John McSame: Things Are REALLY Gonna Be Different Now...

Yeah. Right. Great segment. Best part stats about at about six minutes.



Funny how Bush and McSame said, well, the same thing. And, oh, yeah. Things have REALLY been different. Different from the much safe days of Clinton. The more prosperous days of Clinton.

In other words, they've sucked.

This nation should not have trusted Bush then. And they shouldn't trust McCain now. He's a liar. Plain. Simple. Fact.

Oddly, though, the MAJORITY of the nation did NOT trust Bush in 2000. Nor did they in 2004. It's called stealing an election as a result of having Reagan's (or, as my father-in-law calls him, Ray-Gun) Supreme Court.

Quality Post, and SO True!

My friend Kylopod had great post a few days ago and makes a compelling point. I especially loved the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy analogy. It EXACTLY describes the Republican party and its complete hypocrisy.

Here's the comment I made:

Excellent post, except I have the sinking feeling many people are going to be stupid enough to fall for McCain's gambit and vote for him because of her. I'm praying it doesn't happen. As you know from my blog, I think, as do well as millions of others, that another four years of Republicans would be a complete disaster for this country.

I love the Republican mantra of "we're better for the security of this country," or "we'll keep this country safe from Islamic extremists." They figure, correctly in many, many cases, that this mantra will erase any other possible concerns Americans may have. You know, REAL issues. What the masses seem to stupid to understand (and I JUST DON'T GET IT!!!), is that the more the Republicans rape this country, the LESS secure it'll be. Militarily because we're already stretched so thin and financially because the more jobs are shipped overseas, the less the US is able to support itself.

People seem to forget: 9/11 happened under BUSH'S watch, NOT Clinton's. In fact, as I understand it, Clinton WARNED Bush something was brewing, and the Idiot, in his normal brash dismissal of anything coming from a Democrat, ignored the warnings. Oops.

In other words, the Republicans kept us LESS safe, not MORE.

Personally, I will be VERY ashamed of the United States if McCain gets elected. It'll just show how easily duped Americans can be.

Well, I can only pray it DOESN'T happen...

Quote of the Day

Said Obama about the Republican Party:

"You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," he said to an outburst of laughter and applause from his audience in Lebanon, Va., Tuesday. "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, but it's still going to stink after eight years."

Heh. Ain't THAT the truth.

ANYthing for a Vote?

What Health Insurance Companies Make You Do...

Same goes for my personal health pet peeve, obesity. Insurance will cover neither medically supervised weight loss nor bariatric surgery (at least not the whole thing). Yet, should I actually come down with diabetes, cancer, breathing problems, cellulitis, heart problems, high blood pressure, and more than ten other issues (there are about seventeen medical problems caused by obesity), THAT they'll actually cover.

In other words, they'll spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on all the health problems obesity causes, but they won't cover a patient getting rid of the cause of all those problems, obesity. In other words, they'll treat the symptoms, which are all those other diseases, but they won't treat the actual disease because they, in their infinite stupidity and idiocy, don't consider it a disease.

GREAT "Family Values" There...

Hillary Clinton was campaigning last week for Mike McMahon for Congress (House). McMahon is running for a seat recently vacated by a Republican. Why is the Republican NOT seeking reelection?

Democrat Mike McMahon is running for a congressional seat being vacated by Republican Vito Fossella.

Fossella decided not to seek re-election after a drunken driving arrest and a revelation that he fathered a child outside his marriage.

Hm. A Republican with a negligible conscience. Gee. What a surprise.

And yes, I know Democrats can sometimes be just as bad (ex-governor Spitzer comes to mind), but it seems these indiscretions happen far more often with Republicans than they do with Democrats, and especially Republicans who vocally despise anyone without their version of "family values."

Random Cool Factoid of the Day (To Make Up for No Random Wednesday This Week)

UPS driver in, of all places, Palestine, TX, has driven the same UPS truck over the last 22 years and reached the million mile mark on his truck!

PALESTINE, Texas - A routine package delivery turned into a milestone for a UPS driver in East Texas.

Brent Boyd on Thursday surpassed 1 million miles on his UPS delivery van, the same vehicle he's driven for 22 years with the company.

The odometer on Boyd's 1987 GMC truck rolled over to all zeros as he began his delivery route near Palestine (PAL'-uh-steen).

The 51-year-old says he's never had an accident with his company vehicle.

Boyd told The Associated Press that his truck has gone through at least three engines and been repainted almost as many times.

But he's resisted offers for a new van. Boyd says the truck is "like home" and feels like "sitting in the recliner in your house."

All he needs is a beer and a widescreen TV! And pork rinds! :-)

Laughter IS the Best Medicine

Especially when it's watching Republican idiots try to apologize by lying. First, the article:

WASHINGTON - Democrats are calling on a Republican congressman from Georgia to apologize for referring to Barack and Michelle Obama as "uppity," but the lawmaker stood by his comments and said he meant no offense.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Grantville, Ga., described the Obamas as members of an "elitist-class ... that thinks that they're uppity," according to The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Asked to clarify whether he intended to use the word, he said, "Yeah, uppity."

