Best Job In the Debate?
Obama 51%
McCain 38%

Who Would Better Handle Economy?
Obama 58%
McCain 37%

Who Would Better Handle Iraq?
Obama 52%
McCain 47%

Palin on Russian Foreign Policy

2008-09-25T12:25:00.001-07:00

This clip from the interview with Katy Couric is painful to watch.
She has experience, because Alaska is close to Russia.. and has a border with Canada. Not that she's been involved with any negotiations with either...

Remember, this person could be the Vice-President, or even President at some time in the future if by some strange twist, McCain gets elected.

Watch CBS Videos Online

David Letterman gets 'Cratered' by John McCain.

2008-09-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

John McCain cancelled his appearance on the David Letterman show at the last minute ostensibly because he was suspending his campaign and was returning to Washington 'immediately' to work on the bailout plan.

However - it seems he had time to appear for a CBS News interview, and give a
speech at Clinton Global Initiative meeting.

Oh, and by the way, since he's not on the committee doing the negotiations, he's probably not going to be allowed in the room to inject some presidential politics and photo-ops, etc.

I wonder if this had more to do with his poll numbers or the fact that every time he talks without a teleprompter or script he comes up with another gaff...

Here's David Letterman's reaction:

McCain Loses His Head

2008-09-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

The signpost of Conservative Criticism, George F. Will, blasted John McCain in an article published in the Washington Post Tuesday calling him a "Queen of Hearts".

He opens with a quote from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

"The queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said without even looking around."

and ends with what I would call a clear choice for the readers:

Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.

It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?

In the middle he called him "Childish", "Shallow" and his behavior "like a flustered rookie".

I just LOVE quoting Conservatives lately...

McCain stalls - to buy time for himself and Palin

2008-09-24T18:14:00.001-07:00

John McCain played the 'crisis' card today - 'suspending' his campaign and suggesting that the debate with Barak Obama be postponed.

On the surface, it seems like he's taking the 'high' road. But the reality is that it is a thinly veiled attempt at using this current crisis to avoid another one - the Debates.

As usual, the devil is in the details. He actually suggested that the VP debate be postponed, to a date To Be Determined and that the Presidential Debate be moved into that slot.

What's the matter John, afraid that Sarah Palin can't handle the debate? She says she's ready 'day one' to take the reigns, so why not simply suggest that Gov. Palin debate Sen. Biden this Friday and just swap timeslots?

Nobody needs him in Washington - there are plenty of people already on the Banking Committee that have been working since last Friday on this. Another voice, one that is looking to take credit where credit isn't due for political rating points is the last thing that Congress needs to deal with.

The potential to disrupt the process at this point far exceeds any additional input that would be garnered from someone George F. Will (that's right - the Conservative himself) called "Childish" and whose words he characterized as "fact-free slander"

Michael Moore releases his latest movie - FREE to ALL

2008-09-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Michael Moore has generously released his latest movie "Slacker Uprising" to everyone in the United States - Free of charge, and freely distributable.

A movie about the awakening of the 'Slacker Generation' to American Politics.

Here's the link to the site: http://slackeruprising.com/download/location.php?utm_medium=download&utm_source=21437044

At that link, there are five ways you can watch it free and without advertising!

Obama and the Palin Effect

2008-09-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

Deepak Chopra on the choice of Sarah Palin.

In a fascinating psychological analysis of the 'Palin Effect', Chopra makes the following observations:

I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to understand Palin’s message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision.

Look at what she stands for:
Small town values — a nostaligic return to simpler times disguises a denial of America’s global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism.

Ignorance of world affairs — a repudiation of the need to repair America’s image abroad.

Family values — a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don’t need to be needed.

Rigid stands on guns and abortion — a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.

Patriotism — the usual fallback in a failed war.

"Reform" — an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn’t fit your ideology.

Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from “us” pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of “I’m all right, Jack,” and “Why change? Everything’s OK as it is.” The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindedness

The $700 Billion Debacle

2008-09-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

You've probably been surprised at my silence regarding this huge story. To be honest, I'm still trying to digest it. It's really hard to wade through the spin and comprehend the scope of this shocking proposal. The more time I spend thinking about it, the more disturbing this proposal becomes. Questions and 'problems' both practical and ethical seem to multiply without end.

I figure it's time to start a discussion here, and share my distress with those of you who care to examine this situation for yourself. Please feel free to comment. The site is moderated, but I promise you that I will post your comments unedited. The moderation is on only to prevent being 'spammed'.

As a starting point - here's a link to the Text of Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan as presented to Congress. Please take a read - it's 849 words, so at almost $1 Billion a word, as a taxpayer you shouldn't pass it up. It's one short piece of legislation!

So, now for some disturbing thoughts.

I'd heard that the proposal was 3 pages, so I expected fine print. NOT !! This was something spit out of a word processor on a moments notice. It is Outrageous to think that Secretary Paulson was caught so off guard, and had so little warning that this was the best legislative proposal that his entire staff could come up with.

If he was caught so unaware, it would disqualify his ability to solve this crisis. Certainly, it did not happen overnight - he should have been planning for this possibility. Considering his credentials my only conclusion is that it is fully his intention to get Congress to issue him a $700 Billion blank check. That is what his proposal amounts to.

In the back of my mind, alarm bells are ringing - GWB holds an 'emergency' meeting and press conference - threats of total economic disaster, a 'meltdown' unless Congress acts 'immediately'. These sound like the same scare tactics and doom and gloom warnings that the White House used to justify the Iraq war. In that case, some valid questions were raised; most people understand something about foreign affairs, so the White House manufactured some lies about WMDs and talked about the 'Al-Qaeda' link to Iraq even though it didn't exist to justify their demand for a 'blank check' for war. In this case, few in Congress or anywhere else can understand the details of the 'problem', so asking the right questions and getting the straight answers is especially difficult. Bernanke and Paulson are testifying in front of Congress, like Colin Powell did in front of the U.N. They talk of more foreclosures, frozen credit availability, massive job losses and generally paint a picture designed to strike fear into the hearts and stomachs of anyone listening.

Remember, these are the same people who basically called our economy 'strong' 6 months ago so what changed?

Especially disturbing is that it is unlikely that any hard facts as to the 'truth' of their warnings will be forthcoming. This is really based on their opinion, based on their assessment. It is all speculative, to whatever degree.

Other disturbing language - what little of it there is:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

What the heck? I doubt that this is legal. Removing review by the courts to legislation just because you don't want it to be? I don't think so. This amounts to 'no oversight, no questions'. What was the point? Do they simply want to be unfettered by such minor details such as legal review or congressional oversight?

Sure, they will report to Congress once per quarter, but report only - no questions, no accountability. They will be able to issue contracts regardless of any other public laws regulating their issue (another dubious legality).

The Secretary and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve are getting blasted by a bipartisan committee. Both sides of the aisle are upset with this charade of a proposal.

It's easy to digress into the details of what this is all about, but fundamentally, my bigger concerns are with larger moral and ethical concerns. Clearly the health of American financial institutions has been compromised. What to do about it raises larger issues that I'll explore on another continuing post.

Obama Breaks for the Lead 52 to 43% in Latest Poll

2008-09-24T01:07:00.000-07:00

It's way to early in this race to break out any cigars but this Washington Post-ABC News national poll is GREAT news.

It shows Obama has taken the lead in the national polls both of likely and registered voters by 9 points - 52 to 43

This breakout is important, as it is the first time either candidate has broken the 50% mark among 'likely' voters (Obama crossed the 50% mark several times during the primaries among 'registered' voters, but not since securing the primary).

This is quite a swing since the last poll of 9/7 Obama +5 and McCain -6 for a net +11 for Obama!!

The momentum is shifting - now is the time to shift into high gear and double up on efforts to get Obama elected.

Palin - Troopergate explanation falls apart, Mr. Hockey Mom?

