Sunday, December 28, 2008
I'm at the Cardinals game
Saturday, December 27, 2008
A not-so-pale charred dot
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Year In Review Pt. III
I've only seen two of these pics. But I'm trying to see a couple more before the end of the year.
Coal in the stocking
But the mall parking lots still seemed full to me. But when I wandered the mall and store aisles I sensed that the place was actually less crowded, and the check out lines were much shorter. So my guess is that the holiday retail sales figures will be from average to horrible. And most stores won't be able to make it with average or below average sales figures.
Here is Kevin Drum noting a report on this from another angle:
NIGHTMARE ON MAIN STREET....From the Wall Street Journal, this is as gruesome a statistic as I've seen yet:UGLY!Corporate-turnaround experts and bankruptcy lawyers are predicting a wave of retailer bankruptcies early next year, after being contacted by big and small retailers either preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection or scrambling to avoid that fate.
....AlixPartners LLP, a Michigan-based turnaround consulting firm, estimates that 25.8% of 182 large retailers it tracks are at significant risk of filing for bankruptcy or facing financial distress in 2009 or 2010....Recent changes in the bankruptcy code make it more difficult for retailers to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization....Lawrence Gottlieb, a New York bankruptcy attorney at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP says that only two retailers have successfully emerged from bankruptcy proceedings since the amendments to the code were passed.
A quarter of all major retailers may be in either Chapter 11 or liquidation next year? Holy cow.
We're buying caramel apples at
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Watch Rachel Maddow dammit!
Watch it here:
"Maddow Busts Morgan Stanley Board Member for Lack of Transparency
Thankfully, when I pointed Tyson's conflict of interest out to Maddow and her show's staff, they did the responsible thing and made a big effort to inform viewers about what happened. Indeed, in doing this follow-up piece, the Rachel Maddow Show displayed the kind of integrity and respect for their audience that is almost unheard of in political journalism. In being so honest about this, they really showed what their program is all about, and how they aren't willing to be used or deceived by corporate spokespeople."
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
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Year In Review Pt. I
UPDATE:
Jason follows up with ...
A holiday favorite
Stars include Sting, Paul Young, Bono, Simon Le Bon, George Michael, Bob Geldof, Boy George, Phil Collins, Bananarama, and more
Monday, December 22, 2008
Taking photos of the Tumbleweed Tree
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I can blog from anywhere
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Obama-mania
Barack Obama has a 79% approval, 18% disapproval rating. That is huge!
Hmmm. I wonder why?
CNN's Bill Schneider, on Barack Obama's 79/18 approval/disapproval rating:.
"That's the sort of rating you see when the public rallies around a leader after a national disaster. To many Americans, the Bush administration was a national disaster."
Cleanup on aisle 3
I hope the video works, if not, go to this link:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/digital-short-j-in-my-pants/866262/
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Back to blogging
Unfortunately, a bout of pneumonia made the break longer than I would have liked. But I think I'm ready to get back to blogging, and I am going to try very hard to get back to more balance and not just focus on politics. Although, the politics never seems to get old and there is so much happening now ... the good, the bad, and the ugly ...
But I will get back to doing movie reviews, adding photos, talking about our travels, pets, sports, interests and, of course, life with teenagers.
If you are reading this ... I appreciate that you have visited this site, and I hope that you will consider leaving a comment or sending me an e-mail.
Let's have some fun!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Heroes of the Revolution
First, from 23/6 over at the HuffingtonPost.com:
From "The seven wonkiest things you never thought you'd say":
"Because Nate Silver said so!"
He's had complete control over our emotional lives since at least August. Anytime you heard something or read something (Drudge) that made you anxious, you went to fivethirtyeight.com and were instantly reassured. In the Autumn of 2008, Nate Silver was better than Xanax.
This is so true. The last few months of the campaign, whenever I got down and thought the race was slipping away from Barack Obama, I just went over to fivethirtyeight.com and got some cold, hard facts and figures from Nate and his boys, and those numbers were usually reassuring.
And Nate also got a nice profile in the New York Times:
At 9:46 p.m., blogging on his site fivethirtyeight.com, Nate Silver called the presidential election for Barack Obama. The television networks followed suit about an hour and 15 minutes later after most polls in Western states closed. Of course, Mr. Silver had a head start: he had forecast that Senator Obama would beat Senator John McCain back in March.
I have no doubt that Nate and his big brain will find new topics and interests to keep his site relevant between big elections.
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Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Great stuff here
Winners and Losers ... and Epic Fail ... by John Cole
Nothing to Fear ... by Steve Benen
Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress ... by The Onion
Hey Peggy Noonan: Savor ... by Jason Henderson
The Content of His Character ... byBernard Aviashai
I confess a certain impatience, on this poignant day, with all the earnest talk about how America achieved something remarkable yesterday by electing our first African-American president, as if the choice has been about race all along. I do not mean to diminish an historic first, like electing a Catholic in 1960; I, too, choked-up when John Lewis spoke. But relief today is not about Americans choosing an obviously black man over a white man, which proves we can come to terms with our past. It is about our choosing an obviously brilliant, reciprocal man over a thick, cynical one--a man who articulates a coherent vision of global commonwealth over someone advancing vague, military patriotism--which proves we can come to terms with our future.
The hits keep comin'
There are a lot of people ready to spill the beans on this joke-of-a-VP-candidate. And this is direct from FOX News, of all places ... via Balloon-Juice.com.
.Among the hits in that video, it is announced that Palin did not know the countries involved in NAFTA nor knew that Africa was a continent. I have no idea how much of this is true, but there can be no doubt that this woman was ill-prepared to be Vice-President and really was pretty ill-informed about a wide variety of things. The Gibson and Couric interviews proved that, with additional proof offered in the form of the complete unwillingness of the McCain campaign to allow her to interact with the press. They were afraid for a reason.
And the sad thing is that the stories about Africa and what not will keep trickling out and be fodder for arguments the next few days- the right wing blogs will say they are smears and people out to get her, reasonable people could agree with that, and what will be missed in all the rumors and leaked stories is the very evidence that she was and is, in fact, a dangerous buffoon.
This nation seriously dodged a bullet.