In a statement Friday, Westmoreland — who was born in 1950 and raised in the segregated South — said he didn't know that "uppity" was commonly used as a derogatory term for blacks seeking equal treatment. Instead, he referred to the dictionary definition of the word as describing someone who is haughty, snobbish or has inflated self-esteem.

"He stands by that characterization and thinks it accurately describes the Democratic nominee," said Brian Robinson, Westmoreland's spokesman. "He was unaware that the word had racial overtones and he had absolutely no intention of using a word that can be considered offensive."

The Obama campaign had no immediate response. But the head of the Georgia Democratic Party called on Westmoreland to apologize, saying his comments were "more of the same, tired old politics that are dividing this country."

"The fact is, political attacks like this don't lower gas prices one cent, they don't give one more American access to affordable health care, and they don't get one more Georgian a job that pays the mortgage," Jane Kidd said. "Lynn Westmoreland should be ashamed of himself."

Westmoreland is one of the most conservative members of Congress. He has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates on a number of issues, including last year when he led opposition to renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He also was one of two House members last year who opposed giving the Justice Department more money to crack unsolved civil rights killings.

Ok. Dude born in 1950 in the deep South, was a teenager during the Civil Rights movement, and he doesn't know that the word "uppity" is derogatory?! Bullshit. The guy's a straight out liar.

As the article notes, this guy is a super conservative who opposed renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In other words, he WANTS to take away from people the right to vote based on race/color. He also wants to STOP the Justice Department from cracking down on racial crime.

In case anyone doesn't know, here's some info on the Voting Rights Act.

Didn't know what "uppity" really meant. That's like saying Henry Ford didn't know what the word "Kyke" meant and didn't mean anything by his anti-Semitism.

Bottom line: Republicans, please, PLEASE keep opening your collective mouths and let the sewer from within flow out for all to hear, see, and smell. You're doing a great job and if you continue, a Democratic victory should be assured. So, again, please keep it up!

STILL Not a Recession?!

Not according to the Idiot in the White House and his cronies. AP article published today: 

Jobless rate jumps to 5-year high of 6.1 percent

JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.

The Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the increasing toll the housing, credit and financial crises are taking on the economy.

The report rattled Wall Street again. The Dow Jones industrial averagewas down nearly 100 points in morning trading. All the major stock indexes tumbled into bear territory Thursday as investors lost hope of a late-year recovery. With the employment situation deteriorating, there's growing worry that consumers will recoil, throwing the economy into a tailspin later this year or early next year.

The jobless rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, from 5.7 percent in July. And, employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row. Job losses in June and July turned out to be much deeper. The economy lost a whopping 100,000 jobs in June and another 60,000 in July, according to revised figures. Previously, the government reported job losses at 51,000 in each of those months.

So far this year, job losses totaled 605,000.

The latest snapshot was worse than economists were forecasting. They were predicting payrolls would drop by around 75,000 in August and the jobless rate to tick up a notch, to 5.8 percent. The grim news comes as the race for the White House kicks into high gear. The economy's troubles are Americans' top worry.

"With the unemployment rate over 6 percent, it is a clear warning sign that this economy is continuing to soften faster than we thought. It is a real concern," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "Businesses have decided to hunker down. They are not hiring, and they are paring workers where they can. That is making things pretty tough out there."

Wachovia Corp., Ford Motor Co., Tyson Foods Inc. and Alcoa Inc. were among the companies announcing job cuts in August. GMAC Financial Services this week said it would lay off 5,000 workers.

Job losses in August were widespread, the government report showed.

Factories cut 61,000 jobs, with housing-related manufacturers and automakers among the hardest hit. Construction firms eliminated 8,000 jobs, retailers axed 20,000 slots, professional and business services slashed 53,000 positions and leisure and hospitality got rid of 4,000. Those losses swamped employment gains in the government, education and health.

Job losses at all private employers — not including government — came to 101,000 in August.

The government said workers age 25 and older accounted for all the increase in unemployment in August.

All told, the number of unemployed rose to 9.4 million in August, compared with 7.1 million a year ago. Economists predict more job losses ahead, pushing the jobless rate to 7 percent by the fall, according to some projections.

Nearly ten MILLION jobless people. In large part because of the housing crash. You know, the bubble? The one they said couldn't pop but did?

It's time to start facing reality. This economy is not, as McFantasyland said, fundamentally strong, unless you're talking about the religious Right. Yeah, those nuts are fundamentally strong (get the pun?).

But the economy SUCKS. The Reps have caused it. Now it's time for the Democrats to clean up the mess.

Palin's Speech Effect on Campaign Fundraising

Now, this is really funny. Within 24 hours after Palin's speech, the Republican National Committee announced it had raised over a million dollars.

