Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Daily Quote

"Let's just say it's likely the president-elect will be occupied with many other activities"

-From ABC News: Lynda Douglass, Spokeswoman for President-Elect Obama, responding to whether the President-Elect will attend any of the functions surrounding Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, prior to his inauguration.

Two-Face

From Think Progress:

Apparently, GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnel doesn't believe in the $800 billion stimulus plan that President-Elect Obama wants to pass upon his swearing in is not worth it. In fact, he is leading the GOP's fight against it.

So, $700 billion for Wall Street is great, but when it comes to the American people, he says, "Screw you!"

Is there any wonder why the GOP lost in November?

Liberal Rantings Top 10 Political Stories of the Year

10. John McCain comes from behind to win the Republican Nomination.

9. Mike Huckabee wins the Iowa caucus.

8. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns after being caught in a prostitution scandal.

7. The United States Congress passes an unprecidented $700 billion dollar Wall Street Bailout package.

6. President Bush becomes the least liked President in modern history, eclipsing Truman and Nixon.

5. Hillary Cinton comes from behind to win the New Hampshire Presidential Primary.

4. Democrats gain 20 seats in The House of Representatives and 7 seats in The Senate.

3. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to lead a major party national ticket, beating out Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

2. John McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice Presidential running mate, thus reviving the acting career of Tine Fey.

1. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to win the Presidency in a landslide electoral and popular vote. 365 EV's to 173EV's. 69 million votes to 59 million votes. President-Elect Obama wins more votes than anyother person elected to The Office of the Presidency.

Daily Quote

"The baby's name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston and he was born at 5:30 a.m., according to Jones."

-From People Magazine, in announcing the news that Bristol Palin, Governor Sarah Palin's daughter finally gave birth to her out-of-wedlock baby on Saturday.

Honestly, what's with the "T" names anyway?

Daily Quote

"Good riddance"

-CNN Political Analyst Bill Schneider describing how American's feel about President Bush leaving office.

Happy Holidays

Just a very short post today. I will resume posting regular stuff on Friday (hopefully). I want to wish everyone a very Happy Chanuckah, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Be safe and don't drink too much egg nog.

Daily Quote

"But Liza, of course, sang her mother's more melancholy version. And for one brief moment on a cold winter's night just before Christmas, it was as if it her mother were alive to dazzle us, once more ..."

-Kenneth in the 212, in his review of Liza's at the Palace. Below is the clip from Meet Me in St. Louis, he is referring to.



Somehow, this seemed very appropriate, given the state of the country and the general melancholy feeling of sadness and despair permeating the country right now.

This Hits Close To Home

From the Albany Business Review Online:

KB Toys starts going-out-of-business sale

Just as the end of the holiday shopping season closes in, KB Toys Inc. has launched a going-out-of-business sale for all its 461 KB Toys, KB Toy Outlet, KB Toy Works and KB Toys Holiday Stores.

The 86-year-old Pittsfield, Mass.-based toy retailer declared bankruptcy Dec. 11 for the second time in three years. Although it was able to re-emerge after closing half its stores in 2005, there will be no re-emerging this time. KB Toys has stores in Crossgates Mall, Colonie Center, Rotterdam Square Mall and Wilton Mall.

A news release from the company stated that “despite the success that KB Toys had over the last year in improving the retail, wholesale and operational areas of its business, the downturn in consumer spending compounded by a tightening of credit sources have necessitated the closing of all its stores.”

The going-out-of-business savings will start at 40 percent off regular prices. Gordon Brothers Group, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, real estate and industrial sectors, and Great American Group, a provider of asset management, disposition and financial services, are assisting KB Toys in running the final sale.

The company expects to close its doors in the U.S., the American Territory of Guam and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico by early February 2009.
____________________________________________________________

This is tough. Pittsfield is only a 45 minute drive from Albany, NY. There are many people in our area who work for this company, not to mention all of the sale associates at their stores in Crossgates and Colonie Center shopping malls. How many more business are going to be closing?

Daily Quote

From The Politico:

Asked if he had any advice for Biden, Cheney replied with a chill.“Well, he hasn't asked for any, so I won't go beyond where I've been,” Cheney said.

I don't know about you, but I personally believe that Dick Cheney has been the
most destructive man in American politics in the history of this nation. I
believe he is worse that President Nixon and the sad thing is, Dick Cheney will
never be held accountable for his unconstitutional actions. At least Dick Nixon
was held accountable.

Headlines That Matter

Just how bad is the economic crisis?

From the NYT: Toyota Expects Its First Loss in 70 Years. You know things are bad when Toyota is loosing money.

Where did the money go?

From MSNBC:
Where'd the bailout money go? Shh, it's a secret
Banks unable or unwilling to disclose how they're spending billions in aid
Here is a question? Why was Congress so harsh on the automakers about their private jets when the financial industry hasn't gotten rid of their fleets and their CEO's and top exec's are making millions in bonus money?


Um, how much?

From MSNBC:

$1.6 billion went to bailed-out bank execs
Records show bonuses, chauffeurs, health club benefits, financial planning
So, basically, while I am struggling to pay my mortgage and provide for my family, these guys are living the life of Reilly. Wow, I should have gone into financ.


...And now on to the full contact sport of Politics...

At least someone has lofty goals:

From MSNBC:
Obama increases jobs goal to 3 million
‘We're going to have to be bold,’ president-elect says of economic plan
Of course the Republicans in Congress are balking and do not want to pass his stimulus package. Gee, go figure.


Because we only have 29 days left of him...

From The Politico:

Cheney and Biden trade shots
Vice President Dick Cheney took some of the toughest political shots yet in the post-election period, using an interview to belittle Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s constitutional law acumen and pointedly declined to offer his successor any advice. Biden, separately, said Cheney had been bad for the country and had not stayed within the confines of the Constitution...


You know, I scoured many different websites and could not find and glimmer of good news, except for the fact that President-Elect Obama gets sworn into office in 29 days.

Happy Chanuckah!

Happy First Night of Chanuckah!

