SubscribeBut in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it.I know the evil librul blogs have been saying this all September, but now that we have a confirmed citation: WTF AMRIKA?! WTF WTF WTF?!
“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”
"Really? Well, given as much lying as McCain has done in the past two weeks, I hardly consider that a reliable source, but come to think of it, Lipstick on a Pig is a pretty good description for McCain/Palin. We'd like to thank the McCain campaign for it, and we'll have shirts printed by Tuesday. We'll be sending the McCain campaign a check for the royalties -- besides, they could use the money."
Why doesn't Barrack Obama lie more often?Why would he need too? Seems like there's enough factual badness emanating from the McCain campaign, I mean Charlie Black was once a lobbyist for Jonas Savimbi(!?!?!)
Speaking of TV, you'll know that Obama is well and truly toast if Oprah is forced to reverse herself and invite Palin onto the show before the electionThat doesn't make sense. Who could "force" her to do anything? She'd been friends with Hillary Clinton for years and didn't invite her on the show.
Not saying that will happen, but Oprah didn't get as rich as she is by riding a losing horse all the way to the finish line.And she's as rich as she needs to be. I mean, the woman is a billionaire, no one can push her around. Besides, given Palin's apparent fear of being interviewed, what makes you think Palin would even want to go on the show? And given Oprah's support for Obama, what makes you think Oprah wouldn't lay into her on issues like Rape Kits, Abortion, Equal pay for women (which McCain supports the Ledbetter scotus decision), troupergate, and all the other crap emanating from the McCain campaign. it's not like she's required to give "nice" interviews.
And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said. “You should be ashamed!” Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. “Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!”
[to which Sullivan adds]
Now I begin to understand the intimidation I have been subjected to for simply asking questions. All I can reassure my readers is: I'm now more determined than ever to reveal the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about this dangerous, vindictive Christianist cipher being foisted on the United States.
Here's what I get from Palin. She's a cypher, much in the same way Bush was a cypher. An attractive figurehead for the hard-right. She obviously hasn't any real policies or opinions of her own. Rather, she's an attractive proxy for whoever the power-brokers behind her are.You kidding? Palin is Nixon with a pretty face. She's "manipulated" to the extent that she doesn't really care about policy in the first place, but she's clearly lusting for power and surrounds herself with loyal incompetents.
For better or worse the last 30 years has proven America will take the "holier than thou" candidate over the "we know what's best for you" candidate. Do you hear me, Al Gore and John Kerry? This is why you lost, and if Obama isn't careful, he will too.Do you really think a black guy could have gotten elected 30 years ago? Things change, and we have a dramatically different situation then even 2000. I mean, I think the American people would be happy to vote for someone who has some idea of 'what's best' rather then incompetents with no clue. Neither Kerry nor Gore fought effectively. Kerry sucked, and Gore didn't really bring the heat either (of course we had no idea how bad things would get, so it was a different situation)
Since you brought it up Here is the group Obama tied his kite string to. Imagine if Palin had been running with this crowd, you would be screaming it from the mountain tops. Just sayin'. But let's not get distracted.Ah yes, noted racist Michelle Malkin, obviously her characterization of ACORN is spot on, after all someone with the penetrating insight to say, in the 21st century, that Japanese-American internment during WWII a great idea is obviously someone we should take seriously.
“Mr. Obama was given an office to write in at the University of Chicago through a surprising connection. Douglas G. Baird, a professor who was head of the law school’s appointments committee, had learned of Mr. Obama from Michael W. McConnell, a conservative constitutional scholar then at Chicago whom President Bush would later make a federal judge.He did not become a full-time professor, but a lecturer while being employed as an attorney at Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development from 1996 - 2004.
Professor McConnell encountered Mr. Obama during the editing of an article he wrote for The Harvard Law Review, Professor Baird said recently. ‘He sent a note saying this person is really brilliant, we should have him on our radar screen,’ Professor Baird said. Professor Baird called Mr. Obama at Harvard and asked if he was interested in teaching.
‘I don’t remember his exact words, but it was something to the effect that, ‘Well, in fact, I want to write this book.’ What he really wanted was the Virginia Woolf equivalent of a clean, well lighted room.’ So Professor Baird got him one, a small office near the law library, along with a law school fellowship that Professor Baird hoped might later lead to his full-time teaching.”
"A pollster whose mathematical model has correctly predicted every winner of the White House popular vote since 1988 is banking on a decisive victory for Democrat Barack Obama in November.
Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz said Wednesday that according to his 'time for change' model, Obama would secure 54.3 percent of the popular vote against 45.7 percent for Republican John McCain.
That margin would virtually guarantee a crushing victory for the Democrat in the state-by-state electoral college that actually selects the next president, Abramowitz said."