Obama's campaign, on the other hand, announced it had raised over TEN MILLION DOLLARS in response to the speech...

Thanks, Sarah!

Double Talk

The whole episode was great, but this is the best of the best.

Here's what happens in the media age when people DO remember what was said several months ago.



It's called putting your foot so far in your mouth, it comes out the other end...

Check out the entire episode here.

The Right Reaction

Obama had the correct reaction today when interviewed in York, PA about being attacked at the Republican National Convention:

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Thursday shrugged off the criticisms from the Republican convention, saying he's been called worse on the basketball court.

Republicans are going on the attack because they did not have any ideas or concrete plans to help improve the lives of ordinary Americans, Obama told reporters after touring a factory that makes hydro-energy equipment in York, Pennsylvania.

"They've spent the entire two nights attacking me or extolling John McCain's biography, which is fine," said Obama, who faces Republican John McCain in the November election.

"They can use their convention time any way they want, but you can't expect that I'd be surprised by attacks from Republicans," Obama said.

The U.S. senator from Illinois has taken some sharp barbs from Republicans, who nominated Ariz. Sen. John McCain as their presidential candidate at their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, this week.

In her speech on Wednesday, the Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, mocked Obama's education, career choices, legislative record, policy proposals, speaking skills and ability to attract large crowds.

And from an email from Obama himself:

Why would the Republicans spend a whole night of their convention attacking ordinary people?

With the nation watching, the Republicans mocked, dismissed, and actually laughed out loud at Americans who engage in community service and organizing.

Our convention was different. We gave the stage to everyday Americans who hunger for change and stepped up to make phone calls, knock on doors, and raise money in small amounts in their communities.

You may have missed it, but we also showed the country a video with the faces and voices of those organizers, volunteers, and donors from every corner of the country.

What you didn't hear from the Republicans at their convention is a single new idea about how to make the healthcare system work, get our economy moving for the middle class, or improve education.

Just attacks -- on me, and on you.

But what the McCain attack squad doesn't understand is that people like you -- who devote part of their busy lives to organizing and building their communities -- have the power to change this country.

Isn't that lovely? The Republicans LAUGH at people who help other people. What a lovely gang. Time for it to go off into the sunset and make room for another party, one that actually cares about the American people.

Stretching the Truth - Until It BREAKS!!!

A friend forwarded this article to me today. It speaks for itself. And for all those "Obama's gonna raise taxes" naysayers: Um, no. He won't.  Thanks, Jeff! 

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press WriterWed Sep 3, 11:48 PM ET

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

 

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroyconventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work ofRepublican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

 

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

 

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

 

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

 

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

 

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and electJohn McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

New Nickname for Caribou Barbie Palin...

From an AP article today:

Environmentalists have nicknamed Palin the "killa from Wasilla," a reference to the small town where she formerly was mayor.

That rocks! And she is, too. Check out the article here. It's from Yahoo!, and the links don't last too long.

On a TOTALLY Different Topic

My son has been in school since Tuesday. Full day. Finally. My daughter started her full program today. It's only three and a half hours, but I'm getting lots accomplished already! Work is going Ok. I may even have a couple of deals just about ready to go to contract and wrap up, which would be FANTASTIC as I haven't been able to close anything since last October. God Willing, I hope to have a couple of deals, maybe even three, done by mid to late September.

The great thing about the kids being in school? It is so incredibly quiet in the house, you could hear a pin drop! I miss the kids, but this is HEAVEN!!! :-)

Drilling for Oil

This part of Palin's speech caught my eye yesterday when the McCain campaign released some excerpts of her speech to the media This quote is directly from the transcript, including the audience's laughing response:

Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already. (Laughter.) But the fact -- the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Ok, so you're admitting drilling won't solve the crisis, but hell, go ahead and do it anyway?! What for? So you can destroy even more of the environment? And in doing so provide no actual VIABLE solution?! What the hell kind of a suggestion IS that?

Giuliani and the Politics of Fear...

Quote from Dictator wannabe, Rudy Giuliani:

Giuliani said McCain "will keep us on offense against terrorism at home and abroad."

Alluding to last week's Democratic National Convention, he added: "Of great concern to me, during those same four days in Denver, they rarely mentioned the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They are in a state of denial about the biggest threat that faces this country. And if you deny it and you don't deal with it, you can't face it."

What a DUMB statement!!! First of all, not to belittle 9/11, but it was almost eight years ago. In order to heal, this country MUST move on from that tragedy. Using 9/11 as a reason to get elected is RIDICULOUS. And accusing Obama and Biden of not alluding to it means Obama and Biden are living in the PRESENT, not the past, and are focussed on the problems of the present, NOT the past. Yes, terrorism IS still a threat, but NOT in Iraq. We all know the Idiot in the White House duped the nation into his illegal Iraq war. There's no denial here. There IS, however, dealing with current problems the current administration has created. The ones the Democrats are going to have to fix because the Republicans refuse to help regular Americans.