Bow down to your President
Meanwhile, in an alternative universe
Known as the Wall Street Journal opinion pages,
"The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time. Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty — a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House."
Yes, George W. Bush’s status as the most disliked man ever to occupy the White House shows that America was not worthy of him. And attacks on Bush gave aid and comfort to his enemies — unlike the firehose of abuse that will be directed against President Obama, which will of course be an expression of true patriotism.
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Blue days ahead
Forgive? Maybe. Forget? Never!
- McCain was a man of principle who let himself be turned toward the dark side by Rovian handlers who promised him electoral glory and a big painting in the White House for posterity,
- Palin was unprepared and out of control ... a self-centered, power-hungry woman hardened by rough and tumble Alaskan politics,
- There was no way McCain/Palin could compete with the vast sums of money collected by the Obama campaign,
- Everything would have gone the Republicans' way if the economy hadn't tanked,
Everything would have gone the Republicans' way if the media had reported our victory in Iraq, - Everything would have gone the Republicans' way if the media had reported who the REAL Barack Obama was!
After eight years of having Republicans call me an un-American troop-hating fag-loving socialist, after months of John McCain embracing the hate to a level where his own supporters were calling out for Barack Obama to be assassinated, no one is going to be permitted to tell me with a straight face that "oh you know, both sides do it."
Your side was abominable. Your side was hateful. Your side race-baited. Your side gay-baited. Your side lied like we've never seen in recent presidential campaign history. Your side used a tax-cheat who would do better under Obama's tax proposal to be your everyman on the issue of taxes. Your side, in a veiled effort at race-baiting, said Obama doesn't put his country first. Your side had the audacity to call Obama a socialist. Your side suggested he was a Muslim. Your side suggested he was a terrorist. Your side suggested he was Osama bin Laden.
Spare me the crap about how both sides do it.
You people are a disgrace, you've been a disgrace for eight long years, and all your hate and lying and venom and vitriol finally bit you in your collective fat ass.
Democrats don't do nasty, and they certainly don't do it well. Lord knows I wish they did, but they don't. Republicans elevate it to a religion. You are the party of Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity. Angry, bitchy, bitter and elitist. What do we have to compare? Jesse Jackson, I often hear from my Republican friends. Um, maybe in 1980 when he was relevant. It's been 28 years, got any other examples? Michael Moore, you say? What has Michael Moore said - name one thing - that's comparable to the filth that regularly issues forth from Limbaugh, Hannity and Coulter and, of late, McCain and Palin?
Democrats, when they skewer (which isn't often enough), do it with biting truth. Republicans skewer, early and often, with vicious lies. It goes back to a more general
philosophy that liberals have: If we just tell them the truth, the people will agree with us. Republicans are far less sanguine. They know that a good lie beats the truth any day of the week.Except on a Tuesday in November.
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The hijinks of the Wasilla hillbillies
From Newsweek via TalkingPointsMemo:
NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family--clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
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I'm not sure how to say this ... but
Sorry for my dirty hippie language, but I am overjoyed and relieved to wake up to the reality of ... President-Elect Barack Obama.
We stayed up late flipping between channels and surfing the net for the latest election news and opinion. Sha and I threw back a shot of cognac (thanks Alex & Natalia!) for every big announcement of a state called for Obama. We took special satisfaction in seeing two states turn blue -- Ohio and Florida. Those two states and the voting irregularities and political machinations in 2000 and 2004 were heart breakers for Democrats. But not this time. Blue covers so much more of the map than in '00 and '04. How sweet. And it was gratifying to see so many demographic groups support Obama's candidacy. More on those numbers later.
Now the hard part begins. The country is a mess, the people remain divided. But for many Americans there is renewed hope in the future and a presidency for all people. We will continue to work toward a brighter future and push our elected leaders to greater heights.
On January 20, 2009, Senator Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.
Hallelujah!
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Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Great stories from the Voting Booth
- Dream from my Father: Why, as the son of a Navy pilot, I couldn't bring myself to choose a candidate until today.
- This is a day for glory!: My polling place is at the fairgrounds in Southern Maryland, about 40 minutes from Washington, D.C. This used to be tobacco country, but is slowly being developed, or other crops are grown. We waited until 10:00 to vote, to avoid the lines. When we got there a 97-year-old Black man was being wheeled out of the polls in his wheelchair. It was the first time he had ever voted in his life. When he came outside he asked if anyone could give him an Obama button. There were none left at the Democrat's booth so I gave him mine. He was so proud and I started crying. He looked at me and said, "Why are you crying? This is a day for glory." I am still crying.
- Our special voter of the day: At 3 p.m. on Election Day, the Foundry Methodist Church voting station in Dupont Circle was doing light but brisk business. As I signed my name to receive my ballot, one of the poll workers loudly asked another to ring the small bell on their table. "Everyone please listen up for a moment," he boomed while holding on to an old black woman standing perhaps 5'2" with a huge grin. "This is our special voter of the day. She's 95 years old and this is her first time voting." As everyone in the room took her in and the thundering applause echoed through the old church basement, her glinting eyes quickly teared up and she somehow managed an even bigger smile.
- I did not vote for Obama today: I have a confession to make. I did not vote for Barack Obama today. I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.
- From the Right: Sure, there's much about an Obama administration that troubles me. Yes, I'd probably feel a lot better if he didn't have huge Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress. Yes, I'm worried about what he'll do with taxes and who he'll appoint to the Supreme Court. But in the end, Barack Obama inspires with eloquence, surrounds himself with good, competent, people and seems to have good instincts about big issues -- political and cultural. Ultimately, we elect presidents to deal with both the current situation and the unforeseen one around the corner. For me, today, that means Barack Hussein Obama gets my vote. I hope he won't let me down, but I pray that he won't let the United States of America down.
- Not a voting story but ...: I work in Alpharetta, Georgia in a very Red area. I just went out for lunch to get the emissions tested on my car. Took it to a place where, when you walk in, the first thing you notice is a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall. Outside: Old white man who is testing my car sees the “GLBT For Obama” sticker on the back of my car. “That sonofabitch better win!” says he, with a smile. Maybe there is hope. Of course, I’m sure he didn’t know quite what the GLBT meant.
Will it be morning in America?