Daily Quote

"It really depends upon how the—how our nation conducts itself in foreign policy. If we’re an arrogant nation, they’ll, they’ll resent us. If we’re a humble nation but strong, they’ll welcome us."

-President George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, during the Presidential debate in Oct. 2000 against Vice President Al Gore. Taken from Meet the Press with David Gregory today 12/21/08.

Hmm, words fail me right now.

Daily Quote

A New Daily Feature:

"In both the House and the Senate, the auto vote underscored a regional imbalance that could define, and constrain, the party's agenda through the Obama presidency. In both chambers, the GOP caucus is increasingly dominated by members from the country's most conservative regions."

-Ron Brownstein, from MSNBC on the Republican Party's furthur shift to the right wing of American politics.

Shameless Plug

One Step Forward...

Sorry everyone, I had to take some time off from posting. There were some personal things I was going through and just didn't have any bright ideas to write about. I am not going to get into all my issues here, as this is not the forum for that. But, needless to say, I am back.

And back I am...My first story today has to deal with President-Elect Obama's choice of Rick Warren to lead the invocation at his inauguration on January 20, 2009. There is currently a lot of anger amongst the LGBT Community and women's rights groups about his selection. The thing is, and maybe I am the only who feels this way, but I don't have a problem with this. I know that Mr. Warren is a fierce opponent of gay marriage and gay rights and a woman's right to choose. Yet, I believe that selecting him for the invocation shows that Mr. Obama is willing to take chances and reach across idealistic divides to find a common ground. Unlike his soon to be predecessor, Mr. Obama wants to work with people of different beliefs as opposed to working against them. So yes, the choice does not make me happy, but I don't believe it is one that should be igniting the same kind of outrage as some of Mr. Bush's decisions.

Secondly, the sorry case of Illinois Governor Rod Blogojevich. What a mess. What an idiot. Need I say more? Actually, I am going to. The Governor of Illinois needs to step down immediately. He needs to leave office and let the state he works for get back to business. Next, the news media needs to stop following the red herring of a story of it being a "Scandal for President-Elect Obama." It isn't. Obama had nothing to do with it. Why now, after nearly eight years of not questioning authority is the media getting a back bone? Was the media so infatuated with George W. Bush that they never had to question a single decision he made? Where were these hard questions after 9/11? Where were these hard questions before invading Iraq? Where the fuck were these hard questions when Mr. Bush decided that he was more of an Emperor than a President?

It is really sickening to me to see the media circling like vultures over President-Elect Obama, praying that there is a scandal and they can bring him down. What do I make of this? Well, here it is...The country elected the first black man as president. Yet, we (as a nation) are not convinced he is as "clean" as he says he is. There is a racial prejudice in the media's reporting. There are complaints that he only takes three or four questions in a press conference. Yet, when was President Bush's last press conference? For all the talk of a forward thinking press, they are still stuck with stereotypes of people and believe that a black man is hiding something. I believe that should President-Elect Obama sneeze in the wrong direction some right-wing goon is going to want to impeach him. If the Republicans gain back control of the House and Senate in 2010, we need to be warned that they will start impeachment proceedings against this man.

Yes, we elected a black man to lead our nation. But, we have not left our prejudices aside. If the media had been just as hard on President Bush, than fine, but they were not. I can only draw the conclusion that the mainstream media is just as bigotted as the KKK or Neo-Nazi's. The thing is, they just don't know it.

That's all for now. Have a great day.

Barack Obama Weekly Radio Address 12/6/08

Obama's Cabinet So Far

Position Cabinet officer
Attorney General Eric Holder
Secretary of Commerce Gov. Bill Richardson
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Secretary of Health and Human Services former Sen. Tom Daschle
Secretary of Homeland Security Gov. Janet Napolitano
Secretary of State Sen. Hillary Clinton
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gen. Eric Shinseki

Though there are a lot of liberals out there who are groaning that Obama has not appointed more progressive candidates, I personally believe that the choices he has made thus far are amazing. Remember, to become a popular and affective leader, one must lead the entire country, not just his or her base.

Another Kennedy in the Senate?

Caroline Kennedy, the lone surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, is reported to be very interested in filling the soon to be vacant senate seat of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now, I am not one for grudges, and lord knows the Kennedy's have given a lot to this country, but she didn't endorse Hillary during the primaries and she actually worked hard to ensure Barack Obama defeated Mrs. Clinton. Why should she get Hillary's Senate seat? Ms. Kennedy has never really shown any desire to serve the public in electoral politics. Maybe she thinks she can one-up Mrs. Clinton and be the first woman elected to the White House? I don't think that would happen.

Personally, I believe the soon-to-be vacated seat should be awarded to Kristen Gillibrand. She is a member of the House of Representatives from Upstate New York. It would probably turn over a congressional seat to the Republicans, but I think that is risk worth taking. It would put an upstater in the Senate and it would also ensure that the seat was held by a woman. My other choice to replace Mrs. Clinton would be Nita Lowey, from Westchester County. She has served in the House of Representatives for 20 years I believe and knows New York like no one else.

Those are just my humble opinions and well, I don't believe Gov. Patterson will be asking for me for any advice.

Update

I was just reading on Americablog:

Apparently, Nita Lowey has taken herself out of consideration for the Senate seat. You can read the entire tidbit here.

Deep in Denile!

From Think Progress:

Today, President Bush defended his foreign policy over the past eight years in an address to the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, DC. At one point, he acknowledged that there was no link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks but justified using such a connection to push for the Iraq war:

It is true, as I have said many times, that Saddam Hussein was not
connected to the 9/11 attacks. But the decision to remove Saddam from power
cannot be viewed in isolation from 9/11. In a world where terrorists armed with
box cutters had just killed nearly 3,000 people, America had to decide whether
we could tolerate a sworn enemy that acted belligerently, that supported
terror, and that intelligence agencies around the world believed had weapons
of mass destruction. It was clear to me, to members of both political
parties, and to many leaders around the world that after 9/11, this was a
risk we could not afford to take.

Here is the link to the rest of the article.

All I can say is...What an ASS!!!