Same Old, Same Old...

So, it seems this is the extent of Sarah Palin's speech last night:

"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change." said Palin, toying with the central theme in Obama's campaign.

Palin's 19-year-old son, Track, ships out for Iraq next week with his Army unit. The governor was unflinching as she contrasted McCain's military record with a lack of armed service by Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

"There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death — and that man is John McCain," said Palin.

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities," she said in a swipe at Obama's own early career in Chicago.

Democrats argue that McCain, by picking the relatively untested and unknown Palin, had ceded his argument that Obama was too inexperienced to be president.

Palin also found Obama's lofty style of rhetoric wanting and devoid of details of where he would take the country if elected although she offered few policy specifics of her own.

"Listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform -- not even in the (Illinois) state senate... What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?" she asked.

This all pretty much seems to be the extent of Palin's speech.

Let's recap.

The lie: She accused Obama of using change to promote his career and praised McSame for using his career to promot change. Except for one problem. The truth: McSame votes, when it actually matters, solidly with the Republicans on EVERYTHING. So how is that using a career to bring about change?

The lie: Military experience automatically qualifies one to be president. McCain served and was a POW (and Palin's son ships out to Iraq next week which, she implies, makes HER qualified to be VP), Obama and Biden didn't. Therefore, McCain is qualified to be president and Obama isn't. The truth: Being a military man and a POW does NOT make one qualified to be president and Commander and Chief. Sound judgement, like bringing the troops home from Iraq responsibly and shoring up forces in Afghanistan, which Obama firmly believes in doing, makes much more of a logical choice than "I served. Therefore I should be president." Further, serving as president is much more than just running a war. And McCain has never even RUN a war. And he's weak on economy, social reform, and wants to make abortion completely illegal. As does Sarah Palin.

The lie: A community organizer has NO responsibility. The truth: While she made reference to Obama's gaffe about gun-toting religious small town people who cling to their guns and religion when times are bad, presumably showing how Obama doesn't really care about the working class, Palin herself here more than implies that community organizing, which is a very important first step in politics, especially when the goal is the RESPONSIBILITY of helping people find jobs and get back on their feet again, is basically unimportant. In other words, Palin here did the exact same thing she accuses Obama of doing several months ago. She says community organizers have no responsibility to the people they are helping. But, I guess when Sarah Palin says it, it's OK.

The lie: Obama has authored no laws or reforms. The truth: Obama worked hard in the Illinois senate to help poor people, including providing healthcare to children whose parents could not afford it. His track record is long, the Republicans choose to ignore it and would have everyone believe Obama is a child completely inexperienced at politics. Except for one thing. The Republicans seem to think NO ONE has internet access to check these things. They really don't seem to understand people CAN think for themselves and that people, when sick of one party for completely screwing things up, will look to the other party with the track record of economic prosperity to put things back and make them right.

The lie: There's nothing wrong with the environment. The truth: What else do you expect from a gun-toting, religious fringe nut job who hunts and doesn't want to protect the environment, especially that of her own beautiful state, and was against putting polar bears on endangered species list (since doing so mean there IS something wrong) and from someone who firmly disbelieves pollution and screwing up the environment is man-made?

And all this while her five month pregnant daughter, Bristol, and her "fiance" who knocked her up and is being forced to "do the right thing" and marry her were sitting there... Lovely.

So, did she actually make any real proposals for this country? Hm. No.

In other words, once you get past her bullshit rhetoric, she's said absolutely NOTHING. In fact, she's accused Obama of the same thing, except Obama AND Biden have spelled out the reforms and plans they want to put in place. All Palin did was praise McSame's military service and mock Obama.

Some VP candidate...

Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy Caught On Tape Disparaging Palin Choice: "It's Over," "Political Bullshit," "Gimmicky"

Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy Caught On Tape Disparaging Palin Choice. Take a listen and a read at the transcripts. Bottom line? Even Republicans really think the choice of Sarah Palin was a really bad choice...

Experience - a Comparison

From my friend Jeff:

McCain says that Obama isn't "experienced". Most others say that Palin isn't experienced. Let's look at a timeline and compare and contrast, shall we?

 

1979

• Obama a backbencher on high school basketball team that wins state championship

1982

• Palin captain on high school basketball team that wins state championship

 

1983

• Obama graduates from Columbia University. Works for a business research company, then becomes community organizer in poor section of Chicago.

1984

• Palin wins "Miss Wasilla" pageant and places second in statewide beauty contest.

 

1987

• Palin graduates from University of Idaho, works in television sports and family fishing business.

1988

• Obama enters Harvard Law School.

 

1990

• Obama becomes first black editor of prestigious Harvard Law Review.

1992

• Obama runs Project Vote!, which registers 150,000 new voters in Chicago, then begins teaching law at University of Chicago.