I hope it's a blowout, a flood of hope sweeping the nation, but even if it is close, as long as he wins I will be uplifted.
After nearly eight years of the disastrous Bush/Cheney administration, the country needs positive change. The people need to believe in our government again.
I want a country that chooses hope over fear. Compassion over hate. Inclusion over exclusion. Tolerance over bigotry. Truth over subterfuge. I want people to choose security over fascism. Safety over paranoia. More equality. Less racism. Less sexism. I want people to value intelligence and articulate discourse over simplistic platitudes often designed to divide us, not unite us. On and on and on ...
If he loses, I like millions of others will be devastated. America can be greater than it is today. I don't think John McCain, Sarah Palin and the Republican Party have the ideas of the commitment to get us there.
But should the worst happen, we will find the strength to get back up and continue to fight for change. Our spirits will be low, but we will look to the future.
But, I sense that America wants change. That Americans have accepted Barack Obama as the man of high character that he is.
President Barack Obama.
Beautiful!
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Monday, November 3, 2008
She influenced the man he bacame
As Joe Klein notes on Swampland, she did not make it to the mountaintop ... how sad.
Word comes that Barack Obama's grandmother has died. The timing is ridiculous. But think, for a moment, if you will of Madelyn Dunham, a white woman from Kansas, strolling the aisle of a supermarket, or having lunch in a coffee shop, with her grandson--way back at the turn of the 1970s, when such sights were uncommon, even in Hawaii.
Think about what her friends might have thought, or said, about her...situation. Think about what she poured into the child during the years when her daughter was in Indonesia and she was the closest thing to a mother that Obama had; think about the impact that she and her husband had on creating the man we've come to know, and the satisfaction she must have felt in her dying days.
Some politicians simply are larger than life. Their stories are the stuff of high drama. Over the past few days, I've been hearing about the high emotions out in the field, as volunteers flood Obama offices to help canvass--and, in some places, find they have to wait on line for a spot on a phone bank. It is almost banal at this point to say that this has been the most remarkable election I've ever seen. It's been a privilege to be a small part of it, to have had a ringside seat. And now, there is a sense that tomorrow will be the sort of day none of us ever forgets, one way or another--a day of reckoning, in the purest sense, when we will suddenly see ourselves and our country differently, for good or ill.
It will also be the first day that Barack Obama lives without the presence of the woman who was his surrogate mother. How sad for him, how remarkable that it would happen this way.
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Still the smartest woman on television
Rachel Maddow is not like other cable news hosts. A self-described butch lesbian with short hair and black-rimmed glasses, off-camera she resembles a young Ira Glass more than the helmet-headed anchoresses and Fox fembots who populate television news. Doing the press rounds when MSNBC first announced her show in Agust, she’d show up to interviews looking like, she says, “a 14-year-old boy” in uffy Samantha Ronson sneakers with iPod headphones dangling from her ears—but then she’d easily segue into an informed foreign- policy or economic discussion that ended with a Daily Show–worthy punch line.
Her résumé is similarly unexpected: A Rhodes scholar and an Oxford Ph.D., she’s done stints as an AIDS activist, barista, landscaper, Air America host, and mascot in an inflatable calculator suit. She’s a civics geek who reads comic books, goes to monster-truck rallies, likes to fish, calls herself an “amateur mixologist” of classic cocktails, and even Twitters.
There’s something about the mix of personal details that is—to a young, educated, left-leaning, cosmopolitan audience—instantly recognizable. As one New York acolyte told me, “She is more like one of my friends than anyone else on television.” And her ratings have been astounding, especially in the coveted 25-to-54-year-old demographic. Maddow averaged a higher rating with that group than Larry King Live for thirteen of the first 25 nights she was on the air, enabling the network to out-rate CNN in that time slot for the first time. It’s an impressive feat, even given the fact that the show started two months before the election when political interest was at a fever pitch.
“You come out of the gate as fast as she came out, it gives me incredible excitement,” thunders MSNBC president Phil Griffin. “We are stronger than we’ve been in twelve years. We have more swagger today than we have ever had. It’s because of Rachel. And trust me. The other guys see it. They are watching. And they are scared.”
Find it here.
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We live it, she says
The Palin's are familiar with racial bias and the hardships of minorities, because her husband is discriminated against because of his native Alaskan heritage. Or so says, Sarah.
Yeah, when I think of people who have faced racial discrimination and hatred the first people I think of are Sarah and Todd Palin. You betcha'.
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Endorsement Wars (continued)
We're in the homestretch! And the Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements. The Democratic team now leads by 240 to 114, a better than 2-1 margin and an even wider spread in the circulation of those papers -- see full tally below as of today. The circulation of the Obama-backing papers stands at over 21 million, compared with McCain's 7 million.
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
The ugliness continues
I can just picture her asking the kids if they or their parents support Obama, and if they do, telling them that there is no Santa Claus.
Don't cry for me ...
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Another wingnut smear bites the dust
State declares Obama birth certificate genuine
State officials say there's no doubt Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said Friday she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.
Fukino says that no state official, including Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, ever instructed that Obama's certificate be handled differently. She says state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible
interest.Some Obama critics claim he was not born in the US.
Actually, I don't think this will shut the wingnuts up. Many of them still believe he is a Muslim or not a "good" Christian.
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Sarah got punked!
Check out the transcript and the tape here.
I loved the line about him learning about her by watching a documentary ... Hustler's Nailin' Palin.
UPDATE:
"Britney Spears could never be president of the United States, but Sarah Plain could."
Those are the words of one of the two Canadian Comediennes who punked Sarah. They said only Britney was more gullible.
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Friday, October 31, 2008
Not so popular anymore, is she?
Sarah, meet Janet!
Janet Napolitano is Arizona's governor, currently serving her second term. Her favorability rating of 67-29 is higher than Palin's, which is 65-35 ... Napolitano's job approval rating of 69-21 similarly beats Palin's 61-37. Palin may be giving the Rick Lowrys of the world starbursts, but Napolitano is wowing them with competent governance, and it looks like Arizonans wouldn't mind sending her to Washington instead of McCain.
Go, Janet, go!
I think Obama will not pick Napolitano for a cabinet post, because we don't want to turn the Arizona Governorship over to a Republican. But she would make a great Senator!