Trend or Flash-in-the-Pants

Much has been written over the past month about the Presidential election on November 4th and whether it was a trend or a one time thing. Many pundits have said that it spells doom and gloom for the Republican Party. Others have suggested that it was a fluke Obama won. Here is my analysis of the election and what it all means.

1. The Republican Party is not dead. It is far from dead. They will come back meaner and more ferocious in two and four years. However, the Republican brand is not being looked upon in a favorable light. They have a lot of soul searching to do over the next several years. What direction do party leaders want to take the party? Do they swing hard right and make themselves a Christian party? If that is direction they go in, that spells doom for the brand. If party leaders focus on core conservative values; fiscal responsibility, national defense, smaller government, then there is a future for the party. The republicans need to get away from being the morality police for the nation. It is my belief that is one of the reasons they lost so horribly in November. No one likes having others beliefs pushed upon them. After eight years of a President who has consistently told us what we should believe and how we should believe it, the American people are tired. They want to be left alone in their own bedrooms and free to make their own choices in regards to their bodies.

2. The elections in 2000 and 2004 were two of the closest elections in American History. Those elections told us that this country wasn't so much divided evenly, but the citizens of this country were not sure what direction they wanted this nation to move. The fact that President Bush won in 2004 by 3 million votes on a national level and 150,000 votes in Ohio, shows that this nation wasn't sure what it wanted. If this country was truly a "center right" nation as many pundits have suggested, then Barack Obama would never have been able to win election by the widest margin of a non-incumbent in history. The United States Senate would not have come two seats away from being filibuster proof and Democrats would have picked up 20 plus seats in the House of Representatives. We are not a center right nation. We are nation which believes in the best of what people have to offer, whether that is right or left, is inconsequential.

3. If we look back to the elections of 1992 and 1996 you can see the beginnings of a trend toward a more blue America. It is my belief that the 2000 and 2004 elections were just a bump in that road. The southwestern United States were trending blue in 1992 and 1996. Bill Clinton won Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada in 1992. He won Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada in 1996. Also, Bill Clinton won Montana in 1992. As much as the media wants to make those states out to be red states, they truly are not. They are not the biggest battlegrounds either. The new battlegrounds are Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Georgia and West Virginia. George Bush won Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada by very slim margins. Obama just picked up where Bill Clinton left off. In order for the Republican Party to win the Presidency in 2012, they are going to need to figure out how to win back Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana.

4. This is election showed the American people are tired of the divisive policies of the past 8 years. Remember, President Bush ran on a platform of bipartisanship. What we got was 8 years of the most divisive politics and policies this country has since The Civil War. When Americans voted for President Bush they believed in his assertion of "compassionate conservatism" and not letting politics run policy. Instead, politics was the policy of this country and President Bush ran a White House that had a "take no prisoners" attitude. If you did not agree with the President, you were an enemy. There was not room for a middle ground.

Finally, the biggest question is this: What does President-Elect Obama have to do to keep the Democratic majorities and get re-elected in four years? He needs to run this country like he ran his campaign. He must surround himself with the best people in their fields, regardless of their political affiliation. He must listen to both Democrats and Republicans and create policy that is good for the entire country, not just one portion of the population. President-Elect Obama must deliver on his promises during the campaign. If nothing else, enacting Universal Health care, creating green jobs and alternative energy sources, relinquishing our dependence on foreign oil and foreign financial markets is essential. However, to achieve these things, he will need to work closely with Republicans. If he is able to achieve these things, I believe he will easily win re-election in 2012 and by a wider margin than he won this year.

Georgia Senate Runoff

Today, the citizens of the State of Georgia went back to the polls to decide whether Saxby Chambliss should be returned to the U.S. Senate. As of this writing, Chambliss is ahead 61% to 39%. Unless there is a major upset, Chambliss will be returned to the Senate. It is unfortunate, but not unexpected.

In other news today, Florida Republican Senator, Mel Martinez announced that he would be retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2010. This is unexpected and a great chance for the democrats to pick up a vacant Senate seat. It is very possible that Gov. Charlie Christ will make a run for this seat. As of right now, there is a very long list of possible democratic challengers.

Yesterday, President-Elect Obama announced his national security team. Leading the new diplomatic corps is New York Senator Hillary Clinton. While she and Obama ran a fierce a primary battle, it is believed that she will be more able than anyone else to help President-Elect Obama restore America's status in the world.

It's All About Virginia!

From AmericaBlog today:

Losing Virginia was a devastating blow to the Republicans this year. But, it wasn't a fluke. As the demographics of Virginia, particularly the ever-expanding Northern VA suburbs change, the state is turning even bluer. All that GOP immigrant bashing, and there have been some vocal haters in Virginia like Corey Stewart from Prince William County, have only helped the Democrats increase their margins.

A post-election analysis in today's Washington Post shows just how much things have changed since the 2000 election:
In Northern Virginia's outer suburbs, a growing number of nonwhite residents, particularly Hispanics, are diminishing what had long been a big source of votes for Republican candidates. Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties and Manassas and Manassas Park have all experienced double-digit increases in the percentage of nonwhite residents since 2000. And in each of those locations, Democrats' share of the vote increased proportionally.

The nonwhite population of Prince William, for example, has grown by 13 percentage points since 2000. President-elect Barack Obama carried the county with almost 58 percent of the vote -- 13 points better than former vice president Al Gore did in the 2000 presidential race.
I guess all that immigrant bashing by Mr. Stewart in Prince William County paid off -- for the Democrats. Great strategy, VA GOP. And, what an amazing shift in population -- and Democratic vote.

The changing demographics helped the Democratic vote in other exurban counties, too:
Loudoun experienced a 12-point gain in the minority population since 2000, and Obama did 13 percentage points better than Gore did in 2000. Obama did 10 points better than Gore in Stafford, which saw a 10 percent increase in the minority population since 2000.

This shift, matched with historical Democratic strength in the inner suburbs, makes Northern Virginia a huge source of votes for Democrats. The region's size, compared with the rest of the state, threatens Republicans' ability to win statewide if Democrats can continue to get their voters to the poll, demographers and political scientists suggest.

