ContradaGal

Obama Stands Up to The GOP!!

2010-01-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

SF CHRON - JAN. 29, 2010

Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling has a reputation as a hard-edged partisan with an abrasive streak that sometimes rubs people, particularly Democrats, the wrong way.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling: Mister Congeniality he ain't.

Well, today, he rubbed President Obama the wrong way.

At the end of a mostly polite question-and-answer session between the president and House Republicans today in Baltimore, the Texas Republican ticked off Obama when, rather than asking a question, he launched a partisan soliloquy against government spending and debt.

"Jim, I know there's a question in there," the president said, interrupting the man he three times called "Jim" rather than "Jeb."

Obama said that Hensarling's harsh attacks — and faulty command of facts — were a large part of the reason why Washington politics is so polarized.

"The whole question was structured as a talking point to run a campaign," Obama told the House Republicans.

The president took exception to two "facts" cited by Hensarling: that the federal deficit each month is as large as it was in the year before Obama took office and that the federal debt would triple over the next decade.

"That's factually just not true and you know it's not true," Obama said.

The president was the guest of House Republican leaders at the congressional GOP issues conference about 40 miles north of the nation's capital. Hensarling, a prominent critic of federal spending who refuses to take government earmarks for his district, was the final questioner at a lively but generally affable session.

Their exchange began tensely when Obama pointed to Hensarling and said, "Jim is going to wrap things up."

"Jeb, Mister President," Hensarling corrected, tartly.

He then launched a critique of the "unconscionable debt" the Obama administration was piling on their "small children."

Hensarling accused Democrats of ignoring Republicans' input on budget issues in 2009 and dismissed Obama's economic stimulus package as bad for the economy.

"Many of us believe it's part of the problem and not part of the solution," he said.

Obama shook his head at some of the budget claims made by Hensarling and eventually interrupted his conservative critic.

"Jim, I know there's a question in there," he needled.

When Hensarling finished his speech, Obama spent nearly as much time talking about his tone than the substance of his comments.

"The point is, at what point can we have a serious (discussion)...in which we're not simply trying to position ourselves politically?" he asked.

The president said that the White House and Congress are "not going to be able to do anything" if the political discourse is dominated by claims that "the other party is being irresponsible."

"We can't start off by figuring out (a) who's to blame and (b) how we can make the American people fear the other side," he said.

After the retreat, Hensarling was diplomatic in his comments about the president but steadfast in defense of his facts.

"I stand by what I said," he declared.

But he praised Obama for his willingness to reach out to the GOP rank-and-file, something he says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has not done.

"I have great respect for President Obama," said Hensarling. "I am grateful he chose to address the House Republicans - and I give him credit for accepting our invitation. But, again, he didn't answer my specific question on whether he would continue us on a path to tripling the national debt and increasing government spending to 24.5 percent of the economy."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=56294&tsp=1#ixzz0e3ClswA1

Obama's State of The Union Speech 2010

2010-01-28T08:48:00.001-08:00

Rush Limbaugh Does Not Want to Live

2010-01-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

By Rush Limbaugh (The Onion) January 25, 2010
Rush says "I know there are a lot of people out there who are upset about some of the things I've been saying on my radio program lately. My comments about the situation in Haiti have hurt and angered many Americans who genuinely care about the plight of the Haitian people, and that hurt and anger will likely never go away. Many of you are probably wondering, "What would compel a human being to say things like that?" Well, here's your answer: I am a very bad person. And, to tell you the truth, I don't really want to be alive anymore.
Try to look at it from my point of view. I have no reason to live. In my 59 years, I've made millions of dollars, built a veritable media empire, and accomplished virtually everything that a man of my limited imagination and worldview could possibly accomplish. And yet, at this point, in no way could you refer to what I'm doing as "living," exactly. I just sort of exist. I derive no real pleasure from life. Oh, sure, I talk a big game about what a golf nut I am and how much I enjoy the taste of a fine cigar, but it's all horseshit. Complete and utter horseshit.
I don't enjoy that stuff. I don't enjoy anything. I don't even want to be here. The sadness and regret I feel every waking hour of my life is absolutely unbearable. I am a miserable pig and I do not want to exist.
The irony is that, even if I did die, the hell I would surely be sent to could not possibly be any worse than the bottomless pool of excrement I already paddle around in like some demented, shit-covered walrus. In fact, every time I hear my voice coming through the headphones I nearly gag, and I think, "What the fuck am I doing?" Why would I say that Michael J. Fox is faking his Parkinson's symptoms? Why would I find it funny to play a song called "Barack the Magic Negro"? Why would I tell people not to give aid to Haiti?
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I live in constant terror and that terror informs my every word, thought, and action.
See, the thing is, I honestly cannot control the bilious hatred and filth that oozes out of my mouth. I want to—believe me, I want to—but I can't. And every time I speak, a tiny voice inside my head is screaming, "Stop talking, you stupid, insensitive prick. JUST STOP FUCKING TALKING. All you do is spread hate and fear, and the world would be a better place without you, you worthless, amoral, cocksucking fuckface."
What I should really do is just commit suicide. I have this little Sunday ritual I started around the time I publicly compared the torture at Abu Ghraib to a fraternity prank, where I climb into my Jacuzzi and put a gun in my mouth. But I can never work up the guts to pull the trigger. A few times I came close to overdosing on prescription pain pills, but my goddamn doctors were always there to save me. If I had any sense, I would just hole myself up in a Red Roof Inn with a case of Jack Daniel's and slowly drink myself into the gaping maw of death itself.
But what can I say? I guess I'm just too much of a fat fucking pussy to follow through.
You know what? I wish someone would just kill me. I'm serious. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Oh my God, how can you say such a thing? You can't print that in a newspaper!" But see, I don't care anymore. I've cried my tears. I've battled my demons, and I've lost. It's over. It's all over. The only thing left for me to do now is just go away. Have I even once contributed a single ounce of good to humanity? Put me out of my misery. I wouldn't make a fuss. I wouldn't even humiliate myself by saying goodbye. For the first time in my odious, pitiful life, I'd accept my fate with quiet dignity.
Then I wouldn't have to live with my wretched, wretched self. Oh, the release.
I've imagined my death a thousand times over, and it's always the same. In my mind's eye, a serene setting comes into view. I see a funeral procession driving down some small-town Main Street in Nowheresville, U.S.A. On one side of the street, a collection of sycophants and morons are paying their respects in subliterate, sanctimonious tones. Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, I can just make out the faint image of a young boy, his brow furrowed in confusion, clutching the hand of his father. "Who is that man, Daddy?" he asks as the hearse containing my bloated, lifeless body rolls by. "Who is that person they speak of?" The father will then lower his head and say, "There, my son, go the remains of Rush Hudson Limbaugh, the most abominable lump of festering dog shit in the history of American broadcasting. May the likes of him never again soil or tarnish the greatness of our fair country."

Force is a Recognition of History. (I agree)

2009-12-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

100 Billion Additional Funds for Unemployed

2009-12-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

New $100 billion safety net for jobless in works
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

(12-01) 15:39 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

As unemployment spikes, the cost of compassion is going up too.

That's the potential price of a push by Democrats in Congress to continue providing extra help to the jobless beyond the core 26-week unemployment insurance package provided under permanent law.

The jaw-dropping numbers combine the approximately $85 billion cost of continuing emergency benefits through 2010 for the long-term unemployed — jobless more than six months — plus an estimated $15 billion to continue subsidies to help pay health insurance premiums.

Even before the last new round of extended benefits in November, the cost of unemployment compensation was estimated by the White House to exceed $140 billion for fiscal 2010, which began in October. Just two years ago — when the unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in contrast to the current 10.2 percent — the cost of unemployment benefits was only $43 billion.

Extending unemployment benefits again is an obvious solution to Democrats preaching compassion for the long-term jobless, as well as to economists who say cutting off the flow of money could harm the economy.

"This is the most effective way to get money into the economy. It's given to people who are simply out of money," said Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., a key supporter. "They're spending it. They're not socking it away in a mattress somewhere."

Several temporary benefit extensions dating from mid-2008 are set to expire Dec. 31. In January alone, an estimated 1 million people will lose benefits as their extended coverage runs out. By March, 3 million people will have lost benefits averaging about $315 a week.

Also expiring is a program subsidizing 65 percent of insurance premiums for unemployed people who sign up for a continuation of health benefits formerly provided by their employer under the so-called COBRA program. The nine months of COBRA subsidies and the additional weeks of unemployment benefits were both core pieces of February's economic stimulus plan.

The COBRA health insurance subsidies expire Dec. 1 for those who signed onto the program when it first started last winter, though people who get fired before Jan. 1 are eligible for the full nine-month subsidy. People on unemployment would be able to finish out their present "tier" of benefits but would be ineligible for any of the recently passed additional coverage.

The benefits extension is under discussion among top Democratic leaders. While there's no agreement on a specific plan, there's a lot of sentiment behind a full-year extension, congressional aides say. The staggering cost, however, could preclude passing it.

With the budget deficit spiraling out of control, deficit hawks are certain to balk at the measure's price tag. And the White House, which is signaling that it is going to focus next year on trying to rein in the deficit, is not endorsing a full-year extension of benefits. Budget office spokesman Tom Gavin would only say the administration supports some extension beyond Dec. 31.

"We're past the point where anything can be deficit financed without some plan to pay for it," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. "It has to come with offsets."

Many economists say increasing or extending unemployment payments is among the most efficient ways to jump-start the economy. It's easy to do and the people getting the benefits typically spend the money quickly. With the economy in a fragile recovery, cutting off benefits could be harmful.

"It would significantly raise the risk of falling back into recession next year," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Not all economists agree, however, especially if the benefits are financed by adding to the nation's $12 trillion debt. There's also evidence that unemployment insurance actually raises the jobless rate slightly because some people don't look for work as diligently as they do when they're on it.

"The longer you extend unemployment benefits, the longer you extend average job searches," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "It makes it more comfortable for people to be unemployed."

While most Republicans supported a recent bill adding 14 to 20 weeks of extra benefits for those who had exhausted payments lasting as long as a year and a half, many are likely to resist the upcoming measure.

"Calling more government spending and more debt a 'jobs package' is laughable, and the Democrats' frantic push for more of the same is yet another acknowledgment that their trillion-dollar stimulus isn't working," said Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The startling price tag of extending the benefits is due to two factors: the sharp spike in the jobless numbers and several layers of additional weeks of benefits that have been approved by Congress since June 2008.

The core benefit is 26 weeks, with up to 20 additional weeks in states with high unemployment. States collectively are already projected to run a $57 billion deficit in the core program in 2010. The federal government is already obligated to lend them the money to cover that gap.

Additional tiers of benefits were added in 2008. February's stimulus measure not only renewed those benefits but added $25 a week to every unemployment check.

Mike Huckabee Allows a Killer to Kill Again

2009-12-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

AP By GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Gene Johnson, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE - Dec. 1st, 2009

Authorities in two states were criticized amid revelations that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. HE WAS RELEASED EARLY AFTER THEN-GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE commuted his sentence.

Huckabee cited Clemmons' youth in granting the request. But Clemmons quickly reverted to his criminal past, violated his parole and was returned to prison. He was released again in 2004.

The man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a suburban coffee shop was shot and killed by a lone patrolman investigating a stolen car early Tuesday. Four people were arrested for allegedly helping the suspect elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt.

Maurice Clemmons was carrying a handgun he took from one of the dead officers when a Seattle policeman recognized him near a stolen car in a working-class south Seattle neighborhood about 2:45 a.m., Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said.

The vehicle was running but unoccupied when the officer pulled up, radioed in the license plate number and realized the car was stolen, Pugel said.

The officer saw something moving, got out of his car, saw Clemmons and ordered him to show his hands and stop.

"He wouldn't stop," Pugel said. "The officer fired several rounds."

Clemmons also had sustained a serious gunshot wound from one of the four officers killed in the coffee-shop shooting.

Police planned to arrest more people who helped Clemmons.

"We expect to have maybe six or seven people in custody by the day's end," said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff. "Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives. Now they're all partners in crime."

Three people were booked into the Pierce County Jail on Monday and early Tuesday for investigation of rendering criminal assistance on four counts of first-degree murder. They are Ricky Hinton, Eddie Lee Davis and Douglas Edward Davis. Troyer said a getaway driver also was arrested. That person's identity wasn't immediately known.

On Monday, officers detained a sister of Clemmons who they think treated the suspect's gunshot wound.

"We believe she drove him up to Seattle and bandaged him up," Troyer said.

Authorities say Clemmons, 37, singled out the Lakewood officers and spared employees and other customers at the coffee shop Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. He then fled, but not before one of the dying officers apparently shot him in the torso.

"I'm surprised that he managed to get away," Troyer said. "The officer did a good job in Lakewood."

Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

A couple dozen police officers milled around at the scene where Clemmons apparently was shot, shaking hands and patting each other on the back later Tuesday morning. The officer who shot Clemmons was not injured, Pugel said.

Police said they aren't sure what prompted Clemmons to shoot the four officers, who were in uniform and working on paperwork at the coffee shop just two blocks outside their jurisdiction.

"The only motive that we have is he decided he was going to go kill police officers," Troyer said. He said Clemmons talked the night before the shooting about killing a group of cops and watching the news.

Police believe Clemmons chose the coffee shop because it was frequented by police officers from various agencies.

"We do not believe that the Lakewood officers were actually targeted other than that they were police officers in that location at the time where he knew he could find police officers."

Clemmons was described as increasingly erratic in the past few months and had been arrested earlier this year on charges that he punched a sheriff's deputy in the face.

Police surrounded a house in a Seattle neighborhood late Sunday following a tip Clemmons had been dropped off there. After an all-night siege, a SWAT team entered the home and found it empty. But police said Clemmons had been there.

Police frantically chased leads on Monday, searching multiple spots in the Seattle and Tacoma area and at one point cordoning off a park where people thought they saw Clemmons.

Authorities found a handgun carried by the killer, along with a pickup truck belonging to the suspect with blood stains inside. They posted a $125,000 reward for information leading to Clemmons' arrest and alerted hospitals to be on the lookout for a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.

Authorities in two states were criticized amid revelations that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. He was released early after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.

Huckabee cited Clemmons' youth in granting the request. But Clemmons quickly reverted to his criminal past, violated his parole and was returned to prison. He was released again in 2004.

"This guy should have never been on the street," said Brian D. Wurts, president of the police union in Lakewood. "Our elected officials need to find out why these people are out."

Huckabee said on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" Monday night that Clemmons was allowed back on the street because prosecutors failed to file paperwork in time.

Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons' parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee's comments were "red herrings."

"My word to Mr. Huckabee is man up and own what you did," Jegley said.

Clemmons was charged in Washington state earlier this year with assaulting a police officer and raping a child, and investigators in the sex case said he was motivated by visions that he was Jesus Christ and that the world was on the verge of the apocalypse.

But he was released from jail after posting bail with the assistance of Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.

Documents related to those charges indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress.

"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," a Pierce County sheriff's report said.

Obama - Four Options for Afghanistan

2009-11-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is considering four options for realigning U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Tuesday, while military officials said the choices involve several ways the president could employ additional U.S. forces next year.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama will discuss the four scenarios with his national security team on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Fort Hood, Texas, Gibbs would not offer details about those options. He insisted that Obama has not made a decision about troop deployments.

Gibbs said that anybody who says Obama has made a decision "doesn't have in all honesty the slightest idea what they're talking about. The president's yet to make a decision" about troop levels or other aspects of the revised U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama traveled to Killeen, Texas, Tuesday, where the president spoke at a memorial service for those killed in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision is pending, said the military services are developing presentations to explain how various force levels could be used in Afghanistan and how various deployment schedules could work, given recent promises to give soldiers more rest time at home.

Military officials have said Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though probably not quite the 40,000 sought by his top general there.

Gibbs said Tuesday that a decision still is weeks away. He had earlier said no announcement is expected until late this month, when the president returns from an extended diplomatic trip to Asia.

An Army brigade that had been training for deployment to Iraq that month may be at or near the vanguard. The brigade, based at Fort Drum in upstate New York, has been told it will not go to Iraq as planned but has been given no new mission yet.

Military officials said Obama will have choices that include a phased addition of up to 40,000 forces over some six months or more next year, based on security conditions and the decisions of NATO allies.

The Army would contribute the vast bulk of any new commitment, along with a large Marine Corps infusion. Both services are counting on plans for a large withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq to take place as scheduled next spring.

Even so, it is not clear that large numbers of new forces could go to Afghanistan before March. Administration officials have told The Associated Press that some of the expected deployment would probably begin in January with a mission to stiffen the defense of 10 key cities and towns.

Several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been made also said Obama's announcement will be much broader than the mathematics of troop numbers, which have dominated the U.S. debate.

It soon will be three months since Afghan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal reported to Obama that the U.S. mission was headed for failure without the addition of about 40,000 troops.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because final plans have not been disclosed, dubbed the likely troop increase as "McChrystal Light" because it would fall short of his request. They also said additional small infusions of troops could be dispatched next spring and summer.

The more gradual buildup, the officials said, would allow time to construct needed housing and add equipment needed for transporting the expanded force.

Besides being sent to cities and towns, the new forces would be stationed to protect important roads and other key infrastructure.

As he makes his decision, Obama told ABC News that he wanted to make sure "that if we are sending additional troops that the prospects of a functioning Afghan government are enhanced, that the prospects of al-Qaida being able to attack the U.S. homeland are reduced."

___

Associated Press writers Jennifer Loven and Ben Feller contributed to this report.

2010 Elections - What Dems Need to Look Out For

2009-11-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Thirty-seven governors will be up for re-election in 2010, and several of those seats could have a big impact on laying groundwork in swing states for the 2012 election.

In Ohio -Democrat Ted Strickland is polling even with his likely Republican challenger, former Representative John Kasich

Pennsylvania - show that Republican state attorney general Tom Corbett is the front runner to replace Democratic Governor Ed Rendell, who is term-limited.

Kansas - Kathleen Sebelius was governor until joining Obama's Cabinet, Democrats face a steep challenge from popular Republican Senator Sam Brownback.

Arizona - Republican, Jan Brewer, was appointed to replace Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and she is expected to seek a full term.