• Palin wins city council seat in Wasilla, an Alaska town of about 5,500.

1993

• Obama joins law firm specializing in civil rights cases.

1995

• Obama publishes "Dreams from My Father," a well-reviewed memoir about growing up in America with an absent African father.

 

1996

• Obama elected a state senator.

• Palin elected mayor of Wasilla.

 

2000

• Obama defeated in effort to unseat U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.

2002

• Obama speaks out against invading Iraq.

• Palin loses Republican primary for Alaska lieutenant governor

 

2003

• In biggest year of his legislative career, Obama passes legislation requiring police to record interrogations in murder cases, collect data on race of drivers they pull over.

• Palin appointed to Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

 

2004

• Obama delivers keynote address at Democratic convention, elected to U.S. Senate.

• Palin investigates conduct of a commission member, who ultimately resigns. She later files ethics complaint against state's Republican attorney general, who also resigns.

2006

• Obama publishes "The Audacity of Hope," a book detailing his views on national affairs.

• Palin elected first female governor of Alaska.

 

2007

• Obama launches presidential campaign.

• Palin overhauls state ethics laws, pushes to build a natural gas pipeline despite opposition from oil industry.

 

2008

• Obama wins marathon Democratic primary against Hillary Rodham Clinton and raises record amounts of money

• Alaska legislators probe whether Palin improperly pressured officials to fire her sister's ex-husband, a state trooper.

 

Governor Palin TRULY is the loser in the compare and contrast and Fox Noise and the Rep Party's claims that she is more experienced than Obama.

The Republican Convention Schedule - Spotted By My Father-In-Law

In the 9/2/08 edition of the New York Times:

60 Minutes Interview with Barack Obama and Joe Biden

Appealing to Women/Hillary Supporters?!

From an AP article:

Palin, who has been in St. Paul since Sunday but out of sight, has a chance Wednesday to speak above the media din and present herself directly to voters as a strong-willed reformer and a solid conservative with appeal to women, including supporters of failed Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In what possible way?! She's the complete Anti-Hillary! There is NOTHING about her that could POSSIBLY appeal to Hillary supporters!

What because she's a "hockey mom?" Big Whoop. What the hell kind of a hockey mom shows up for work three days after giving birth to a child (with Down Syndrome, no less)?! What the hell kind of "family values" are they when you don't even stay in the hospital or at home to be with your brand new baby? What the hell kind of "family values" do you have when you simply can't be BOTHERED to be with your baby for more than three days?

"Family values" my white, American, Israeli, Bulgarian, Romanian, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Jewish behind. Heh. No wonder it's so big...

Why Republicans Will Vote for McPalin

From an AP article:

Republicans like her anti-abortion and pro-gun stances

THIS is a reason to vote for someone?!

By the way, a few months ago I mentioned that allowing Republicans to continue to be in power, especially since the GOP is moving further and further to the right, will lead, among MANY other things, Fascism being one of them, to a huge loss of women's rights. Well, this election goes to prove this. John McCain is against abortion and even supports the idea of adding an amendment to the Constitution to that effect.

Sarah Palin is even worse. She is not only anti-abortion in general, which I can understand. She is also against abortion in case of rape, incest, AND, most importantly, she's even against abortion WHEN THE PREGNANCY IS A DANGER TO THE MOTHER'S LIFE.

Now, halacha is very clear. If the fetus endangers the mother's life, abortion is necessary and permitted. There are disagreements about cases of rape and incest, but there are many poskim, mainstream Rabbonim, who say abortion is absolutely allowed in these cases. In fact, some poskim, in the case of incest, say it's actually a Mitzvah to abort.

So guess what? Voting for McPalin means voting against women. Period. End of story. Is this what this country wants? A backtracking in women's hard-fought rights?

And for all those nay-sayers who claimed it could not and would not go that far? I get to say: I TOLD YOU SO.

McCain - Not Really Living in the Real World...

The following is a very interesting article about how McCain touting Palin as more experienced than Obama. Except he's either grossly misinformed or a liar. Or both.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain says his vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, was already an experienced government official while his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, was working as a community organizer.

She wasn't. Palin was finishing college, getting married and working as a TV sportscaster when Obama was directing a church-based community group on Chicago's South Side in 1985-88.

McCain sought to make the comparison in an appearance on Fox News Sunday, criticizing Obama as too inexperienced to be in the White House despite his choice of a running mate who's also being called too unseasoned for that role.

Palin: Finishing college. A sportscaster. GREAT political experience there. Meanwhile, Obama was ALREADY changing lives and making living on Chicago's South Side better.

Challenged about his vice presidential choice, McCain said as governor of Alaska for the last two years, Palin "has had enormous responsibilities, none of which Senator Obama had." Later, McCain elaborated that "as a governor, she has had executive experience. She didn't sit in the state legislature."

The same contrast could be made with McCain himself, whose entire 26-year political career has been spent in Congress.