"The transformation in Northern Virginia has been rapid and dramatic, and Obama came out of Northern Virginia with a margin of [213,000] votes, and that is very hard to overcome," said Ken Billingsley, director of demographics and information for the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. "In Prince William, the change has already occurred, and I am not the least bit surprised that Stafford, Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg are moving in that direction."
It's not the same Virginia it was just 10 years ago. That's something for which we can all be thankful.

This is deffinately good news for democrats. I honestly think that two elections that got George W. Bush elected were complete flukes. If you look at the trends from the '90's when Clinton was elected, the country was trending more blue. Only time will tell. I will have a more detailed analysis this week.

Anonymous Comments

I want to address something that occurred today. I received a comment from my post yesterday about George Bush. It was from an anonymous person. Now, I welcome all comments. I encourage comments, even if you do not agree with me. That is what makes this democracy so great. However, I do ask that you do not post anonymous comments. Have the balls to show who you are. That tells me you are ashamed of your beliefs and cannot stand up for them.

President Bush Gets It Right...A First!

From Teagan Goddard's Politcal Wire:

"Frankly, I'm not going to miss the limelight all that much."-- President Bush, quoted by the AP, in a conversation with his sister about leaving the White House.

And we are not going to miss him that much either. Less than two
months until Obama is sworn in. I hope we make it.

From One Turkey to Another

Happy Thanksgiving

From the biggest turkey of them all.

Florida Turning Purple-ish

Judge Rules Gay Adoption Ban Unconstitutional!

From the Miami Herald:

A Miami-Dade circuit judge Tuesday declared Florida's 30-year-old ban on gay adoption unconstitutional, allowing a North Miami man to adopt two foster kids he has raised since 2004.

In a 53-page order that sets the stage for what could become a constitutional showdown, Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman permitted 47-year-old Frank Gill to adopt the 4- and 8-year-old boys he and his partner have raised since just before Christmas four years ago. A child abuse investigator had asked Gill to care for the boys temporarily; they were never able to return to their birth parents.

''This is the forum where we try to heal children, find permanent families for them so they can get another chance at what every child should know and feel from birth, and go on to lead productive lives,'' Lederman said in court before releasing the order. ``We pray for them to thrive, but that is a word we rarely hear in dependency court.''

''These children are thriving; it is uncontroverted,'' the judge added.

Moments after Lederman released the ruling, attorneys for Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced they would appeal the decision to the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami.

''We respect the court's decision,'' said attorney Valerie Martin, who had argued in support of the ban during a weeklong trial Oct. 1-6. But, she added: ``Based upon the wishes of our client, the Department of Children & Families, we have filed a notice of appeal this morning.''

The attorney general's office had argued that gay men and lesbians are disproportionately more likely to suffer from mental illness or a substance abuse problem than straight people, rendering them less fit to parent -- especially children in foster care who already are under tremendous stress.

Gov. Charlie Crist, a former attorney general who has expressed support for the adoption ban, declined to comment Tuesday, saying he hadn't yet reviewed the ruling.

Gill, who is raising the half-brothers with his partner of eight years, said he was ''elated'' by the ruling.

''I cried tears of joy for the first time in my life,'' he told reporters outside Miami's juvenile courthouse at 3300 NW 27th Ave. His mother appeared with him in court.

The ban on adoption by gay families, he said, does not lead to more children being raised in traditional households, since foster and adoptive families have long been in short supply in Florida.

Instead, he said, ``It results in more children being left without any parents at all. They don't have a mom or a dad.''

Lederman, who overseas Miami's juvenile and child welfare courts, is the second judge this year to declare the state's blanket ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians unconstitutional.

In August, Monroe Circuit Judge David John Audlin Jr. wrote that Florida's 1977 gay adoption ban arose out of ''unveiled expressions of bigotry'' when the state was experiencing a severe backlash to demands for civil rights by gay people in Miami.

''Disqualifying every gay Floridian from raising a family, enjoying grandchildren or carrying on the family name, based on nothing more than lawful sexual conduct, while assuring child abusers, terrorists, drug dealers, rapists and murderers at least individualized consideration, `` Audlin wrote, was so ``disproportionately severe'' that it violates the state and U.S. Constitutions.

In her ruling, Lederman said children taken into state care have a ''fundamental'' right to be raised in a permanent adoptive home if they cannot be reunited with birth parents. Children whose foster parents are gay, she said, can be deprived of that right under the current law.

''The challenged statute, in precluding otherwise qualified homosexuals from adopting available children, does not promote the interests of children and, in effect, causes harm to the children it is meant to protect,'' Lederman wrote.

The judge added: ``There is no question the blanket exclusion of gay applicants defeats Florida's goal of providing [foster] children a permanent family through adoption.''

In a ruling that, at times, reads more like a social science research paper, Lederman dissected 30 years worth of psychological and sociological research, concluding that studies overwhelmingly have shown that gay people can parent every bit as effectively as straight people and do no harm to their children.

''Based on the evidence presented from experts from all over this country and abroad,'' Lederman wrote, ``it is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent. Sexual orientation no more leads to psychiatric disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, relationship instability, a lower life expectancy or sexual disorders than race, gender, socioeconomic class or any other demographic characteristic.

''The most important factor in ensuring a well-adjusted child is the quality of parenting,'' Lederman wrote.

Marc Caputo of The Miami Herald's Tallahassee bureau contributed to this story.

Day Without A Gay!

Day Without A Gay seeks to shift our strong feelings about injustice toward service! Let's fight for equality by out-loving those who would deny us rights. Call in "gay" on December 10th (International Human Rights Day) and volunteer for your local LGBT and/or human rights organizations.

The New New Deal?

Tomorrow morning, President-Elect Obama will be introducing his economic team to the country in his second press conference since being elected the 44th President of the United States. He gave a hint at what the new team is going to be working on this weekend during the weekly Democratic Radio Address.

Newt's Little Sister Speaks

Here is a column Candice Gingrich wrote in Huffington Post today to her big brother and the gay community's best friend, Newt Gingrich.

Dear Newt,

I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protestors of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O'Reilly on FOX News. I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, "There you go, again."