What's At Stake for Democrats

Connecticut - Chris Dodd

Illinois - The Obama Seat

Nevada - Harry Reid

Pennsylvania - Arlen Specter

Delaware - The Biden Seat

Arkansas - Blanche Lincoln

Colorado - The Salazar Seat

North Dakota - Byron Dorgan

Michael Steele - What happend to your 23rd District in NY?

2009-11-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

HUGE LOSS FOR YOU MICHAEL STEELE.
This district (the 23rd District in NY) has had a looooooong Republican history. LIKE 150 YEARS REPUBLICAN HISTORY. What happened? And please stop with your bad impersonation of the Heisman pose. Your butchering it. Thank you!

OBAMA STILL ROCKS!!!

2009-11-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Taken from the Huffington Post
David Plouffe - Chief campaign manager for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign

While I appreciate Arianna Huffington's kind words about my book on the 2008 Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, I could not disagree more with the suggestion that somehow the President Obama of 2009 has lost touch with candidate Obama in 2008.

Frustration about the pace of change, even disagreement on select issues, of course is understandable. But stepping back a bit, as those of us in the Obama orbit have learned to do, reveals an administration that already has made a significant down payment on the change so many fought for last year. I remain confident in the president's unique ability not just to lead us through the many challenges and crises of the moment, but also to accomplish the tough, smart, long-term projects of energy and health care reform -- problems that Washington has long ignored but that will secure a more equitable and prosperous future for all Americans.

During the campaign, the president offered three core promises to the American people. First, he promised to wake up every day thinking about how to improve the lives of the middle class, a task made more urgent by the historic economic calamity that greeted him as he took office. Some suggested that all that could or should be done was to perform triage on the financial system and allow economic events to take their normal course. But the president undertook strong action to stabilize the banking system, as well as the auto industry. These were things he had to do -- not things he wanted to do -- and of course they had little political upside. But President Obama is a leader; he did not run to occupy the Oval Office but to lead from it, and many times that means playing a bad hand as effectively as possible.

The president's actions to stabilize the banking and auto sectors may well have prevented another Great Depression from visiting this country; certainly these measures avoided additional drastic job losses and foreclosures, of which we have already had far too many.

But while dealing with these crises during his first ten months, the president has kept his sights squarely focused on the middle class. He passed a Recovery Act that saved and created a million jobs -- many of these backbone middle-class jobs like teachers, firefighters, and police officers -- and made historic investments in green energy and technology jobs. His actions spurred a 73 percent increase in lending to small businesses, allowing them to expand and create new jobs; helped hundreds of thousands of responsible Americans keep their homes; and cut taxes for 95percent of working families. He's expanded health care for children, passed equal pay for equal work legislation, and expanded stem cell research. And he is now closer than any president in decades to passing health reform that bans insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, outlaws insurance discrimination based on gender, and caps what patients can be charged out-of-pocket. This effort will be key, because job growth -- and the kind of robust economic growth our country needs to create a strong job-producing climate -- won't come without finally getting health care costs under control. Health insurance reform is a key piece of job-growth strategy, as employers of every size can attest.

President Obama's second core campaign promise was to make government more transparent and accountable, to rebuild a sacred trust that had been seriously eroded. And he has delivered. He closed the revolving door, forbidding anyone who works in his administration from lobbying when they leave their jobs. For the first time in history, names of visitors to the White House will be released, so every American can see which interests and individuals are visiting their government. And the groundbreaking website recovery.gov is allowing Americans to trace every dollar spent and every job created or saved from the recovery act, adding a level of transparency never before seen.

The third core pillar the president offered America was the chance to rebuild and strengthen our relationship with the rest of the world. Doing so would to allow us to solve shared problems and maximize shared opportunities, and to more effectively confront the terrorism and foreign policy challenges faced by the entire world.

He is, of course, delivering on that promise, to a degree even his most hardened detractors would strain to effectively or credibly criticize. The president is winding down the war in Iraq, just as he promised he would during the campaign. And he is working thoughtfully and with great care to determine our next phase in Afghanistan, always keeping the long view in mind. Surely we can all agree this is a refreshing change from the approach to Iraq of six and seven years ago.

Is there much work left to be done? Of course. Is the president satisfied with where we are on jobs? No; the problem weighs on him every day as he works to accelerate job growth and negotiates a cooperative relationship with the private sector, where the bulk of these new jobs must be generated.

The economy is growing again, much sooner than most experts predicted. If growth continues, it should lead to job growth. And the president's bold leadership has played a significant role in our economy starting to right itself.

But he understands that unless we make much-needed progress on health care and energy, we will not be as strong a country in the decades to come as any of us would like. Our future truly depends on finally getting Washington to start confronting long-term challenges instead of ducking them. This is asking a lot. Washington is often reserved when it needs to be bold, and political when it should be addressing substance and principle. It is too often focused on the next election, not the next generation.

This is one of the president's great strengths. All he cares about, no matter the barbs and arrows shot his way, is to finally deliver on health insurance and energy reform so that we can ensure our country's greatness, and provide a solid economic foundation for American workers today and tomorrow.

Arianna Huffington has written much that I agree with. But when it comes to her opinion on the president and his record so far, or her suggestion that there is some great difference between the president and the candidate, I have to register the strongest possible dissent. A year after our historic victory, I have never been more certain that Barack Obama is uniquely suited to lead the country at this unparalleled moment. His values; his ability and desire to think long term; his determination to avoid the easy road of political expedience and to rebuild trust between the American people and their government -- these are exactly what American needs right now. As on any journey, there will be twists and turns, ups and downs. But the change so many of us fought for so passionately last year is becoming a reality in front of our eyes, if we focus squarely enough to see it. And when the decisions he is making today finally resolve into a complete picture years down the road, we will find ourselves living in a stronger, fairer, and more prosperous America. And we will cherish the small part all of us played in electing this unique leader, a man befitting this critical moment in our history.

Carly Fiorina - 6 Things You Should Know!

2009-11-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

(taken from DSCC)

Carly Fiorina IS A LOSER!!

1. CEO Fail: Carly Fiorina was named among the nation's 20 worst CEOs by Portfolio magazine. No wonder. Under her leadership, Hewlett-Packard's stock fell 60%, and 28,000 employees were fired. She got fired, too, but her $21 million golden parachute made for a soft landing.

2. Iran Dealings? When HP's stock fell, it wasn't for lack of selling products - in Iran. Which happens to be illegal. The San Jose Mercury News reported that in the past 12 years, the company has used a Middle East distributor to sell millions of dollars' worth of merchadise to Iran, "sidestepping a U.S. ban on trade with the country." Fiorina was CEO from 1999-2005.

3. What, Me Vote? Running a company (into the ground) is hard work! A CEO is far too busy to vote! Or so it seems. Fiorina's voting record looks like Swiss cheese. She cast a ballot in only 6 of 14 elections held since 2000. She even skipped the 2000 and 2004 presidential primaries and the 2003 gubernatorial recall election. If she's so disdainful of democracy, what makes her think she deserves to represent California in the Senate?

4. McCain's Pain: Pity Fiorina's poor campaign manager. Fiorina's tendency to go off the reservation ended her short-lived career as a John McCain for President spokeswoman after she said none of the presidential or vice presidential nominees was qualified to run a major American corporation - including her boss, John McCain. Perhaps he votes too often?

5. Primary First: All of this assumes that Fiorina even gets the Republican nomination. That might be assuming too much. Her main competition, State Sen. Chuck DeVore, is the darling of the tea-party set. We've been seeing the fringe element taking over establishment Republicans across the country. Which makes one wonder why Fiorina has been bragging up her support from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. We saw how far national party support took Dede Scozzafava in New York's 23rd District.

6. Carly is ruthlessly attacking Senator Barbara Boxer. Practically calling her "That One" by saying "whats her name". These are the usual mean spirited tactics that Republicans are becoming so famous for. Yes, they are still at it! Whats wrong with you Carly? Are you THAT threatened? Can you not just focus on your own political platform? Why cant you just tell the Californians what you can bring to the table and leave your ugly Republican self out of it? I mean come on, is that all you have? Shamefully attack your opponant? Who wants to see that negativity? I certainly do not. What happened to civility and dignity? We (Californians) are so much smarter than you. Step up to our plate and show us your platform. Obviously ugly tactics did not work in our last major election now did it?

Michael Vick is a Serial Killer - NOT a hero.

2009-11-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Michael Vick's unpaid dues: Why dog advocates aren't moving on
By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

When football player Michael Vick made his first post-prison appearance in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform, he got a standing ovation from the hometown crowd. His recent reception in the Bay Area was far cooler -- at last month's game between the Eagles and the Oakland Raiders, he was greeted with protestors, picket signs and a plane flying over the stadium with a banner reading "Dogfighter Go Home!"
But even in the dog-loving Bay Area, Vick had plenty of defenders. "Sooner or later you're going to have to forgive the guy anyway," Charles Wright, a 44-year-old Oakland tow truck driver, told protestors after the game. "You may as well get it out of your system."

Another fan yelled, "Come on, the dude paid his debt to society."

In other words, "move on." But however many times dog lovers hear such advice, they're not getting any closer to taking it. That's because not only has Vick not served one minute in prison for animal cruelty, he was far more cruel to his dogs than most of his defenders seem to realize.

Most people are aware that Michael Vick was "convicted of dog fighting." They know he went to prison, and they've also probably seen the news stories, including a moving Sports Illustrated cover story, about the Vick dogs that were rescued and rehabilitated after being seized from his Bad Newz Kennels.

But that's only part of the story.

"What Michael Vick did was not just dog fighting," said Marthina McClay of Our Pack, a pit bull rescue group in Santa Clara, and the owner of one of the Vick dogs, Leo. "It went so far beyond that, and most people who defend him are uninformed. They don't really realize what Michael Vick did."

If you're one of the people McClay is talking about, let me invite you into Donna Reynolds' nightmare.

Reynolds is the co-founder of Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BAD RAP), an East Bay organization with a national reputation for rescuing and rehabilitating pit bulls. They rehabbed and cared for many of the dogs seized from Vick's Bad Newz Kennels after his arrest in April of 2007.

She's definitely not what you'd call a fragile flower, and she's been working with ex-fighting pits for longer than a lot of the people reading this have been out of kindergarten. It's fair to say she's seen the worst things that people can do to dogs, but there's still a story she can't get out of her mind.

It was a sweltering day in September of 2007, and Reynolds was in Virginia to evaluate the 49 pit bulls found alive on Vicks' property. A federal agent who had been at the scene when the property was searched was driving her to the various facilities holding the dogs, and they got to talking about what the investigation had turned up.

"The details that got to me then and stay with me today involve the swimming pool that was used to kill some of the dogs," Reynolds wrote on her blog. "Jumper cables were clipped onto the ears of underperforming dogs, then, just like with a car, the cables were connected to the terminals of car batteries before lifting and tossing the shamed dogs into the water."

She continued, "We don't know how many suffered this premeditated murder, but the damage to the pool walls tells a story. It seems that while they were scrambling to escape, they scratched and clawed at the pool liner and bit at the dented aluminum sides like a hungry dog on a tin can.

"I wear some pretty thick skin during our work with dogs, but I can't shake my minds-eye image of a little black dog splashing frantically in bloody water ... screaming in pain and terror ... brown eyes saucer wide and tiny black white-toed feet clawing at anything, desperate to get a hold. This death did not come quickly. The rescuer in me keeps trying to think of a way to go back in time and somehow stop this torture and pull the little dog to safety. I think I'll be looking for ways to pull that dog out for the rest of my life."

Vick did all that and more to his dogs, and even threw family pets into the pit with fighters and laughed while they were mauled, according to a witness who testified to federal investigators.

That's what sends dog lovers out to football games with protest signs: knowing that Michael Vick tortured and killed innocent dogs. That he has never paid for that abuse or even apologized for it.

Because the nation's most notorious dogfighter pled "not guilty" to animal cruelty charges -- charges that were eventually dropped in a plea bargain -- and he was convicted only of bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy, for which he served 18 months in prison before being welcomed back to the public spotlight.

Even worse, he's shown no sign of understanding of, or regret over, the fate of his dogs.

"Vick has never expressed one word of remorse for what he did to those dogs," said McClay. "Not in any of his public statements, and not in his appearance on '60 Minutes.' Vick said he 'let it happen.' He slammed and beat and hung dogs to death. It's like Ted Bundy saying, 'I let someone murder this girl.' He doesn't take any responsibility for it."

Reynolds doesn't think it's an accident that most of Vick's supporters are so in the dark about his crimes against dogs.

"It worked out nicely for Vick that he never faced his animal abuse charges in court," she told me. "That meant football fans were spared the most disturbing details of his tortures and could go back to their Sunday night ritual with barely a hiccup."

Those who weren't spared those disturbing details, like Reynolds and McClay, aren't finding it easy, or even possible, to move on.

"I look at Leo's big, fat head and wonderful, loving heart," McClay said, "and wonder, how can you kill something like that? And now that's okay because Vick did his time, and we should just move on? How do you move on from that?"

Well, you might say, that's our criminal justice system, and that's professional sports. And you'd be right, as far as it goes.

But before it goes too far -- before you, too, become one of the people saying Vick's done his time and deserves to get on with his life -- consider something other than the heartwarming stories about ex-Vick dogs making visits to cancer wards and schools for troubled kids.

Think about the ones who were buried in the dirt of Bad Newz Kennels, who aren't getting much attention outside the dog world.

The horrific fate of those dogs is why Reynolds is actually glad about the continued debate between Vick's defenders and pit bull advocates -- it makes it harder for what he did to be buried along with the dogs he killed.

"Much of the public still sees pit bulls as willing gladiators rather than the victims that they are," she told me. "We have a long way to go before open debate on the topic of animal abuse is welcome in most living rooms, so the outrage about Vick's tortures is rightfully keeping the subject alive."

I suppose that's the silver lining. I just wish I could get the image of those frightened, drowning dogs out of my head. And I wish I believed they were haunting Michael Vick, too.

Rep. Congressman Alan Grayson! We need more of him!!!

2009-11-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

Shut the hell up, DICK!!

2009-10-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Taken from Huffington post. Written by columnist DAVID CORN. (my hero)

Why is Dick Cheney helping Barack Obama? I know they're cousins -- eighth cousins, to be precise -- but for a guy who seems to detest the president and everything he stands for concerning national security, Cheney is inexplicably providing political aid and comfort to Obama.

On Wednesday night, Cheney received the not-so-coveted Keeper of the Flame award from the Center for Security Policy, a rather hawkish group run by Frank Gaffney, who was one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Iraq war. Accepting the honor, Cheney delivered a 25-minute speech and once again accused Obama of committing strategic blunders and undermining the credibility of the United States. Most notably, Cheney slammed the president for "dithering" on Afghanistan, saying that Obama "seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission."

Coming from Cheney, this was ridiculous. It is no news flash that the Bush-Cheney White House neglected the Afghanistan effort for years. In fact, as I wrote in 2006, the Bush administration didn't even have a senior-level official solely responsible for policies and actions in Afghanistan. The mid-level White House aide handling Afghanistan at the time had another portfolio: the Iraq war.

In his speech, Cheney insisted that his White House had not dropped the ball: "In the fall of 2008, fully aware of the need to meet new challenges being posed by the Taliban, we dug into every aspect of Afghanistan policy, assembling a team that repeatedly went into the country, reviewing options and recommendations." Talk about dithering. That review occurred seven years after the war began. (U.S. involvement in World War II lasted only four years.)

For Democrats, countering Cheney's charges was far easier than figuring out what to do in Afghanistan. Responding to Cheney's remarks, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said:

I think it's a curious comment, given -- I think it's pretty safe to say that the vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghanistan. . . . What Vice President Cheney calls "dithering," President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public. I think we've all seen what happens when somebody doesn't take that responsibility seriously.

Even Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander rejected Cheney's criticism and commented, "I want [Obama] to take the time to get it right." By the way, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served in the Bush-Cheney administration, recently said on CNN, "I will tell you, I think that the strategy that the president put forward in late March is the first real strategy we have had for Afghanistan since the early 1980s." In other words, Bush and Cheney had nada. And in 2007, Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that the Bush-Cheney gang was not treating Afghanistan as a priority: "In Afghanistan, we do what we can. In Iraq, we do what we must."

Cheney lecturing Obama on Afghanistan is laughable, but the joke is on him. The ex-veep may not realize this, but he and his former boss exited office as profoundly unpopular men. Many in this country couldn't wait to see them leave. Obama won the presidency partly because he was the anti-Bush (or anti-Cheney). An impressive person on his own, Obama especially looked good compared to the fellows on the way out.

Now that Obama is a president rather than a candidate, he has lost the advantage of comparison. A commander in chief stands on his own before the public for judgment. His policies are evaluated by voters on absolute terms: Are they working? People no longer ask: Are they better than the other guy's? With the war in Afghanistan a serious problem and unemployment a kiss away from the 10 percent mark, every day Obama has to prove himself to Americans. And even his best efforts and decisions might not lead to good outcomes on these fronts. There actually may not be solutions to implement. Obama could well end up in deep political trouble because of such challenges.

But by interjecting himself into the discourse, Cheney sends up a flare: Hey, don't forget about me and Bush! And that reminder is great for the White House. If the issue is, can Obama succeed in Afghanistan, there's reason for Obama and his aides to worry. If the debate is Obama versus the Old Gang, the president is the big winner. In the 2008 campaign, he ran against Bush more than John McCain, and that worked out nicely for him. Since taking office, Obama has justifiably noted over and over that he's been cleaning up the mess left behind by Bush and Cheney. That argument will lose its oomph, the smaller Bush and Cheney become in the rear-view mirror. But here comes Cheney, jumping on the hood, pressing his face against the windshield, and proclaiming, "I'm here." What could be better for Obama?

Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, told me this week that he worries that by next year Obama will have a tough time blaming the nation's economic woes on Bush's policies. But if unemployment remains high, Obama and other Democrats will have no choice but to continue to make this case. Yet the more Cheney is in the spotlight, the easier it will be for Democrats and the White House to point an accusing finger at the previous administration. Cheney would help his fellow Republicans the most by sticking to fishing (please, no hunting) and letting Obama and Democrats contend with the vexing problems he and Bush bequeathed them -- and possibly fail.