It's true that in recent years, more presidents have come from governorships than from legislative bodies. But it's a stretch to argue that running the statehouse in a small state is ideal preparation for the issues that will confront the next president, from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to coping with a half-trillion-dollar budget deficit and serious energy and health-care problems.

So, if McCain has no executive experience, how is HE any more qualified than Obama?

Further, they were saying the same thing about Clinton in 1992, except he HAD been governor of Arkansas, a much more populated state than Alaska, for years at that point. So, I guess that means that someone who'd been governor for a whole twenty months is more qualified than Clinton was. Oh, and Clinton, despite his personal shortcomings, did a great job as president. His only real POLITICAL faux pas was NAFTA, and I don't think he realized how bad that would turn out.

Also, McCain's been in politics for 26 years. That's only about five years less than Obama, considering he was a community organizer (meaning he was involved in local Chicago politics) in 1985.

In the same interview, McCain continued the theme, noting that "when she was in government, he was a community organizer."

That's incorrect. When Palin was first elected to the town council in Wasilla, Alaska, in the fall of 1992, Obama was wrapping up work in Chicago on a voter-registration drive. When that job ended, he joined a Chicago law firm and became a lecturer at the University of Chicago law school, and the Chicago Tribune picked him as one of "25 Chicagoans on the road to making a difference."

Obama's community organizing career had come years earlier, in 1985-88.

Somebody's REALLY got to get his facts straight. The man looks like an idiot! Further, even if Obama HAD been a community organizer in 1992, which he wasn't, all Palin was was a city councilwoman for a town of 9,000. BFD.

And, finally:

McCain also highlighted what he termed Palin's independent streak, praising her for often bucking her own party leaders.

"When she was taking tough positions against her own party, Senator Obama was voting 'present' 130 times in the state legislature, on every tough issue, whatever it was," McCain said.

That charge was reminiscent of attacks waged on Obama by his fellow Democrats during this year's primary campaign, including Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

It's true that Obama voted "present" dozens of times, part of the thousands of votes he cast in an eight-year span in Springfield. Illinois lawmakers commonly vote that way on a variety of issues, and he has countered that many of those votes were cast because of technical or legal considerations about the underlying legislation.

Often, Obama voted "present" with large groups of other Democrats to protest what they saw as Republican trickery or abuse of power. Other times, voting that way sends a message that a lawmaker supports a bill's intent, but has concerns about how the legislation is drafted. Voting this way also can be a way to duck a difficult issue, as McCain charged, although that's difficult to prove.

There are also cases where legislators vote "present" as part of a strategy. Obama did this on some abortion measures, voting "present" to encourage some wavering legislators to do the same instead of voting "yes". Their "present" votes had the same effect as "no" votes, so getting them to vote present helped defeat the bills.

Get that last part? Obama knows how to play the system. He knows how to get the vote to go the correct way, sometimes without even putting people on the spot.

On the other hand, McHypocrite voted against the ban on torture earlier this year, even though he firmly believes waterboarding is torture...

So, where does Mc-I-Don't-Know-Anything go from here? The problem is McCain doesn't realize we live in the information age, when pretty much anything can be found out online, and when information retrieval is instantaneous. He just doesn't get it. You can't go on national TV anymore and lie and figure people will just believe it with so much information available at our fingertips. You just can't.

He's going to have to learn better tactics, and let's hope he doesn't. The elections are nine weeks from today. Let's hope Obama/Biden pack a one-two punch all the way to the White House.

(Article above was posted by the Associated Press.)

On the Other Foot

The McRepublicans sure don't like when the smear is against THEM instead of them smearing against the Democrats:

ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain's campaign said Tuesday that rival Barack Obama's campaign was spreading "smears" about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's past political affiliations. Yet, some of Palin's previous political activities are a matter of dispute.

At issue are claims by members of the Alaskan Independence Party that Palin was once associated with it. The party, some of whose members have advocated secession from the United States, wants to place all federal lands in Alaska under state control.

The McCain campaign released voter registration documents Tuesday dating to 1990 in which Palin lists herself as a Republican. Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982, and has never been a member of the Alaskan Independence Party.

Palin addressed the Independence Party's state convention by video earlier this year, welcoming the party to Fairbanks. She gave no indication of a current or past connection to the party.

"Your party plays an important role in our state's politics," she said in the video, which is posted on the party's Web site. "I've always said that competition is so good, and that applies to political parties as well."

Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, told ABC News that Palin and her husband, Todd, belonged to the party in 1994. Mark Chryson, chairman of the Independence Party from 1995 to 2002, told the network that Palin attended the party's convention in 1994. He said he was not certain if she was a party member, and party records do not date back that far.

Obama advisers and surrogates have also linked Palin to conservative former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. An Associated Press story from Alaska, dated July 17, 1999, states that Palin, then the mayor of the small town of Wasilla, was wearing a Buchanan button during a Buchanan visit to Alaska.