However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked.

The truth is that you're living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as -- and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.

Welcome to the 21st century, big bro. I can understand why you're so afraid of the energy that has been unleashed after gay and lesbian couples had their rights stripped away from them by a hateful campaign. I can see why you're sounding the alarm against the activists who use all the latest tech tools to build these rallies from the ground up in cities across the country.

This unstoppable progress has at its core a group we at HRC call Generation Equality. They are the most supportive of full LGBT equality than any American generation ever -- and when it comes to the politics of division, well, they don't roll that way. 18-24 year olds voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8 and overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. And the numbers of young progressive voters will only continue to grow. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, about 23 million 18-29 year olds voted on Nov. 4, 2008 -- the most young voters ever to cast a ballot in a presidential election. That's an increase of 3 million more voters compared to 2004.

These are the same people who helped elect Barack Obama and sent a decisive message to your party. These young people are the future and their energy will continue to drive our country forward. Even older Americans are turning their backs on the politics of fear and demagoguery that you and your cronies have perfected over the years.

This is a movement of the people that you most fear. It's a movement of progress -- and your words on FOX News only show how truly desperate you are to maintain control of a world that is changing before your very eyes.

Then again, we've seen these tactics before. We know how much the right likes to play political and cultural hardball, and then turn around and accuse us of lashing out first. You give a pass to a religious group -- one that looks down upon minorities and women -- when they use their money and membership roles to roll back the rights of others, and then you label us "fascists" when we fight back. You belittle the relationships of gay and lesbian couples, and yet somehow neglect to explain who anointed you the protector of "traditional" marriage. And, of course, you've also mastered taking the foolish actions of a few people and then indicting an entire population based on those mistakes. I fail to see how any of these patterns coincide with the values of "historic Christianity" you claim to champion.

Again, nothing new here. This is just more of the blatant hypocrisy we're used to hearing.

What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions. That's really so '90s, Newt. In this day and age, it's embarrassing to watch you talk like that. You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because, there is no place for you in it.

In other words, stop being a hater, big bro.

Turkey of the Year Award

From Countdown with Keith Olberman last nite:




She really needs to get a clue. Conducting an interview in front of turkeys being slaughtered is not the best message to send to your constituents.

Joe's Gotta Go!

From Think Progress:

Apparently, Joe the Plumber has a book coming out on Dec. 1. Here is the blurb from Think Progress:

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” has signed a deal to write a
new book entitled “Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.” To capitalize on his recent fame, Wurzelbacher is planning to release it on Dec. 1 – less than
two weeks from now. The New York Times reports that the book “will address
Mr. Wurzelbacher’s ideas about American values.” Wurzelbacher, who had
failed to payhis taxes and wasn’t licensed as a plumber, revealed during the campaign that he was once on welfare but is opposed to welfare programs. He also said, “Social Security’s a joke.”

I am already waiting with baited breath and have a spot reserved on my toilet for this great literary masterpiece. One question I have though: Sinec it is coming out less then a month after the election, how long is this masterwork going to be?

Joe, just go AWAY!

HHS, DHS, AG, OMB, Oh My!

It has been a pretty good day for news surrounding President-Elect Obama's future cabinet appointments.

From Teagan Goddard's Political Wire:

CNN reports that Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker is President-elect Obama's choice to become Secretary of Commerce.

CNN reports that President-elect Obama has chosen Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) to be Secretary of Homeland Security pending further vetting by the transition team.

Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) has been offered the job of Health and Human Services secretary by President-elect Obama and has accepted the job, according to Roll Call."Daschle, who served in the Senate until he lost his re-election bid in 2004, also is set to take on the position of 'health care czar' in the Obama White House, ensuring that he does not get big footed on matters relating to health care policy."Earlier this year, Daschle released a book called Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.

President-elect Obama "is preparing to tap Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag, once a veteran economic adviser in the Clinton White House, to become his budget director," according to the National Journal. "The Office of Management and Budget job -- seen as a key post to help Obama deliver on his domestic policy agenda amidst the gloom of a $700 billion federal financial rescue, a recession and the prospects of a $1 trillion deficit next year -- carries Cabinet rank. An announcement is expected soon, but could come with other personnel decisions Obama is making to lead the Treasury Department and National Economic Council in his White House."

President-elect Obama has decided to pick Eric Holder as his attorney general, "putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department," Newsweek reports."Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, still has to undergo a formal 'vetting' review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final and is publicly announced, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified talking about the transition process. But in the discussions over the past few days, Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted." "The announcement is not likely until after Obama announces his choices to lead the Treasury and State departments."

Now, I am not sure about you, but I think these are some very good appointments. It looks as though he is putting some very competent people in place to help change the country for the better.

I will have some thoughts on these appointments later on.

TTFN.

She is the best top around! Keeps giving and giving and giving till it hurts us all!

I just saw this on Andrew Sullivans blog: The Daily Dish! Apparently, Gov. Palin is having some problems adjusting to life back home. Read for yourself.

What's All The Fuss About?

If you are an outside observer of the American Political Machine and just saw a snippet of a headline here or there, you would probably think that President-Elect Barack Obama was in a great deal of trouble. After all, people don't like his choice of Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, White House Council and Attorney General. There is also a great deal of criticism of him for wanting to help out the domestic automakers; GM, Chrysler and Ford. To top it all off, this morning there is new criticism about his plans to push forward on environmental policy. All of this before he has even taken the oath of office.

Well, I have some sound advice to anyone: Take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For all that is written about the "liberal" bias of the media, I am hard pressed to find any. In fact, I am pretty sure there is a "conservative" bias in the media. I turn on the morning news shows and all I hear are criticisms of every single appointment this man has made. I forget where I heard it this morning, but someone said that he is sending the wrong message by making these appointments. He is just following politics as usual. Well, I have a few words for these people: Get a life!

My biggest complaint comes from the anticipation of the announcement that Senator Hillary Clinton may be made Secretary of State. You would think the world was coming to an end. "How can he do this?" "What is he thinking?" "Why would he bring her on board?" "It is drawing too much attention away from him." "Bill is a problem." Well, let's take a look at something, shall we? Now, I don't even begin to understand how President-Elect Obama thinks, nor do I make any claims of knowing him personally (though I have gotten many text messages from him over the course of the campaign). But, I can assume that the decisions he is making are ones he sees as in the best interest of the country.