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Sleaziest presidential campaign ever?
Here is Josh Marshall:
Flashback: McCain's Sleaze-o-rama
As John McCain just gets sleazier and sleazier, let's review the hypocritical record one more time ...
Have you noticed how the McCain/Palin camps have morphed the Republican Party into the White Nationalists Party? Check out the crowds at all their events. And their new attacks on a respected Palestinian-American historian, Rashid Khalidi, are despicable. Hell, all Sarah Palin had to do Wednesday was mention the guy's name and people who knew absolutely nothing about him started booing ... they booed his name. See, he's different, he's middle-eastern, he's probably a terrorist!
All McCain and Palin have on their side is fear and ignorance.
I choose HOPE.
UPDATE: Oh my ... If you were leading a White Supremacist organization where would you go to recruit new members?
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
Funny, Funny Stuff
UPDATE: I removed the embedded video because it wasn't working. So go to Funny or Die and watch this and go back to the future!
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Funny Stuff
Remember the Budweiser WASSUP ads from 1999? They've been updated to reflect the current political situation in America. I found these at AmericaBlog.
First the original:
And this is the 2008 version:
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Trippin'
I've been out of town and away from blogging while I attended a conference in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Here is a pic of the beach and lake. Beautiful place.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The war on taxes
.Perhaps I’m the only one who feels this way. My perspective is often limited to what surrounds my tiny little world. But, if there’s anyone out there who feels like I do, then maybe there is hope for this country.
There is a vast conspiracy in this country to wage war against an intangible foe, and it is tearing this country apart. It’s not against terrorism. It’s not against drugs. It’s not against poverty, the achievement gap, or domestic abuse. It’s against taxes.
Could this possibly be the stupidest country on the f-ing planet? In what has been tabbed the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression (thank heavens for hyperbole), government officials, politicians, pundits, people in the know, and even “Joe Sixpack” are bemoaning the mistakes made by too many people on both sides of the desk at the loan office.
Why, oh why, were people so short-sighted? So greedy? This crisis will really teach us a lesson, right? Never again, right? Wrong.
Just listen to the two numbskulls vying to replace the last numbskull, and the morons flapping their hands together as they are pandered and lied to. $700 billion dollar bailout, the $200 billion dollar bailout, the billions being sent to bail out states (who, by the way, would still like to retain their independence in governing social issues like gay marriage), diplomatic wars in the Middle East that are draining more and more money everyday. And at the same time these two highfalutin morons (Obama and McCain) have the gall to say that the answer to this country’s problems in health care and education and military defense is to spend more money.
Granted, John McCain has suggested an overall spending freeze, which frankly, isn’t a bad idea. But he is as guilty as anyone else, perhaps more so, in the warmongering
of the people against taxes and the great stupidity that continues to permeate this country. Americans don’t like taxes, McCain says.My friends, Americans are retarded.
Does any of this not ring a bell? Huge loans being taken out willy-nilly without the funds to pay it back? Borrow, borrow, borrow, spend, spend, spend, but still manage to cut taxes? I suppose that since math isn’t in the bible, it just doesn’t exist. Is anyone f-ing home? Apparently not.
Because Joe the Plumber wants his taxes lowered. And corporate CEOs want their taxes lowered. And businesses and states and everyone wants their taxes lowered. Even the two jackasses running for president out and out said they don’t want to pay taxes. What sort of example does that set for the American people?
So we are winning the war – the war on taxes, that is. We had to do it, because we’re losing the war against terrorism. They won. Look at what they’ve done to this country – our social, governmental, and economic fundamentals have proceeded to
come crashing down after those towers did. And now we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, chasing taxes (along with liberty, civil rights, and the rest of the constitution) into the corner.Where might we plan on keeping the POWs that result from this financial war? Just make the rich people pay, right? They’re rich.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
More on the Powell endorsement
Powell didn't just endorse Barack Obama -- he also systematically dismantled the entire rationale for John McCain's presidential campaign.
Whatever you think of Colin Powell, in the context of our national discourse, the endorsement of a Republican military figure like Powell is a severe blow to McCain's smear campaign.Among the key points Powell made against McCain's campaign:
•On the Ayers smears: He thoroughly repudiated McCain's "Obama associates with terrorists" smear job.
•On the religion smears: He not only affirmed the fact that Barack Obama is Christian, but he also rejected the idea that it would be a problem if he weren't, defending religious freedom in passionate terms.
•On the "anti-American" smears: He even targeted Michele Bachmann's divisive rant claiming that there are "anti-American" Members of Congress
•On McCain's judgment and readiness: He destroyed the notion that McCain has either the judgment or policy acumen to serve as president, citing McCain's selection of Sarah Palin and his unsteady response to the economic crisis
•On Republican extremism: He slammed the GOP's rightward tilt, specifically noting that it would be unacceptable to nominate two more hard-right justices to the Supreme Court.Powell didn't just decimate the McCain campaign rationale, however. Powell also offered up an endorsement of Barack Obama in the strongest possible terms, saying that Obama would be an "exceptional president" and that he had the capacity to be "transformational."
The amazing part of all this is that Powell still considers himself a Republican. While there will never be an excuse for his role in supporting the Iraq war, one thing does seem clear: Powell's endorsement today will be a boost for Barack Obama's campaign, and therefore a good thing for this country.
Powell endorses Obama
Is Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama important?
It will probably have more impact on the campaign and media narrative over the next few days than anything else.
It isn't just that Powell endorsed, it's how strongly he articulated his support for and trust in Obama, and how disappointed he is in and concerned about the negative tone and dishonesty of the Republican campaign at this important time in our history.
Q: Sir, what role did McCain's negativity play in your decision?
POWELL: It troubled me. You know, we have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. And so those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers, not about who is a Muslim and who's not a Muslim. Those kinds of images going out on al Jazeera are killing us around the world. And we have got to say to the world it doesn't make any difference who you are or what you are. If you're an American you're an American. And this business of, for example, a congressman from Minnesota who's going around saying let's examine all congressmen to see who is pro-America or not pro-America.
We have got to stop this kind of nonsense and pull ourselves together and remember that our great strength is in our unity and in our diversity.