2008-09-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

Palin's latest justification for firing her State Police commissioner, unauthorized travel to Washington D.C. just fell apart - ABC uncovered a travel authorization signed by... the Governor's chief of staff.

By the way, he was going in order to raise money to fight sexual violence. I guess Palin doesn't believe in supporting that effort any more than paying for forensic Rape Kits used to collect evidence from rape victims. They had to pass a state law banning the practice she put in place in Wasilla of making the victim pay for the kit.

CNN reports that Republican campaign officials indicated they are done answering questions about an investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner Tuesday. Palin has dropped an earlier pledge to cooperate with a probe by the state Legislature.

Here's another video from Rachel Maddow. Starting mid-way is an interview with Lyda Green, President of the Alaska state Senate, and a Republican who represents Wasilla.
Sometimes I just love quoting Republicans.

The $2 Million Man

2008-09-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

They might not be violating the letter of the law; but to me they are violating the spirit of it.

Starting in 2000, John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis, was paid $30,000 or more per MONTH for over 5 years as president of an 'advocacy' group (lobbyist organization) set up by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to try and prevent stricter regulations.

In an article published in the New York Times, current and former officials of the organizations confirmed this information.

Mr. Davis had recently returned to his lobbying firm from running Mr. McCain’s unexpectedly strong 2000 Republican primary campaign, which elevated Mr. McCain’s profile as a legislator and Mr. Davis’s as a lobbyist.

“The value that he brought to the relationship was the closeness to Senator McCain and the possibility that Senator McCain was going to run for president again,” said Robert McCarson, a former spokesman for Fannie Mae, who said that while he worked there from 2000 to 2002, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together paid Mr. Davis’s firm $35,000 a month."

In an interview Sunday night with CNBC and The New York Times, Mr. McCain noted that Mr. Davis was no longer working on behalf of the mortgage giants.

Let me get this straight - Rick Davis 'left' his own lobbying firm to work on John McCain's 2000 primary campaign. At the conclusion of the campaign in 2000 he went back to his lobbying career. He was hired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to head up their lobbying effort and was paid something around $2 Million from 2000 through 2005 (when the lobbying effort was dissoved), primarily because of his close connection to John McCain and the possibility that McCain would run for President again. He then 'left' his own lobbying firm again to work on the McCain campaign.

There is nothing else to say. Clearly, McCain, supporter of the 1999 deregulation of the finance and banking industries, was the pick of Freddie and Fannie when it came to potential presidential candidates. The same lobbyist who was promoting the deregulation agenda to McCain in congress is now writing his campaign speeches and position papers.

McCain has the audacity to throw mud at Obama and Biden with false 'banking ties' ads.
What needs reform is John McCain; one of the infamous 'Keating 5' from the S&L debacle of a previous decade, who apparently hasn't learned his lesson.

Bill Maher - weighs in on MSNBC

2008-09-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting interview on MSNBC:
You go Bill! Finally, they interview someone intelligent; instead
of playing campaign soundbites of someone who is not!

In case you're interested in what someone who is not intelligent
had to say this past week - here are how those sound bites go:

Palin - Yes, Thanks, to a Road to Nowhere

2008-09-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

The saga of the infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere' continues -
When you build a bridge, what else do you need to build? A road to the bridge! Congress might have rescinded it's earmark to the 'Bridge to Nowhere', and then Gov. Palin killed the project, but that is not the end of the story.

Construction of a 3.2 mile $26 Million road from the Gravina Airport (pop. 50) to the beach where the infamous bridge was to be built has continued to move forward. This highway, that no one will drive, dead ends near where the bridge would have been built.

"Surely we won't have to commute on the highway if there won't be a bridge," said Jill Jacob, who has been writing and calling the governor's office for the last two years to protest the road. "It's a dead-end highway, a dead-end road."

Read the full story in the LA Times Article

Gov. Palin's 2nd Private Email Account used for Government Business

2008-09-18T03:41:00.000-07:00

A second private yahoo email account being used by Governor Palin for both personal and State Business was recently hacked. Although I do not condone cyber-hacking as a means to discover the truth, I think the larger issue is that the information released confirms that that she was conducting government business through the use of private email; circumventing the law and requirements for retention of communications. It also demonstrates another reason why government business shouldn't be conducted on Yahoo email accounts - it is not secure, and easily hacked.

A criminal investigation of Governor Palin's actions by the FBI and/or the Alaska State attorney general is warranted and should be pursued. This is as blatant a violation as I think you'll ever see.

Screen shots and some photos are still available at gawker.com this morning. I saw one entry on the list of emails that concerns the draft of a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger regarding a new container tax(fee). This is a subject that I've blogged about, but is not widely known. Seeing that email listing for the draft of that letter tells me that this is most likely legitimate information, and not a 'fake'. There is further information that lends credibility to the existence of this email account (now deleted, in an attempt to destroy it's contents along with the 1st account that was previously reported in the news) in the FoxNews story and at gawker.com.

How about it FBI - perhaps a subpoena to Yahoo for it's server backups will yield proof for criminal prosecution? The screen shots show email coming in from government accounts. Those outbound emails should be archived - so why were they sent to an outside Yahoo account of the governors?

Maybe McCain isn't just lying - he's Senile

2008-09-18T01:10:00.000-07:00

Age related senility (and maybe even the beginnings of dementia) is much harder for people to connect with, but perhaps that is what's really going on with John McCain (although it's clear the rest of his campaign is being built on lies). If this continues, he should step aside, and retire from public service. It certainly deserves scrutiny considering his age and the strain of the campaign and the office he's looking to hold.

It's noticeable that he's turned his campaign completely over to his handlers. You see him reading his speeches from notes and stumbling as if he's not familiar with what he's reading. He's obviously been speaking from notes even during 'town hall' meetings. Even commentators and supporters have noted that 'this is not the John McCain we know' when discussing his recent ads and campaign tactics.

When questioned about his own campaign talking points, he can't even respond accurately. During his recent interview on "The View" he insisted that Gov. Palin hadn't taken ANY earmarks as governor. It has been widely acknowledged (even by the McCain campaign) that she has gotten some earmarks, but they are less than the previous year. Given the opportunity to correct his statement, and even with direct coaching from his interviewer, he continued to insist emphatically that she had taken NO earmarks. It's easy to jump on it as simply lying, but I think something much more serious is going on. Responses like this make no sense. There's no point on being so obviously wrong, and fumble opportunities to correct so badly, especially for a politician who has such a long career.

That example follows the famous press conference in Iraq, when he 'mis-spoke' about Iran's involvement with Al-Qaeda and was corrected by Joe Lieberman. Clearly not as bad a slip then, but that was awhile ago, and I think he's getting worse.

Now we have another example, and in this case he seems even more disoriented then before. John McCain recently gave an interview with Spain's El Pais newspaper in which he appears to get confused and doesn't respond as you would expect. Keep in mind, this was an arranged scheduled interview for which he certainly would have been prepped by his campaign. It's an audio, he was interviewed in English, but with a Spanish translator speaking over the top. If you speak Spanish you can confirm for yourself. There is the link below for the entire interview, or go to John's post, where he has a link to an audio clip of just the part relevant to this particular question. It is near the end of the interview.

Here's a post from John Aravosis on Americablog.com

Per a post on Josh Marshall's site, I just listened to an interview John McCain did with a Spanish journalist recently. The interview is in English, but there's a Spanish translator translating the tape into Spanish at the same time. So the English part is difficult to hear. I am however fluent in Spanish, and what Josh reports is exactly what the Spanish version shows.

Namely, that John McCain didn't appear to know that Spain was in Europe, or that the leader of Spain was named Zapatero, even after he was told that Zapatero was the leader of Spain.