Cheney and Obama are obviously not competing for the same audience. By slamming Obama, Cheney may be hoping to boost his own standing among conservatives, even if these moves also help Obama. But since Cheney is not running for any office in the future, such a tactic would be particularly selfish. After all, the Cheney brand is a damaged one. He's not a product the Republican Party wants on the shelf.

So as White House aides figure out how to manage their feud with Fox News, they should have no mixed feelings about mixing it up with Cheney. Politicians are often defined by their enemies. And there's no better enemy for Obama and his crew than Dick Cheney. They ought to send him a thank-you card.

Rush Limbaugh a racist: DROPPED FROM NFL OWNERSHIP!!!

2009-10-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

RUSH LIMBAUGH NEEDS TO BE ELIMINATED FROM SOCIETY. HE IS AN UGLY NEGATIVE PERSON IN EVERY WHICH WAY!

Wednesday October 14, 2009 7:03PM
Sources: Limbaugh dropped from group seeking to purchase Rams Story Highlights
The group trying to buy the Rams says Rush Limbaugh is no longer invovled
Sources said any bid including Limbaugh had 'zero chance' of being approved
Source: 'The NFL isn't interested in having its own Mark Cuban situation'

By Don Banks, SI.com

If conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh ever had much of a chance to be a minority owner in a successful bid to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams, it is now over, two league sources have confirmed to SI.com.

In a statement released Wednesday evening by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts -- who is heading the group that hopes to buy the Rams -- he announced Limbaugh's official exit from the bid. It is believed that Limbaugh's controversial participation would have doomed the group's effort in the eyes of NFL owners. League sources told SI.com that Limbaugh's candidacy in any Rams bid had "zero chance'' of being approved by the league's owners. In his statement, Checketts said Limbaugh's participation had become "a complication and a distraction'' to the group's efforts.

According to league sources, Limbaugh comes with too much troubling baggage in terms of his outspoken views that often intersect the divisive issues of politics and race in America. In a time when the NFL is hoping to have complete uniformity among its team owners in anticipation of the tough collective bargaining negotiations to come with the players union, there was little interest within the league to associate with an owner who is paid to give his highly charged opinions on the radio for hours each week.

"The league would be on pins and needles for three hours a day, five days a week,'' one league source said. "The NFL isn't interested in having its own Mark Cuban situation, where [the Dallas Mavericks owner] is fined for something he said, but then pays the fine, moves on and doesn't care what he says the next time either. The league wants the focus to always be on the game, not the opinions of any particular owner.''

One league source told SI.com that Checketts group was never completely configured any way, and that Limbaugh's participation was never set in stone. In that sense, when word surfaced that he would potentially hold minority ownership in the Rams, it was viewed as a trial balloon of sorts that never advanced much past the potential stage. Checketts is said to be seeking to replace Limbaugh's financial participation with other interested parties.

There was swift reaction to the idea of Limbaugh being involved in NFL ownership, and much of it was not favorable. NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith last weekend sent a letter to the group's board urging players to voice their opinion of Limbaugh's participation. And on Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear that Limbaugh would face a high bar regarding approval of his potential stake in the Rams.

"Divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about,'' Goodell said at a two-day NFL owners meeting in Boston. "I've said many times before, we're all held to a high standard here. I would not want to see those comments coming from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL -- absolutely not.''

Goodell's strong comments were not just a message of sensitivity to the players in regards to Limbaugh's controversial reputation. One league source said it was a message to the league's entire customer base that the NFL would not be welcoming to a multi-platformed media figure who has a history of troubling and at times racially inflaming comments.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on Tuesday predicted that Limbaugh's potential ownership would face stiff opposition within the league, and said he could never vote to approve such a group. A league source went even further Wednesday, telling SI.com that even with Limbaugh no longer involved, Checketts' ownership group from here on out would face questions regarding the wisdom of having associated itself with such a divisive presence in the first place. The source said Limbaugh within the league was seen as "a drain on anyone else in the group who might have legitimacy.''

Another league source voiced puzzlement over Checketts not discerning the potential backlash of Limbaugh's participation in his group in advance of the news becoming public. "I would have assumed he would have run it up the flagpole with the league before it became known,'' a league source said. "Then a tepid response would have told him where things stood.''

Others within the league believe that Limbaugh may have viewed his participation in Checketts group as nothing more than a dose of free publicity for the radio host, no matter the outcome or the response to his involvement. "There was no downside in any of this for him,'' a league source said. "He gets a week of free publicity, and in the end, he'll frame his rejection to his benefit.''

I am calling you! Great Song!!!

2009-10-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

Change is coming.

Jevetta Steele deserves all the credit in the world. And why she does not have a single out, for this song, is beyond me. You can only hear her beautiful voice on youtube. I dont understand it.

Please enjoy this beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk7mCmgzpPE&NR=1

Taken from the movie "Bagdad Cafe". Great movie. A lil quirky but great movie.

Conservative movement behave like Bratty 13 year olds

2009-10-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Politics of Spite

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Paul Krugman

Published: October 4, 2009
There was what President Obama likes to call a teachable moment last week, when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to be host of the 2016 Summer Games.

Cheers erupted” at the headquarters of the conservative Weekly Standard, according to a blog post by a member of the magazine’s staff, with the headline “Obama loses! Obama loses!” Rush Limbaugh declared himself “gleeful.” “World Rejects Obama,” gloated the Drudge Report. And so on.

So what did we learn from this moment? For one thing, we learned that the modern conservative movement, which dominates the modern Republican Party, has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old.

But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America.

To be sure, while celebrating America’s rebuff by the Olympic Committee was puerile, it didn’t do any real harm. But the same principle of spite has determined Republican positions on more serious matters, with potentially serious consequences — in particular, in the debate over health care reform.

Now, it’s understandable that many Republicans oppose Democratic plans to extend insurance coverage — just as most Democrats opposed President Bush’s attempt to convert Social Security into a sort of giant 401(k). The two parties do, after all, have different philosophies about the appropriate role of government.

But the tactics of the two parties have been different. In 2005, when Democrats campaigned against Social Security privatization, their arguments were consistent with their underlying ideology: they argued that replacing guaranteed benefits with private accounts would expose retirees to too much risk.

The Republican campaign against health care reform, by contrast, has shown no such consistency. For the main G.O.P. line of attack is the claim — based mainly on lies about death panels and so on — that reform will undermine Medicare. And this line of attack is utterly at odds both with the party’s traditions and with what conservatives claim to believe.

Think about just how bizarre it is for Republicans to position themselves as the defenders of unrestricted Medicare spending. First of all, the modern G.O.P. considers itself the party of Ronald Reagan — and Reagan was a fierce opponent of Medicare’s creation, warning that it would destroy American freedom. (Honest.) In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich tried to force drastic cuts in Medicare financing. And in recent years, Republicans have repeatedly decried the growth in entitlement spending — growth that is largely driven by rising health care costs.

But the Obama administration’s plan to expand coverage relies in part on savings from Medicare. And since the G.O.P. opposes anything that might be good for Mr. Obama, it has become the passionate defender of ineffective medical procedures and overpayments to insurance companies.

How did one of our great political parties become so ruthless, so willing to embrace scorched-earth tactics even if so doing undermines the ability of any future administration to govern?

The key point is that ever since the Reagan years, the Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern.

Anyone surprised by the venomous, over-the-top opposition to Mr. Obama must have forgotten the Clinton years. Remember when Rush Limbaugh suggested that Hillary Clinton was a party to murder? When Newt Gingrich shut down the federal government in an attempt to bully Bill Clinton into accepting those Medicare cuts? And let’s not even talk about the impeachment saga.

The only difference now is that the G.O.P. is in a weaker position, having lost control not just of Congress but, to a large extent, of the terms of debate. The public no longer buys conservative ideology the way it used to; the old attacks on Big Government and paeans to the magic of the marketplace have lost their resonance. Yet conservatives retain their belief that they, and only they, should govern.

The result has been a cynical, ends-justify-the-means approach. Hastening the day when the rightful governing party returns to power is all that matters, so the G.O.P. will seize any club at hand with which to beat the current administration.

It’s an ugly picture. But it’s the truth. And it’s a truth anyone trying to find solutions to America’s real problems has to understand.

It is unfortunate.

Yeah! America lost to South America! GOP = Bunch of Idiots!!

2009-10-02T21:11:00.001-07:00

LOL! This is YOUR GOP! (DUMB ASSES)

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) Thomas Carper (D-DE), Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) opposed the amendment with R

2009-10-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

BLUE DOG DEMOCRATS ARE KILLING THE HEALTH CARE BILL...Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

(All Headline News article, Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor)

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Senate Finance Committee late Wednesday voted down amendments from Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that would've included a public option in the health reform bill under debate for the second week. Some lawmakers and pundits have said the Finance panel's measure is the only one among five proposals in Congress with any hope of passage this year, since Republicans refuse to support a government health insurance plan.

By an 8-15 vote, committee members rejected a measure from Rockefeller that would have created a voluntary, public insurance program run by the Health Department and that has payment rates based on Medicare provider payments for the first two years of coverage.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and three other Democrats -- Thomas Carper (D-DE), Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) -- opposed the amendment along with all Republican members of the committee.

Rockefeller, chairman of the Health Subcommittee in the Finance panel, said in a statement, "I have traveled across West Virginia talking with people about their health care, and what I hear is that they need another option to buy affordable insurance - one that actually covers their medical care and helps drive down costs. Our job is to protect the American people, not protect insurance company profits. The American people have asked for real solutions that protect their families and their economic security - a public option does just that."

Carper said he did not vote for the amendment because "it would give the government an unfair advantage in the marketplace by allowing it to negotiate prices initially based on Medicare. That would stifle competition, not increase it, and the end result, I believe, would not be good for the consumer."

The measure from Schumer failed by a vote of 10-13.

Baucus was joined by only two Democrats -- Conrad and Lincoln -- in voting against it. The amendment would've included the public option plan passed the Senate Health Committee into the Finance panel's bill. Unlike the Rockefeller proposal, it does not tie its payments to Medicare and immediately negotiates its payment rates.

Two Democrats who expressed concern about tying Medicare payments to the public option, Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), voted to support both amendments.

"We should create a non-profit entity to compete with insurance companies to offer the best care at the lowest cost," Bingaman, a member of the "Gang of Six" centrist committee members who negotiated the bill for debate, said in a statement. "While neither public option amendment considered today was approved, we still have an opportunity to write a bill that encourages healthy competition."

"Without the ability to hold insurers accountable for their costs and quality of service, without the ability to get a better deal and stop the ongoing erosion of wages, most working families will be no better off after this bill passes than they are today," Wyden added.

A public option is a government-run, voluntary healthcare program that would compete with private insurance by offering cheaper coverage.

Democrats support it because according to them it would help make the costs overhauling the nation's healthcare system and expanding coverage to the 47 million uninsured more affordable. The GOP says a public plan would cause more job losses, impose new taxes and would not reduce costs nor provide fair competition.

Unlike other current Democratic bills, Baucus' bill features non-profit insurance cooperatives instead of a public option.

Committee debate on the $856 billion measure began last Tuesday amid criticisms from liberals who want a robust public option and more subsidies for the poor, and from Republicans who say the bill adds taxes to small business, and fails to ensure that funding excludes abortion and illegal immigrants.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency, said in its assessment the bill is budget-neutral, actually costs $774 billion and would reduce the deficit by $49 billion in 10 years.

Rockefeller has warned that a coop model is "untested and unsubstantiated," citing statements from the USDA and the GAO. Conrad, the progenitor of the proposal to use cooperatives, has responded by citing successful cooperatives such as Ace Hardware and Group Health, a health care co-op in Washington state with 600,000 members.

"The co-op structure was offered because it fulfills at least some of the goals of both sides of the debate," Conrad also said. "It is a competitive delivery model that could compete with private, for-profit insurance companies, but at the same time it is membership-owned and controlled, not government-run."

Baucus' bill, which also requires all Americans except the very poor to have coverage or pay a fine, is also the only proposal in Congress that has yet to be reported out of committee.

The Senate Health Committee in July approved a $600 billion measure crafted by the late Ted Kennedy that has a "strong" public option.

In the House, the Energy panel has a government insurance plan that allows doctors to negotiate payment rates and costs $900 billion.

The measure has the support of the American Medical Association, which last month partnered with the Federation of American Hospitals, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and Service Employees International Union to launch a pro-administration TV ad on healthcare.

The House Ways and Means and Education Committees have approved a measure costing $1 trillion over 10 years.

The two bills have a tax on the 1.2 percent wealthiest Americans, or those earning more than $350,000.

They also require employers to either offer coverage to employees while contributing toward the premiums, or contribute to covering the costs of coverage by paying the government an equivalent of 8 percent of their workers' payroll. Small businesses with less than $250,000 in annual payroll are exempt from either requirements.

Stop the Spitball fight! Form an Alliance.

2009-09-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ignore the Idiots. Seriously.

2009-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

How to talk to complete idiots
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist

Friday, September 25, 2009
SF Chronicle

There are three basic ways to talk to complete idiots.

The first is to assail them with facts, truths, scientific data, the commonsensical obviousness of it all. You do this in the very reasonable expectation that it will nudge them away from the ledge of their more ridiculous and paranoid misconceptions because, well, they're facts, after all, and who can dispute those?

Why, idiots can, that's who. It is exactly this sort of logical, levelheaded appeal to reason and mental acuity that's doomed to fail, simply because in the idiotosphere, facts are lies and truth is always dubious, whereas hysteria and alarmism resulting in mysterious undercarriage rashes are the only things to be relied upon.

Examples? Endless. You may, for instance, attempt to explain evolution to an extreme fundamentalist Christian. You may offer up carbon dating, the fossil record, glaciers, any one of 10,000 irrefutable proofs. You may even dare to talk about the Bible as the clever, completely manufactured, man-made piece of heavily politicized, massively edited, literary myth-making it so very much is, using all sorts of sound academic evidence and historical record.

You are, of course, insane beyond belief to try this, but sometimes you just can't help it. To the educated mind, it seems inconceivable that millions of people will choose rabid ignorance and childish fantasy over, say, a polar bear. Permafrost. Rocks. Nag Hammadi. But they will, and they do. Faced with this mountain of factual obviousness, the bewildered fundamentalist will merely leap back as if you just jabbed him with a flaming homosexual cattle prod, and then fall into a swoon about how neat it is that angels can fly.

But it's not just the fundamentalists. This Rule of Idiocy also explains why, when you show certain jumpy, conservative Americans the irrefutable facts about, say, skyrocketing health care costs that are draining their bank accounts, and then show how Obama's rather modest overhaul is meant to save members of all ages and genders and party affiliations a significant amount of money while providing basic insurance for their family, they, too, will scream and kick like a child made to eat a single bite of broccoli.

Remember, facts do not matter. The actual Obama plan itself does not matter. Fear of change, fear of the "Other," fear of the scary black socialist president, fear that yet another important shift is taking place that they cannot understand and which therefore makes them thrash around like a trapped animal? This is all that matters.

This is why, even when you whip out, say, a fresh article by the goodly old Washington Post -- not exactly a bastion of lopsided liberalthink -- one that breaks down the rather brutal truth about the real cost of health care in this country, it will likely be hurled back in your face as an obvious piece of liberal propaganda. Go ahead, try it. Or better yet, don't.

Option two is to try to speak their language, dumb yourself down, engage on the idiot's level as you try to figure out how their minds work -- or more accurately, don't work -- so you can better empathize and find a shred of common ground and maybe, just maybe, inch the human experiment forward.

This is, as you already sense, a dangerous trap, pure intellectual quicksand. It almost never works, and just makes you feel gross and slimy. Nevertheless, plenty of shrewd political strategists believe that the best way for Obama and the Dems to get their message across regarding everything from health care reform to new environmental regulation, would be to steal a page from the Glenn Beck/Karl Rove/sociopath's playbook, and start getting stupid.

It's all about the bogus catchphrases, the sound bites, the emotional punches-to-the-gut. Death panels! Rationing! Fetus farms! Puppy shredders! Commie medicine! Gay apocalypse! Forced vaccinations! Exposed nipples during prime-time! Let one of these inane, completely wrong but oh-so-haunting verbal ticks bite into the below-average American brainstem, and watch your cause bleed all over the headlines.

The big snag here is that the Dems, unlike the Republican Party, aren't really beholden to a radical, mal-educated base of fundamentalist crazies to keep them afloat. Truly, the political success of the liberal agenda does not depend on the irrational, Bible-crazed "value voter" who's terrified of gays, believes astronomy is a hoax and thinks Jesus spoke perfect English and really liked giving hugs.

In other words, there really is little point in the liberals adopting this strategy, save for the fact that the major media eats it up and it might serve to counterbalance some of the more ridiculous conservative catchphrases. What's more, it could also give the whiny, bickering Dems something slightly cohesive to rally around -- because the truth is, the Democratic Party isn't all that bright, either.

And now we come to option three, easily the finest and most successful approach of all. Alas, it also remains the most difficult to pull off. No one is exactly sure why.

The absolute best way to speak to complete idiots is, of course, not to speak to them at all.

That is, you work around them, ignore them completely, disregard the rants and the spittle and the misspelled protest signs and the fervent prayers for apocalypse on Fox News. Complete refusal to take the fringe nutballs even the slightest bit seriously is the only way to make true progress.

This also happens to be the invaluable advice of one Frank Schaeffer, noted author and a former fundamentalist nutball himself, who made a simply superb appearance on Rachel Maddow's show recently, wherein he offered up one of the most articulate, fantastic takedowns of the fundamentalist idiot's mindset in recent history. It's a must-watch. Do it. Do it now.

Now, you may argue that, while Schaeffer may be dead right and also rather deserving of being quoted far and wide, it's also true that calling people stupid is no way to advance the debate, and is itself rather childish and stupid. And you'd be absolutely right.

But you'd also be missing the point. When you ignore the idiots completely, you are not calling them anything at all. You are not trying to advance any sort of argument, because there is no debate taking place. You are simply bypassing the giant pothole of ignorance entirely.

You are not kowtowing to the least educated of your voting bloc, like the GOP is so desparetely fond of doing. You are not trying to give the idiotosphere equal weight in the discussion. As Schaeffer says, "You cannot reorganize village life to suit the village idiot." By employing option three, you are doing the only humane thing left to do: you are letting the idiotosphere eat itself alive.