"In voting to issue a subpoena to Todd Palin in an investigation of the firing of the Alaska public safety commissioner, state lawmakers on Friday signaled that Mr. Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, might have played a central role in one of the most contentious episodes of her governorship.
While that suggestion goes beyond the image presented of Mr. Palin during the Republican convention as a blue-collar family man and sportsman, it echoes a widely held understanding among lawmakers, state employees and lobbyists about Mr. Palin’s heavy engagement in state government.
In the small circle of advisers close to the governor, these people say, Mr. Palin is among the closest, and he plays an unpaid but central role in many aspects of the administration of Ms. Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president.
Mr. Palin’s involvement in the governor’s office has prompted an irreverent quip by some capital staff members when decisions are to be made that might affect the governor: 'What would Todd do?'
Mr. Palin has encouraged lawmakers to support his wife’s agenda, helped her review budget items and polish speeches, surprised some lawmakers by sitting in on meetings and received copies of top administration staff e-mail messages."
On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"The grunting, drooling, pig ignorance of these people astounds me.
Well, a compilation of data from numerous polls actually shows the gap closing at the time of this posting. Looks like the bloom is off the rose.I think you mean the lipstick is coming off the pig.
Here we go again, with Republican election officials making decisions that disproportionately will affect Democratic voters in a crucial election now rated as a tossup in the polls.Miami Herald
Why is there a need to suddenly throw this in the works at the last minute?
The verification law, commonly called "no match, no vote," first was approved by the Legislature in 2005.
...
this week, the Florida Department of State suddenly announced it will begin enforcing the law. This comes as we face an Oct. 6 registration deadline for the November election.
I don't believe this is some evil plot. But I do believe it looks bad with newly registered Democrats -- many of them minorities -- far outnumbering Republicans in this voter-registration cycle.
And if past elections are any indication, an even larger crush of registrations is expected in the weeks leading up to the deadline.
So why pick now to begin enforcing this law?
...
Maybe I've lived in Florida too long to believe this will work.
Those voters who aren't contacted in time or don't see the letter will show up to vote only to be given a "provisional" ballot. To make it count, they will have two days to get to their county elections office and show identification.
Of course, low-income people with no transportation might be at a disadvantage here.
People need time to adjust to a law like this. And right this minute is not the right time.
Voters whose information doesn't match the databases may still show up to vote on Election Day, but they will be given a provisional ballot. Their vote will then be counted only if they verify their identity by showing a valid idenification card, a social security care or a Florida driver's license to election officials within two days of casting the vote.
Charles Lichtman, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who's heading the Democrats' Election Day statewide legal team, said attorneys will be available at polling stations to fight for voters whose names don't appear on the registration rolls.
''Florida voters don't want to show up at the polls and be told you can't vote a regular ballot or you can't vote because of a crazy technicality,'' he said.
If THEY weren't talking about it, I doubt very seriously the man or the woman on the street have even heard about it.Everyone I've talked to thinks Palin is a nutbar, but I don't know any swing voters.
One man gleefully showed my husband a clipping from today's Sunday classified ads. The clipping was a want ad for paid Obama campaign workers. He chortled, "They have to PAY people to campaign for him!" The ad stated no experience needed. Apparently they will be paying people to hold up signsThey're paying people to go out and register voters in democratic heavy areas. I wouldn't be so flip if I were you.
Crashing five jets with the last earning him a place at the Hanoi Hilton.I'm a little late to this party here, but I feel like this needs to be said: Can we please stop with the attacks on McCain's military record?
He was an ineffectual man and I don't like him. I lived thru his administration. Inflation was horrible. The economy was horrible. Jobs were hard to find. And do you remember the Iranian hostage crisis? -- konoliaYou can't be serious, all those things are true now except rather then inflation, people's incomes are decreasing. It seems like every week a major financial institution dies. We have a 6.1% unemployment rate and... do you remember a little thing called The Iraq War!?
Gee, maybe because the scenario you just outlined is a tad more complex than your original "OMFG Palin is gunna make yur momz a baby factory for rapists!111!1" assertion. A lot of shit has to happen for that to come to pass but please, don't let reality stand in the way of your fear mongering. I've heard that claim made, in one form or another, about every GOP presidential candidate for the last 20 years. For some reason the term "crying wolf" comes to mind...Dude, Sarah Palin opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest. It's not fear mongering to tell people what her actual policy would entail even if she might not be able to pull it off. it's what she wants to do. For fuck sake, she charged rape victims for their own treatment while she was mayor of Wasilla, it these are her real, professed positions, not some left-wing fantasy. That is what she is saying she'll try to do.
Can someone explain to a foreigner why it is that voter turnout is so low? This thread is great for seeing passionate people arguing for their sides, but I have a hard time understanding the mind set of the people who just don't vote. Do they honestly not care one way or the other? Do they not realise how much of an effect this election will have? I'm genuinely curious to know what's going on there. --twirlypenWell, for one thing, in states which lean heavily democratic or republican, votes actually don't make much of a difference (except in extreme cases). It would be more informative to look at votes in swing states.