When asked about Spain and Zapatero, by a Spanish reporter for a Spanish newspaper, McCain responded about Mexico and Latin America. A reader suggested something that Josh had already considered, that perhaps McCain thought the reporter was talking about the Zapatistas in Mexico, the guerilla group. But that's not possible as the reporter clearly said she was talking about Spain and Spain's leader, Zapatero. She told McCain this twice. Let me tell you exactly what she asked McCain (per the translation):
"Senator, finally, let's talk about Spain. If you're elected president, would you invite President Zapatero to meet with you in the White House?"
McCain then gives this odd answer about America's friends and America's enemies. He also, oddly, talks about Mexico (why Mexico? The question was about Spain) and how he'd invite friendly leaders to the White House. She then asks him again, would that invitation include President Zapatero? He says again that he'd have to review relations first, blah blah. She then says again, "so you'd have to wait to see, so would you meet with him in the White House?" He again repeats his weird statement about friends and enemies. McCain also throws in, oddly, to the Spanish reporter, when she's asking him about meeting the Spanish president, a line about the importance of our relationship with Latin America (this is now the second time he answered a question about meeting the president of Spain with an answer about Latin America). She then says to McCain one last time:
"Okay, but I'm talking about Europe - the president of Spain, would you meet with him?"
This time, there was no room for confusion. McCain then gives this very bizarre answer:
"I will meet with any leader who has the same principles and philosophy as us in terms of human rights, democracy, and freedom and I will stand up to those who do not."
What does concern about human rights, democracy and freedom have to do with a prerequisite for meeting the president of Spain? Especially when you told the same paper 5 months ago that you'd be happy to meet with him.

McCain had no idea what was going on in the interview. She specifically told him, twice, that she was talking about Spain and the Spanish president. She's a Spanish reporter with one of the largest, if not the largest, newspaper in Spain, El Pais. I know this paper, McCain certainly knows this paper (and it's not like McCain's staff didn't tell him who he had the exclusive interview with for ten minutes). She made it clear she was asking about her own country and her own president and McCain had no clue what she was talking about.

Either McCain had no idea what the woman was talking about when she said "Spain," and then said "the President of Spain," repeatedly, or McCain intentionally snubbed the country of Spain tonight for no apparent reason, which is very hard to believe, especially given his earlier interview in which he said he was fine meeting Zapatero. The interview is absolutely bizarre, especially in that it sounds like McCain wasn't even lucid, it sounds like he simply doesn't have complete control over his faculties anymore. And judging by the fact that just a few months ago McCain was fine with Zapatero, it sounds like McCain simply wasn't quite all there any more during the interview. He got horribly confused and didn't know what was going on.

This is just incredibly disturbing. And remember, this is hardly the first time in the last year that McCain has become confused about his signature issue, foreign affairs. It's happened a lot in the past year, and it never happened before. There's a pattern here, even if in polite company the media isn't supposed to talk about. McCain is having trouble focusing and understanding what's going on around him. He gets increasingly confused. And that's just scary.

Alaskan Women Reject Palin Rally

2008-09-17T04:22:00.000-07:00

This is a must read - the press IS being manipulated by the Republican campaign. To watch CNN you would have thought that every woman in Alaska was going to vote for Palin... NOT!

Alaskan Women Reject Palin Rally

John McCain gets BarackRoll'd -

2008-09-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

John McCain get's upstaged:

Governor Palin's reading list

2008-09-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies."
It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list.

- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
posted September 15th on 'The Huffington Post'

Again, assuming she actually reads, I'd like to know what is on her list too.
Her speech was written for her; I doubt she knew of the author or the quote, but if you speak it you own it!
It does also make me wonder about McCain's speech writer, Matthew Scully, though..

The Pastor that clashed with Palin

2008-09-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

So if you've been following the blog, you've seen the post that talks about Palin's attempt to ban books from the public library in Wasilla.

This article by David Talbot is about an author of one of those books. - Howard Bess

Quoted in entirety, it's important reading, especially since it provides a broader context that helps to understand what Sarah Palin is all about; and that this censorship attempt was not out of context with her other activities; but just one component of a strong fundamentalist/evangelical view that is integral to her decision making as a government official.

Sept. 15, 2008 WASILLA, Alaska -- The Wasilla Assembly of God, the evangelical church where Sarah Palin came of age, was still charged with excitement on Sunday over Palin's sudden ascendance. Pastor Ed Kalnins warned his congregation not to talk with any journalists who might have been lurking in the pews -- and directly warned this reporter not to interview any of his flock. But Kalnins and other speakers at the service reveled in Palin's rise to global stardom.
It confirmed, they said, that God was making use of Wasilla. "She will take our message to the world!" rejoiced an Assembly of God youth ministry leader, as the church band rocked the high-vaulted wooden building with its electric gospel.
That is what scares the Rev. Howard Bess. A retired American Baptist minister who pastors a small congregation in nearby Palmer, Wasilla's twin town in Alaska's Matanuska Valley, Bess has been tangling with Palin and her fellow evangelical activists ever since she was a Wasilla City Council member in the 1990s. Recently, Bess again found himself in the spotlight with Palin, when it was reported that his 1995 book, "Pastor, I Am Gay," was among those Palin tried to have removed from the Wasilla Public Library when she was mayor.
"She scares me," said Bess. "She's Jerry Falwell with a pretty face."
"At this point, people in this country don't grasp what this person is all about. The key to understanding Sarah Palin is understanding her radical theology."
Bess -- a fit-looking, 80-year-old man in a gray University of Illinois sweatshirt and blue jeans – spoke with me over coffee at the Vagabond Blues, a cafe in Palmer with a stunning view of the nearby snow-capped Chugach Mountains. The retired minister moved to the Mat-Su Valley with his wife, Darlene, in 1987, after his outspoken defense of gay rights at Baptist churches in the Santa Barbara, Calif., area and Anchorage landed him in trouble with church officials. In the Mat-Su Valley, Bess plunged into community activism, helping launch an assortment of projects, from an arts council to a shelter for the mentally disabled.
Inevitably, his work brought him into conflict with Palin and other highly politicized Christian fundamentalists in the valley. "Things got very intense around here in the '90s -- the culture war was very hot here," Bess said. "The evangelicals were trying to take over the valley. They took over the school board, the community hospital board, even the local electric utility. And Sarah Palin was in the direct center of all these culture battles, along with the churches she belonged to."
Bess' first run-in with Palin's religious forces came when he decided to write his book, "Pastor, I Am Gay." The book was the result of a theological journey that began in the 1970s when Bess was asked for guidance by a closeted homosexual in his Santa Barbara congregation. After deep reflection on the subject, Bess came to the conclusion that "gay people were not sick, nor they were special sinners."
In his book, Bess suggests that gays have a divine mission. "Look back at the life of our Lord Jesus. He was misunderstood, deserted, unjustly accused, and cruelly killed. Yet we all confess that it was the will of God, for by his wounds we are healed ... Could it be that the homosexual, obedient to the will of God, might be the church's modern day healer-messiah?"
When it was published in 1995, Bess' book caused an immediate storm in the Mat-Su Valley, an evangelical stronghold dotted with storefront churches. Conservative ministers targeted the book, and the only bookstore in the valley that dared to stock it -- Shalom Christian Books and Gifts – soon dropped it after the owner was barraged with angry phone calls. The Frontiersman, the local newspaper that ran a column by Bess for seven years, fired him and ran a vicious cartoon that suggested even drooling child molesters would be welcomed by Bess' church.
And after she became mayor of Wasilla, according to Bess, Sarah Palin tried to get rid of his book from the local library. Palin now denies that she wanted to censor library books, but Bess insists that his book was on a "hit list" targeted by Palin. "I'm as certain of that as I am that I'm sitting here. This is a small town, we all know each other. People in city government have confirmed to me what Sarah was trying to do."
Soon after the book controversy, Bess found himself again at odds with Palin and her fellow evangelicals. In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital's community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, Bess and Dr. Susan, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option.
At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that local antiabortion activists organized a boisterous picket line outside Dr. Lemagie's office, in an unassuming professional building across from Palmer's Little League field. According to Bess and another community activist, among the protesters trying to disrupt the physician's practice that day was Sarah Palin.
Another valley activist, Philip Munger, says that Palin also helped push the evangelical drive to take over the Mat-Su Borough school board. "She wanted to get people who believed in creationism on the board," said Munger, a music composer and teacher. "I bumped into her once after my band played at a graduation ceremony at the Assembly of God. I said, 'Sarah, how can you believe in creationism - your father's a science teacher.' And she said, 'We don't have to agree on everything.'
"I pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And she said yes, she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them."
Munger also asked Palin if she truly believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"
Bess is unnerved by the prospect of Palin -- a woman whose mind is given to dogmatic certitude -- standing one step away from the Oval Office. "It's truly frightening that someone like Sarah has risen to the national level," Bess said. "Like all religious fundamentalists -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim -- she is a dualist. They view life as an ongoing struggle to the finish between good and evil. Their mind-set is that you do not do business with evil -- you destroy it. Talking with the enemy is not part of their plan. That puts someone like Obama on the side of evil.
"Forget all this chatter about whether or not she knows what the Bush doctrine is. That's trivial. The real disturbing thing about Sarah is her mind-set. It's her underlying belief system that will influence how she responds in an international crisis, if she's ever in that position, and has the full might of the U.S. military in her hands. She gave some indication of that thinking in her ABC interview, when she suggested how willing she would be to go to war with Russia.
"Alaskans liked that certitude when she was dealing with corrupt politicians and the oil industry -- and there is something admirable about it. But when you're dealing with a complex and dangerous world as commander in chief, that's a different story."
Bess said that he and fellow valley residents have long been charmed by the Sarah Palin who is now dazzling the American public. Despite their strong political differences, "she always has a warm greeting for me when we bump into each other. She's the most charming person you'll ever know."
"But," Bess adds, "this person's election would be a disaster for the country and the world."