The Miami Herald this week quoted an e-mail from Obama Florida spokesman Mark Bubriski that stated: "Palin was a supporter of Pat Buchanan, a right-winger or as many Jews call him: a Nazi sympathizer."

The McCain campaign says Palin supported Steve Forbes' campaign in 1999.

"Supporters of Barack Obama are engaged in an unfortunate and nasty smear campaign," said Rogers, the McCain spokesman.

While Obama advisers and surrogates have drawn attention to Palin's political associations, the campaign has strictly avoided any comment on issues related to Palin's family, specifically anything focused on her 17-year-old daughter's out-of wedlock pregnancy.

"I think people's families are off limits and people's children are especially off limits," Obama said Monday.

Again, I don't know whether any of these allegations are true, but even if they are, the Obama campaign itself is NOT doing the smear. When the Republicans smear, though, it IS their campaigns that do the smearing.

How's it feel, McRepublicans?

Cindy McCain - Be Careful What You Say...

Said the Barbie Doll today to Fox Noise:

"I just think she's remarkable. She truly is a great match for my husband."

Um. Careful there... Let's hope she's not TOO great a match, if you know what I mean... :-)

On a Bittersweet Note...

The very last For Better or for Worse. I literally grew up WITH these characters. The character of Michael, the oldest son, is about a year or two younger than I am. I will really miss this comic strip.

Sarah Palin and Pregnancy

As I stated before, this whole thing with Palin and Trig and Bristol is probably false. More likely, as I've also stated, it may well be a conspiracy of the Republicans to lessen the impact of volunteering that Palin's daughter is currently pregnant.

But, I'd like to know how it feels for the shoe, as the cliche goes, to be on the other foot. Will the stigma stick? I hope so. I'm not looking to smear or for anyone to be smeared, but maybe this can act as a lesson to the Right that smearing CAN work in both directions and is stupid in either case.

One of the REAL Issues This Political Season

The Economy. It sucks. The Republicans have COMPLETELY messed it up, and more people are out of work today than have been in years.

Pretty Good Article...

...By Arianna Huffington about why even Sarah Palin's seemingly clean past and lack of GOP experience can't clean up the GOP itself.

Saving the GOP and The Unbearable Lightness of Being Sarah Palin

Conspiracy? Maybe...

So, we figured it's one of two things with the Sarah Palin/Bristol/Trig/pregnancy thing. EITHER the Republicans leaked the Trig thing as a rumor in an effort to make the current, REAL pregnancy not seem so bad, OR both are true, and the current pregnancy is to cover up the Trig pregnancy. After all, there's an awful lot of protestation going on regarding little Trig.

Either way, Bristol marrying the father of her child is just WRONG. I mentioned my parents in the previous post. Their marriage was, and still is, a really crappy marriage. Had my dad NOT married my mom, perhaps he'd have come back to the US (they were in Israel) and finished his interrupted college education. He didn't. They were, and are, quite miserable. My dad sometimes made money and most times didn't do so well. My mom is miserable and, after 45 years of marriage being put down and dumbed down by my father (he's been inadequate in many ways and had to take it on her once my sister and I left - he took it out on us while we lived at home as well), incapable of caring for herself at this point but is forced to care not only for herself but for him as well. Not a happy marriage.

Same applies for most forced marriages like this. Oh, sure, Sarah Palin said her daughter decided for herself to keep the baby and marry its father. Very nice. Probably a complete and utter lie. Bristol, and the boy, were probably informed by their respective parents that they were getting married because "it's the right thing to do." We're talking about teenagers here. I can't imagine any teenager understanding what this means for the rest of his/her life. And I'm SURE the boy is not too happy either. And I am shocked and dismayed that either set of parents would EVER allow this type of a marriage to take place, pregnancy or no pregnancy. That's NOT what family values are about. This is not moral behavior.

Why is it immoral to have sex before marriage but NOT immoral to force a marriage between people who are so young they don't even know what marriage is? Having them get married doesn't solve any problem, assuming there IS a problem in the first place, which there isn't here.

GUESS WHO'S PREGNANT?

Paris Hilton? Nope. Brittany Spears? Nope? Her sister? Nope.

None of the above.

It's BRISTOL PALIN:

September 1, 2008, 12:16 PM
Palin’s Daughter Pregnant
Posted by Vaughn Ververs| 16
CBS News

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced that her 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant. The announcement is “intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child,” says the Reuters news service, which carried the first report.

In a statement, the Palin family says that Bristol Palin is “about five months pregnant” and that she intends to marry the father. “We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," the Palins said in the statement. "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”

The Palin family asked the media to “respect our daughter” and her privacy. According to the Reuters report, John McCain’s campaign was aware of the pregnancy when the Arizona senator selected Palin to be his running mate last week.

Update: The following is the full Palin statement as released by the McCain campaign:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support."