Do it for the children, won't you?

US ranked #37 in Health Care. France is #1.

2009-09-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Glenn Beck, Rush Limbagh and Michael Savage ARE ALL RACIST!!!

2009-09-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

(ARTICLE TAKEN FROM THE UK - WORLD NEWS)

JIMMY CARTER SPEAKS UP ABOUT RACISM! YOU GO JIMMY.

In a blistering attack on the Right after watching Mr Obama endure a summer of hostility, the former US president singled out Joe Wilson, the congressman who shouted “You Lie!” while Mr Obama was making a speech on health care to the US Congress last week.

That attack, Mr Carter alleged, was also “based on racism”.

In comments that could provoke a contentious debate on race the White House is eager to avoid, Mr Carter went further than African-American congressmen who had begun to make the connection between Right-wing attacks on Mr Obama and his election as America’s first black president.

“I think that an overwhelming proportion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, he’s African American,” Mr Carter, 84, told NBC.

“I live in the South, and I have seen the South come a long way,” said the native Georgian. “But that racism inclination still exists, and I think it has bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people, not just in the South but across the country, that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country.”

The comments mean that Mr Carter has become the most prominent voice to level a direct charge of racism at Mr Obama’s critics.

It has emerged since last week that Mr Wilson was among a small group of Republicans who supported a campaign to keep the Confederate flag flying over South Carolina’s capitol building.

The flag is regarded by African Americans and many others as an offensive symbol of the pro-slavery South. Mr Wilson was also once a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which racism watchdog groups regard as a “neo-confederate” organisation.

But Mr Wilson’s son, Alan, said: “There is not a racist bone in my dad’s body. He doesn’t even laugh at distasteful jokes. I won’t comment on former President Carter, because I don’t know President Carter. But I know my dad, and it’s just not in him.”

During months of raucous protests against his health care reform plans and other initiatives, Mr Obama has been compared to Hitler, the Joker from the Batman films and the anti-Christ.

Opponents have called him a Nazi, a socialist, a communist and questioned his nationality. Demonstrators toting guns have appeared outside the president’s town hall appearances while a handful of preachers have led congregations in prayers that Mr Obama would die.

“Those kind of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national programme on health care,” said Mr Carter. “It’s deeper than that.”

Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, has been forced to address the race issue, telling CNN: “I don’t think the president believes that people are upset because of the colour of his skin.”

His remarks demonstrated the administration’s keenness to bury a debate that would divert attention from the president’s already overloaded agenda.

Organisers of the conservative “tea party” protests against the president have insisted their opposition is based merely on dislike of the president’s “big government” policies.

Brendan Steinhauser, a co-ordinator for FreedomWorks which organised the first large-scale protest against Mr Obama in Washington over the weekend, said accusations of racism were nothing more than a ploy to muffle dissent.

“It is an intimidation tactic. When you make that attack and call someone racist or homophobic it is a way to kind of silence them,” he said. “The idea that people are trying to bring race into this is absolutely ridiculous.”

Charles Rangel, a veteran black congressman from New York, said earlier this month: “Some Americans have not gotten over the fact that Obama is president of the United States. They go to sleep wondering, ’How did this happen?’ ”

For other Democrats, Mr Wilson’s unprecedented breach of decorum during an address by the president to a joint session of Congress led them to express what they had been feeling for weeks.

Mike Honda of California, chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said: “There’s a very angry, small group of folks that just didn’t like the fact that Barack Obama won the presidency.”

Fired up - Ready to Go!! (Health Care Rally, Minn.)

2009-09-12T16:29:00.001-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Shame on you Joe Wilson!

2009-09-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

While Senate rules on decorum do not prohibit personal references to the president, House rules do. According to section 370 of the House rules manual, members may not:

* call the President a "liar."
* call the President a "hypocrite."
* describe the President's veto of a bill as "cowardly."
* charge that the President has been "intellectually dishonest."
* refer to the President as "giving aid and comfort to the enemy."
* refer to alleged "sexual misconduct on the President's part."

(Hard to imagine how many members were in violation of the House rules during the Bill Clinton impeachment debate in 1998, but we digress.)

House Democratic leaders clearly view Wilson's outburst as a violation of the rules. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told our colleague Ben Pershing Wednesday night that Wilson's behavior was "contrary to the rules of the House."

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Thursday there should be no formal punishment of Wilson. "The episode was unfortunate," Pelosi said. "Congressman Wilson apologized, and it's time to turn our attention to health care."

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) didn't suggest a specific form of possible punishment for Wilson but he did say Thursday morning on the Bill Press Show that Wilson "ought to man up" and apologize to Obama in person. Clyburn said Wilson's release of a written apology late Wednesday night was "cowardly."

"I share counties with him ... these are people who may have political conservatism but they do have good manners, and I do believe that the first sign of a good education is in fact good manners," Clyburn said on Press's radio show.

Appearing on the same program, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) suggested the House should "reprimand or censure" Wilson, later repeating his call on Twitter.

Retired Major General Paul Eaton, who has become a de facto Democratic spokesman on national security issues, says Wilson, a retired Colonel, may have violated military codes of conduct as well.

Writing on The Huffington Post, Eaton takes exception with Wilson's defenders who say Wilson is stressed out because his kids are serving in the military.

"Every parent whose children are serving -- as all three of mine are -- can respect the strain Col. Wilson might be feeling, and thank him for his sacrifice," Eaton writes. "Yet I would never expect to hear anything but the greatest respect for the elected President of the United States from these men and women, regardless of their political persuasion."

Meanwhile, Wilson's Web site was down and his phone lines were clogged.

We Love You Obama But Please Show Some Backbone

2009-08-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

(written by Helen Thomas - Front Row Seat)

President Obama should stop trying to win bipartisan support for national health care reform legislation.

Obama seems loath to put pressure on fellow Democrats to embrace a government-run health insurance program as part of his reform plan.

Instead, the president has waffled on this key point, most recently saying that it's "only a sliver" of his health care reform goals.

This mushy approach is designed to win Republican votes in Congress. But Obama should recognize that hard-line Republicans are never going to support his health reform program because, for them, the Obama health proposals are a sideshow. Their real goal is to limit his presidency to one term.

He should put his foot down and say that a government-sponsored health insurance agency is absolutely necessary to compete against private companies and keep their rates low. And he should accept the reality that any congressional victory will be won by Democrats -- not by some imaginary bipartisan coalition.

If Obama wants to win, he could tear a page out of Lyndon B. Johnson's book on sure-fire ways to overcome congressional resistance.

Tom Johnson, former deputy White House press secretary for President Lyndon B. Johnson (no relation), recalls that LBJ was relentless in pursuit of needed votes and that he knew what it would take to win every lawmaker's vote on Capitol Hill.

Johnson -- who went on to become publisher of the Los Angeles Times and president of CNN -- said LBJ would be on the telephone with members of Congress and their key staffers, telling them: "Your president really needs your vote on this bill."

He also would know about every special request from every member -- from White House tours to appointments to federal jobs and commissions.

"The Johnson treatment" also included personal or group visits with the president.

Johnson kept tabs on deep-pocket political donors and would urge them to pressure members of Congress to vote a certain way.

He also would call on religious leaders and even have his aide Jack Valenti call the pope "if it would help."

There were also evening meetings with senators and House members, with nightcaps and gifts to take home such as cuff links, watches, signed photos and a pledge to support them in the next election. He also sent them home with gifts for their children and grandchildren.

Bribes? You bet.

Nor were journalists immune from his charms and generosity. Newspaper and television network executives would get calls from Johnson, seeking their support.

He became a familiar figure at six different churches, often using references in the sermons he heard in his next speeches.

He would have been in heaven with a cell phone.

I remember when Johnson was very unhappy with his friend Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, who was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and veering away from support for the Vietnam War.

At a White House reception, Johnson beckoned Church over for a chat and said: "Now Frank, just where do you get your ideas about Vietnam?"

"From Walter Lippmann, the great political columnist," Church replied.

"Well," said Johnson, "the next time you need a dam in Idaho, you just ask Walter Lippmann."

Opponents of Obama's "public plan option" whine about government intervention in the private sector, though they were conspicuously silent when taxpayers had to bailout Wall Street.

Health insurance companies and other critics are pouring millions into defeating the proposed legislation. They are disseminating falsehoods and using fear tactics to scare constituents.

Lawmakers -- our elected public servants -- have a moral duty to help the 47 million Americans who have no insurance. Senators and House members should work to make sure that all Americans have the same comfortable health coverage that they have.

HATE GROUPS ARE GROWING

2009-08-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

I saw these hate groups way back in the primaries and caucus's. This is sickening! What is happening to this country? This is NOT patriotism. This is prejudice. This is hatred. This is violence. This is the KKK. This is the GOP. This is the Republican Party turning a blind eye and allowing this to happen. Obama wants peace between the two parties. What the hell is wrong with you crazy people!!! I admire Evan Kohlman in this interview below. Please watch...

Susan B. Anthony

2009-08-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

Her principal cause, women's suffrage, would not be realized until 1920, long after her death, when Congress enacted the 19th Amendment.

Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906) was one of the 19th-century’s most successful reformers: (hello) A lecturer, advocate for temperance and abolitionism, and pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States. She fought for fair women’s wages, property and land rights for women, and legal rights of mother’s for their children. In 1869, Anthony, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the National Woman Suffrage Association which paved the way for nineteenth amendment (1920) to the Federal Constitution, giving women the right to vote. Bold and indefatigable, Anthony is the only women whose likeness has ever appeared on any U.S. currency -- currently the country’s largest denomination coin, the dollar.ProvenanceEdward S. Hawes, Alice Mary Hawes, and Marion Augusta Hawes; [Holman's Print Shop, Boston]; I.N. Phelps Stokes, New York, 1937
Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsMarks: Hallmark, BL: B.F. 40 (see Spirit of Fact #5, p. 152)
Inscriptions: Inscribed in pencil, verso: "Susan B. Anthony // 1820-1906"

NotesBiography: Born into an activist Quaker family in Adams, Massachusetts, Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906) devoted her life to the major causes of her day-temperance, abolition, feminism, and labor rights. In 1845, the Anthony family moved to Rochester, New York, where their farm served as a meeting place for abolitionists, including Fredrick Douglass and William Llyod Garrison. Her freindship with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which began at an antislavery convention in 1851, along with the sexiest attitudes of temperance workers (as a woman, she was prohibited from speaking at public rallies), deepend her commitment to women's rights, and she quickly became one of the movement's ablest leaders. Her principal cause, women's suffrage, would not be realized until 1920, long after her death, when Congress enacted the 19th Amendment.

Its Obama They're After, not Healthcare

2009-08-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

(this article taken from the NY Times)

The woman went to an airplane hangar in Belgrade, Mont., the other day, prepared to actually listen to President Obama talk about health care reform in America.

She has watched, the way the rest of us have watched, as the debate about health care has turned into a sideshow and in some cases even more of a freak show than Glenn Beck's. Now she wanted to see for herself, along with more than 1,000 others, if it would happen this way in Montana.

This is what she said about the event when it was over:

"Yes, there were a few protesters en route. But the Montanans who were excited to hear the President far outnumbered the fringe groups."

Then she said this about Obama: "He was smart, fair, funny."

So this wasn't an occasion when people with legitimate concerns and legitimate points to make were overwhelmed by the wing nuts and screamers who take their marching orders from right-wing radio and television and the Internet.

Those idiots come to these town hall meetings more to be seen than heard, and think creating chaos makes them great Americans.

Those people have been convinced by the current culture that we are dying to hear from them, and the louder the better. People who think that all they need to star in their own reality series is a couple of TV crews. But then this is Twitter America now, where no thought is supposed to go unspoken.

We hear that all of this is democracy in action. It's not. It's boom-box democracy, people thinking that if they somehow make enough noise on this subject, they can make Obama into a one-term President.

The most violent opposition isn't directed at his ideas about health care reform. It is directed at him. It is about him. They couldn't make enough of a majority to beat the Harvard-educated black guy out of the White House, so they will beat him on an issue where they see him as being most vulnerable.

In the process, they'll come after him on health care the way Kenneth Starr went after Bill Clinton on oral sex in the Oval Office.

With that kind of zealotry, screaming about government programs as if Medicare isn't one. It is why so many of them, all these wild-eyed red faces in the crowd, look completely certifiable, screaming about how Obama wants to kill Grandma, as if he's suddenly turned into Jack Kevorkian.

And by the way, if Sarah Palin is involved - Palin as uninformed as ever about these so-called "death panels" - the debate just got dumber, if that's possible. No kidding. If foreign policy was a brain-buster for Palin, something as truly complex as health care will make her feel as dizzy as if she just rolled down a hill.

So much of this comes from people who get all their information from right-wing media, or their cheerleading from political has-beens like Betsy McCaughey, people who don't see this as a fight for better and more inclusive health care, but who now see it as something grander and more noble, a fight to reclaim America from Obama.

They couldn't win the fight last November, when he laid out John McCain and Palin and a whole party with one election, so they try to do it now, with lies and rather amazing distortions. They want everybody to believe that if Obama gets his way, he'll eventually be in charge of insurance and doctors and whether you use CVS or Duane Reade. He's a Socialist selling socialized medicine. He'll kill Grandma. Come on. The notion that this is all honest dissent is just one more lie.

Even in Montana, the Swift Boaters who would line up against any health care plan endorsed by Barack Obama ran one television ad 115 times over a day and a half before the President arrived.

"Every time we are in sight of health insurance reform, the special interests fight back with everything they've got," the President said outside Bozeman. "They use their influence and run their ads. They use their political allies to scare the American people."

He is right about that. But the special interests aren't fighting the reform, in a system that cries out for reform, as much as they are fighting him. They see their first real good opening and they go for it.

They don't just want to hijack this debate, they want to hijack his presidency. The rest of it, about your coverage and everything else, is just the cover story.

Fox News: Great Reporting. FINALLY

2009-08-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

Weekly Address: Real Conversations about Health Insurance Reform

2009-08-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

Scary that some Americans are so Stupid!

2009-08-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Obama: Young and Compassionate

2009-08-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Obama's Weekly Address 7.11.09

2009-07-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

Republicans, stop the hatred and rediculous conclusions about President Obama and the state of our economy. Listen to what he has to say. In fact, why dont you do something positive for a change. Contribute to his progressive vision of things and shut the hell up.

Clay Aiken sings ...

2008-11-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

50 FUN FACTS ABOUT OBAMA

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics

• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball

• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili

• His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed

• He has read every Harry Potter book

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream

• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars

• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia

• He can speak Spanish

• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead

• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea

• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn't

• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia

• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs

• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name

• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister's fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived

• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy

• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books

• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck

• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.

• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees

• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date

• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker

• He doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol

• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician

• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine

• His daughters' ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)

• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside

• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal

• His house in Chicago has four fire places

• Daughter Malia's godmother is Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita

• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry

• He uses an Apple Mac laptop

• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300 SUV

• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits

• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes

• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)

• His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire

• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers

• He was nicknamed "Bear" by his late grandmother

• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso

• His speciality as a cook is chilli

• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins"

• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life

• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government

5 Reasons Hillary should NOT be Sec. of State

2008-11-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Functions of the US Secretary of State:

The Secretary serves as a principal adviser to the President in the determination of U.S. foreign policy and, in recent decades, has become responsible for overall direction, coordination, and supervision of interdepartmental activities of the U.S. Government overseas, excepting certain military activities.

Most of the non-original domestic functions of the Department of State have been transferred to other agencies. Those that remain include storage and use of the Great Seal of the United States, performance of protocol functions for the White House, drafting of proclamations, and replies to inquiries.

In accordance with the United States Constitution, the Secretary negociates with foreign representatives and instructs U.S. embassies or consulates abroad.

As the highest-ranking member of the cabinet, the Secretary of State is fourth in line to succeed the Presidency, coming after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. (See United States presidential line of succession.)

Federal law (3 U.S.C. § 20) provides that a presidential resignation must be accomplished by written communication from the President to the Secretary of State. This has occurred once, when President Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974 via a letter to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

When there is a vacancy as Secretary, the office is exercised by another member of the cabinet, as was common in earlier history, or, in more recent times, by a subaltern official of the State Department until the President appoints and the United States Senate confirms a new Secretary.

5 REASONS HILLARY SHOULD NOT BE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE:

It looks like Barack Obama has offered Hillary Clinton the post of Secretary of State and she’s mulling over whether to take the job or not. Obama’s apparent offer makes him look magnanimous and delights Hillary Clinton’s former backers, so maybe it’s smart politics. But there are a number of good reasons why Clinton should not be secretary of state. Here are five:

Hillary Clinton will have her own agenda (as will her husband). She’s not a team player and will bring in a crew of cronies whose chief aim will be to promote the boss, not the administration. Obama may wake up one day and discover that Hillary has decreed a new “Clinton Doctrine” of foreign policy.

It would be impossible, politically, to fire Hillary. No matter what she says or does, or how insubordinate, Obama will be stuck with her as long as she wants to stay.

Her husband is a walking conflict of interest. Bill helps a Canadian businessman land a uranium contract in Kazakhstan, and soon afterwards the businessman contributes to the Clinton Foundation. Bill’s personal and business dealings are embarrassing enough without Hillary heading the State Department.

The Clinton style of management–for example, pitting one faction of staff against another–would be a disaster at the State Department. Just look at how well it worked on the campaign trail.

And the strongest strike of all against Hillary as secretary of state… look at who endorses her.

FILE A COMPLAINT asking the IRS to revoke the LDS church's Tax-Exempt Status

2008-11-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

How to File a Complaint Asking the IRS to Revoke the LDS Church's Tax-Exempt Status
By making that passage of California’s Proposition 8 a substantial part of its activities this year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has violated nonprofit law. Because it has broken the law, it should be stripped of its 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt status. This law will not be enforced unless complaints are filed against the LDS Church for its illegal activities.

Please consider file a request with the IRS to take away the LDS Church’s tax-exempt status. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Download this pre-filled IRS complaint form, and add your personal information to it: http://tinyurl.com/irsfilled. If this URL is not working, download a blank IRS complaint form and fill it out. This form can be downloaded from: http://ftp.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf.