After eight years of someone giving cushy jobs to his cronies, it is nice to see someone actually making choices that are for the betterment of this nation. I believe that Senator Hillary Clinton would be an amazing choice for Secretary of State. Let's look at it this way: What other person in Washington has the kind of connections that Senator Clinton has? She has been in Washington since 1992 and has met scores of leaders and been to scores more countries. She is refined and I know that she would only have the best interests of this nation in mind when dealing with other world leaders.

Yes, pulling her out of the Senate does take a voice of opposition away from the President-Elect; however, it also puts that voice of opposition in the White House. It gives the Senator from New York a chance to really affect policy and a new direction for foreign affairs. President Bush is known to have surrounded himself with sycophants who grovel at his feet. How refreshing would it be to have a President who encourages an intelligent discourse of how to handle Iran, instead of just bombing them?

There may be a point when a Secretary Clinton says that the United States should invade Iran and President Obama asks why, he is not inclined to. Having that discussion (though I pray that it would never happen) is much more important than riding shotgun and screaming "yeehaw" around the beltway firing six-shooters and wearing a ten gallon hat. If President-Elect Obama is to have an informed opinion about the world and negotiate with our adversaries, then he is going to need someone who is going to be tough and ask the tough questions. Senator Hillary Clinton will do that.

Finally, I am sure there is one more thing that is probably weighing on the Junior Senator from New York's mind: She could have the chance to negotiate a Mideast Peace deal that eluded her husband. Not that I believe she and her husband are in a competition, but somehow I believe the crowning achievement for a Secretary Clinton would be to have that peace deal between Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the rest of the Arab world. It would also be a defining moment in an Obama administration. Now that is something no one can criticize.

58 and Counting!

From the AP:


The Associated Press has projected that GOP Senator and convicted felon Ted Stevens has lost re-election, with the final major batch of absentee ballots giving Democratic challenger Mark Begich an insurmountable lead.

The current vote count: Begich 150,728 votes, Stevens 147,004 votes. Begich's lead of 3,724 votes is greater than the roughly 2,500 outstanding ballots. By percentage, the 1.18% lead is beyond the 0.5% threshold that would have entitled Stevens to a state-funded recount.

Even if every last single outstanding ballot went to Stevens -- an unlikely scenario, to say the least -- he would still lose, and even if they broke for Stevens by a strong margin it would still likely be outside of the state-paid recount threshold.

Begich will be the first Democrat to represent deep-red Alaska at the federal level since Mike Gravel was defeated for re-election to the Senate in 1980. This also brings the Democrats to a total of 58 Senate seats, with the GOP-held Minnesota and Georgia seats still up for grabs.

Late Update: The Anchorage Daily News has now called the race for Begich.

Late Late Update: Here's something to think about, adding insult to injury: Today was Stevens' birthday.
_______________________________________

What does this mean? It means that Democrats, with the help of Sens. Lieberman and Sanders have an 8 votte majority in the U.S. Senate. It also means, they are only 2 seats short of a super majority. That would make the Republican's attempts at fillibusters a moot point. Although much has been written about Sen. Lieberman's campaigning with Sen. McCain during the Presidential Campaign, having him on our side is a good thing and keeping him on our side is even better.

How Much? For What?

It seems as though everyone's favorite governor, Sarah Palin is in the process of negotioating a book deal, reportedly worth $7,000,000.00! That's right folks. 7 Million Dollars. From Americablog:



$7 million book deal for Palin?
Joe Sudbay (DC) · 11/18/2008 09:44:00 AM ET · Link
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Seven million dollars? For what? When I heard this reported on the news this morning, I didn't quite believe it. But, then again, prominent GOP lesbian Mary Cheney got $1 million for a book about nothing that nobody bought. So, this is one of those inside deals, probably aided by some GOPer in the publishing business, to make Palin rich enough that she can run for president without having anyone else buy her clothes:
Sarah Palin has garnered more than fame from her failed Vice-Presidential bid. She is reportedly close to making a book deal for $7 million.

"Bill Clinton made over $10 million for his deal seven years ago," a publishing insider told Radar. "That was more than any other former President."

Palin offers more than just a political memoir with flashes of sexual mea culpa.

"She has huge appeal to a segment of the female reading public, and her private life hasn't been an open book," our source told us. "Not yet."

The book would be crafted with a ghost-writer and the goal will be to get it in stores in time for Christmas of next year.
Her private life? Ick. We know enough already. Seven million dollars for what?

I can forgive John McCain for a lot of his campaign rhetoric. But, I don't think I'll ever forgive him for inflicting Palin on us.

BACK FOR MORE!

I am back. I have been working on trying to seperate my two blogs and distinguish the content on both of them. I think I have finally been able to do that. Stay tuned in the next couple of days and you will start to see more postings.

Thank you for your patience.

Who's the real threat to America?

Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, attacked Senator Barack Obama on Saturday, claiming that he is pals with William Ayers, a 1960's anti-government radical. This is absolutely disgusting. But, it brings up a good question: Who is the real threat to America? If a Presidential nominee or Vice-Presidential nominee is going around, spewing this kind of nonsense, who is to say they are not going to say that either you or I are radicals, because we believe in gay rights or are pro-choice?

This isn't a question about Obama's integrity or judgement. This is a question of the McCain campaigns integrity and judgement. When a person is backed into a corner, it is natural that he or she is going to want to fight. It is just human nature. Hell, it is animal instinct. But, there is a big difference between a fair fight and a dirty fight. If there is an animal injured or dying in the forest, it isn't the lion that attacks, it is the hyena or other scavengers that attack. John McCain is now a scavenger. He has reduced this election; which is probably the single most important election in a generation, to a hunt. A win at all costs hunt.