I'm being completely honest here in my assertion that swing voters will have a hesistancy at the right moment to vote on racial lines. Why? My perception of human behavior. Nope, not an expert of any sort nor claim to be. Matter of fact, I don't even have a batshitinsane blog reference to back me up. But after observing people for the better part of two decades, I can surmise the following: when push comes to shove, people will stick together first based on politics, secondly on nationalism and then on religion. And when things get really tough and a choice has to be made, they will do so on race.Yeah, it's a shame that nice Obama fellow lost the democratic primary, I bet he'd be doing really well. Hillary is getting her ass kicked.
Frankly I have no idea what jsavimbi is going on about. I think he's just jealous that McCain is hogging all of Charley Black's time. Americans are well aware of Canada, the average American thinks about Canada the same way they would about, say, California or New York. There was a poll a while back that showed Americans think about Canada as being more like another state in the U.S. then another country. And we also get a shitload of Oil from Canada. Savimbi is spouting a lot of weird nonsense in this thread, frankly.And that is something that most non-Americans don't get: in our minds, we can live without you. And theoretically, we have for a very long time. In simpler words: the average American couldn't find Australia on a map, never mind give a crap about what happens there. That is the mentality you're up against.Now, this is a good point, though it seems to have nothing to do with your earlier ones, and most non-Americans who read American media and/or have travelled or lived in the United States are very aware of this fact. The United States is a an economic, cultural and political metropole and, like all metropoles, it doesn't look out to its provinces.
But that kind of ignorance is nothing to boast about. Americans should understand that the American lifestyle is extremely similar to that in other settler-based ex-colonies, and different from but not better than the lifestyles in most other developed countries on the planet. You don't need to be perpetuating the misunderstanding.
I don't see McCain taking any action on abortion if he wins. Think back a few months when the right leaning pundits were calling McCain a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only), he doesn't really fit the GOP mold but hey, he wonYeah, and how long until he eats a mysteriously poisoned moosburger?
That's like me saying Nixon is the reason I don't trust Republicans.
“Campaigning in Colorado today, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) promised renewed attention to kids with special needs. She declared, ‘Ever since I took the chief executive’s job up North I pushed for more funding for students with special needs,’ and cited her own family’s experience with the issue. [video | 01:31]
It’s a stretch to say she ‘pushed’ for any policy improvements. Though Palin did sign a law increasing special education funding in Alaska, ‘she had no role whatsoever’ in its development, according to the bill’s author, Rep. Mike Hawker (R). Moreover, as governor, Palin vetoed $275,000 in Special Olympics Alaska funds (Page 100, SB 221 with vetoes), slashing the organization’s operating budget in half.”
Not deeply versed in policy, Ms. Palin skipped some candidate forums; at others, she flipped through hand-written, color-coded index cards strategically placed behind her nameplate.She’ll be the Cliffs Notes version of Dick Cheney. Or, as I read earler today, she’ll be like Dick Cheney, only evil. And ignorant.
Sarah Palin's stated objective is to criminalize abortion so that a rape victim would be forced to bear her rapist's child.
1. Roman Catholic Church: 67.2 million.What say you, konolia, in response?
2. Southern Baptist Convention: 16.4 million.
3. United Methodist Church: 8.2 million.
4. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 5.5 million.
5. Church of God in Christ: 5.4 million.
6. National Baptist Convention USA: 5 million.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: 4.9 million.
8. National Baptist Convention of America: 3.5 million.
9. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): 3.2 million.
10. Assemblies of God: 2.7 million.
In 1999, health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada. After exclusions, administration accounted for 31.0 percent of health care expenditures in the United States and 16.7 percent of health care expenditures in Canada. Canada's national health insurance program had overhead of 1.3 percent; the overhead among Canada's private insurers was higher than that in the United States (13.2 percent vs. 11.7 percent). Providers' administrative costs were far lower in Canada.Note that's 1.3 percent for overhead for the "inefficient" government health care -- and between 11.7 and 13.2 percent for the private sector.
Catholic: 50,873,000ppl = 24.5% of US populationThe USA may be a Christian nation, but it's a distinctly Catholic nation, with only one other significantly-numbered variant of the Christian faith.
Baptist: 33,830,000ppl = 16.3% pop
Methodist: 14,150,000ppl = 6.8% pop
Lutheran : 9,580,000ppl = 4.6% pop
Presbyterian: 5,596,000ppl = 2.7% pop
Pentecostal/Charismatic/Foursquare: 4,407,000 = 2.1%
Population of USA: 207,980,000
“It's one of the most cringe-worthy moments in recent American political history:
‘Do you believe in the Bush Doctrine?’