And so that really was driving me. And to focus on people like Mr. Ayers, these trivial issues for the purpose of suggesting that somehow Mr. Obama would have some kind of terrorists' inclinations, I thought that was over the top. It was beyond just good political fighting back and forth. I think it went beyond. And then to sort of throw in this subtle Muslim connection. You know, he's a Muslim and a terrorist. And it was taking root. And we can't judge our people and we can't hold our elections on that kind of basis.
And so yes, that kind of negativity troubles me and the constant shifting of the argument. I was troubled a couple of weeks ago when in the middle of the crisis the campaign said we're going to go negative and they announced it. We're going to go negative and attack his character through Bill Ayers. And now I guess the message this week is we're going to call him a socialist. Mr. Obama is now a socialist because he dares to suggest that maybe we ought to look at the tax structure that we have. Taxes are always a redistribution of money.
Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay it in roads and airports and hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good. And there's nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more, who should be paying less. And for us to say that makes you a socialist I think is an unfortunate characterization that isn't accurate. And I don't want my taxes raised. I don't want anybody else's taxes raised. But I also want to see our infrastructure fixed. I don't want to have a $12 trillion national debt and I don't want to see an annual deficit that's over $500 billion heading toward a trillion. So how do we deal with all of this?
Here are a couple of statements by Colin Powell:
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It's good that their racism is out in the open
I am actually thrilled as much as I am disgusted, because to eradicate racism you have to expose it. And when people write, say or do things that are bigoted and racist it is best if they do it out in the open. Now we know who they truly are.
Here is a perfect example. Watch this! This man hang an Obama ghost figure by a noose in effigy (and places a Star of David on its head?) and stated that it is because Obama is black?
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Obama's lead widents to 94-28
Here is one from a solid RED state, the full Salt Lake Tribune editorial endorsing Barack Obama for President.
A simple choice: The nation needs Barack Obama in the White House
The next U.S. president will lead a nation that remains embroiled in two wars and is beset by an economic meltdown more severe than any since the Great Depression.
By necessity, the country's next commander in chief must also be its mender in chief, capable of inspiring his angry and divided constituents to join together in a recovery project to restore the peace, prosperity, and self-confidence we once knew.
We fear that a lesser effort may be insufficient to reverse America's slide toward economic, political and societal chaos. The times require dramatic and comprehensive change.
The presidential candidates know it, and have made it their mantra.
Most Americans know it, and, in growing numbers, are demanding it.
The countries that have long depended upon the United States for enlightened global leadership long for it.
For the sake of all, and for those who follow us, we must have it.
The editorial board of The Salt Lake Tribune believes that Barack Obama can deliver it.
Over the 22 months since announcing his improbable candidacy, Obama has transcended his image as a mere political and racial phenomenon. Though blessed with uncommon skills as a writer and orator, he was mistakenly thought to possess too little political experience, too little backbone, and too little evidence of the tangible, and intangible, qualities we ascribe to the best of our leaders. Democrats and Republicans alike thought Hillary Clinton would make short work of him.
Admittedly, we thought so too, and endorsed Clinton, not Obama, for the party's nomination.
Yet, Obama mounted an extraordinary grass-roots campaign, raised gobs of cash, and showed great fortitude and equanimity in the face of the Clinton juggernaut. He endured, and once the nomination was his, he set about uniting his divided party with an impressive display of magnanimity and diplomacy.
John McCain, meanwhile, crushed Mitt Romney to gain his party's nomination, but then blundered badly by not bringing the business-savvy Romney onto the ticket.
Romney would have shored up McCain's poor grasp of economic policy.Then, out of nowhere, and without proper vetting, the impetuous McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. She quickly proved grievously underequipped to step into the presidency should McCain, at 72 and with a history of health problems, die in office. More than any single factor, McCain's bad judgment in choosing the inarticulate, insular and ethically challenged Palin disqualifies him for the presidency.
Still, we have compelling reasons for endorsing Obama on his merits alone. Under the most intense scrutiny and attacks from both parties, Obama has shown the temperament, judgment, intellect and political acumen that are essential in a president that would lead the United States out of the crises created by President Bush, a complicit Congress and our own apathy.
The candidates' positions on issues are, in most cases, distinctly different, and no more so than in health care reform. McCain would make a bad system worse by deregulating an insurance industry that is the root of the problem. He would give every family a $5,000 refundable tax credit for purchasing the insurance of their choice, but would tax employer-provided health benefits. Obama's plan would require large employers to offer insurance, or contribute a percentage of payroll to offset the cost of taxpayer subsidies. People could buy into a private or a government-run plan, and the premiums would be subsidized by tax credits based on income.
On tax policy, Obama would sensibly increase taxes for individuals making more than $250,000 a year, while cutting taxes for everyone else. He also would send money to the states for public works improvements that would generate jobs. His intent to increase the capital gains tax, however, is foolhardy while businesses struggle to weather the economic meltdown. McCain would cut taxes for people in all income brackets, as well as mandate big reductions in corporate income taxes. It is a trickle-down plan that would do little to reduce the deficit.
McCain's foreign policy objectives virtually replicate Bush's disastrous course. His disdain for diplomacy is troubling, and his faith in eventual U.S. "victory" in Iraq is ill-defined. We simply cannot afford perpetual war. Obama knows this. And his nuanced approach would help America recover it's global prestige. Indeed, we see too many of Bush's failed policies in McCain's recipe for recovery.
The country desperately needs a new and well-defined road map for the 21st century and leadership that can unite the country behind it.
We believe that Barack Obama can give us both.
If you wonder how this is going over with their readers, check out the comments.
The People's Campaign
$150,000,000!!!!!
Awesome. The people want change. The people want an end to the last eight years of Republican malphesance and John McCain represents more of the same.
We're almost there. Keep fighting the fear and the smears and get out and show your support for Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates. And more donations will definitely be put to good use.
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Fact Check on McCain Attack
.Desperation: McCain Claims That Obama Voted To Let Babies Die
By Greg SargentSheer desperation: John McCain hits Barack Obama for allegedly voting to let babies die.
The reference, of course, is to Obama's opposition to a measure in Illinois that would purportedly have provided care for babies born amid abortions -- something that was already legally required, anyway. The bill was widely viewed by critics as a sneak attack on Roe v. Wade.