Obama is leading in the polls. For whatever the reason, many Americans view Barack Obama and Joe Biden as more capable of handling the nation and its problems than John McCain and Sarah Palin. In the past two weeks, the citizens of this country have seen exactly how McCain would handle a crisis and how Obama would and have deemed Obama the more competent person. So, because of mistakes, that are of McCain's own making, he now sees fit to make sure that any association that Obama has made in his life is put under a microscope. Not only that, but his campaign now says that Obama has broken campaign fundraising laws and is demanding a full audit of the Obama campaign.

What I find funny is that McCain has broken campaign financing laws as well and has been ordered to repay contributors $1.5 Million. McCain was also involved in the Savings and Loan scandals that racked the country back in the late 1980's. It is also known that Sarah Palin has had ties to the Alaska Independence Party, an ultra-right wing group committed to the Independence of Alaska from The United States of America. For those who are not aware, that is an act of treason against The United States of America.

If the McCain campaign wants to go down this road, it is going to be a very bumpy ride for everyone. Though i am not an expert, I believe that there will be some very big losers. The first looser is going to be the American People. We deserve better than what McCain is offering. We deserve candidates who will talk about the issues facing this country. We deserve candidates who will have an honest discourse about the future of our country instead of the trivial tit-for-tat on who hung out with whom and when.

We all have skeletons in our closet. It is the nature of the beast. Bill Clinton had affairs with other women. George Bush did drugs and was arrested for DWI (to name a few). John McCain divorced his first wife after a debilitating accident. It isn't that these things are negative or positive to a person. They are things and choices we have made in our lives that may have been wrong. But should these things be held against us? If McCain truly wants to go down this road, then he is asking for his entire life to be opened up like a book as well. Personally, I would prefer that the candidates talk about the economy and healthcare and how we are going to leave Iraq.

Health Care Crisis

This is an exerpt from Barack Obama's speech today. It is one of the most powerful examples of how our healthcare system is broken.


In the end, none of this will be easy. We’re up against a powerful, entrenched status quo in Washington that will say anything and do anything and fight with everything they’ve got to keep things the way they are.

But I know that if we come together, and work together, we can do this. So many people are counting on us.

A woman named Robyn who I met in Florida, is one of those people. Back in May, her 16 year old son Devon came to one of our events, and I got to meet him at the airport in Fort Lauderdale. Later that day, Devon became seriously ill. His heart started racing, and his lips turned white. He was rushed to the hospital and almost went into cardiac arrest. He was later diagnosed with a heart condition and told he needed a procedure that would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Robyn’s insurance company refused to pay -- they said it was a pre-existing condition – and Robyn’s family doesn’t have that kind of money.

But until Devon has that procedure, he has to take medication and stop all physical activity. No more gym classes. No more football at school. No more basketball at the park with his friends.

After we met, Robyn sent me an email in which she wrote, “My son deserves all that life has to offer. Money should NEVER determine the quality of a child’s life. I can’t help but feel as if somehow we failed Devon. Why couldn’t we be the rich family that has the great insurance or could whip out 50 grand like it is nothing?”

She ended her email with these words, “I ask only this of you – on the days where you feel so tired you can’t think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. On the days when you are playing basketball, think of Devon, who can’t. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder.”

Today, I want to say to Robyn and Devon and everyone like them across America, you have my word that I will never back down, I will never give up, I will never stop fighting until we have fixed our health care system and no family ever has to go through what you’re going through, and my mother went through, and so many people go through every day in this country. That is my promise to you.

And if all of you here today will stand with me in this work – if you’ll talk to your friends and neighbors, get people to the polls, and give me your vote, then together, we won’t just win this election, we will transform this nation. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.

Who Said "The Penguin" Was Fictional?

Kind of scarey, huh? HUH? HUH?

She Didn't Entirely Suck!

It is now almost 24 hours out from the much hyped and anticipated Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. My first instinct was to write my thoughts immediately following the debate. Then, I decided to wait it out and think carefully about what I wanted to say, instead of just giving you some verbal diarrhea about how Sarah Palin sucked and how Joe Biden was amazing. But, I wanted to get all of my thoughts together and sound reasonably intelligent (unlike Ms. Palin).

Last nights one and only debate, feature Delaware Senator Joe Biden and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was by far, the most anticipated debate in my lifetime. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Deep down inside I want Governor Palin to fall flat on her face and I wanted Senator Biden to wipe the stage with her smirk. But that didn't happen. What did happen was a 90 minute question and answer session, not unlike one of those pesky interviews Palin despises so much. There was almost no direct contact between the two candidates and because of that, I do not believe the audience became as engaged as they were with the first Presidential debate.

It is worth noting that this format did lend itself to Governor Palin. She wasn't challenged on any of her statements and therefore was able to pull off the impossible; looking intelligent. Senator Biden, whom many believed would put his foot in his mouth, did a wonderful job. He obviously knows what he is talking about. He command of the facts is very important and it is worth noting that experience and command of the facts makes him ready, on day one, to step into the Office of the Presidency should something happen to Barack Obama. For me, the most important part of the debate the most riveting moment was when Senator Biden was speaking about his first wife and the tragic car accident that took her life and the life of his infant daughter.

The reason this worked so well is that Governor Palin was trying to paint Biden as someone who is out of touch with "typical" America. Apparently, Palin did not do her homework, as she clearly did not know anything about this tragedy and how Senator Biden would commute back and forth everyday from his Delaware home. Her response to this was to state that she and John McCain were mavericks. It was one of the most disturbing moments of the debate. Obviously, she is not campaigning as a "compassionate conservative."

As I said earlier, Palin did not crash and burn. However, she showed no mastery over the issues. She showed that she could regergitate facts and figures like a robot and that she could down home and folksy. Well folks, I don't know about you, but I don't want folksy. I don't want down home talking. I want a President and Vice President who have a handle on the issues. I want the best of the best and Governor Palin is not the best of the best. She is of mediocre (at best) intellect. We have had eight years of mediocre intelect and look where it has gotten us.

Joe Biden and Barack Obama have the best educations in this country. John McCain graduated at the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy and Sarah Palin went to six colleges in five years. We need the best. If the American people can get past Palin's folksy double-talk, then on Nov. 4th we will be electing Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Pundit Round-Up From Americablog

Here is a complete rundown of the pundits from last nites VP Debate. I will have a post-mortem later on today.