On a really bad news day, we all need a laugh

2008-09-17T01:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, the economy is in the toilet, and someone pulled the handle....

So on a day when the news is all about Chapter 11, government bailouts, and what the fed is going to do keep the economy afloat now that Bush can't ask America to spend it's way out of a recession by whipping out their credit cards and writing those home equity line of credit checks;

We ALL need a Laugh !!

So with no futher ado, here's a link to
A Black comic introduces John McCain in St. Paul. by Jonathan Bines
Here's a quote, but please read the whole thing - it's worth it.

Look at this place. I can’t believe this shit! Y’all couldn’t find one single brother?
(shouting)

There is? Where?
(shouting)

Yo, what up, brother! Looks like you the only chocolate chip in the cookie.
(laughter)

You look like a fly in a glass of milk, yo. Swim! Swim for your life!

Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes - NYTimes.com

2008-09-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a snippet from another article in the NY Times. This one is NOT an Op-Ed piece, but an investigative piece. The Vetting process of the press at work. Please read the article here:

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she [Palin] appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

It gets worse from here folks... please read the article and pass it along. I'm sure this is just the beginning.

Thanks, Alan, for sending me this link - keep 'em coming.
I agree 100% that Palin would have fit in very well with the current administration with her cronyism, secrecy and attitude toward those who disagree. Might just have well learned this from Karl Rove directly!

Making America Stupid

2008-09-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here are selected paragraphs from an Op-Ed piece from the NY Times - written by Thomas L. Friedman. Read the whole article here:

Why would Republicans, the party of business, want to focus our country on breathing life into a 19th-century technology — fossil fuels — rather than giving birth to a 21st-century technology — renewable energy? As I have argued before, it reminds me of someone who, on the eve of the I.T. revolution — on the eve of PCs and the Internet — is pounding the table for America to make more I.B.M. typewriters and carbon paper. “Typewriters, baby, typewriters.”
Of course, we’re going to need oil for many years, but instead of exalting that — with “drill, baby, drill” — why not throw all our energy into innovating a whole new industry of clean power with the mantra “invent, baby, invent?” That is what a party committed to “change” would really be doing. As they say in Texas: “If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.”

I dwell on this issue because it is symbolic of the campaign that John McCain has decided to run. It’s a campaign now built on turning everything possible into a cultural wedge issue — including even energy policy, no matter how stupid it makes the voters and no matter how much it might weaken America.
A Washington Post editorial on Thursday put it well: “On a day when the Congressional Budget Office warned of looming deficits and a grim economic outlook, when the stock market faltered even in the wake of the government’s rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when President Bush discussed the road ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, on what did the campaign of Senator John McCain spend its energy? A conference call to denounce Senator Barack Obama for using the phrase ‘lipstick on a pig’ and a new television ad accusing the Democrat of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex before they learn to read.”
Who cares how much steel John McCain has in his gut when the steel that today holds up our bridges, railroads, nuclear reactors and other infrastructure is rusting? McCain talks about how he would build dozens of nuclear power plants. Oh, really? They go for $10 billion a pop. Where is the money going to come from? From lowering taxes? From banning abortions? From borrowing more from China? From having Sarah Palin “reform” Washington — as if she has any more clue how to do that than the first 100 names in the D.C. phonebook?

Sorry, but there is no sustainable political/military power without economic power, and talking about one without the other is nonsense. Unless we make America the country most able to innovate, compete and win in the age of globalization, our leverage in the world will continue to slowly erode. Those are the issues this election needs to be about, because that is what the next four years need to be about.

There is no strong leader without a strong country. And posing as one, to use the current vernacular, is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig.

Are McCain's Lies Finally Coming Home to Roost?

2008-09-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

In order for the Rovian political attacks of John McCain to work it requires the complicity of the media. The mainstream media has picked up the negative ads, McCain's stump speech lies, and has repeated his repeated howls of 'foul play' and crocodile tears over Obama's responses. Palin has some far right policies, and has flip-flopped and disguised her true agenda, yet when criticized, the republican machine cries "Sexist" and "Unfair". McCain ignores criticism and fact checks and continues to spew blatant lies about Obama's platform from the stage; trading his credibility for a few votes. 'Win at any cost' is his motto. Is that what we really want continuing to run the country? I thought that 8 years of lies distortions and secrecy was Enough! We need a 'Truth in Campaigning' regulation that holds candidates accountable for this malfeasance.
As Roland Martin questioned on CNN this past weekend - If Michelle Obama had paraded onto the stage at the DNC with 5 children, one of whom was an unwed pregnant teenager, would she be held up as a 'Norman Rockwell' painting of good family values or would the republican attack dogs be all over it?

Even the 'godfather' of sleazy campaigns and false indignation Carl Rove has chimed in, saying that McCain's campaign has gone too far:

"McCain has gone in some of his ads -- similarly gone one step too far," he told Fox News, "and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the '100 percent truth' test."

Finally, it seems there is movement in the press recognizing that they are being manipulated like puppets with the Steve Schmidt's republican hand up their backsides. Here's a snippet from an article from Time that can be read here:

This imbalance has caused some soul-searching and second-guessing in newsrooms, as reporters realize that they are being successfully manipulated by the McCain campaign. "Stop the madness," said TIME's own Mark Halperin, in an appearance on CNN to discuss the controversy. "I think this is the press just absolutely playing into the McCain campaign's crocodile tears."

By the weekend, many news organizations had mounted a backlash of their own, running prominent pieces accusing the self-branded "Straight Talking" McCain of deceiving voters. "The "Straight-Talk Express" has detoured into doublespeak," announced the Associated Press, while the New York Times blared, "McCain Barbs Stirring Outcry as Distortions."

Let's hope that the media will continue to press for a campaign on the issues, and quit paying homage to the campaign of lies, deceit, personality, gender, race, and age. There is far too much at stake here. We have our job to do too. Study the issues, research the facts, and don't let all the negative hype get in the way. And if anything, let the press know that we are not going to continue to listen to all this BS anymore.