To our ears, this is a more despicable smear than just about anything we've seen, worse than Ayers or anything else. It wreaks so overwhelmingly of desperation and dishonesty that it's incredible that McCain actually agreed to it when Steve Schmidt or whoever told him it would work and he really, really would score big points if he lobbed this attack tonight.
3 - 0 ... a clean sweep
Tone: McCain once again angry, edgy and negative; Obama once again calm, cool, detailed and personable.
Obama = Presidential; McCain = Frantic & Erratic
John McCain's answers usually rambled and he veered from one talking point to the next in a spastic manner, the "kitchen sink" strategy that will leave most viewers saying ... "Huh?"
Barack Obama focused on the issues and his plans, speaking directly to the audience, steady and reassuring ... most people will likely say ... "What is there to fear?"
What continues to amaze me is how the talking heads and pundits continue to get the post debate analysis absurdly wrong. You expect the campaign surrogates and ideologues to stick with their man, but when the reporters and news people try to make their analysis fit the pre-debate projections it is sad and pathetic. These people saw all three of these debates through an old, dirty, scratched lens that said ... "The candidate who is aggressive and on the attack wins points" and "The candidate who is more cerebral is seen as soft and ineffective." But that was then and this is now.
Two wars that have us on our heels, an economy that has dropped us to our knees, eight years of lies and deceit from the Bush/Cheney administration, Katrina, Valerie Plame, US Attorney scandal, Guantanamo and torture, etc., etc., etc. The loud, aggressive, bellicose and supremely confident approach by Rove Republicans leaves a bitter taste in voters mouths. People want to hear about the issues, they want character, they want capable leadership, they want change.
So, while the pundits talked about McCain's aggressiveness putting Obama on the defensive, they weren't listening to the word the candidates were speaking. I think the public saw through the tactics and focused on the answers. And once again, the snap polls are hitting the pundits right between the eyes.
Obama overwhelmingly won the debate, the people are saying. Obama's favor ability numbers are rising and McCain's are falling.
And what do you know, suddenly the pundits change their language. John the Fighter becomes Angry John. John the Aggressor becomes Cranky Negative John. And they seem surprised that the public saw things so differently.
So, what now?
The trickle of Republican politicians running away from McCain to save their own skill will become a flood. The money the RNC has left will go to Senate and House races, not the presidential campaign. And Sarah Palin's people will start talking behind McCain's back about how she should have been at the top of the ticket instead of the old guy.
The next three weeks may still get pretty ugly with negative campaigning, but it won't change the election. This is Obama's time.
UPDATE
I love Duncan Black:
Pundits all agree: despite the fact that McCain looked like a demented lunatic, he won!.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Palin Posse couldn't shoot straight
From Kevin Drum:
TROOPERGATE FINALE.... I read most of the Branchflower report on Troopergate last night, but the MSM seemed to be doing a fine job of reporting the results all
its own so I never got around to posting about it.The basic story, of course, revolves around Todd and Sarah Palin's crusade to get their ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, fired from his job as a state trooper, and their efforts to get Alaska's Commissioner of Public Safety, Walt Monegan, to do the firing. Most of this story is pretty well known already. However, Time's Nathan Thornburgh points out the aspect of the report that struck me as the most remarkable:
The result is not a mortal wound to Palin.... But the Branchflower report still makes for good reading, if only because it convincingly answers a question nobody had even thought to ask: Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly
so.The 263 pages of the report show a co-ordinated application of pressure on Monegan so transparent and ham-handed that it was almost certain to end in public embarrassment for the governor.
.... Monegan and his peers constantly warned these Palin disciples that the contact was inappropriate and probably unlawful. Still, the emails and calls continued — in at least one instance on recorded state trooper phone lines.
The state's head of personnel, Annette Kreitzer, called Monegan and had to be warned that personnel issues were confidential. The state's attorney general, Talis Colberg, called Monegan and had to be reminded that the call was putting both men in legal jeopardy, should Wooten decide to sue. The governor's chief of staff met with Monegan and had to be reminded by Monegan that, "This conversation is discoverable ... You don't want Wooten to own your house, do you?"
Monegan pointed out to a steady stream of people that (a) Wooten was protected by civil service and there was nothing more that could be done since he'd already gone through a formal disciplinary procedure, and (b) any conversation about Wooten was discoverable in court if Wooten ever got tired of being hounded and decided to file a civil suit. And yet the contacts kept coming and coming and coming — and coming and coming. And Branchflower documents them in painful detail. It's all quite
remarkable.In fact, here's the part that really puzzles me: what exactly did Todd and Sarah Palin hope to accomplish? Surely they knew perfectly well that Monegan was right: he couldn't have fired Wooten even if he wanted to. And they must also have known that even if Monegan were replaced, any replacement would quickly check into the situation and report back the same thing. Wooten had already been disciplined, and unless something new cropped up there was simply nothing that anyone could do to force him out of his job. In fact, the Palins' efforts probably made it nearly impossible even to reassign Wooten since it would so obviously have been politically motivated. It was a completely futile crusade they were on.
So what were they thinking? Or were they?
They did it because they thought no one would dare to challenge them. They were used to strong-arming or sliming the opposition and winning, they thought this would be the same at the state level.
Here is a much more detailed analysis from Hilzoy.
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More Obama newspaper endorsements
From the Wisonsin State Journal:
America is at a pivotal point in its history — a difficult time that demands talented leadership to renew our nation's spirit and pull us together to meet the incredible challenges ahead.
The right leader for the time is Barack Obama.
The Wisconsin State Journal endorses the dynamic and youthful senator from Illinois for president.
Far more than his opponent, Obama represents a new direction. He has shown he can inspire and lead people to action. And his relatively short time in corrupt, self-absorbed, terribly-failed Washington, D.C., may actually be a key strength. Obama is not stuck in the status quo of the Capitol crowd or its long-failed Congress.
Obama doesn't just give pretty speeches. He speaks to people's best instincts, encouraging them to shine.
Obama is best-equipped this election to make America feel good about itself again. That's a powerful feeling — one that could go a long way toward invigorating our economy and national sense of purpose.