2. You will need to include documentation to show that the LDS Church has made lobbying for Proposition 8 a substantial part of its activities. Here are the documents you will need:

[UPDATE: You can download all of these as a single PDF file. Thank you, reader Jesus Christ.]

a. A copy of the letter from the LDS Church Presidency to LDS Bishops, which as read aloud in all California State LDS Churches. It instructs members to “do all you can to support [Proposition 8] by donating of your means and time.” Download and print the letter from here: http://wikileaks.org/leak/first-presidency-letter-california.pdf/.

b. A transcript of the confidential LDS Church satellite broadcast, which instructed members that they must support Proposition 8, set out a detailed “three-phase” Proposition 8 campaign plan, and which reiterated several lies about what would happen if Proposition 8 was not passed. Download and print the transcript here: https://secure.wikileaks.org/leak/lds-oct-8-prop-8-broadcast.pdf/.

c. A copy campaign planning document distributed by the church to LDS Church leaders. Download and print the document here: http://wikileaks.org/leak/lds-proposition8-notes-2008.pdf/. Please also print out a copy of the following WikiLeaks page, which explains the significance and veracity of the document: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/LDS_Church_Proposition_8_anti-gay_campaign_notes/.

d. A copy of this Daily Kos posting which includes scanned images that prove the LDS Church has been planning for the Proposition 8 campaign since at least 1997. Download and print the document here: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/27tmvasx7na3bksuq221.pdf.

e. Refer the IRS to this page, located on LDS.org, which includes links to various Proposition 8 campaign information, including a Proposition 8 propaganda video: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/same-sex-marriage-and-proposition-8/. This page was accessible starting 16 October 2008, and at least as late as 7 November 2008.

f. Include a copy of the ABC News Story about how the LDS Church threatened to excommunicate a member for speaking out against Proposition 8. A PDF copy of this story can be downloaded here: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/1b2kmdia2iq15eeftc52.pdf.

g. A copy of the Salt Lake Tribune news story which states that the LDS Church donated $2,078.97 of church funds to the Proposition 8 campaign. Download ind print a PDF copy of this story here: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/ifeqw2picvburmas3jw.pdf.

3. Once you have filled out the IRS complaint form and prepared your supporting documentation, transmit your complaint and supporting documents to the IRS in one of the following ways:

a. Email: Prepare your documents as PDF’s or web links, and send your complaint form with supporting documentation to eoclass@irs.gov. If sending your complaint as an email, you can simply copy and paste section 2 of these instructions into an email and attach your complaint form as PDF.

b. Fax your documents to (214) 413-5415.

c. Mail your documents to:

IRS EO Classification
Mail Code 4910DAL
1100 Commerce Street
Dallas TX 75242-1198

4. Once you have submitted your complaint, please consider signing these petitions to remove the LDS Church’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status:

a. http://www.mormonsstoleourrights.com/

b. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/review-the-501c3-status-of-the-church-of-latter-day-saints-the-mormons

----------
UPDATE: I just sent my complaint by email to the IRS. This was VERY EASY to do. I will post my the text of my letter below. Feel free to copy it:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has violated the rules for tax-exempt organizations by excessively lobbying for California Proposition 8, and for participating in the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. I have attached a completed Form 13909.

I am providing documentation by linking to web sites and PDF documents. If necessary, I can provide this information in alternative formats.

Documentation:

a. A copy of the letter from the LDS Church Presidency to LDS Bishops, which was read aloud in all California State LDS Churches. It instructs members to "do all you can to support [Proposition 8] by donating of your means and time." The letter is available here: http://wikileaks.org/leak/first-presidency-letter-california.pdf/.

b. A transcript of the confidential LDS Church satellite broadcast, which instructed members that they must support Proposition 8, set out a detailed "three-phase" Proposition 8 campaign plan, and reiterated several lies about what would happen if Proposition 8 was not passed. The transcript is available here: https://secure.wikileaks.org/leak/lds-oct-8-prop-8-broadcast.pdf/. Audio of the broadcast is available upon request through the WikiLeaks web site.

c. A campaign planning document distributed by the LDS Church to Church leaders. The document is available here: http://wikileaks.org/leak/lds-proposition8-notes-2008.pdf/. The following WikiLeaks page explains the significance and veracity of the document: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/LDS_Church_Proposition_8_anti-gay_campaign_notes/.

d. A Daily Kos posting which includes scanned images of LDS Church documents that prove the LDS Church has been planning for the Proposition 8 campaign since at least 1997. PDF version here: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/27tmvasx7na3bksuq221.pdf. Original posting here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/3/15369/3779/711/651188.

e. This page, located on LDS.org, includes links to various Proposition 8 campaign information, including a Proposition 8 propaganda video: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/same-sex-marriage-and-proposition-8/. This page was accessible starting 16 October 2008.

f. This ABC News Story about how the LDS Church threatened to excommunicate a member for speaking out against Proposition 8. A PDF copy of this story can be downloaded here: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/1b2kmdia2iq15eeftc52.pdf. Original news story here: http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=FEEE2BE8-BD9C-4314-88BF-E2E60AE2BCA4.

g. The Salt Lake Tribune news story which states that the LDS Church donated at least $2,078.97 of church funds to the Proposition 8 campaign. Download a PDF copy of this story here: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/ifeqw2picvburmas3jw.pdf. Original news story here: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10842051.

Thank you for your investigation of this matter. Please confirm reciept, if possible. Please contact me if any additional information is necessary.

Sincerely,

Jackson R. Howa-Morrow

Dems get new crop of military voters!

2008-11-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

An interesting subtext to John McCain’s defeat last week is what it means for the future of the Republican Party with respect to veterans and military voters. With McCain facing a diminished role in the GOP, and Chuck Hagel retiring from the Senate, there are few prominent Republican leaders left with military bona fides. This is in stark contrast to the Democratic Party, which has seen the emergence of a new generation of veteran leaders.

In the past two election cycles, Democrats have added ten new Democratic veterans to Congress. Last week, President-elect Barack Obama helped close the gap among military voters, winning 44 percent of veterans as opposed to John F. Kerry’s 41 percent in 2004.

Now, it will be up to a Democratic president to rebuild a military that has been pushed to the breaking point by a Republican. President-elect Obama will rebuild the military for the 21st Century by increasing the size of the Marine Corps and Army; restoring the readiness of the National Guard and Reserves; and fully equipping service members for the missions they face.

Domestically, the party that rushed us into war in Iraq has abandoned the needs of veterans here at home. It was a Democratic senator, Jim Webb of Virginia, who led the successful fight against the Bush Administration for a new GI Bill. It has been Democrats who have fought to expand health benefits for veterans, improve access to health care for reservists, and cut through the red tape at the VA.

This is not to say that Democrats are inherently more patriotic than Republicans. There are honorable people from all walks of life and political affiliations serving in the military today. But no longer will the party of Harry Truman and John Kennedy sit idly by while Republicans attack our commitment and dedication to our country.

ITS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

UNION SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO JAN 4TH 2008

AND THE CASTRO!

Colin Powell speaks of Obama's win

Are YOU fired up????

2008-11-04T12:44:00.001-08:00

Pundits Predict OBAMA!!

2008-11-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

Matthew Dowd
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 338 McCain 200
Senate Seats: 57 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 250 Democrats 185 Republicans

George Will
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 378 McCain 160
Senate Seats: 57 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 254 Democrats 181 Republicans

Donna Brazile
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 343
Senate Seats: 59 Democrats 39 Republicans
House Seats: 262 Democrats 173 Republicans

George Stephanopoulos
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 353 McCain 185
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats (59 if there's a run-off in Georgia) Republicans 40
House Seats: Democrats 264 Republicans 171

Mark Halperin
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 349 McCain 189
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 40 Republicans
House Seats: 261 Democrats 174 Republicans
Watch these predictions on "This Week"

Chris Matthews
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 338 McCain 200
Senate Seats: 56 Democrats 42 Republicans
House Seats: 264 Democrats 171 Republicans

Nate Silver
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 347 McCain 191
Senate Seats: 57 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 258 Democrats 177 Republicans

Chris Cillizza
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: 312 McCain 226
Senate Seats: 57 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 266 Democrats 169 Republicans

Arianna Huffington
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 318 McCain 220
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 40 Republicans
House Seats: 254 Democrats 181 Republicans

Fred Barnes
Winner: McCain
Electoral College: Obama 252 McCain 286
Senate Seats: 55 Democrats 43 Republicans
House Seats: 255 Democrats 180 Republicans

Eleanor Clift
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 349 McCain 189
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 40 Republicans
House Seats: 265 Democrats 170 Republicans

Markos Moulitas
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 390 McCain 148
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 40 Republicans
House Seats: 268 Democrats 167 Republicans

Ed Rollins
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 353 McCain 185
Senate Seats: 57 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 249 Democrats 186 Republicans

Paul Begala
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 325 McCain 213
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 40 Republicans

James Carville
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 330 McCain 208
Senate Seats: 60 Democrats 38 Republicans

Charles Mahtesian (National Politics Editor, Politico.com)
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 311 McCain 227
Senate Seats: 56 Democrats 42 Republicans
House Seats: 256 Democrats 179 Republicans

Morton Kondracke
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 379 McCain 159
Senate Seats: 57 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 269 Democrats 166 Republicans

David Plotz (Editor, Slate)
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 336 McCain 202
Senate Seats: 59 Democrats 39 Republicans
House Seats: 257 Democrats 178 Republicans

Obama wins North Dakota, has more paid staff in state than voters... Joe Lieberman thrown to pack of wild dogs behind Cannon Senate Office Building. Washington left without a Bush or Dole in office for the first time since, well, a really long time ago.

Alex Castellanos (Republican media consultant)
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 318 McCain 220
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 42 Republicans

Obama wins Virginia, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa and Florida; McCain wins Ohio and Missouri.... Coleman wins in Minnesota; Chambliss loses Georgia; Landrieu loses in Louisiana.

Dan Gerstein (Democratic media consultant, former manager of Sen. Joe Lieberman's re-election campaign)
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 318 McCain 220
Senate Seats: 55 Democrats 43 Republicans
House Seats: 260 Democrats 175 Republicans

Tom Doherty (New York Republican consultant)
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 331 McCain 207
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 42 Republicans
House Seats: 255 Democrats 180 Republicans

Robert Y. Shapiro (Columbia University political scientist)
Winner: Obama
Popular Vote: Obama 53 McCain 47
Senate Seats: 58 Democrats 40 Republicans
House Seats: 259 Democrats 176 Republicans

Obama will hold all Kerry states and pick up Iowa, VA, NM, Colorado, NV.

Robert Erickson (Columbia University political scientist)
Winner: Obama
Popular Vote: Obama 52.5 McCain 47.5
Senate Seats: 59 Democrats 41 Republicans
House Seats: 253 Democrats 182 Republicans

Obama wins Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia, not Florida... Democrats pick up Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico and North Carolina.

Alan Abramowitz (Emory University political scientist)
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 361 McCain 177
Senate Seats: 59 Democrats 40 Republicans (with a run-off in Georgia)
House Seats: 256 Democrats 179 Republicans

Obama wins Co., Va., Fla., Oh., Ia., N.Mex. and Indiana.

D.L Hughley and Donna Brazile

2008-11-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

Ignorance and Hatred still exists.

2008-11-01T09:41:00.001-07:00

Hockey Mom for Obama

2008-10-31T12:22:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama's Info-mercial - Superb!

2008-10-29T22:47:00.001-07:00

Obama has Electoral College Majority!

2008-10-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama has pulled ahead in enough states to win the 270 electoral votes he needs to gain the White House — and with states to spare — according to an Associated Press analysis that shows he is now moving beyond typical Democratic territory to challenge John McCain on historically GOP turf.

Even if McCain sweeps the six states that are too close to call, he still seemingly won't have enough votes to prevail, according to the analysis, which is based on polls, the candidates' TV spending patterns and interviews with Democratic and Republican strategists. McCain does have a path to victory but it's a steep climb: He needs a sudden shift in voter sentiment that gives him all six toss-up states plus one or two others that now lean toward Obama.

Obama has 23 states and the District of Columbia, offering 286 votes, in his column or leaning his way, while Republican McCain has 21 states with 163 votes. A half dozen offering 89 votes — Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio — remain up for grabs. President Bush won all six in 2004, and they are where the race is primarily being contested in the homestretch.

Though sounding confident, Obama is still campaigning hard. "Don't believe for a second this election is over," he tells backers. "We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does."

The underdog McCain is pressing supporters to fight on: "Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. And we never quit."

Less than a week before Election Day, the AP analysis isn't meant to be predictive but rather provides a late snapshot of a race that's been volatile all year.

It's still possible McCain can pull off an upset. Some public and private polling shows the race tightening nationally. And, roughly one fourth of voters in a recent AP-GfK poll were undecided or said they still could change their minds. It's also still unclear how racial feelings will affect the results in voting that could give the country its first black president.

Last month, in a similar analysis, Obama had an edge over McCain but hadn't laid claim to enough states to cross the 270-vote threshold.

Since then, the economic crisis has reshaped the race, and the public's call for change has grown louder. Obama has strengthened his grip in the contest by using his significant financial advantage to lock up most states that Democrat John Kerry won four years ago, even as he makes inroads into traditionally GOP turf that McCain cannot afford to lose.

Obama now has several possible routes to victory, while McCain is scrambling to defend states where he shouldn't even have to campaign in the final days.

In new AP-GfK battleground polling, Obama has a solid lead in typically Republican Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia. He and McCain are even in two other usually GOP states: Florida and North Carolina. Obama also is comfortably ahead in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. The series of polls showed Obama is winning among early voters, is favored on most issues, benefits from the country's sour mood and is widely viewed as the likely victor by voters in these states.

McCain's senior advisers acknowledge his steep hurdles and no-room-for-error strategy. However, they insist that internal polling shows the race getting closer. They hope the gains trickle down to competitive Bush-won states in the coming days and help the Arizona senator eke out a victory in Kerry-won Pennsylvania. McCain is keeping up his attacks against Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal; his strategists contend that's moving poll numbers.

"This campaign is functionally tied across the battleground states with our numbers improving sharply," said Bill McInturff, McCain's lead pollster in a strategy memo. "All signs say we are headed to an election that may easily be too close to call by next Tuesday."

Democrats privately acknowledge the race is narrowing, though they say they aren't concerned. Obama's top aides hope not just for a win but a sweeping victory that would reshapes the political landscape.

"Strategically we tried to have as wide of a map as possible," to have many routes to reaching the magic number of 270 on Election Day, David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, told reporters this week. "We think we've been able to create that dynamic and have a lot of competitive states in play."

Indeed, Obama has used his financial heft and organizational prowess, a remnant of the long Democratic primary that was fought out in every corner of the nation, to compete in states the party has ignored in previous elections because of their histories of voting Republican. McCain has lagged in both money and manpower.

As a result, the GOP's hold on states usually considered safe has shrunk, and the election's final week is being played out largely in states that Bush won and that are toss-ups in a political climate that greatly favors Democrats.

They include the traditional GOP bastions of Indiana and North Carolina, as well as perennial battlegrounds of Missouri and Nevada. Also on the list are the crown jewels of Florida and Ohio, which were crucial in deciding the last two presidential elections. McCain could sweep all six and still lose the White House.

Obama has every state that Kerry won four years ago seemingly in the bag or leaning his way, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and New Hampshire — four states with 41 votes that McCain and his allies aggressively fought for before pulling back this month when they became out of reach. McCain still hopes to win one of Maine's electoral votes, which are allotted by congressional district.

Among Kerry's states from 2004, only Pennsylvania, which hasn't voted for a Republican since 1988, remains realistically in McCain's sights. Public polls show Obama leading by double-digits, though McCain aides say it's much closer. McCain hopes that working-class white voters who haven't fully warmed to Obama will vote Republican. Some aides say a Pennsylvania victory, with 21 votes, could be what allows McCain to win the White House, provided he can thwart Obama in Bush-held states.

Over the past month, Obama has strengthened his standing in four of those offering a combined 34 votes.

He has comfortable leads in Iowa and New Mexico polls. Long considered toss-ups, Colorado and Virginia have started tilting more toward Obama. McCain is still advertising heavily in the four and has visited all in recent days. His advisers say their polling shows the race tighter than it seems.

West Virginia and Montana both emerged as GOP trouble spots after Obama started advertising in them; the Republican National Committee was forced to go on the air this week to defend them.

Earlier in the year, Obama had put millions of dollars into Georgia and North Dakota only to pull out when McCain ended up maintaining an edge. But, as the race closes, there are indications Obama could win them, too. Obama also could pick up a single vote in Nebraska, which awards votes based on congressional districts.

There are even signs that the race in McCain's home state of Arizona — which would be a battleground if he didn't live there — is narrowing. Public polls show McCain with a single-digit lead, even though Obama hasn't targeted the state.

South Carolina's forgotten Hero- Robert Smalls

2008-10-28T17:12:00.001-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls

http://www.robertsmalls.org/about.htm

Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 - February 23, 1915) was a slave who became a national hero when he freed himself and his family from slavery on May 13, 1862 by commandeering a Confederate transport ship, The Planter, to freedom in Charleston harbor. He was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, and eventually became a politician - serving in both the SC State legislature and the United States House of Representatives. During his political career, Smalls authored legislation that created the first public school system in America in South Carolina, founded the Republican Party of South Carolina, and successfully convinced President Lincoln to accept African American soldiers into the Union army - a feat which some say infused the additional manpower that helped the Union win the Civil War.

More Voting Scams - North Carolina, Washington

2008-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-tucker/confusing-north-carolina_b_138073.html

http://www.stealingamericathemovie.org/

http://www.gregpalast.com/robert-kennedy-greg-palast-the-final-investigation/

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93R8IE00&show_article=1

RALEIGH, N.C. -- "I was sure I voted for president, but then a friend told me that a straight-party vote in North Carolina includes every office except president. That made me really mad," Linda Chavis told OffTheBus.

Politically speaking, Chavis didn't just fall off the turnip truck. She is a volunteer "crew chief" for the Obama campaign in Raleigh who did not notice the separation between the straight-party vote and the presidential vote on North Carolina's poorly designed ballot in 2004. "I thought I voted against George W. Bush, but it turned out I didn't vote for president at all. It's an issue today because we're still using the same confusing ballot," said Chavis.