The awkward pause, then the smug, patronizing comeback.
‘In what respect, Charlie?’
Charlie Gibson, taken aback, perhaps realizing that this is The Moment for which he'll be known for the rest of his career.
‘The Bush -- w-w-well, what do you interpret it to be?’
And then the painful, filibustering non-answer that I can hardly bear to watch without feeling embarrassed for Sarah Palin, John McCain, and this great nation of ours.
I'm not saying that every American besides Governor Palin knows what the Bush Doctrine is. Hell, I wasn't sure I knew what it was until Charlie Gibson confirmed it for me. But then again, I'm not a Republican governor who's running for national office.
Now, if Joe Biden had said this on national TV, the election would be over. Obama would either be calling Hillary Clinton and begging her to take over the #2 slot or he'd be busy getting to work on his concession speech.
But these are the Republicans, they of vaunted attack machines and vast right-wing conspiracies. Masters of spin, purveyors of semi-libelous commercials, wizards of righteous indignation and instigators of class warfare. If Sarah Palin doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is, well, my goodness, neither do a lot of hardworking, God-fearing hockey moms out there in the heartland. They don't have time to read those fancy city newspapers with lots of big words explaining the Bush Doctrine. They're not eggheads like Barack Obama and Joe Biden, those elitist intellectuals who sit around studying doctrines while raising taxes on hardworking Americans like you and me.
You think Governor Palin is going to waste her time reading books about the Bush Doctrine? No, she's busy with the responsibilities that come with being governor of the great state of Alaska. She's got moose to field-dress, bridges to nowhere to say ‘No’ to, jets to sell on eBay. Maybe community organizers have the time to talk about the Bush Doctrine. But Sarah Palin's too busy trying to reform Washington. By way of Alaska.
Before long, Obama and Biden will have to defend themselves against accusations that they're smart. They'll start claiming that they not only didn't know what the Bush Doctrine is but that they were unaware that Bush was even president. ‘We thought we were running against his father,’ they'll say. ‘We were too busy going to church and shooting animals and saying 'No' to lobbyists to pay attention to any of that Washington election nonsense. Hell, we don't even know how to read.’
And the election will become about who's dumber and more ignorant.
And you know which party's going to win that one.”
I personally know a woman who used to babysit his three oldest kids. Nuff said.What on earth is that even supposed to mean?
"My lord, take a look at what — who got us in this hole, whose policies. This has been a Republican philosophy of letting Wall Street do what they want and the middle class be damned. It's about time we change it. If I sound like I'm angry, I am fighting mad for middle-class people who have been the scapegoat of this economy because of the policies of the McCains and the Bushes."
"'The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.'His words instill confidence and inspiration, don't they?
...'I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession,' he said, 'I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong and I believe they will remain strong.'"
"Given that Enron-linked former senator, McCain economic advisor, and mortgage-industry-specializing banking lobbyist Phil Gramm has been credited as mover and shaker behind the very law that allowed the current financial meltdown to happen, I'd love to hear what McCain and Gramm think should be done to solve this crisis.
As of yet, of course, their only response is to deny that any of it is significant. No problem, everything's fine. Sure, people are losing their homes to foreclosure; sure, investors are being wiped out. But hey, aside from that, everything's peachy.
Nonetheless... since McCain has indeed pegged Gramm as 'one of the smartest person in the world' when it comes to economics, I'm dying to find out what Phil Gramm thinks should be done to fix the problem that Phil Gramm and the other lets-deregulate-everything Republicans helped create.
Maybe drilling will fix it?
Maybe more deregulation will allow the free market to something something something?
Maybe if we had poured all our Social Security into these institutions, this would never have happened, because the free market dictates that private retirement investments always go up. Just like how dropped toast always lands on its edge?
Maybe the Republicans have invented a machine to convert bullshit into gold?
Maybe Lehman Brothers should have sold more stuff on eBay?
No, seriously -- I'm all ears. What's your advice to America this time, Gramm? McCain?"
The net effect of the plan, the study said, “almost certainly will be to increase family costs for medical care.”More proof that McCain is an arrogant bastard who has no idea of how regular (i.e. non-millionaire, non-congress) people live in America. Right now the "free market" has screwed tens of millions, charging them outrageous amounts because they have prior medical conditions such as...cancerous melanomas or caesarians or chronic ear infections. Ten years ago the Repulicans were able to scare people off the idea of Nationalized Health Care Coverage, but the last 10 years have made the situation more dire and most Americans are just begging for relief.
Under the McCain plan (now the McCain-Palin plan) employees who continue to receive employer-paid health benefits would look at their pay stubs each week or each month and find that additional money had been withheld to cover the taxes on the value of their benefits.