Obama is convincing in his call for a new kind of politics in Washington. His life story and history-making bid for the White House also have forced the rest of the world to view America in a new and more positive way.
An Obama presidency will immediately give America more clout and credibility around the globe. It will immediately win over and win back allies and friends.As much as other nations may fear American power and influence, they fear our potential decline even more.
America must not decline. America must remain a beacon of freedom, democracy, innovation and prosperity.
And that's why voting for the first-term senator is worth the risk.
Here is more from the Toledo Blade editorial referrenced in the post below:
The man who has emerged is young (47) but well-educated and accomplished, both as a state legislator and a member of the United States Senate. He is somewhat professorial but not stodgy, and in our direct contact with him he proved to be one of few politicians at his level with the capacity to actually listen to others and appreciate what they have to say.
During the campaign, Senator Obama also has shown himself to possess steely self-control, a single-minded focus, and endearing good humor in the face of specious attacks on everything from his biracial origin to his boyhood upbringing to his acquaintances during his political career in rough-and-tumble Chicago.
His calm and deliberate demeanor is particularly important because steadiness at the helm of government will be necessary to extricate the United States from its current crisis of confidence, both in politics and economics...
America needs a new direction, not just because the current administration's economic policies - not to mention its war-bound foreign policies - have contributed to our current problems, but because we have lost our way in terms of the proper relationship between government and the people and, more importantly, the responsibility we owe each other. Americans who view the future with optimism do not - even in the face of terrorism - give up the basic freedoms our revolutionary forefathers died to secure.
Sen. John McCain, by nature, has shown himself to be incapable of providing the American people with an optimistic vision of the future. Firmly rooted in the failed politics and policies of the past, he cannot guide us on a path he does not see.Senator Obama already has demonstrated that he is a man of the future in the way he has inspired a new generation of voters to become involved in the political process and to actively strive for a better tomorrow.
As a president from another era suggested, Americans should ask themselves: Am I better off than I was eight years ago? Four years ago? The answer is obvious and, therefore, the option on Nov. 4 is clear.
Historically, Ohio has had a critical role in presidential elections and appears poised once again to be a key in deciding who sits in the Oval Office for the next four years. This is an awesome responsibility, and one that cannot be taken lightly. For the future of Ohio and America, there is only one reasonable choice for president: Barack Obama.
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Obama newspaper endorsements
St. Louis PD, Toledo Blade, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette For Obama
Three battleground newspaper endorsements for Barack Obama this a.m. Each is located deep in the heart of the white working class constituencies Obama needs to win in November.
From the Toledo Blade:For guidance in arriving at this momentous decision, the election of the next president of the United States, we can look to the sober lessons of history. Without exaggeration, the country faces a transformational election on Nov. 4, not unlike that of 1932, which prefaced Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal and a long slog out of the Great Depression.
Like the choice 76 years ago, next month's election is one in which voters have the power to cast aside the failed, greed-driven principles of governance and economics that have led to the current downturn and return to an equilibrium in which hard work is again rewarded by a decent standard of living for the average American.
To be sure, the path to recovery won't be easy for the next president. There are ominous signs that the economy will continue to falter before confidence can be restored in the financial system. The leadership required to contain and reorder the economic mess created by eight years of heedless deregulation will have to be both inspired and inspiring.
We believe the person best equipped by temperament and intellect to firmly grasp the reins of government and guide it safely forward in these uncertain times is Barack Obama.
Like another member of Congress from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Senator Obama initially rose to prominence on the strength of soaring oratory. Over the past 18 months of the grueling campaign, his background has been thoroughly inspected and dissected by the press and a political opposition dedicated to keeping him from the White House.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:Mr. McCain is not the steady hand he purports to be, and nothing proves it more than his reckless selection of Sarah Palin, whose lack of knowledge to take over as president has becoming increasingly obvious and embarrassing. If Mr. McCain had chosen one of the many accomplished women in the Republican Party, his candidacy would have the stamp of seriousness. Instead, it bears the superficial imprint of pandering populism.
But this election is not just about the shortcomings of Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin and the failed legacy of a philosophy that they seek to perpetuate under the hastily erected banner of maverick.
It is about the strengths of Barack Obama, whose rise to prominence is not a fluke or national infatuation but the consequence of his remarkable skills -- a keen intellect, noble intentions and the wit and grace to express them in ways that have inspired millions across the country. He has a rare gift exactly suited to the fearful times -- he knows the language of reassurance and hope.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:Over the past nine months, Mr. Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has emerged as the only truly transformative candidate in the race. In the crucible that is a presidential campaign, his intellect, his temperament and equanimity under pressure consistently have been impressive. He has surrounded himself with smart, capable advisers who have helped him refine thorough, nuanced policy positions.
In a word, Mr. Obama has been presidential.
Meanwhile, Mr. McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, became the incredible shrinking man. He shrank from his principled stands in favor of a humane immigration policy. He shrank from his universal condemnation of torture and his condemnation of the politics of smear.
He even shrank from his own campaign slogan, “Country First,” by selecting the least qualified running mate since the Swedenborgian shipbuilder Arthur Sewall ran as William Jennings Bryan’s No. 2 in 1896.
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Friday, October 10, 2008
Voter Suppression is the Real Goal
This is the crux of the ACORN scandal that the Right is trying to hype. This is not voter fraud ... that happens at the polls and is extremely rare. This is fraud against ACORN by the people they hire to register voters. ACORN staff are not in a position to throw out voter registration forms, they submit them and the states must verify the voter registration forms, then the people at the polling places verify registered voters on election day. There are many checks and balances to the system. Are there a lot of bogus forms showing up in Secretary of State offices around an election? Probably? But their job is to verify them. Was it ACORN's intent to defraud? Doubtful. Anyone - Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Communist -- can fill out a bogus registration form. In most cases, ACORN was flagging questionable forms before submitting them to draw the attention of the verifiers that they needed careful scrutiny. This is another political witchhunt by the politicized Justice Department and their cronies designed to discredit and disenfranchise low income and minority voters.
Here is Atrios:
Voter registration fraud is not voter fraud. In many states people who do voter registration are obligated to turn in forms even they're filled out by "Mickey Mouse." They're a conduit for the forms and don't have the right to determine which ones they turn in.