"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

I can respect the request for privacy. Heck, I can even relate. My mom was pregnant with my sister before she got married. Of course they weren't religious at the time. Sarah Palin and her family ARE. VERY MUCH SO.

Here's an article from the International Herald Tribune.

And this from the Independent (UK):

McCain officials said the news of the daughter's pregnancy was being released to rebut what one aide called "mud-slinging and lies" circulating on liberal blog sites.

According to these rumors, Sarah Palin had faked a pregnancy and pretended to have given birth in May to her fifth child, a son named Trig who has Down syndrome. The rumor was that Trig was actually Bristol Palin's child and that Sarah Palin was the grandmother.

A senior McCain campaign official said the McCain camp was appalled that these rumors had not only been spread around liberal blog sites and partisan Democrats, but also were the subject of heightened interest from mainstream news media.

"The despicable rumors that have been spread by liberal blogs, some even with Barack Obama's name in them, is a real anchor around the Democratic ticket, pulling them down in the mud in a way that certainly juxtaposes themselves against their 'campaign of change,'" a senior aide said.

Methinks they doth protest TOO MUCH about those rumors from yesterday about Trig Palin being Bristol's son, NOT Sarah's.

Now, this isn't 1952 where the pregnant mother and her boyfriend need to "do the right thing" and make the mistake of getting married at 17 years old. It may end well, but it usually doesn't.

Finally, THESE are the Right Wing "Family Values" the Republican party espouses?! That's ridiculous and completely hypocritical, but what can you expect from the party of The Idiot, The Puppet Master (Cheney), McFlip-Flop, Larry "I am not nor have I ever been gay" Craig, and pastor anti-Semite Hagee?

Point is, this election isn't, and shouldn't be, about "family values." The Republicans don't have a monopoly on the concept. Quite the opposite, in fact. NO ONE has a monopoly on "family values," a concept that can be different from region to region and from one religion (or even WITHIN one single religion) to another. No party, region, group, or religion has a monopoly, and the Republicans screw up what THEY consider to be family values just as much as Democrats, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or anyone else. And this is a prime example. Here's Sarah Palin, an ultra-conservative, extreme Right Christian. And her seventeen year old daughter is now pregnant, and, if the rumors are true, this may not even be Bristol's first pregnancy. And if it's not, there are some criminal charges that may come up, including falsifying medical records.

So, I'm not telling (at least right now) anyone how to vote. I am saying, don't vote based on some vague concept of "family values" on which the Right Wing, Republican party claims to have a monopoly. They just don't.

He's Got More Waffles, Than a House of Pancakes...

(Line about John Kerry in 2004's JibJab's "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land.)

Waterboarding. Torture or not? Well, originally, John McCain was AGAINST waterboarding. From the Huffington Post, February 18, 2008:

Today, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, containing a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that establishes one interrogation standard, requiring the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual and banning waterboarding.

Just hours ago, the Senate voted in favor of the bill, 51-45.

Earlier today, ThinkProgress noted that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war, has spoken strongly in favor of implementing the Army Field Manual standard. When confronted today with the decision of whether to stick with his conscience or cave to the right wing, McCain chose to ditch his principles and instead vote to preserve waterboarding:

Mr. McCain, a former prisoner of war, has consistently voiced opposition to waterboarding and other methods that critics say is a form torture. But the Republicans, confident of a White House veto, did not mount the challenge. Mr. McCain voted "no" on Wednesday afternoon.

So. He flip-flopped.

Today, he flip-flopped BACK:

ST LOUIS (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, on Sunday issued some of his harshest criticism to date of the use of torture against terrorism suspects during President George W. Bush's administration.

In an interview on Fox News, the Arizona senator laid out his differences with Bush on a number of issues, citing torture as a key sticking point between him and the current president.

"I obviously don't want to torture any prisoners. There is a long list of areas that we were in disagreement on," McCain said of Bush.

Fox interviewer Chris Wallace asked McCain if he was suggesting that Bush did want to torture prisoners.

"Well, waterboarding to me is torture, OK?" McCain responded. "And waterboarding was advocated by the administration, and according to a published report, was used."

Bush has said the United States does not practice torture. But the Central Intelligence Agency has admitted using waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning, and a recent Justice Department probe cited cases of sleep disruption, "short shackling" and other physical techniques against terrorism suspects captured after the September 11 attacks.

McCain suffered torture at the hands of his captors during more than five years in a Vietnam prison camp.

Though a strong advocate of the war in Iraq and Bush's "surge" policy that increased U.S. troop levels there, McCain has been a critic of harsh interrogation techniques against terrorism suspects, including those held at the U.S. military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Um. Ok, John McFlip-Flop. Which one is it? Is it torture, or is it NOT torture? Of course the administration allowed the use of waterboarding. YOU VOTED TO AUTHORIZE IT!!!

McCain criticizes Bush on torture of prisoners - Reuters.

So, who's flip-flopping now?