Yet another radical element of McCain’s plan is his proposal to undermine state health insurance regulations by allowing consumers to buy insurance from sellers anywhere in the country. So a requirement in one state that insurers cover, for example, vaccinations, or annual physicals, or breast examinations, would essentially be meaningless.
"Now that we've seen the entirety of the Palin-Gibson tete-a-tete, I concur with Rich Lowry and Rod Dreher. The most that can be said in her defense is that she kept her cool and avoided any brutal gaffes; other than that, she seemed about an inch deep on every issue outside her comfort zone. Yes, the questions were tougher than the ones that a Tim Kaine or Tim Pawlenty probably would have been handed, but they were all questions that a vice-presidential nominee needs to be able to answer. And there's no way to look at her performance as anything save supporting evidence for the non-hysterical critique of her candidacy - that it's just too much, too soon - and a splash of cold water for those of us with high hopes for her future on the national stage."
"Asked what work John McCain did as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that helped him understand the financial markets, the candidate's top economic adviser wielded visual evidence: his BlackBerry.Isn't Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberry, a Canadian company?
'He did this,' Douglas Holtz-Eakin told reporters this morning, holding up his BlackBerry. 'Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce committee so you're looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that's what he did.'
"McCain openly sparred with ['Morning Joe' co-host Mika] Brzezinski, whom he accused of being an open supporter of Obama. Asked by the host to assess whether an ad attacking him on the economy was out of bounds, McCain replied: 'I'll leave that for the American people to decide. I still say to you, and I know you are a supporter of Senator Obama, if you would urge him to come and do town all meetings with me as I have asked him to do time after time the whole tenor of the campaign would change.'I think we are starting to see McCain's (in)famous temper showing through, especially now that he is being called out for his lying and dishonorable campaign style.
The charge created an awkward and tense environment for the rest of the segment, with Brzezinski forced to note (as she has done in the past) that one of her brothers works for the McCain campaign (another brother works for Obama, and her father was once an adviser).
'Senator,' she said, 'as a characterized Barack Obama supporter, I take objection. I'Il just say, take care of my brother working at the campaign.'
'Thanks,' replied McCain, 'that was a cheap shot.'
But the issue clearly hung over the rest of the morning. Later in the show, Brzezinski addressed it once again.
'In light of the John McCain interview, I feel I need to say not only does my brother work for the McCain campaign, but he worked for George Bush for six years,' she said. 'I'm proud of him.'
Meanwhile, Republican strategist and former McCain aide Mike Murphy was left to explain away the Senator's humor, albeit adding that he thought the campaign's antagonism to the media had crossed a line.
'I don't think he meant it as an attack,' he said. 'There's definitely become a mentality inside the McCain campaign which is very hostile for anybody in the media they think is at all favorable to the other side. I think that's mistake. I think they overreact. I think doesn't do McCain well to have that mentality in the campaign. I don't really understand it because it's not his natural way.'"
"Earlier today, McCain spokeswoman Carly Fiorina told a St. Louis radio program that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) was not qualified to run a business. This afternoon, she reiterated her comments on MSNBC [video | 00:47], this time clarifying that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — or any other presidential candidate — couldn’t run a major corporation either.
...Similarly, this morning campaign spokesman Douglas Holtz-Eakin seemed to suggest that McCain’s understanding of the economy was not important, since he’s 'not running to be treasury secretary.'
Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor responded: 'If John McCain’s top economic advisor doesn’t think he can run a corporation, how on Earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis? Apparently even the people who run his campaign agree that the economy is an issue John McCain doesn’t understand as well as he should.'"
if you would urge him to come and do town all meetings with me as I have asked him to do time after time the whole tenor of the campaign would change.
To be fair I tend to agree that running a company requires a different set of competencies and skills than running a country and that being able to run one does not automatically qualify someone to do the other.
Ivy League Graduates in the Bush Administration
Shortly after taking the oath of office, Truman said to reporters:
“Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.”
'Fuck' is not a verb in that last sentence. 'Fucking Fuck' is an interjection and then 'America' is the subject of the interjection.
I spell it konolia.
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the mass hysteria phenomenon known as global warming. Much of the science has since been discredited. Now it's time for political scientists, theologians and psychiatrists to weigh in.
“With Wall Street’s financial institutions in turmoil, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) argued in a series of interviews today that his experience on the Senate Commerce Committee meant he knew ‘how to fix this economy.’ ‘I understand the economy. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee that oversights every part of our economy,’ McCain told CNBC’s Squawk Box [video].
But, as the Washington Post points out, the Commerce Committee doesn’t oversee ‘every part of our economy,’ let alone ‘the very areas now in crisis’:‘In fact, it is the Senate Banking Committee that has oversight of “banks, banking and financial institutions; control of prices of commodities, rents and services; federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System; financial aid to commerce and industry and money and credit, including currency and coinage.”It’s not that surprising that McCain is confused about the Commerce Committee’s economic responsibilities, considering that he freely admits, ‘The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.’”