Here is Josh:
The Gist of the ACORN Story
The Republican party is grasping on to the ACORN story as a way to delegitimize what now looks like the probable outcome of the November election. It is also a way
to stoke the paranoia of their base, lays the groundwork for legal challenges of close outcomes in various states and new legal restrictions on voting by lower income voters and minorities. The big picture is that these claims of 'voter fraud' are themselves a fraud, a tool to aid in suppressing Democratic voter turnout. But I want give readers a bit more detail to understand what is going because the right-wing freak out about ACORN happens pretty much on schedule every two years. The whole scam is premised on having enough people who don't remember when they tried it before who they can confuse and lie to. And this is clearly important because I'm hearing from a lot of people whose heart is in the right place thinking some real voter fraud conspiracy has been uncovered and that Obama has to distance himself from it post-haste.ACORN registers lots of lower income and/or minority voters. They operate all across the country and do a lot of things beside voter registration. What's key to understand is their method. By and large they do not rely on volunteers. They hire people -- often people with low incomes or even the unemployed. This has the dual effect of not only registering people but also providing some work and income for people who are out of work. But because a lot of these people are doing it for the money, inevitably, a few of them cut corners or even cheat. So, inevitably someone will end up filling out cards for nonexistent names and some of those slip through ACORN's own efforts to catch errors. It's important to note that in many of the recent ACORN cases that have gotten the most attention it's ACORN itself that has turned the people in who did the fake registrations.
These reports start buzzing through the right-wing media every two years and every time the anecdotal reports of 'thousands' of fraudulent registrations turns out, on closer inspection, to be either totally bogus themselves or wildly exaggerated. So thousands of phoney registrations ends up being, like, twelve. I've always had questions about whether this is a good way to do voter registration. And Democratic campaigns usually keep their distance. But here's the key.
This is fraud against ACORN. They end up paying people for more registering people then they eventually signed up. If you register me three times to vote, the registrar will see two new registrations of an already registered person and the ones won't count. If I successfully register Mickey Mouse to vote, on election day, Mickey Mouse will still be a cartoon character who cannot go to the local voting station and vote. Logically speaking there's very little way a few phony names on the voting rolls could be used to commit vote fraud. And much more importantly, numerous studies and investigations have shown no evidence of anything more than a handful of isolated casing of actual instances of vote fraud.
To expand on this point let me quote from Richard Hasen, one of the most experienced and concise commentators on this question, from a June 2007 column in the Dallas Morning News ...
"At least in hindsight, the center's line of argument is easily deconstructed. First, arguing by anecdote is dangerous business. A new report by Lorraine Minnite of Barnard College looks at these anecdotes and shows them to be, for the most part, wholly spurious. Sure, one can find a rare case of someone voting in two jurisdictions, but nothing extensive or systematic has been unearthed or documented.
"But perhaps most importantly, the idea of massive polling-place fraud (through the use of inflated voter rolls) is inherently incredible. Suppose I want to swing the
Missouri election for my preferred presidential candidate. I would have to figure out who the fake, dead or missing people on the registration rolls are, then pay a lot of other individuals to go to the polling place and claim to be that person, without any return guarantee - thanks to the secret ballot - that any of them will cast a vote for my preferred candidate."Those who do show up at the polls run the risk of being detected and charged with a felony. And for what - $10? Polling-place fraud, in short, makes no sense.
"The Justice Department devoted unprecedented resources to ferreting out fraud over five years and appears to have found not a single prosecutable case across the country. Of the many experts consulted, the only dissenter from that position was a representative of the now-evaporated American Center for Voting Rights."
Again, there have been numerous investigations of this. Often by people with at least a mild political interest in finding wrongdoing. But they never find it. It always ends up being right-wing hype and lies.
Remember, most of those now-famous fired US Attorneys from 2007 were Republican appointees who were canned after they got tasked with investigating allegations of widespread vote fraud, did everything they could to find it, but came up with nothing. That was the wrong answer so Karl Rove and his crew at the Justice Department fired them.
Vote registration fraud is a limited and relatively minor problem in the US today. But it is principally an administrative and efficiency issue. It is has little or nothing to do with people casting illegitimate votes to affect an actual election. That's the key. What you're hearing right now from Fox News, the New York Post, John Fund and the rest of the right-wing bamboozlement chorus is a just another effort to exploit, confuse and lie in an effort to put more severe restrictions on legitimate voting and lay the groundwork to steal elections.
It's that simple.
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Where'd everyone go?
Perhaps the Right Winged ones have stepped away from their keyboards to go buy their pitchforks and tar and feather for Barack Obama? Or maybe they have become disillusioned with their candidate, who says he will run an clean and honorable campaign but in the face of plummeting poll numbers has embraced one of the ugliest, hate-filled campaigns ever? Or maybe they are resigned to their losses come November 4? Or maybe they all decided to go on vacation at the same time ... maybe even together?
Whatever the reason, I sure do hope they come back soon to share their talking points, smears and lies. But please, do me a favor. Let's spice this blog up a little.
Many, not all but many of my commenters are "anonymous" and that is soooo vanilla. I know there are reasons that some people want to avoid using their real names. That's cool. But "anonymous"? How boring! Come on, people! You can do better than that? Find a nickname or just string a few vowels and consonants together and go with that. Anything is better than "anonymous," right?
Do you need some ID suggestions? Here's a few: Shasta, Nicky, Buffalo Gal, Lobo, Sebastian, Elvira, Bunny, Camaro Chick, Blondie, Self-Made Gal, Archie Bunker, David Duke, Big Mama, etc., etc., etc.
See? I came up with those in just a few minutes. You all can do better than anonymousis.
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Thursday, October 9, 2008
More ignorance and vile hatred
It’s no wonder that the slightest incitement from Sarah Palin or John McCain will turn one of their rallies into a lynch mob. Just talk to the folks who attend. My camera was rolling for literally seconds before people happily said to me, on camera, that Barack Obama is a terrorist.
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Bonus footage of people claiming they know Sarah Palin better than they know Barack, and in fact, never heard of Barack.I’ve been doing blog video for a while, and presidential rallies a lot longer. And this is the most strange, ignorant, uninformed, angry, up-to-no-good, and gullible group of people I’ve ever seen at a political rally.
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