Sarah Palin - The Economics of Self-Interest for Alaska

2008-09-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin has only one goal in mind - what's best for the economy of Alaska. She has demonstrated that she has no consideration for larger issues, beyond the bread and butter issues for Alaskans.

In a Section B (California) lead article in the LA Times of Friday, September 12, 2008, it is revealed that Gov. Palin is meddling in California politics, sending a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger urging that he veto legislation putting a fee on cargo containers going through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland. There hasn't been much passed by the California Legislature recently, but this piece of legislation was. She argues that the $60 fee will have negative impacts for Alaskans, since a large percentage of goods shipped to Alaska arrive in containers, and many of them go through the ports in California.

California ports handle about 40% of the nation's goods. The fee is designed to raise funds to pay for pollution-reduction projects such as conversion of truck and train engines from diesel to CNG, and roadways over or under rail tracks to avoid traffic tie ups and idling trucks. It is part of a larger overall initiative by local and port authorities to reduce pollution levels caused by port activities.

She offers no consideration for Californians who suffer the pollution and negative effects of the massive port activities that handle goods for the entire country. She is only concerned for the cost of goods arriving in Alaska.

I'm hoping that Gov. Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed McCain, won't give weight to this letter from the Governor of Alaska. This fee is to provide necessary improvements to our port system, the cost of which should not be born by Californians, but by those who use the ports.

To those who argue otherwise, I would suggest that Schwarzenegger and all 48 other governors should send letters to Palin demanding that she reduce the tax her state charges on oil producers, the windfall of which funds the huge budget surpluses that she is paying out in cash to Alaskan residents, the cost of which is passed on to all Americans in the form of higher oil prices.
This fall, $2 BILLION (the largest payout in history) was paid out to Alaskans (over $3200 per person), simply for being residents of Alaska. It is ALL coming from oil money. The Alaskan PFD comes from the earnings of over $40 BILLION in oil revenues, set aside seperate from the Alaskan state budget and invested purely for Alaskan residents. At the same time, Gov. Palin is asking for almost $200 million in federal 'earmark' funding. Why? Can't the state of Alaska build it's own roads and sewers? Can't the state fund research into more efficient fish breeding? Does it really need a road built through a federal wilderness area to connect a town of 800 with a direct road to an airport? Should the federal government be building infrastructure in Wasilla, when the state of Alaska isn't contributing? Why is it that the Alaska Governor, hasn't tapped that $40 Billion well to pay for projects of benefit to all Alaskans, but would rather that all Americans pay for the costs of projects that benefit only Alaskan locals?

It is the Economics of Self-Interest that has created an national economy dependant on Big Oil, and no where is that more apparent than in the state of Alaska; but the narrowness of thinking extends to other aspects Sarah Palin's policies, whether it be the threat to Polar Bears by global warming, or the threat to spawning salmon in Bristol Bay by mining interests, her position is guided by these Self-Interest economics - that it might interfere with a gas pipeline, or with ANWR drilling, or expansion of gold and copper mining are her overriding concerns.

The Palin Environmental Issues Record

2008-09-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

In keeping with my call to campaign on the issues;
here's some vital information from the Palin record
courtesy of the DWAF website:

Endangered Species

Palin has repeatedly opposed the listing of endangered animals under the Endangered Species List despite overwhelming scientific evidence that such listings are warranted.

Polar Bear

The U.S. Geological Survey predicts that loss of summer sea ice - crucial habitat for polar bears - could lead to the demise of two-thirds of the world's polar bears by mid-century, including all of Alaska's polar bears. The Bush administration has proposed listing the polar bears as threatened under the ESA to help protect polar bear habitat from threats such as oil and gas development.

Governor Palin has actively opposed the listing of the polar bear despite the fact that Alaska's top marine mammal biologists agreed with the federal scientists who believed the bear should be listed. She wrote the Secretary of Interior urging him not to list the bear on the ground it might hurt the state's oil- and gas-dependent economy. After the bear was listed, she recently filed suit seeking to overturn the listing of polar bears.

Beluga Whales

Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga whales are a unique group of white whales whose numbers have dramatically declined in the past two decades due to pressures ranging from pollution to increased ship traffic. Governor Palin opposes the listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whales, citing the listing as a threat to oil and gas development, despite their genetic uniqueness and the fact that their numbers have decreased from 1,300 in the 1980s to about 350 today.

Drilling

Palin is a strong supporter of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a vital wilderness area. It is home to hundreds of thousands of caribou who use the refuge as a calving ground, more than one million migratory birds, and countless other wildlife. It's the most important onshore denning habitat for female polar bears. Senator McCain himself has repeatedly voted to protect this pristine wilderness area. Palin is also a supporter of drilling in Bristol Bay and other offshore sites despite the risks to sensitive marine wildlife in the area, including the endangered polar bear and Beluga whale.

Clean Water and Pebble Mine

Governor Palin actively campaigned against a state ballot measure this summer aimed at protecting Alaska's Bristol Bay. The mining industry seeks to develop a gold and copper mine in the area that would pollute the Bay's headwaters and threaten the spawning grounds for the largest remaining wild salmon run. The initiative would have prevented large-scale mining operations from dumping waste materials into salmon watersheds.

New Road to Nowhere

2008-09-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it pays to flip to the back page of the LA Times..
From the National Brief (page A22, Friday Sept 12, 2008)

Washington, D.C.
Panel OKs road backed by Palin
A remote Alaska road supported by Gov. Sarah Palin cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, angering environmentalists who say it is unnecessary.
The road would run through a federal wildlife refuge, linking the fishing village of King Cove, population 800, to an all-weather airport 25 miles north.
The road could cost as much as $30 million. Federal approval would not include any earmarks to pay for it.

Keep you eyes and ears open folks, the earmarks are next, after approval in committee.

The Other Bridge to Nowhere

2008-09-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

I seriously wonder why the press doesn't ask the obvious question:
Since Alaska is running such a huge surpluses due the windfall oil tax revenue why is Sarah Palin asking for ANY earmarks at all? She's asking for $200 million in federal funds this year while putting an extra $1200 cash in every Alaskan resident's pocket directly from surplus state budget funds. Is that what it takes to get popularity numbers to 80%? You tell me! Alaskans are used to this treatment - their PFD funds pay them $2069 this year just for being an Alaska resident.
To do a little math, there are 610,768 eligible Alaskans this year.
$1200 per is $733 Million dollars. The PFD payout is $1.26 Billion.
That's almost $2 Billion in direct cash payouts this week. Twice last year's payout.

Maybe if the govenor of my state hires the right lobbiest, he can arrange for a couple of hundred in every Californian's pocket for next year?

So here's another tidbit coming off the Atlantic.com (Atlantic Monthly) web blog! Thanks Andrew Sullivan for pointing out this article from the Anchorage Daily News
Read the full article here-

...[Palin] still supports spending $400 million to $600 million on "the other Bridge to Nowhere," the Knik Arm Crossing, which would provide residents in Palin's hometown of Wasilla faster access to Anchorage, [former Gov. Tony Knowles] added.

Enough is Enough !!

2008-09-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

McCain is running a "Rovian" campaign as of late - and it's obvious and showing. It's the kind of politics that the American public is so sick of.
The campaign is running negative 'swift boat' ads and calling Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment an insulting swipe at Sarah Palin.
As much as they'd like to make it into that, and they certainly are doing a great job of spinning, it just isn't so! In FACT - Palin wasn't even mentioned in Obama's speech! He was referring directly to McCain's campaign positions on the ISSUES when he made the well known comment.
Here's the context:

"John McCain says he's about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is, 'Watch out George Bush -- except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics -- we're really going to shake things up in Washington'
That's not change. That's just calling ... the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough of the same old thing."