Chavis wasn't the only dumbfounded voter in 2004. A Duke University researcher estimated that more than 90,000 people who voted in North Carolina inexplicably did not cast a vote for president. That's 60,000 to 70,000 more than researchers would expect.

"One way to measure the impact of ballot design on voter confusion is the Residual Vote Rate. That's the difference between the number of ballots cast and the number of valid votes for president cast," said David C. Kimball, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In the last two presidential elections, the number of lost votes for president was "about twice as high in North Carolina as the national average," Kimball told OffTheBus.

"I would guess that most -- if not all -- of this difference can be attributed to North Carolina's confusing ballot," said Lawrence Norden, an attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. In North Carolina, a straight-party vote counter-intuitively does not include a vote for president. Voters must make a separate mark under the Presidential Contest box.

On Election Day 2008, there will probably be more voters than there were in 2004, and many of them will be first-time voters. "I believe as many as 100,000 votes for president could be lost this time around," Norden told OffTheBus.

This year's butterfly ballot?

It is important that ballots are easy to understand. Remember what happened with the butterfly ballot in Florida? When just a couple of hundred votes (out of 5.8 million cast) separated George W. Bush and Al Gore?

The ballot design flaw disproportionately impacts three groups who are likely to be heavily represented in the election this year: new voters, the poor, and the elderly. On the internet, poll workers in the Tar Heel State have "twittered" for help in explaining the ballot on election day. Some less sympathetic bloggers have replied that if people can't understand the ballot, they shouldn't be voting.

"Elections are held to get instructions from the public, they are not literacy tests," said Norden. "If something confuses people and it can easily be fixed, then it should be."

Think of it this way. "Imagine if confusing road signs were causing traffic accidents. Sure, a few people might say, 'What's wrong with those new drivers, those elderly drivers -- why can't they figure out the signs?' But before there were more fatalities, surely the government would replace the confusing signs with symbols that people can easily understand," said Norden.

Early voting started a week ago, already there are problems

"We've already had reports that people don't understand the ballot instructions," a Democratic Campaign official in North Carolina told OffTheBus. Speaking off the record, he said that the Board of Elections is "supposed to be educating voters at the polls, but so far the results are uneven. The word's not getting out consistently. Simply handing out a blue piece of paper isn't all that effective."

Adding to voter confusion, the GOP intends to challenge the legality of certain new voter registrations on Election Day, something they are already doing in Ohio. "This year I think we're going to see more first-time voters -- young people and minorities -- than ever before, and as first-time voters, they are likely to be challenged," sociologist Wayne Baker, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, told OffTheBus. Baker blogs the election at OurValues.org.

If two percent or more of North Carolina voters unknowingly "skip" the presidential contest, it may very well have an impact on the outcome. In 1992, George H.W. Bush narrowly defeated Bill Clinton in North Carolina by getting 43.34 percent of the vote versus 42.65 percent for Clinton. Polls indicate that this year the presidential race in North Carolina might be similarly close.

The Brennan Center recently rated North Carolina among the six best prepared states for voting system failures such as machine breakdowns and programming errors. The state's preparedness for hardware and software problems improved dramatically after their touch-screen machines failed in Carteret County in 2004 and more than 4,000 votes were lost. "I've been telling less-prepared states they don't want to become another North Carolina, waiting for a meltdown to improve their practices. And I don't want North Carolina to be another North Carolina. I hope the ballot design flaw doesn't throw the results of its presidential contest into doubt," said Norden.

As a fellow Seattleite/Washingtonian, perhaps you can take 15 seconds today to alert people to a potential WA state absentee ballot design problem. If you look at the ballot, in the upper left hand corner there is an illustration of how to correctly fill in the bubbles. The pen in the picture looks exactly like a Sharpie marker. Without thinking, I grabbed a Sharpie and started to fill out my ballot. Thankfully, after I filled in one bubble, I thought to turn over the ballot and noticed that the mark had bled completely through to the opposite side, creating a "stray mark." The mark was next to some judge who was running unopposed, so I didn't care so much about the possibility of that particular vote not being recorded. I am, however, very concerned that due to the power of suggestion, there are a whole lot of people out there filling out ballots with Sharpies, thereby rendering their ballots unreadable by machine. (And my paranoia tells me discarded altogether.)

VotersUnite.org recommends that people in North Carolina avoid straight-party voting.

Obamas Plan - WATCH THIS AMERICA!!

2008-10-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

VOTING FOR OBAMA IS A NO-BRAINER.
OBAMA IS "AMERICA FIRST"!

VOTING FOR MCSHAME, IS VOTING FOR BUSH.
AND WE ALL KNOW THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA NOW DONT WE?

In Order for McShame to win, (and we just love his uphill battle now dont we) he has to win all of the toss-up states, 64 electoral votes, all the yellow-shaded states on the map.

THEN he needs to try to capture Ohio and Indiana with 31 electoral votes to get him to 252. And THEN he needs to either TRY win Colorado and Virginia, which gets him to 274, OR win one of them PLUS Pennsylvania, which would get him to 282 or 286. GOOD LUCK GEORGE W. BUSH uh, I mean Senator McShame!

Message to Sarah Palin

2008-10-25T11:19:00.001-07:00

Also: Cybil Sheppard speaks about Sarah Palin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcAnO7CkyD8&feature=related

Obama: The Good Samaritan and other Good Samaritans

2008-10-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Obama Helped Stranded Stranger 20 Years Ago

The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge. The blog "Leisha's Random Thoughts" has translated the story.

It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 surcharge:

When it was finally Mary’s turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.

-You’ll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter said.

Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call.

-I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.

As tears streamed down her face, she heard a "gentle and friendly voice" behind her saying, "That's okay, I'll pay for her."
Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.

-He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?

Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.

-He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.

She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

Who was the man?

Barack Obama.

Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:

He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.

She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.

Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:

In the spring of 2006 Mary’s parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.

And Obama replied:

In a letter to Mary’s parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped ‘United States Senate, Washington DC’, Barack Obama writes:

‘I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I’m happy I could help back then, and I’m delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States Senator’.

The parents sent the letter on to Mary.

Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the kind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.

Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along in the maelstorm of fear-and-smear politics we are being subjected to right now.

UPDATE: Thanks for the recommends, folks! Also, remember this was 1988, when 100 dollars was quite a bit of money, compared to today's value.

By the way, this would be the perfect antidote to the Smear E-mails going around. If anyone has a good long email chain list, shoot it out, and let it be passed along.

John McCains Black Relatives for Obama!

2008-10-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Some of McCain's black relatives support Obama
BY ELGIN JONES
In the rural Teoc community of Carroll County, Miss., where the ancestors of Sen. John McCain owned enslaved Africans on a plantation, black, white and mixed-race family members unite every two years for their Coming Home Reunion, on the land where the plantation operated.

Some of McCain’s black family members say they are not sure exactly where they fall on the family tree, but they do know this: They are either descendants of the McCain family slaves, or of children the McCains fathered with their slaves.

White and black members of the McCain family have met on the plantation several times over the last 15 years, but one invited guest has been conspicuously absent: Sen. John Sidney McCain.

“Why he hasn’t come is anybody’s guess,” said Charles McCain Jr., 60, a distant cousin of John McCain who is black. “I think the best I can come up with, is that he doesn’t have time, or he has just distanced himself, or it doesn’t mean that much to him.”

Other relatives are not as generous.

Lillie McCain, 56, another distant cousin of John McCain who is black, said the Republican presidential nominee is trying to hide his past, and refuses to accept the family’s history.

“After hearing him in 2000 claim his family never owned slaves, I sent him an email,” she recalled. “I told him no matter how much he denies it, it will not make it untrue, and he should accept this and embrace it.”

She said the senator never responded to her email.

Although Charles is uncertain who will get his vote for president, several of John McCain’s black and white relatives are supporting his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama.

“I am absolutely supporting Obama, and it’s not because he’s black. It’s because he is the best person at this time in our history,” said Lillie McCain, a professor of psychology at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan.

“We simply need to look at the economy, and McCain’s campaign does not take us there,” said Joyce McCain, Lillie’s sister, a retired engineering manager with General Motors who lives in Grand Blanc, Michigan. “He is my cousin, but we are in dire times right now and people are hurting. Sen. Obama is clearly the best choice to be president.’’

Charles McCain and his wife, Theresa, who still live in Teoc, started the reunions over a decade ago. Charles is the deacon of Mitchell Springs Baptist Church, the only black house of worship in the area.

When Theresa McCain started the family reunions in the late 1980s or early ‘90s (neither he nor his wife is sure of the exact starting date), only black family members attended. But as word spread about the gatherings, white members of the McCain family got involved. Today, the reunion has expanded to the point where it is becoming a community event.

The reunion’s website, teocfamilyreunion.ning.com, has pictures, postings and other information about the family gatherings. While Sen. McCain’s brother, Joe, and many of his other white relatives attend the reunions, family members say Sen. McCain has never acknowledged them, or even responded to their invitations.

“Well, a lot of the people who had moved away and were living up north, would send money to help us maintain the church,” said Theresa McCain, 62. “Myself and others began inviting them back home for picnics, just to show our appreciation.”

The McCain campaign did not respond to repeated questions about John McCain’s black relatives, or about his relatives of both races who support Obama. Pablo Carrillo, a media liaison with the McCain campaign, said the senator was aware of his African-American relatives, but asked the reporter to put his questions into writing, and that someone would get back to him.

After the reporter sent questions in writing, and made repeated follow-up phone calls, neither Sen. McCain nor anyone else from the campaign responded.

Based on information obtained by the South Florida Times, the senator has numerous black and mixed-raced relatives who were born on, or in, the area of the McCain plantation. The mixed races in the family can be traced back to the rural Teoc community of Carroll County, Miss., where his family owned slaves.

Sen. John McCain’s great, great grandfather, William Alexander McCain (1812-1863), fought for the Confederacy and owned a 2,000-acre plantation named Waverly in Teoc. The family dealt in the slave trade, and, according to official records, held at least 52 slaves on the family’s plantation. The enslaved Africans were likely used as servants, for labor, and for breeding more slaves.

William McCain’s son, and Sen. John McCain’s great grandfather, John Sidney McCain (1851-1934), eventually assumed the duty of running the family’s plantation.

W.A. “Bill” McCain IV, a white McCain cousin, and his wife Edwina, are the current owners of the land. Both told the South Florida Times that they attend the reunions. They also said the McCain campaign had asked them not to speak to the media about the reunions, or about why the senator has never acknowledged the family gatherings.

In addition to distancing himself from his black family members, John McCain has taken several positions on issues that have put him at odds with members of the larger black community.

While running for the Republican Party nomination in 2000, he sided with protesters who were calling for the rebel battle flag to be removed from the South Carolina statehouse, only to alter that position later.

"Some view it as a symbol of slavery. Others view it as a symbol of heritage,” John McCain said of the flag. "Personally, I see the battle flag as a symbol of heritage. I have ancestors who have fought for the Confederacy, none of whom owned slaves. I believe they fought honorably.’’

Novelist Elizabeth Spencer, another white cousin of John McCain, noted the slaves the family owned in the family’s memoirs, Landscapes of the Heart. Sen. McCain has acknowledged reading the book, but claims to have only glossed over entries about their slaves.

“That’s crazy,” said Spencer, who also attends the reunions in Teoc. “No one had to tell us, because we all knew about the slaves. I may not vote, because I don’t want anyone to think that I have an issue with John, but I don’t want to see him become president because I think Obama is entirely adequate, and it’s time for a Democrat.’’

Spencer acknowledged donating money to the Obama campaign and to what she called “Democratic causes.”

Sen. John McCain was born in 1936 at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station, a segregated military installation in the Panama Canal, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Navy. His family returned to the states shortly after his birth; where he went on to attend segregated schools in the Teoc community and elsewhere around the country.

He served in the Navy, where he was a prisoner of war during Vietnam, before being released and eventually running for Congress.

After he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, McCain voted against the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday in 1983. When he arrived in the U.S. Senate in 1986, he joined North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms in opposing the holiday again, and voted in 1994 to cut funding to the commission that marketed it.

John McCain also aligned himself with former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham.

Mecham was the governor in McCain’s home state of Arizona from January 1987 to April 1988, when he was impeached and removed from office for campaign finance violations. As a state senator and governor, Mecham publicly used racial slurs against black people and other minorities. He was also a member of the John Birch Society, which opposes civil rights legislation. In 1986, Mecham campaigned for governor on a promise to rescind the state’s recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which he did in 1987.

Earlier this year, during the 40th anniversary recognition of King’s assassination, McCain, by this time a presidential candidate, said he was wrong for opposing the national King holiday.

Politics in America has long been steeped in the dynamics of the country’s myriad cultures, diverse ethnicities, and varying religious beliefs. Several of Sen. McCain’s black relatives say Obama’s candidacy represents progress.

“He is denying his black and white relatives in Teoc,” said Joyce McCain, 54. “I think he may not want the country to know his family’s full history, but times have changed and we need to move on, and that’s why I’m supporting Obama.”

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Photo: Lillie McCain, left, and her husband, Jack Vickers, right, pose with Joe McCain, center, during this year’s family reunion.

Republicans For Obama

2008-10-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Dennis Hopper: Diehard Republican - voted Reagan, Bush and Bush Jr. NOW VOTING FOR BARACK OBAMA!! SEE VIDEO HERE!! www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/dennis-hopper-i-voted-for_n_140940.html

Fred Bramante - A prominent New Hampshire Republican who was an alternate delegate to the party's nominating convention is quitting John McCain's campaign and endorsing Barack Obama.

Bramante, a member of the state Board of Education, said he opposes McCain's support of school vouchers, which he said politicians must abandon if they want to improve education.

Ron Reagan Jr. - Obama Supporter

Former White House press secretary, Scott McClellan - Obama supporter.

Susan Eisenhower, Pres. Eisenhower's granddaughter - Obama supporter.

Goldwater's granddaughter - Obama supporter.

William Miller (Goldwater's VP) daughter - Obama supporter.

William Buckley's son - Obama supporter.

Colin Powell - Obama supporter.

Douglas KMIEC, Head of Office of Legal counsel under Ronald Reagan & George H. W. Bush - Obama Supporter.

Lincoln Chafee, Former US Senator from Rhode Island - Obama supporter.

Jim Leach, Former Congressman of Iowa - Obama supporter.

Jim Whitaker, Mayor of Fairbanks Alaska - Obama supporter.

McCain's fellow senator from Arizona, Republican Jon Kyl, told the Arizona Daily Star editorial board in an interview published Sunday "...I think John McCain might be added to that long list of Arizonans who ran for president but were never elected."

Also, Lawrence Eagleburger, who served as Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush and whose endorsement is often trumpeted by McCain, said on Thursday that the Alaska governor is not only unprepared to take over the job on a moment's notice but, even after some time in office, would only amount to an "adequate" commander in chief.

"And I devoutly hope that [she] would never be tested," he added for good measure -- referring both to Palin's policy dexterity and the idea of McCain not making it through his time in office.

Ken Duberstein (fmr Reagan cheif of staff) He said the choice of Palin undermines the whole premise of McCain having sound and good Judgement. And that even at MacDonalds, you are interviewed 3 times before you get hired.

Also Sen John Ensign (R) Nevada.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cc-goldwater/why-mccain-has-lost-our-v_b_137150.html

THIS JUST CAME OUT. AN ARTICLE FROM BARRY GOLDWATERS GRANDDAUGHTER:

Being Barry Goldwater's granddaughter and living in Arizona, one would assume that I would be voting for our state's senator, John McCain. I am still struck by certain 'dyed in the wool' Republicans who are on the fence this election, as it seems like a no-brainer to me.

Myself, along with my siblings and a few cousins, will not be supporting the Republican presidential candidates this year. We believe strongly in what our grandfather stood for: honesty, integrity, and personal freedom, free from political maneuvering and fear tactics. I learned a lot about my grandfather while producing the documentary, Mr. Conservative Goldwater on Goldwater. Our generation of Goldwaters expects government to provide for constitutional protections. We reject the constant intrusion into our personal lives, along with other crucial policy issues of the McCain/Palin ticket.

My grandfather (Paka) would never suggest denying a woman's right to choose. My grandmother co-founded Planned Parenthood in Arizona in the 1930's, a cause my grandfather supported. I'm not sure about how he would feel about marriage rights based on same-sex orientation. I think he would feel that love and respect for ones privacy is what matters most and not the intolerance and poor judgment displayed by McCain over the years. Paka respected our civil liberties and passed on the message that that we should conduct our lives standing up for the basic freedoms we hold so dear.

For a while, there were several candidates who aligned themselves with the Goldwater version of Conservative thought. My grandfather had undying respect for the U.S. Constitution, and an understanding of its true meanings.

There always have been a glimmer of hope that someday, someone would "race through the gate" full steam in Goldwater style. Unfortunately, this hasn't happened, and the Republican brand has been tarnished in a shameless effort to gain votes and appeal to the lowest emotion, fear. Nothing about McCain, except for maybe a uniform, compares to the same ideology of what Goldwater stood for as a politician. The McCain/Palin plan is to appear diverse and inclusive, using women and minorities to push an agenda that makes us all financially vulnerable, fearful, and less safe.

When you see the candidate's in political ads, you can't help but be reminded of the 1964 presidential campaign of Johnson/Goldwater, the 'origin of spin', that twists the truth and obscures what really matters. Nothing about the Republican ticket offers the hope America needs to regain it's standing in the world, that's why we're going to support Barack Obama. I think that Obama has shown his ability and integrity.

After the last eight years, there's a lot of clean up do. Roll up your sleeves, Senators Obama and Biden, and we Goldwaters will roll ours up with you.

Irvine POW disputes McCain's Vietnam claim

2008-10-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

Retired Marine colonel is angered by the presidential candidate's statements that he helped the enemy while the two were in a Vietnamese prison camp.

Former Orange County supervisor Edison Miller is lashing out at John McCain, saying the presidential candidate falsely fingered him as a turncoat who was "actively aiding the enemy" while the two were imprisoned during the Vietnam War.

"We've had a dumb president for the last eight years and we don't need another one," he said when asked about McCain's candidacy.