According to its Web site, the Commerce Committee oversees 13 areas, beginning with the Coast Guard, and continuing through “regulation of consumer products and services … except for credit, financial services, and housing” — the very areas now in crisis.’
We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity
so much so that he was *kicked out* of the John Birch Society, probably the only person ever to be so, for being such a blatant anti-semite
"Senator John McCain’s top domestic policy adviser, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas J. Holtz-Eakin, recently said in a conference call with reporters that Mr. McCain’s health care proposal would 'put 25 to 30 million individuals out of the ranks of the uninsured, into the ranks of the insured.' In an article [in the journal Health Affairs] released Tuesday, a panel of prominent health economists concludes that Mr. Holtz-Eakin’s projection is off by, well, 25 to 30 million."..prominent health economists... Pfft. What does a panel of experts -- likely educated at those elite Ivy League institutions -- really know? They just spin facts and figures.
When Coolidge was named to Warren Harding's ticket in 1920, he had been governor of Massachusetts for less than two years. Aside from a largely powerless stint as lieutenant governor and other smaller legislative posts, his chief previous government experience was as mayor of Northampton, to which he was first elected in 1910 by a Wasilla-like margin of 1,597 to 1,409.Survey says:
TR, as a former assistant secretary of the Navy, had more foreign policy experience than Mrs. Palin, though one wonders what today we would make of a candidate whose proud boast was that he had killed an enemy soldier "like a jackrabbit.Survey says:
"Then there is Harry Truman, to whom Mrs. Palin compared herself at the Republican convention. "He had only to open his mouth and his origins were plain," wrote David McCullough... "It wasn't just that he came from a particular part of the country, geographically, but from a specific part of the American experience, an authentic pioneer background, and a specific place in the American imagination."Survey says:
The Truman comparison seems especially to rankle Mrs. Palin's critics, perhaps because in many respects it rings true. Take vetting. John McCain may have met Mrs. Palin only once before he offered her the job, but Franklin Roosevelt admitted "I hardly know Truman" in July 1944, the same month the "Senator from Pendergast" was put on the Democratic ticket.
Or take foreign policy experience. It's fair to say that Mrs. Palin has none, and the McCain campaign should drop the transparent pretense that Alaska's proximity to Russia, or her nominal responsibility for the state's National Guard, gives her some.
Then again, what did Truman know? "Truman had no experience in relations with Britain or Russia, no firsthand knowledge of Churchill or Stalin," writes Mr. McCullough. "He didn't know his own Secretary of State, more than to say hello. . . . Roosevelt, Truman would tell [daughter] Margaret privately, 'never did talk to me confidentially about the war, or about foreign affairs or what he had in mind for peace after the war.' He was unprepared, bewildered."
Truman, it's true, had served bravely as an army captain in World War I; he knew the nature of war. But his chief recommendation as a U.S. senator was as a good-government type who bucked his home state's machine politics (though not so frontally as Mrs. Palin bucked hers) and fought waste, fraud and corruption in military spending."
Colberg, who was appointed by Palin, said the employees are caught between their respect for the Legislature and their loyalty to the governor, who initially agreed to cooperate with the inquiry but has increasingly opposed it since McCain chose her as his running mate.The Republican Attorney General- appointed by Sarah Palin- is telling state employees who were subpoenaed not to testify because the governor- Sarah Palin- think they shouldn't have been subpoenaed.
"This is an untenable position for our clients because the governor has so strongly stated that the subpoenas issued by your committee are of questionable validity," Colberg wrote.
The piece, paid for by the Republican National Committee and authorized by McCain, tells voters it is seeking to double-check their "unconfirmed" party affiliations while asking for money. A letter signed by McCain tells the Democrats: "We have you registered as a Republican."This is sickening.
Two top Florida elections officials, both Republicans, faulted the GOP mailing, calling it "confusing" and "unfortunate" because of a potential to undermine voter confidence by making them question the accuracy of their registrations.
"It is unfortunate, because it does put a lot of doubt in people's minds," said Secretary of State Kurt Browning, the state's top elections official.
After his office received dozens of calls, Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland issued a media alert that his office had nothing to do with it. "They were upset folks and they were very concerned," said Holland, a Republican. "They mainly said their party (listing) was different than it was."
Some Democrats suspect a motive beyond raising money. The first-class GOP mailing has a "Do not forward" instruction on the envelope, meaning they will be returned to the GOP if a recipient has had mail forwarded, perhaps to a summer address, or has moved.
Letters returned as undeliverable can be compiled into "challenge lists" of unverifiable addresses and can be used to challenge voters' eligibility during early voting or on Election Day. The vote suppression technique is known as "vote caging."