How do we return to making this campaign about the issues? It will take people standing up and insisting that the media to drop the 'political rhetoric' as their top story every night and instead ask 'What about those policies he mentioned?'

Here's someone else who's fed up with it too:

A Republican's perspective

2008-09-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

My father passed this link along to me - he received it from a Republican friend of his. "The Shock of Palin" written by long time respected republican, Andrew Sullivan.

A thought about Sarah Palin's Lipstick

2008-09-10T01:32:00.000-07:00

Governor Palin has said that the difference between an Alaska Hockey Mom and a Pit Bull is lipstick.

She claims to be an Alaska Hockey Mom - a fact borne out by the image of her wearing lipstick;
although she's been described by various supporters as a Pit Bull as well.

But the question in my mind is:

Would it be a good thing to have either a Hockey Mom or a Pit Bull as President of the United States?

When I ponder that question, I think - Hell No !!

Would you want your neighborhood 'Hockey Mom' answering the phone at 3am? Would you want a 'Hockey Mom' representing our country at the G8 economic summit (does she know what that is?) or in a sensitive international crisis? I think not!! This Hockey Mom has been sequestered for almost 2 weeks since her name was announced - NO press interviews, NO public questions. She's getting educated so she'll know how to respond to questions - she's learning the republican 'line'. How would this work in the real world, where the demand is to respond in 'real time', when there is no 'script' to learn or 'my staff will get back to you' option?

The Pit Bull option took just slightly longer to consider, at least for me.
Some would argue that being a Pit Bull is a good quality for a President. I disagree.
A Pit Bull snaps at the least provocation - is stubborn and won't let go. A Pit Bull doesn't listen or want other opinions. A Pit Bull is all about strength, and nothing about finesse.
International relations and negotiations, foreign policy, and consensus building are not well suited to Pit Bulls. The status of our current problems in international relations after 8 years of the GWB 'big stick' is proof enough that being a Pit Bull is NOT the way to go.

Sorry folks, but however clever the speech connecting Hockey Mom to Pit Bull, I don't want either one of them anywhere close to the White House.

Give me a President with finesse; thoughtful and measured, confident yet willing to examine his own choices and respectful of alternative positions.

What is it that we are NOT hearing?

2008-09-10T00:55:00.000-07:00

What is it that we are not hearing?

When was the last time you heard about a plan for providing Health Care in this country?

When was the last time you heard about a new energy plan ?

When was the last time you heard about a plan to fix the economic issues?

When was the last time you heard discussion about Global Warming?

When was the last time Environmental Issues were the subject of a speech?

Where do the Candidates (and their VP picks) stand on Sex Education?
Where do they stand on Abortion?
Where do they stand on Stem Cell research?
Where do they stand on Environmental Protection?

Have you noticed that ISSUES are no longer being talked about by the Candidates?

Since the end of the Republican Convention, the republicans have effectively shut down campaigning on the issues, and turned this into a 'Personality' race. Very few people know what Sarah Palin stands for, and according to republicans (and apparently a significant number of other undecided voters) it doesn't matter. They are now talking about 'change' but don't say what change that is - is it putting in conservative Supreme Court Judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade? Is it drilling in the ANWR - environment (and polar bears) be damned?
You hear only vague references to 'change' that goes undefined. They throw political jibes at Obama, forcing him to respond and pulling him off track.

I have to say, I did hear Joe Biden on a sound bite talk about Stem Cell research - and now some republicans are trying to spin it into an attack on Sarah Palin. That is the classic strategy - attack them on issues, and now they can call you Sexist, because they have a woman on the ticket - how shameful and transparent.

Quit whining about it. Sarah Palin isn't taking ANY questions - not even from the public at her numerous appearences next to John McCain, and certainly not from the press! Ask for an interview, and the argument given is that the press is being unfair to her, and so why should she do an interview? Another version of 'Sexist' - unfair to the woman candidate. They have sequestered her on the bus, and all she's been doing is repeating bits and pieces of the only speech she's given - one that was written by a Carl Rove protege. The republicans want to keep this about Sarah Palin - John McCain has faded into the background. No one knows her, and they are hoping to keep it that way until November 5.

Phillip Butler - Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain

2008-09-09T03:09:00.001-07:00

I don't like to be redundant, but I'm going to publish the text here from the article linked in a previous blog post (that goes with the video clip), because I've already discovered that the original link I posted was no longer working. So in case the updated link 'goes away', here it is.
Fortunately Google cache holds a lot of web pages; it's harder to get rid of content than people think!

As published on www.military.com :

Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain

As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance of mine that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and as Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways. But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President of the United States.

When I was a Plebe (4th classman, or freshman) at the Naval Academy in 1957-58, I was assigned to the 17th Company for my four years there. In those days we had about 3,600 midshipmen spread among 24 companies, thus about 150 midshipmen to a company. As fortune would have it, John, a First Classman (senior) and his room mate lived directly across the hall from me and my two room mates. Believe me when I say that back then I would never in a million or more years have dreamed that the crazy guy across the hall would someday be a Senator and candidate for President!

John was a wild man. He was funny, with a quick wit and he was intelligent. But he was intent on breaking every USNA regulation in our 4 inch thick USNA Regulations book. And I believe he must have come as close to his goal as any midshipman who ever attended the Academy. John had me "coming around" to his room frequently during my plebe year. And on one occasion he took me with him to escape "over the wall" in the dead of night. He had a taxi cab waiting for us that took us to a bar some 7 miles away. John had a few beers, but forbid me to drink (watching out for me I guess) and made me drink cokes. I could tell many other midshipman stories about John that year and he unbelievably managed to graduate though he spent the majority of his first class year on restriction for the stuff he did get caught doing. In fact he barely managed to graduate, standing 5th from the bottom of his 800 man graduating class. I and many others have speculated that the main reason he did graduate was because his father was an Admiral, and also his grandfather, both U.S. Naval Academy graduates.

People often ask if I was a Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is always "No - John McCain was a POW with me." The reason is I was there for 8 years and John got there 2 ½ years later, so he was a POW for 5 ½ years. And we have our own seniority system, based on time as a POW.

John's treatment as a POW:

1) Was he tortured for 5 years? No. He was subjected to torture and maltreatment during his first 2 years, from September of 1967 to September of 1969. After September of 1969 the Vietnamese stopped the torture and gave us increased food and rudimentary health care. Several hundred of us were captured much earlier. I got there April 20, 1965 so my bad treatment period lasted 4 1/2 years. President Ho Chi Minh died on September 9, 1969, and the new regime that replaced him and his policies was more pragmatic. They realized we were worth a lot as bargaining chips if we were alive. And they were right because eventually Americans gave up on the war and agreed to trade our POW's for their country. A damn good trade in my opinion! But my point here is that John allows the media to make him out to be THE hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals.

2) John was badly injured when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and he had other wounds from his ejection. Unfortunately this was often the case - new POW's arriving with broken bones and serious combat injuries. Many died from their wounds. Medical care was non-existent to rudimentary. Relief from pain was almost never given and often the wounds were used as an available way to torture the POW. Because John's father was the Naval Commander in the Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV interviews while wounded. These film clips have now been widely seen. But it must be known that many POW's suffered similarly, not just John. And many were similarly exploited for political propaganda.

3) John was offered, and refused, "early release." Many of us were given this offer. It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your treatment to the press. You had to "admit" that the U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was "lenient and humane." So I, like numerous others, refused the offer. This was obviously something none of us could accept. Besides, we were bound by our service regulations, Geneva Conventions and loyalties to refuse early release until all the POW's were released, with the sick and wounded going first.

4) John was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in combat. This heroism has been played up in the press and in his various political campaigns. But it should be known that there were approximately 600 military POW's in Vietnam. Among all of us, decorations awarded have recently been totaled to the following: Medals of Honor - 8, Service Crosses - 42, Silver Stars - 590, Bronze Stars - 958 and Purple Hearts - 1,249. John certainly performed courageously and well. But it must be remembered that he was one hero among many - not uniquely so as his campaigns would have people believe.