Please read this article!

www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=12068

Colin Powell says it all folks . . .

2008-10-19T16:42:00.001-07:00

Colin Powell's own words.
"Mr. McCain says that he's a washed up terrorist, but then why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have the robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate. Now, I understand what politics is all about, I know how you can go after one another and that's good. But I think this goes too far, and I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for."

Powell also spoke passionately against the insinuations by some Republicans that Obama is a Muslim.

"Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian," he said. "But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

GOP found 9 ways to Steal Millions of Votes - 2008

2008-10-17T23:44:00.001-07:00

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote

Help America Vote Act - 2004 Signed off by Republican Congress, with a Republican President. George W. Bush passed this act. That tells you something right there.

Well, what this Act really does is, assists the GOP in stealing what they are calling "Fraudulent Voters" and eliminating votes. All because of mis spellings that may have occured by a clerk, or a voter simply forgot to put their middle initial in their name when they registered. The GOP has a system called "Perfect Match" that compares registered names to government documents such as your drivers licence or social security number. If your name does not match perfectly, your name will be tossed out of the voting roll.

Another example of how your name can be thrown out:
If your name is Richard Hart, and there was another Richard Hart that was a criminal, your name will be tossed out along with all names who are Richard Hart. Poof. Gone!

Then the nice guy, Richard Hart, shows up at the polls to vote, he finds out he is not on the voter roll and is handed a provisional ballot. Once he votes on the provisional ballot, that ballot is tossed in the garbage and he will never know.

Greg Palast of BBC and Bobby Kennedy Reported on this GOP Vote scam of stealing America's vote, in Rollingstone Magazine. The article is called BLOCK THE VOTE.

In Colorado, The Sec. of State, A Republican, purged 19.4% of the voters. Thats 1 in 5 voters in the state of Colorado!

1 in 9 voters in NM were given provisional ballots. That is criminal!

There are ways to steal your vote back!

1. First of all, everyone is under the impression that you have to vote on November 4th. YOU DO NOT. You do not have to vote ON THE DAY of the election. You have 8 days prior to election day to walk in and cast your vote at your City Hall or County Election office.

2. Check your registration.

3. Bobby Kennedy wrote a comic book called STEAL BACK YOUR VOTE. This will tell you 7ways to get your vote back.

www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

www.stealbackyourvote.org

Anchorage Daily, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, SF Chronicle ENDORSED OBAMA!!

2008-10-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Obama for president
"Palin's rise captivates us but nation needs a steady hand"
(10/26/08 16:36:51)

Alaska enters its 50th-anniversary year in the glow of an improbable and highly memorable event: the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate. For the first time ever, an Alaskan is making a serious bid for national office, and in doing so she brings broad attention and recognition not only to herself, but also to the state she leads.

Alaska's founders were optimistic people, but even the most farsighted might have been stretched to imagine this scenario. No matter the outcome in November, this election will mark a signal moment in the history of the 49th state. Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage.

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery.

Sen. Obama warned regulators and the nation 19 months ago that the subprime lending crisis was a disaster in the making. Sen. McCain backed tighter rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but didn't do much to advance that legislation. Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama better understands the mortgage meltdown's root causes and has the judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the leadership to rally the country behind it. It is easy to look at Sen. Obama and see a return to the smart, bipartisan economic policies of the last Democratic administration in Washington, which left the country with the momentum of growth and a budget surplus that President George Bush has squandered.

On the most important issue of the day, Sen. Obama is a clear choice.

Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain didn't show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.

It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington. You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove. And while Sen. McCain points to the fragile success of the troop surge in stabilizing conditions in Iraq, it is also plain that he was fundamentally wrong about the more crucial early decisions. Contrary to his assurances, we were not greeted as liberators; it was not a short, easy war; and Americans -- not Iraqi oil -- have had to pay for it. It was Sen. Obama who more clearly saw the danger ahead.

The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster as commander in chief.

On a matter of parochial interest, Sen. Obama opposes the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but so does Sen. McCain. We think both are wrong, and hope a President Obama can be convinced to support environmentally responsible development of that resource.

Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

McCain is counting on his lower taxes platform to try to make a late comeback in the polls.

Three influential US newspapers have officially backed Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, for the November 4 election.

The Washington Post, with the headline "Obama for President", made its endorsement in an editorial, saying the Illinois senator "has the potential to become a great president".

"The choice is made easy in part by Mr McCain's disappointing campaign [and] above all his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president," the article read. 'Without hesitation'

The Los Angeles Times also gave its backing to Obama "without hesitation".

"As the presidential race draws to its conclusion, it is Obama's character and temperament that come to the fore. It is his steadiness. His maturity," the editorial read. "These are qualities American leadership has sorely lacked for close to a decade."

The Chicago Tribune came out in support of its home state senator on Friday as well, breaking with an anti-partisan policy that went back to the 19th century.

Steve Lombardo, a Republican pollster in Washington, said: "It appears Obama is trying to build a mandate."Can McCain do anything to turn it around? Doubtful."

OHIO - Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner!!!

2008-10-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Brunner stood up against the GOP and their voting scam in which they were trying to disqualify over 200,000 registered voters in OHIO!!! YOU GO GIRL!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/17/supreme-courts-ohio-decis_n_135596.html

Joe the Plumber - Has now Interviewed more than Sarah Palin

2008-10-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry isn't happy with McCain's use of "Joe the Plumber" as a campaign mascot.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/oct/16/uselections2008-johnmccain

The Assistant General President of THE PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY - Steve Kelly, said in a statement:
During the last Presidential debate, John McCain made Joe the Plumber a household name. His manufactured outrage on behalf of Joe would be a lot more believable if his economic plan had anything to do with helping working people deal with the economic crisis. Instead, it washes the middle class down the drain. McCain's plan gives massive tax giveaways to CEOs and mega-corporations while leaving working families out in the cold. At a time when our economy is bleeding jobs, McCain also opposes investment in infrastructure spending, which would create good jobs and help put our economy back on solid footing.

As the first union to endorse Barack Obama for the presidency, the UA looked long and hard at which candidates would put the needs of all the Joes in America first. Barack Obama has a plan to cut taxes for working people while investing in good jobs and lifting wages. Unlike McCain's, Obama's outrage for the middle class is real. He will turn us in a new direction, not keep us on the same, tired old path of the Bush years.

Well, here is a bit more about "Joe the Plumber":
Call him Samuel the unlicensed plumber, and yes, a tax cheat.
His first name isn't really Joe. It's Samuel.
He's not really a plumber - at least, not a licensed one.
He's concerned about increased taxes - but hasn't paid his own income taxes.
And, he's not exactly just a guy from Ohio.
He's lived in Arizona ... and Alaska.

And as for that "unscripted" moment that ended up on Fox News, the one at a rally where he questioned Sen. Barack Obama about the American Dream - and whether he'd have to pay higher taxes under Obama's plan?

Seems Joe told the conservative Web site familysecuritymatters.org that catching the Democratic presidential candidate off guard "was actually my intent."

"Looks like there's a crack in Joe the Plumber's story," cracked Bob Mulholland, the Democratic party activist and adviser, after some of the details of the life of 34-year-old Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. Joe the Plumber, emerged today.

In an election that has starred all sorts of celebrities - remember Paris Hilton? Britney Spears? - Wurzelbacher got his 15 minutes of fame after being referenced 26 times during Wednesday's presidential debate, 21 times by Sen. John McCain.

Today, McCain even happily declared "Joe the Plumber" to be "the winner" of the debate. Not so fast.

"Joe the Plumber's story sprang a few leaks Thursday," crowed an Associated Press story.

That's after the AP, bloggers, investigators and librarians - and The Chronicle - turned up court documents and birth records.

For one, Joe's expressed concern about paying more taxes looked a bit tarnished with the revelation that he owes Ohio about $1,200 in personal income taxes that he hasn't paid, according to the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas records. (And there's a 2007 civil filing shows a record for a $1,200 owed to a creditor, St. Charles Mercy Hospital.)

So Joe has an active lien on his property filed in January 2007, records from the Ohio Department of Taxation show.

The Toledo Blade, examining Lucas County Building Inspection records, reported that his employer, the A.W. Newell Corp., "does maintain a state plumbing license, and one with the City of Toledo, but would not be allowed to work in Lucas County outside of Toledo without a county license."

"Mr. Wurzelbacher said he works under Al Newell's license, but according to Ohio building regulations, he must maintain his own license to do plumbing work," the newspaper said. "He is also not registered to operate as a plumber in Ohio - which means he's not a plumber."

What else did Americans learn about average Joe this week?

Among the factoids gleaned from state and county records:

-- He is registered as a Republican, and voted in the state's GOP primary in March, county elections records show. But he was previously registered, dating back to 2007 in the Natural Law Party.

-- He has lived in McCain's home state - in both Mesa and Tucson, Ariz.

-- He lived in Sarah Palin's home state - in North Pole, Alaska, from September 1992 to July 1993.

And the comic Bill Maher pointed out, in his 15 minutes of fame, Joe the Plumber has already done more interviews than Palin.

McCain sparred late on Wednesday in Hempstead, New York, in a debate that was dominated by the economy and introduced a new character to the US political stage.

Joe Wurzelbacher - dubbed "Joe the Plumber" by McCain - who met Obama at a recent rally, was mentioned 23 times in the debate.

McCain first mentioned Wurzelbacher, saying the plumber had concluded he would be worse off with Obama as president, even after meeting the senator.

He then campaigned THURSDAY in Pennsylvania on Wurzelbacher high on his agenda.

"You know, Joe the plumber said 'Look, I've been working all my life - 10, 12 hours a day [and] I want to buy the business that I'm in but you're going to raise my taxes.'"

Obama mentioned "Joe the plumber" as well, asking supporters in New Hampshire: "How many plumbers [do] you know making a quarter [of a] million dollars a year?"

"If you make less than a quarter million dollars a year, which includes 98 per cent of small business owners, you won't see your taxes increase one single dime," he declared.

FUN FACT: The Plumbers Union was one of the first endorsements Obama received.

GOP SCAMS HAVE STARTED

2008-10-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93R8IE00&show_article=1

CINCINNATI (AP) - Close to one in every three newly registered Ohio voters will end up on court-ordered lists being sent to county election boards because they have some discrepancy in their records, an elections spokesman said Wednesday.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner estimated that an initial review found that about 200,000 newly registered voters reported information that did not match motor-vehicle or Social Security records, Brunner spokesman Kevin Kidder said. Some discrepancies could be as simple as a misspelling, while others could be more significant.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati sided with the Ohio Republican Party on Tuesday and ordered Brunner to set up a system that provides those names to county elections boards. The GOP contends the information will help prevent fraud.

"Things already are in motion to comply," Kidder said. "We're working to establish these processes on how we can make this work. The computer work actually began last week."

About 666,000 Ohioans have registered to vote since January.

Brunner previously cross-checked new-voter registrations with databases run by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle and the Social Security Administration and made the results available online, but the 6th Circuit said the information was not accessible in a way that would help county election boards ferret out mismatches.

Brunner, a Democrat, told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer on Wednesday that she is concerned the court decision is a veiled attempt at disenfranchising voters. Brunner said she'll urge counties not to force these people to use provisional ballots.

The court gave Brunner until Friday to get election boards the information but it was unclear whether that deadline would be met. The court set no penalty for missing the deadline.

County election officials were trying to determine Wednesday how they will respond once they get the information.

"I'm very concerned with these new requirements as we get closer to Election Day," said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections in Dayton. He said his staff already is working 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

"It's clearly going to have an impact in regard to resources we have to expend to resolve discrepancies," said Jeff Hastings, chairman of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland.

"We've had about 100,000 (registrations) since January and of those about 34,000 since the primary. We will do whatever is required of us."

Also Wednesday, the Ohio Republican Party said it has filed public records requests with all 88 counties for copies of forms submitted by newly registered voters, especially those who registered and cast an absentee ballot on the same day during a one-week window earlier this month.

Brunner has said that 13,141 Ohioans registered and voted immediately during the window.

"We've seen reports of fraudulent registrations, and we want to see those forms first-hand," said Jason Mauk, the state GOP's executive director.

___

Palin's Husband: Has Terrorist Ties

2008-10-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/alaskan-independence-part_b_133261.html by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

ALASKA INDEPENDENCE PARTY - AIP's creation was inspired by the rabidly violent anti-Americanism of its founding father Joe Vogler, "I'm an Alaskan, not an American," reads a favorite Vogler quote on AIP's current website, "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." According to Vogler AIP's central purpose was to drive Alaska's secession from the United States. Alaska, says current Chairwoman Lynette Clark, "should be an independent nation."

Vogler was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. The prior year, he had renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He cursed the stars and stripes, promising, "I won't be buried under their damned flag...when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism.

Palin's husband Todd remained an AIP party member from 1995 to 2002. Sarah can be described in McCarthy-era palaver as a "fellow traveler." While retaining her Republican registration, she attended the AIP's 1994 convention where the party called for a draft constitution to secede from the United States and create an independent nation of Alaska. The McCain Campaign has reluctantly acknowledged that she also attended AIP's 2000 Convention. She apparently found the experience so inspiring that she agreed to give a keynote address at the AIP's 2006 convention and she recorded a video greeting for this year's 2008 convention. In other words, this is not something that happened when she was eight!

So when Palin accuses Barack of "not seeing the same America as you and me," maybe she is referring to an America without Alaska. In any case, isn't it time the media start giving equal time to Palin's buddy list of anti-American bombers and other radical associates?

Sarah Palin
In 2004, America's malleable mainstream media allowed itself to be manipulated by artful Republican operatives into devoting weeks of broadcast attention and drums of ink to unfairly desecrating John ...
In 2004, America's malleable mainstream media allowed itself to be manipulated by artful Republican operatives into devoting weeks of broadcast attention and drums of ink to unfairly desecrating John ...

McCains Temper (according to Republicans)

2008-10-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

These are Republicans commenting on McCains temper. And he DOES have a temper!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAyK-enrF1g

Here is an article explaining his vile temper in a Casino. Oh and by the way, McCain is a notorias gambler. He helped pass legislation for numerous Indian casinos across the United States. Over 400.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-09/john-mccain-shooting-craps-pissed-off/

Tom Brokaw, Shame on You!

2008-10-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

First off, I really have never cared for Tom Brokaw. I have always found his journalism to be biased journalism. Last night validated that. He seemed to be very partial to John McCain and rude to Obama.

McCain went past his two minutes, yet Tom Brokaw repremanded Obama for going over his time. Brokaw gave McCain the advantage by continuously asking McCain to answer the questions first. Brokaw hardly ever asked Obama to be the first to answer the question.

At one point, McCain had just finished answering a question, then a new question came to the platform. As Obama stood up to answer, assuming it was his turn this time, Tom looked right at him and turned to McCain and asked that he answer the question. He left Obama just standing there. Embarrassing him. Senator Obama handled it well. He showed the world just how presidential he is.

Funny too, just last week, the McCain camp, cried out to the media, how "Life is so unfair sometimes" referring to Gwen Ifil who moderated last weeks Veep debate. This all came about because of a book Gwen Ifil has written, which seems to favor Obama. So give me a break! Gwen did a terrific job asking great questions and showed no biasness what so ever. And here, last night was so obvious, that Brokaw favored McCain and even laughed at his jokes. He also made snide remarks in which McCain laughed with him on those.

Someone pointed out that after Obama had answered a question regarding health care, in the backround, McCain is shown signaling Tom Brokaw. Tom coincidently, switched gears and started up with a completely new question so to avoid McCain having to answer the health care question.

Lastly, after the debate, as both candidates were working the room, Senator Obama went to shake Senator McCains hand. John McCain looked right at him but did not even reach out to shake hands. So, Senator Obama with his hand still out, turned to Cindy McCain and shook her hand instead. It was then, McCain decided to reach out to shake, but the moment was gone. McCain tried to imply that Obama did not want to shake his hand. What was THAT about? Not very presidential in my opinion. McCain is no Maverick. He is no gentleman. McCain needs to leave.

NEXT DEBATE:

Wednesday, October 15, 2008: Presidential debate
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Moderator: Bob Schieffer
Staging: Candidates will be seated at a table
With foreign policy focus, Domestic and Economic policy
Answer Format: Same as
First Presidential Debate – Closing Statements: At the end of
this debate (only) each candidate shall have the opportunity for
a 90 second closing statement.

Union President Speaks about Racism and Obama

2008-10-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QIGJTHdH50
Cut and paste this to your browser. It is awesome!

Also, STAR JONES REYNOLDS responds to Bill O'Reilly/Fox News about Michelle Obama!

Below is Star Jones' informed and provocative response
to Bill O'Reilly's
comment about 'having a lynching party for Michelle
Obama if he finds
out that she truly has no pride in her country.'

Bill O'Reilly said: 'I don't want to go on a
lynching party against Michelle Obama
unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is
how the woman really feels.
If that's how she really feels - that is a bad country
or a flawed nation, whatever -
then that's legit. We'll track it down.'
Star said: 'I'm sick to death of people like Fox
News' Bill O'Reilly, and his stupid
and ignorant thinking that he can use a racial
slur again st a black woman who
could be the next First Lady of the United States , and
then give a half-assed
apology and not be taken to task and called on his crap.
What the hell is if it's
'legit,' you're going to 'track it
down?'

And then what do you plan to do? How dare this white man
with a
microphone and the trust of the public think that in 2008,
he can still
put the words 'lynch and party' together in the
same sentence with a
reference to a black woman; in this case, Michelle Obama? I
don't care
how you 'spin it' in the 'no spin zone,'
that statement in and of itself
is racist, unacceptable and inappropriate on every level.

O'Reilly claims his comments were taken out of context.
Please don't insult my intelligence while you're insulting
me. I've read the comments and hea rd them delivered in O'Reilly's
own voice; and there is no right context that exists. So, his insincere apology
and 'out-of-context' excuse is not going to cut it with me.

And just so we're clear, this has nothing to do with
the 2008 presidential election, me being a Democrat, him claiming to
be an Independent while talking like a Republican, the liberal
media or a conservative point of view. To the contrary, this is about
crossing a line in the sand that needs to be drawn based on history,
dignity, taste and truth.