The letter asks recipients to note changes on an "RNC File Card" and return it to the party by Sept. 26. The card shows a nine-digit "voter ID" number, but the supervisor of elections in Jacksonville's Duval County said the numbers are wrong and do not match the state's voter database.
Bob Barr lawsuit seeks to bar (pun intended) Obama and McCain from Texas Ballot.
"For much of this year, Mr. McCain has seemed to struggle to strike a balance between conveying the optimism that many voters want in their leaders, and the I-feel-your-pain empathy that they crave during hard times. His task is complicated by the tension between his plans to continue many of the economic policies of the unpopular incumbent Republican president he hopes to succeed, and his pledges to improve the American economy and shake up Washington.
As recently as January, Mr. McCain argued at a Republican debate that Americans were better off than they were eight years ago; by this summer he had released an advertisement that said 'we’re worse off than we were four years ago.'"
"I've been in politics for over 20 years, and for over 20 years I've had Barbra Streisand trying to do my job. So I've decided to try my hand at her job...My new CD is a must for all Barbra Streisand fans, as well as Log Cabin Republicans...A portion of all sales will be used to damage Alaskan Wildlife Preserves."
As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, [...]This kind of crap just makes it harder to communicate across party lines
“And I'm thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn't even know what I'm going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are," she continued. "And he’s praying not 'oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,' no, he just prayed for it. He said, 'Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened.'"[...]
In 1988, Pastor Muthee and his wife traveled to Kenya after being "called by God." Setting up shop in the basement of a grocery store, they claim to have brought 200 people "to God" and away from the town's "spiritual oppression."
The source of the oppression? Witchcraft, Muthee says. When researching the community, they found that a woman named "Mama Jane" ran a divination clinic that drew a large following in the town.
“We prayed, we fasted, the Lord showed us a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place,” Pastor Muthee said.
A new study out of Yale University confirms what argumentative liberals have long-known: Offering reality-based rebuttals to conservative lies only makes conservatives cling to those lies even harder[...] In a paper approaching publication, Nyhan, a PhD student at Duke University, and Reifler, at Georgia State University, suggest that Republicans might be especially prone to the backfire effect because conservatives may have more rigid views than liberalsDo I believe in this study? I'm reserving judgement until I see more evidence from further studies. However, it is hard to deny that when offered facts the immediate reaction of many Republicans is to a) ignore the facts offered, b) counter the facts with irrelevant arguments such as "Clinton did it too," and c) offer up anecdotal evidence as to why the facts are wrong.
McCain has mocked the Obama fundraiser that Barbra Streisand hosted last night in L.A. (forgetting that McCain was feted at a Hollywood fundraiser last month).
Alaska is the Rape Capital of America
We hope you'll spend time reviewing all of the material housed or linked from here. But if you read just two documents, please make them the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship -- which explains why "[t]here may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other grave reasons" -- and Barack Obama's Blueprint for Change, which outlines all of Senator Obama's positions and is, we think, reflective of why he is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook.
On this website, we have collected and linked to documents from the Church and from Church authorities that reflect on the importance of civic participation motivated by all of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person; Call to Family, Community, and Participation; Rights and Responsibilities; Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers; Solidarity; and Care for God's Creation.
Even though we do not agree with all of Senator Obama's positions, we believe that he is the best candidate for President. He is able to inspire and appeal not only to committed Democrats, but to independents and Republicans too. He has a way of bringing people together that can only help our country as well as our country's relationship with the rest of the world. We desperately need a President who will give voice to our better angels. Senator Obama resists succumbing to partisan or divisive rhetoric and will look for common ground in addressing some of the most pressing needs of our time -- among them alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, making peace and, we believe, creating a culture of life.
“One of the Senate's most progressive members ripped John McCain on Tuesday for offering a phony populist self-portrayal in the wake of the current crisis in the financial markets. In the process, Sherrod Brown of Ohio raised the Republican nominee's involvement in the Keating Five scandal as evidence that voters couldn't trust McCain's record on both the economy and ethics.
‘It is not so much his economic proposals but his economic record,’ Brown said of McCain. ‘His main adviser is Phil Gramm -- he was his mentor in the Senate -- and you just tie it all together. Of course John McCain supported the oil industry, he has oil lobbyists working for him. Of course John McCain supported these trade agreements, he has got Wall Street people working for him... It is all wrapped up together. John McCain is a creature of these interest groups in Washington. He is no maverick and, from the Keating Five on, his ethics have been questionable. He's not a maverick and Barack has got to just keep hammering on that.’”
there are other values that are even more important to expose one's young to
Keating 5 corruption
Town or unincorporated developed area close to a city. Suburbs, since they are largely residential, are usually dependent on a city for employment and support services and are generally characterized by low-density development relative to the city. However, considerable industrial development has occurred in many suburbs so that their dependency on a city has been reduced.While the train doesn't stop here anymore, we still have our own police force, and several large businesses. For example, not far from where I live they produce Slim Jims (on Jones Sausage Road) and when you drive by you can smell em.