John McCain served his time as a POW with great courage, loyalty and tenacity. More that 600 of us did the same. After our repatriation a census showed that 95% of us had been tortured at least once. The Vietnamese were quite democratic about it. There were many heroes in North Vietnam. I saw heroism every day there. And we motivated each other to endure and succeed far beyond what any of us thought we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a POW is a group sport, not an individual one. We all supported and encouraged each other to survive and succeed. John knows that. He was not an individual POW hero. He was a POW who surmounted the odds with the help of many comrades, as all of us did.

I furthermore believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate.

Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's. Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW contemporaries. We experienced injuries and malnutrition that are coming home to roost. So I believe John's age (73) and survival expectation are not good for being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years.

I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button.

It is also disappointing to see him take on and support Bush's war in Iraq, even stating we might be there for another 100 years. For me John represents the entrenched and bankrupt policies of Washington-as-usual. The past 7 years have proven to be disastrous for our country. And I believe John's views on war, foreign policy, economics, environment, health care, education, national infrastructure and other important areas are much the same as those of the Bush administration.

I'm disappointed to see John represent himself politically in ways that are not accurate. He is not a moderate Republican. On some issues he is a maverick. But his voting record is far to the right. I fear for his nominations to our Supreme Court, and the consequent continuing loss of individual freedoms, especially regarding moral and religious issues. John is not a religious person, but he has taken every opportunity to ally himself with some really obnoxious and crazy fundamentalist ministers lately. I was also disappointed to see him cozy up to Bush because I know he hates that man. He disingenuously and famously put his arm around the guy, even after Bush had intensely disrespected him with lies and slander. So on these and many other instances, I don't see that John is the "straight talk express" he markets himself to be.

Senator John Sidney McCain, III is a remarkable man who has made enormous personal achievements. And he is a man that I am proud to call a fellow POW who "Returned With Honor." That's our POW motto. But since many of you keep asking what I think of him, I've decided to write it out. In short, I think John Sidney McCain, III is a good man, but not someone I will vote for in the upcoming election to be our President of the United States.
###

Doctor Phillip Butler is a 1961 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a former light-attack carrier pilot. In 1965 he was shot down over North Vietnam where he spent eight years as a prisoner of war. He is a highly decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.

After his repatriation in 1973 he earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at San Diego and became a Navy Organizational Effectiveness consultant. He completed his Navy career in 1981 as a professor of management at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is now a peace and justice activist with Veterans for Peace.

The Double-Talk Express

2008-09-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

Following up on the previously stated theme of the Republican Campaign:
Lies, Exaggerations, and Misrepresentation

Tip: watch the multiple videos available on thumbnails across the bottom of the video window after viewing the 1st one. Share this with your friends - please pass the word, since the press doesn't seem to do so!

Go for it Sid, you don't need Sarah Palin to shoot you in the foot, you do a good enough job by yourself!!

Just wait Sarah, I'm sure they'll be another video out just for you !

Republican Campaign 'Facts' - Lies, Exaggeration, and Misrepresentations

2008-09-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

If there was ever any doubt, the Republican campaign has confirmed for us all that the lies, exaggeration and misrepresentations that have been the mainstay of the current administration are also the political strategy of their candidates. The real facts just don't seem to matter anymore - just like George Bush and Dick Cheney since 9/11/2001 and the case for the war in Iraq. Facts - the Republicans have figured out how to make them irrelevant.

One interesting example is the flag waving around McCain's history as a POW. Not to take anything away from his ordeal, bravery or honor; but is it really a qualification to be Commander in Chief as the Republicans would have us believe?

Here's a very interesting perspective by another POW who knows John not only from Hanoi, but also from his years at the Naval Academy. Read the link, or watch the video.

Doctor Phillip Butler is a 1961 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a former light-attack carrier pilot. In 1965 he was shot down over North Vietnam where he spent eight years as a prisoner of war. He is a highly decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.

After his repatriation in 1973 he earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at San Diego and became a Navy Organizational Effectiveness consultant. He completed his Navy career in 1981 as a professor of management at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is now a peace and justice activist with Veterans for Peace.
Why I will Not Vote for John McCain(www.military.com)

OMG - it's a post that isn't about Sarah Palin - guess she's turning into old news.

Political Events of the Day ~

2008-09-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

John McCain's acceptance speech, got it's loudest applause when he talked about Sarah Palin. Guess the conventioneers have been sucked into the new McCain campaign strategy to turn the next 61 days into a referendum about "Who is Sarah Palin?", instead of a debate on the major issues facing our country and how to best address them.

The intent is clear, to the Republican campaign, the Issues don't matter, it's all about personality and political rhetoric. This entire week of RNC speech making has been devoid of specific discussion of the issues. What little McCain said about the issues, was met with considerably less enthusiasm.

Palin is just another pawn in the process. It's a clever choice. She has a strong, yet attractive personality, and will appeal to those for whom the Issues are beyond understanding. There is that block of voters in this country that are proven to vote based on "who they like". "Likeability", in a close race, can be enough to shift the balance, especially in some of the swing states where this battle will really be won or lost.

Democrats must be careful to not lose the "likeability" contest by getting sucked into this political trap. Instead, they must continue to explain in simple straightforward ways, the critical choice that voters must make in November, and how that vote will directly affect their lives and the direction this country will take. They must also do it in an uplifting, creative and engaging way, so as to appeal to those who don't really listen or study the facts, but rather decide based on what they "Like" about the candidate.

This Cartoon was sent along in an email I got today.
Hope you enjoy it -!!

Sarah Palin Supports Banning Books from a Public Library

2008-09-03T03:13:00.000-07:00

OK.. I'm on a roll.. and up late working, so here's the last entry for the night.

There is a pattern of abuse of power in Governor Palin's political career. She is currently under investigation for abuse of power as Governor. The pattern, however has been there since her first term as Mayor of Wassila, as this article brings to light.
This is about as blatant as it gets. Not only the abuse of power, but the that as mayor, she wanted to ban books from the public library. Outrageous!!

I was investigating resources referenced on the Wiki for Sarah Palin and came across this NYT article. Please read the entire article, a snippet quoted below:

Ann Kilkenny, a Democrat who said she attended every City Council meeting in Ms. Palin’s first year in office, said Ms. Palin brought up the idea of banning some books at one meeting. “They were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her,” Ms. Kilkenny said.
The librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, pledged to “resist all efforts at censorship,” Ms. Kilkenny recalled. Ms. Palin fired Ms. Emmons shortly after taking office but changed course after residents made a strong show of support.

The Twisting of the Truth - Wikipedia is Spun

2008-09-03T01:53:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about the phenomena that is the Internet are sites like Wikipedia.org.
An amazing 'Encyclopedia' of the web, it depends on the Internet's millions of users and contributors to collect, categorize, organize and publish information. Generally self-policed, and governed by a set of rules that contributors follow; articles are vetted by providing referenced sources, and the peer review of other contributors both for form and content. It's really an amazing place to do research on just about any subject or person you can think of.

It is however, sad to see even a great resource like Wikipedia being 'spun' by the Republican technocrats. One only has to look at the bio of Sarah Palin. In the few days since being nominated by John McCain there have been many hundreds of edits to her biographical article. Granted, all of the intense interest is going to generate updates with further details to her 'Wiki', but when you actually look at the edits, and the hundreds of discussion thread entries associated with the article it becomes clear that a LOT of the edits are about removing, 'clarifying', and modifying the content of the existing article, not about adding new, further details.

The battle rages; turning the Wiki into the latest political talking point, campaign spin rag, instrument of politically motivated 'correctness'; cleansed of important, interesting information.
Sure, there are those that fight to keep all the information in the Wiki, and to be fair, there are comments and additions that get added that should be removed for lack of proper reference or obvious bias, but there is an obvious effort being made by some to 'clean up' the data, so it reads better for their newest VP candidate.