Bill, I'm not sure of where you come from, but let me
tell you what
the phrase 'lynching party' conjures up to me, a
black woman born in
North Carolina ..

Those words depict the image of a group of white men who
are angry
with the state of their own lives getting together,
drinking more than they
need to drink, lamenting how some black person has moved
forward
(usually ahead of them in stature or dignity), and had the
audacity to
think that they are equal.

These same men for years, instead of looking at what
changes they should
and could make in their own lives that might remove that
bitterness born
of perceived privilege, these white men take all of that
resentment and
anger and decide to get together and drag the closest black
person near
them to their death by hanging them from a tree - usually
after violent
beating, torturing and violating their human dignity. Check
your history
books, because you don't need a masters or a law degree
from Harvard
to know that is what constitutes a 'lynching
party.'

Imagine, Michelle and Barack Obama having the audacity to
think that
they have the right to the American dream, hopes, and
ideals. O'Reilly
must think to himself: 'How dare they have the
arrogance to think they
can stand in front of this nation, challenge the status quo
and express
the frustration of millions?

When this happens, the first thing that comes to mind for
O'Reilly and
people like him is: 'it's time for a party.'

Not so fast...don't order the rope just yet.

Would O'Reilly ever in a million years use this phrase
with reference
to Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy McCain or Judi Nathan? I mean,
in all of the
statements and criticisms that were made about Judi Nathan,
the one-time
mistress turned missus, of former presidential candidate
Rudy Giuliani,
I never hear d any talk of forming a lynch party because of
something she
said or did.

So why is it that when you're referring to someone
who' s
African-American you must dig to a historical place of
pain, agony and
death to symbolize your feelings? Lynching is not a joke to
off-handedly
throw around and it is not a metaphor that has a place in
political
commentary; provocative or otherwise.

I admit that I come from a place of personal outrage here
having buried
my 90 year-old grandfather last year. This proud,
amazing African-
American man raised his family and lived through the time
when
he had to use separate water fountains, ride in the back of
a bus, take
his wife on a date to the 'colored section' of a
movie theater, and
avert his eyes when a white woman walked down the street
for fear of
what a white man and his cronies might do if they felt the
urge to
'party'; don't tell me that the phrase you
chose, Mr. O'Reilly, was
taken out of context.

To add insult to injury, O'Reilly tried to
'clarify' his statements, by
using the excuse that his comments were reminiscent of
Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas' use of the term 'high-tech
lynching' during his
confirmation hearing. I reject that analogy. You see
Justice Thomas did
mean to bring up the image of lynching in its racist
context. He was
saying that politics and the media were using a new
technology to do to
him what had been done to black men for many years -- hang
him.

Regardless of if you agreed with Justice Thomas'
premise or not, if in
fact ---Bill O'Reilly was referencing i t the context
becomes even clearer.

What annoys me more than anything is that I get the feeling
that one of
the reasons Bill O'Reilly made this statement, thinking
he could get
away with it in the first place, and then followed it up
with a lame
apology in a half-hearted attempt to smooth any ruffled
feathers, is
because he doesn't think that black women will come out
and go after
him when he goes after us. Well, he's dead wrong. Be
clear Bill O'Reilly:
here will be no lynch party for that black woman.

And this black woman assures you that if you come for her,
you come for
all of us.'

Star Jones Reynolds

ON THE SAME NOTE:

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain were still married to the only woman he married and 19 years.
What if Obama were the candidate who left dated another woman while still married, then left his wife, for that other woman?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain
killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama were a member of the Keating-5? What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Lets put it this way. You are The Boss. Which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, 2 wars, stumbling health care, a
weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, mortgage crises, bank
foreclosures, etc.

Educational Background:

Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Or...

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Which team are you going to hire ?

PS: What if Barack Obama had an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter....

GOP have Voting Scams!

2008-10-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

(this taken from huffingtonpost.com, Robert Kennedy Jr.)

Voters Disappearing from Rolls in Secret Purges Underway In At Least 19 StatesAt least 19 states are disregarding a federal law banning systematic voter purges within 90 days of a federal election. According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, massive purges of registered voters have occurred recently in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington.
In a rare display of interest in this issue by the mainstream media, the CBS Evening News recently ran a two-minute segment about the illegal voter purges and also noted some of the findings from a new study by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. The Brennan Center study documents several secret purges conducted this year, including 10,000 voters knocked off the rolls in Mississippi and another 21,000 purged in Louisiana, including areas hit hard by recent hurricanes. The purges happen in secret with no public accountability, and voters are not informed of their removal from the rolls, often finding out when they show up at the polls and are denied an official ballot. CBS interviewed an elderly New Jersey voter whose name was suddenly removed from the registration rolls after 30 years. While that voter's status was reinstated successfully, CBS notes that "come Election Day, don't count on thousands of others being as fortunate."
Voters can check their registration status and confirm their polling place here and here.

Read these also. Copy and paste to your browser.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/why-the-debates-wont-matt_b_130104.html?page=8

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/election_voter_fraud/2008/10/06/137898.html?s=al&promo_code=6C90-1

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93R8IE00&show_article=1

Joe Biden: You Won The Debate!

2008-10-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Watching tonight's debate was like watching Joseph Biden vs a high school candidate Sarah Palin. BINGO! I think I won that game. In the first 2 minutes.

Joe Biden. What a man. What a candidate! He was dignified and humble as well. He was intelligent, strong, polite, respectful, and first class all the way. Joe Biden could see right through Gov. Palin and did not even flinch. He was composed and very compassionate actually. It seems that Joe almost felt sorry for her, but gave her a lot of credit for being there, which was so respectful of him. This man is a leader. He has the experience, the intelligence, and integrity to lead this country along side Obama. He proved his true character tonight, and in front of the not only the United States, but the entire world. He is very clear and concise.

Now, speaking as woman, I am all for equal ground. I respect any women who can stand up in front of a nation and debate with intelligence without degrading others. I did not see this tonight. In this debate, Gov. Sarah Palin was a liar and she degraded both Senator Obama and Senator Biden. The debate seemed so ...... lopsided. Biden spoke truth. Palin lied to the American people as did Senator McCain who lied also in his first debate with Senator Obama.

Although it was quite refreshing to finally see her complete a sentence, it was not so impressive watching her fumble through a question, only to revert back to her own agenda.

Senator Biden spoke truth. On several occasions he said "let me repeat this again". He wanted to make things very clear to the American people so that they truly understood truth vs the lies that have been given by the opposing candidates. I admired him for that. He looked directly into the camera with confidence. I knew this man was honest and forthright.

We have all heard about his foreign policy expertise, but tonight, he proved it. But he proved even more. He Proved his knowledge and experience on all issues. His experience as a Senator for over 30 years, showed he is ready. He is ripe. He understands the average American. The working class. He stands for justice and fairness. He comes from good family values. This is the example we need in America.

She on the other hand was, ummm, very ......... cutsie. Darn right tootin she was. But, is that what we want? Is that how far we have come as Americans? Are we now a beer guzzlin, six-pack, cutsie kinda, moose-wolf-killin kinda society? When she could not answer a question, she focused back on her agenda. I have to admit, she was darn well cute explain'in things wasn't she? (wink). Well, I do not recall her giving a clear and concise answer to ANY of the questions. I found her to be well rehearsed, nervous, and with a fake conviction. She was annoying to be honest. I had to turn the volume down when she spoke.

Why did she refer to Ronald Reagan three times? McCain and Palin are making desperate efforts to dis-associate themselves from the Bush Administration. Thats why. McCain supported Bush legislation 90% of the time! And look where we are now? Thank you McCain.

This election should be a no-brainer.

McCain/Palin lie and they cheat. They will say anything to get elected. Well, you can fool some of the people some of the time. You can fool all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. It is time for change. It is time for truth. It is time for the Obama-Biden ticket to lead this great country into leadership again. We need to believe in this country again. Let us elect the right candidates and gain back the respect we remember. Not only on a domestic level but globally as well.

So, thank you Joe Biden, for speaking the truth and representing America. Thank you for showing the class and grace tonight. Thank you for showing the good character it takes to lead this country with Barrack Obama. A country that has been charred by the Bush Administration for 8 years, and for showing your courage and knowledge on all issues. Thank you for speaking up against the Gov. of Alaska when you needed to, without insulting or belittling her. We love you! http://biden.senate.gov/senator/

Cheers to the moderator, Gwen Ifle of PBS. You did an excellent job tonight and your questions were fair and well thought out. They were concerns of all of us. Bless you.

What if McCain died, between now and Election?

2008-10-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

(Ring Of Fire - Podcast) What is the political process if such an event would occur? It is a very good question given the fact that Senator McCain has had some very serious health issues. Although, his mother may be living a long life so far, this does not mean he will do the same given his health history and background.

With that said, here are three scenarios.

1. If something were to happen to him BEFORE the election, the Republican Party would be able to choose an new candidate. They do have the ability to move Palin up in this instance, but it would not be likely.

2. If something happens to him AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION, BUT BEFORE THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, the designated electors of the Republican Party are then released from their obligations, and then they can vote for anyone they want. For instance, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Carl Rove, which takes the voters completely out of the equation. These electors would have the sole power to elect the next president, out of a group of people that were not even on the ballot.

3. Once the electoral votes are radified, Palin would be promoted to the Presidency as stated in the 21st Amendment. (God help us should this happen)

Go to this site and see what Jack Cafferty has to say about Sarah Palin!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8__aXxXPVc&NR=1

Lets just hope that Obama wins this election!! Then we will not have to worry about such details.

Missing Votes! GOP is behind 30 Scams!!

2008-09-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Please buy a copy of this months issue (Oct. 17th, 2008) of Rolling Stone Magazine.

There will be an article in Rolling Stone written by Robert F. Kennedy and Greg Palast regarding the Republican scams going on (30 scams) . These scams will prevent huge numbers of votes from being counted in this coming election based on an act that was presented by both Democrats and Republicans after the last election, but passed by a Republican Congress, Republican Senate, with a Republican President. This act is called "Help America Vote Act" or HAVA.

Now here is the problem. Because of HAVA, there have been 870,000 letters sent to New Jersey residents recently that tell residents that they are ineligible to vote. Why? Because their name went through a government database matching process called "Perfect Match" which means any registered voter who's name does not match any other government affiliation they may have on record, lets say, their drivers licence, or their social security name, their vote will be removed from the voter rolls. Disregarded and will actually be tossed out. For example if your name is Sally M. O'Rielly on your voter registration, and your drivers licence shows Sally O'Rielly (without the middle initial) your vote will be tossed out!! That goes with hie fens also. Something as simple as a hie fen missing from your name, can prevent your vote from being counted! This is a huge scam against Democrats especially when there are 12 million new registered voters this year.

Speaking of new registered voters: Most of these new registered voters are college students who may decide they want to vote absentee. Well, here is another Republican scam. If you mail in your ballot, one needs to also include a color photo copy of their drivers licence. No body knows this. If your color photo ID not included, that vote will be tossed. Of coarse there are NO INSTRUCTIONS explaining this. The main stream media does not report on this. So how is anyone going to know? Well, it is up to all of us to get the word out. Especially to all of the swing states!

New Jersey was lucky enough to receive a letter of warning that their vote will not count and will still have time to correct their name or address. Colorado is not so lucky. No letter was sent to the voters. Their vote will simply be tossed in the garbage and that person will never know.
Please view these two links, and be better informed of the truth.

http://www.stealingamericathemovie.org/

http://www.gregpalast.com/robert-kennedy-greg-palast-the-final-investigation/

Step Up to the Plate Bill Clinton!!

2008-09-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

(sent from my friend Paula)

"A Note to Bill Clinton" by Paul Slansky (HuffPo)

Given that we would never have had the odious George W. Bush in the White House in the first place if it wasn't for your blow jobs, Bill, it seems obvious that you owe it to the people of this country, and especially to the parents whose kids died in the Iraq War that Gore would never have started, and to all the parents whose kids would be killed in the WarFest that would be a McCain/Palin -- sorry, Palin/McCain -- administration to do everything in your power to get Barack Obama elected.

But that's not what you're doing, Bill, and it's not going unnoticed. We see your rage, Bill, it's too huge to hide. We see that -- as Chris Rock so brilliantly pointed out -- it pains you to even speak Obama's name. We see you petulantly rooting against him even as you go through the motions of doing the barest minimum on his behalf to avoid being blamed if he loses.

You're not fooling anyone, Bill. You've gotten so caught up in yesterday that you've stopped thinking about tomorrow. You have the power to influence millions of voters and you're spitefully sitting on it. Surely you've noticed what's going on in the country. Surely you're aware of what's at stake on November 4th. This is not a game that you can afford to take your ball and go home with if you don't get to play the position you want. An Obama loss will most certainly be part of your legacy.

There's still time to fix it. How about this for an October surprise? Bill Clinton gets on the road and spends every day until the election sincerely and wholeheartedly communicating the urgency of electing Obama. You're the greatest politician of your generation, Bill. Surely you can fake enthusiasm for a month.

Oh, and stop talking about how much you like Senator McCain. Have you forgotten the vile joke he told a decade ago at your wife's and daughter's expense? Let me remind you: "Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? She's the child of Janet Reno and Hillary Clinton." Are you saying, Bill, that you can forgive McCain for calling Chelsea "ugly" but you can't forgive Obama for defeating Hillary?

If Obama loses a close election -- one in which even one state where you could have made a difference goes for McCain because you sat home and pouted -- it will be on you. We will remember that you couldn't be bothered to rise above your petty resentments for something as trivial as saving your country from the enemies of everything you profess to believe in. We forgave you for Monica, Bill, but we won't forgive you for this.

Why Women Should Vote!

2008-09-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

(my friend Sandy sent this to me)

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

(Lucy Burns) And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

(Dora Lewis) They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul) When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? I have the flue. Well, now is the time to ask you to request an ABSENTEE BALLOT'. Use it to your advantage.

Also, you may want to rent the 2004 movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged.

It is jarring to watch. Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.' Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote Democratic, Republican or Independent party - REMEMBER TO VOTE. History is being made.

Sarah Palin? Somebody Shoot me! (in the face)

2008-09-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

I received this from my friend Helen. This is exactly how we all feel right? (well most of us)

Ok, I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'

* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, and you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and be President of the Law Review, and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian. * If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

Oh! Ok, much clearer now. Thanks but........

no thanks.

Shameful Debate ABC!

2008-04-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

I am becoming more and more antagonized by the pettiness and childish animosity that characterize our American primary politics. I began by loving Obama and respecting Mrs Clinton. While I still love Obama, I have become sickened by the spitefulness of the attacks on him. While I naturally hope that Obama will win, I find it sickening that he is being brought down so hard by Bill and Hillary. What a pair they are! Bloodless vampires motivated only by money, power and spite.

Because the Clintons have decided that they can't win, they are determined to make sure that Obama will not win. The ultimate loser is, of course, the United States. Not that the Clintons could give a damn.

But, obviously, the real story of the night was the crazy gauntlet of questioning ABC put Obama through. The first half of the debate felt like a 45-minute negative ad, reprising the most chewed over anti-Obama allegations (bittergate, Jeremiah Wright, patriotism) and even some relatively obscure ones (his vague association with former Weatherman radical Bill Ayers).

Chris Bowers at OpenLeft agreed, "Halfway through the debate, not a single question on any policy issue had been asked, it was obvious that this debate was prime-time hit job on Obama."

The blogs that have followed the debate since it was aired, have reflected emotional uproar about ABC and the hosts that have embarrassed Americans with questions such as George Stephanopoulos's : 'Does Jeremiah Wright love America as much as you?' Seriously. Because if he doesn't, then he cannot be your Secretary of Black that you obviously intend to make him."

If debates are to take place, lets get some credible journalists with questions that interest the American people. The concerns of the Economy, The "War" in Iraq, and Healthcare.

Your thoughts?

Amazing. Intolerance still exists in San Francisco.

2008-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Are we the most tolerable city? Socially adaptable? Hate free? Hmmm... I am questioning that now.

I used to be so proud, to be living here, in San Francisco with its many cultures and social diversity.

My wonderful gay friend went out last night, with his friends. On his commute home, he was harrassed. He stuck up for himself, but ended up in a brawl, and on the ground!

Damnit, when will people learn to just live their own lives. Stop judging! Stop harrassing others! Simply live your own life and leave people alone!!

Where is the respect anymore? This act of hatred is shameful and undignified. Especially in this city of progressiveness and "tolerance".

STOP THE HATE!

Apologies are Powerful

2008-01-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

Nothing can be more healing than an apology from someone whom has hurt you.

If you ever hurt someone, be accountable for what you have done, and apologize. If you do not realize you have hurt someone, listen to what that person has to say and embrace it. If what they are saying is valid, well, apologize. You both need to move on. It takes courage to apologize. Not everyone has the ability to do this, but once you have found the courage, and find an inner strength to do so, the rewards are priceless.

Commuters with Backpacks

2008-01-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

I would like to express the importance of common courtesy while commuting. Are you the commuter who wears a backpack? Laptop? Are you the one taking public transportation, while stepping onto the bus or train without removing your wide load? Well............ will you please take that damn thing off? LOL!

Do you realize that your backpack takes up one more "body space? People are trying to get past you, only to find a very tight area to stand. This is all because you could not remove the pack off your back and drop it down. It's real easy you know? Other commuters would really appreciate that courtesy of you.

It is difficult for us to wedgy past your wide load, and only to find a 2" radius of commuting real estate.

Thank you and have a nice day.

People Cover Your Mouth!

2008-01-17T19:42:00.001-08:00

Ok, I caught this nasty cold somewhere. Still not sure but lemme tell ya, it is nasty! Now. I consider myself a pretty healthy girl. I take my womens utlra mega vitamin every day. I eat well. I walk a hella lot around this city. My excersize is moderate. So how did I catch this damn flu-bug-chest-cold- discusting flemmy-strain-thingy? It qualifies in the "ewe" factor ok?

Ok. So. Everyone at work seems to have it. The commuters all seem have it, well, at least the ones that choose to sit right next to me! But people, please! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! For crying out loud! I was out sick for 3 working days. How inconsiderate of you to hack and cough in a public place. This has cut into my vacation PTO time 3 days less that I am able to visit in Austria this summer. What-everrrrrrrrr!