"Sarah Palin, a commercial fisherman from Wasilla, told her husband on Tuesday she was driving to Anchorage to shop at Costco. Instead, she headed straight for Ivana. And there, at J.C. Penney's cosmetic department, was Ivana, the former Mrs. Donald Trump, sitting at a table next to a photograph of herself. She wore a light-colored pantsuit and pink fingernail polish. Her blonde hair was coiffed in a bouffant French twist. 'We want to see Ivana,' said Palin, who admittedly smells like salmon for a large part of the summer, 'because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.' <>
And Konolia the number one most important trait I have tried to impress on my daughter is empathy. Far from being a snob and looking down her nose at people different from herself, she embraces people who are gay or ugly or poor or Latino or religious or disadvantaged. If she doesn't become a kindergarten teacher, I hope she will think about social services because she would be very good at it.
Values like treating people right. Values like 'remembering where you came from.'
And most likely gay and/or 'cosmopolitan,' as Rudy Giuliani sneered and flapped his wrists during his speech at the RNC Convention.
"Given the current state of the McCain/Palin campaign (it's crashing) -- and the horrible state of the economy (it's crashing) -- you have to know some major distraction is in the pipeline from the GOP. McCain has to do something to change the subject. So, expect some vintage Rovian trick. But, this one will have to be extra ugly...In any case, possibly as soon as tomorrow, McCain's going into Red Alert distraction mode. You've been warned."
'The people out, you know, who are the rednecks or whoever, are bitter.'Ah yes, nothing shows that John McCain understands the plight of working Americans like a woman with a royal title and $100 million referring to American voters as 'rednecks' in the middle of an economic crisis." [video | 00:15].
- McCain surrogate Her Royal Highness Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, CNN, 9/17/08
But, in fact, the economy's weaker-than-expected performance, along with other "technical" factors that are beyond policymakers' control, account for less than a fourth of the $1.3 trillion deterioration in the budget. The other three-fourths -- $1 trillion's worth -- is due to actions by the White House and Congress since 2001 -- specifically, the tax cuts and spending increases they enacted.Some dude at Huffington. YMMV.
I hope, while you are educating your children about art and culture, you are also teaching them how to be good human beings. Which would include not being snobs. ... See, although I myself enjoy art and music and "culture" I understand that in some sense these are personal preferences. My parents certainly didn't raise me to appreciate art-now, they did have an awesome LP of Rhapsody In Blue that I played over and over and over again as a child, but I was not raised to "be cultured."First of all, the statement "I hope you are also teaching [your children] to be good human beings" is an insuation that there is a possibility that some of us are not, and that those who are not fall under your "urban snob" category. That is a shameful charge to level at another human being.
I think that it is far too easy to talk about how boring and obnoxious a small town is (even one fifteen minutes away from Art and Culture) without realizing that there are other values that are even more important to expose one's young to. Values like looking after each other (neighbors in small towns are really good at that.) Values like treating people right. Values like "remembering where you came from."
There has been a small "political flare-up because I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter," Obama said Saturday morning at a town hall-style meeting at the university. "They are angry. They feel like they have been left behind. They feel like nobody is paying attention to what they're going through."Critique the gaffe. But listen for the substance.
"So I said, well you know, when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on. So people, they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country."
After acknowledging his previous remarks in California could have been better phrased, he added:
"The truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important. That's what sustains us. But what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they are being listened to.
"And so they pray and they count on each other and they count on their families. You know this in your own lives, and what we need is a government that is actually paying attention.
"Polls taken after the Republican convention suggested that Mr. McCain had enjoyed a surge of support — particularly among white women after his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate — but the latest poll indicates 'the Palin effect' was, at least so far, a limited burst of interest.
The contest appears to be roughly where it was before the two conventions and before the vice presidential selections: Mr. Obama has the support of 48 percent of registered voters, compared with 43 percent for Mr. McCain, a difference within the poll’s margin of sampling error, and statistically unchanged from the tally in the last New York Times/CBS News Poll in mid-August."
"Faced with a surge in voter registrations leading up to Nov. 4, election officials across the country are bracing for long lines, equipment failures and confusion over polling procedures that could cost thousands the chance to cast a ballot.
The crush of voters will strain a system already in the midst of transformation, with jurisdictions introducing new machines and rules to avoid the catastrophe of the deadlocked 2000 election and the lingering controversy over the 2004 outcome. Even within the past few months, cities and counties have revamped their processes: Nine million voters, including many in the battleground states of Ohio, Florida and Colorado, will use equipment that has changed since March.
But the widespread changes meant to reassure the public have also increased the potential for trouble."
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posted by billysumday at 5:44 AM on September 14, 2008 [10 favorites has favorites]