It's a sad day, and I can only hope that the structure that is Wikipedia will eventually survive the onslaught, and not become just another 'news' outlet or political mouthpiece for the spin doctors, no matter what their bent.

Sen. Lieberman - Speaks at RNC? - Huh?

2008-09-03T01:26:00.000-07:00

OK,
So we all know that Senator Joe Lieberman is a Democratic 'traitor', but he must now be suffering from more than mild Alzheimer's.

He actually came out and spoke in support of Sarah Palin.. yet
she stands against pretty much every thing that Joe Lieberman has voted for!

Hey Joe, have you forgotten your entire voting record? Have you forgotten every old campaign speech you ever gave?

I won't go into the rest of the lies he spoke from the RNC podium; there's plenty to read on CNN about that here.

I feel sorry for him... if anyone thought that he had any credibility, surely he has none now.

How obvious can he be, pandering himself to the Republicans and his new best war-mongering friend John McCain in hopes of gaining a position in a Republican administration. I have to say, he is right about one thing; he'll never stand a chance of gaining a position in a Democratic administration. He killed any chance of that with his political missteps long ago.

More interesting news about Sarah Palin

2008-09-03T01:02:00.000-07:00

I'll qualify this 1st part as being from a reliable source - The Washington Post:

ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin began building clout in her state's political circles in part by serving as a director of an independent political group organized by the now embattled Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. Palin's name is listed on 2003 incorporation papers of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. The group was designed to serve as a political boot camp for Republican women in the state. She served as one of three directors until June 2005, when her name was replaced on state filings. Palin's relationship with Alaska's senior senator may be one of the more complicated aspects of her new position as Sen. John McCain's running mate; Stevens was indicted in July 2008 on seven counts of corruption. Palin, an anti-corruption crusader in Alaska, had called on Stevens to be open about the issues behind the investigation. But she also held a joint news conference with him in July, before he was indicted, to make clear she had not abandoned him politically.

Sounds like Politics as Usual !!

There also seems to be a discussion of merit brewing regarding Sarah Palin's association with the
AIP -Alaskan Independance Party. For those who don't read the link to Wiki (and it may be sanitized by now), the AIP is a successionist party (as in succession from the USA). When they use the word 'Independance' they mean it !
There is some discussion that party officials have said that at one time Sarah Palin was an AIP member, despite her Republican voter registration; not uncommon if you want to belong to a national party. More clear is that her husband is a long time member (although perhaps not current).
It's getting pretty fuzzy to get hard data, as the Republican Spinners are working hard on the Wiki articles to make SURE they are NPOV. You could read that to mean - sanitized of anything that might be construed as being at all controversial.

McCain Taps Lifetime NRA Member for VP, Shoots Self in Foot

2008-08-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

John McCain pulled the trigger today and announced his choice for VP on the Republican ticket; Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Proving that he is still capable of making major mistakes in spite of the recent obvious management of his political campaign by his 'handlers'; the failing McCain of the early primary days is back in force; pulling off a "Cheney" with a quick blast to his own foot.

McCain's has said directly that his primary criteria for his VP choice is their ability to step in and take over the role of President. Is this the best choice he can come up with?
This speaks directly to McCain's judgement when it comes to major decisions. He's impulsive, he's reckless, and he goes off half cocked. This major decision was made on the basis of a single meeting between McCain and Palin. It's a huge gamble. Is this what we can expect from him if he was in the White House? Is he going gamble our country with his reaction to a crisis?

This choice appears to be an obvious pandering to women voters by someone who is completely out of touch with Women's Issues. Somehow in his mind he thinks that a significant number of Hillary Clinton supporters who were not (at least prior to the Democratic Convention) in the Obama camp would rather vote for this "hockey mom" from a small town in Alaska.

Sorry John, but you got it wrong.
The only things working in Palin's favor at the moment, is her likability and that no one knows who she is. Sure, she's smart and well spoken, and may attract those who don't look any further; but what will happen when they look at her stand on the issues? She's as far away from Hillary Clinton as you can get. You don't give Hillary's supporters enough credit.

You might try to position her as being 'against big oil', because she's increased taxes on the oil companies. Read it more as 'sharing the wealth' of big oil then fighting them - Alaska depends on big oil tax payments to subsidize energy and government costs for Alaskans. She's been spending the tax dollars by funneling direct cash payments to her constituents. No wonder she's popular; and Alaskans are in favor of drilling in the ANWR. She's promoted an state economy that is addicted to oil company tax revenue; and bought her popularity with the people. That's the way things have been done in Alaska for a long time. She's hardly a reformer.

She supports expanding oil drilling - in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (yep.. she's to your right John..right there with GWB).

She's against putting Polar Bears on the Endangered Species List - why? because doing so might interfere with the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline; another cash cow for the state of Alaska.

She's a sceptic on Global Warming (hi there GWB - again!) - in spite of the obvious changes in the state of Alaska.

She's Pro-Life -- (No Exceptions - not even for rape) -- yet.. she approved the hunting of wolves from helicopters, setting a $150 bounty for each killed wolf.

She's a Lifetime NRA member.

She believes in and supports the teaching Creationism in Public Schools. (Ala Pat Buchanan)

As for her political career - (from Wikipedia) Here's a sample of what we know to start:
2 three-year terms as Mayor of Wasilla, AK, a town of under 8,000 (about 1200 votes cast in the election!).

In January 1997, Palin fired the Wasilla police chief and library director. In response, a group of 60 residents calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Wasilla discussed attempting a recall campaign against Palin, but then decided against it. The fired police chief eventually sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was eventually dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons.
While Mayor of Wasilla, Palin supported the presidential bid of conservative Pat Buchanan in 1996

As Governor:

Palin initially expressed support for the Gravina Island Bridge project,[21] commonly known outside the state as the "Bridge to Nowhere." However, once it had become a nationwide symbol of wasteful earmark spending and some Federal funding was lost, Palin cancelled the bridge. She was able to keep the Federal money[22] because Alaska's congressional delegation was unable to prevent the state of Alaska from having to pay for part of the bridge's construction.[23][24] She proposed to send Alaskans $1,200 directly, paid for partially by the money given to the state of Alaska that was to be spent on the "Bridge to Nowhere" .[42]
In 2007, Palin approved a $150 cash incentive for each Alaskan wolf to be killed by hunters in helicopters.[43] The incentive was called a "bounty" for killing wolves by Alaska Wildlife Alliance Director John Toppenberg.[43]
Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
Main article: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
As of August 29, 2008, Palin is being investigated by an independent investigator hired by the Alaska Legislature [51] to determine whether she abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. [52][53]
On July 11, 2008, Palin dismissed Monegan and instead offered him a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he turned down.[54][55] Her power to fire him is not in dispute. Monegan alleged that his dismissal may have been tied to his reluctance to fire Palin's former brother-in law, an Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.[56] Governor Palin on the other hand expressed executive concerns regarding her appointed commissioner's performance and cooperation with her staff in pursuing her administration's goals. This investigation is ongoing and results are pending.
Quoting her directly:
"[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P. slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

(Nice National perspective there - and so knowledgeable about National Office!)
In May 2008, Palin objected to the decision of Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican United States Secretary of the Interior, to list polar bears as an endangered species. She threatened a lawsuit to stop the listing amid fears that it would hurt oil and gas development in the bears' habitat off Alaska's northern and northwestern coasts. She also called the global warming theory supported by Kempthrone and most scientists "unreliable", and asserted that human activity has not caused Arctic ice to melt.

Wow.. what fodder for the news! McCain has confirmed Obama's criticism of the Republican ticket in dramatic fashion.
McCain must be banking on the short time between now and November 4 will not be enough time for people to really understand the risks of this person sitting next to a 72 year old president who has fought cancer 4 times.