The reviews are in. Biden won.
John Aravosis (DC) · 10/02/2008 11:42:00 PM ET · Link
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Huffington Post Ex-Bush Officials: Biden Won The Debate: Said Torie Clarke, who worked with McCain back in Arizona and with the Bush Administration's Department of Defense, had the following remarks on ABC: " I think Joe Biden had his best night tonight. He came with one mission, and that was to go after John McCain, and he did it, backed up by facts. I think he did a better job tonight of tying McCain to the Bush administration than Obama did last week. Matthew Dowd, who worked for George Bush's communications team while in the White House, followed Clarke and he too agreed that the Delaware Democrat took the evening.

ABC Dowd 10:52 PM: “I think fundamentally the American public came away with this tonight, just like they came away with the debate last night, saying, you know, I'm leaning in Obama and Biden's corner, and this didn't change my mind.”
Gibson: I'm amazed that we have agreement from all three of you.

CNN David Gergen 10:05 PM: People underestimating how good Biden was, Biden “was really good”

CNN Alex Castellanos 10:38 PM : "The second part of the debate, you know Republicans aren't going to win debates on Iraq, I don't care who you put on that stage tonight, we're not going to win debates on Iraq and we didn't tonight. But overall, we've had a rough week as Republicans. You know, this has not been our best week."

CBS Bob Schieffer 10:35 PM: “I must say, I thought Senator Biden had a very good night. He seemed comfortable with the facts, it was clear he has dealt with these issues over the years, I thought he put his experience on display in a very good way.”

MSNBC Chris Matthews 10:35 PM: "Not only did she say I'm not going to do any more interviews, it seemed, but she was saying, I'm not going to listen to uh Gwen Ifill tonight. She said I'm not going to uh give the answers the moderator wants to ask for. What an extraordinary statement. I'm not going to play by the rules and when I get elected I want more power in the office than it's had before. Hmm.. Not too much humility here."

CBS Bob Schieffer 10:35 PM: “I must say, I found it a little disconcerting, time and again, Governor Palin would just choose not to answer the question and launch into some dissertation, sometimes talking points, and not really address what Gwen Ifill had asked her.”

PBS David Brooks 10:39 PM: "When he talked about his family and the death of his wife, that is a moment people remember, what they remember about the debates is the moment when you think you see the person and that was a moment where I thought you saw Joe Biden."

MSNBC Andrea Mitchell 10:38 PM: "She didn't answer the questions. And, in fact, she would say, I want to talk about taxes, which hadn't even come up."

FOX News Frank Luntz 10:44 PM: With the Luntz Polling Group was in the Anheuser-Busch Headquarters, When Asked Independent Voters Their Reactions One Voter Said, “she had a presentation about her, but that also annoyed me, too. She catered to kind of an adorability and lacked substance.”

Washington Post (Eugene Robinson): Exactly an hour into the debate, Joe Biden began an answer by saying, "Facts matter, Gwen." To him, maybe. To Sarah Palin, maybe not. The pattern, so far, has been one of Biden presenting facts and Palin countering with… saying stuff. Sometimes she throws in a fact, but mostly she seems to be offering a string of approximate policy positions, encomiums to the American spirit, disputed interpretations of Barack Obama's record and anecdotes from Alaska.

Washington Post (Chris Cillizza): Go Biden Go! Again, very good moment for Biden. The more he talks "Bush=McCain" the better.

Philadelphia Daily News (Will Bunch): Biden points out that Ahmadinjad isn't the surpreme ruler of Iran -- how come people don't bring that up. Hammering McCain on the Spain issue -- the McCain camp really screwed up on the way it handled that one.

Salon (Joan Walsh) How Sarah Palin blew it: Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were talking to two different Americas Thursday night. Actually, that's unfair to Joe Biden; he was trying to talk to everyone. I can say for certain, though, that Sarah Palin was talking to – and winking at – her own private Idaho, and for long stretches of the debate, it was an unnerving experience.

Washington Post: (E.J. Dionne Jr.) McCain's Dicey Gamble: Gambling with his presidential candidacy is McCain's right. Gambling with the country McCain says he puts first is another thing entirely. And last night's vice presidential debate took place at precisely the moment when a majority of American voters decided that having Palin in line for the presidency is more than a little bit scary.

CNN (Bob Schneider): Palin’s answers do not lack confidence, they lack coherence.

Washington Post (Chris Cillizza): She pivots to executive appearance but her answer on the role of the vice presidency was REALLY bad.

TIME: Palin didn’t make any big mistakes, but she also didn’t reassure that she could handle the presidency.

Washington Post (Chris Cillizza): Palin: Worst spot in the debate. Looking down at her notes a lot. Really struggling.

TIME: This closing statement sounds like she's giving a speech to the College Republicans. It's really amateur hour.

Politico (Ben Smith): As this debate has gone on, Palin's gotten more abstract, Biden more concrete.

ABC News (Rick Klein): Palin: "So Joe, there you go again." Anyone else over that line? Couldn't it have been retired with Reagan? Shout-out to third graders at her brother's elementary school? What world were we just in there for a few minutes?

CNN (Bob Schneider): Palin needs to define the terms she uses. Reform, corruption, maverick…these are words that Palin often uses, but she needs to define them.

FOX News (Aaron Bruns): Palin calls the supreme NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, “McClellan.” Does it twice.

Politico (Jonathan Martin): Biden explains how McCain is not a maverick On voting for Bush's budgets, health care and education. No dispute from Palin.

TNR: Palin's final quote was from Ronald Reagan, warning that without vigilance, "you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free." In fact, Reagan was not warning about a general lack of vigilance about freedom, he was warning what would happen if Medicare was enacted.

Because Bush/McCain/Palin Care So Much!

This makes me sick:

Woman, 90, shoots self inside foreclosed home
Story Highlights
Deputies, neighbor hear gunshots after attempt to serve notice

Congressman mentions incident during House debate on bailout

Kucinich: "This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world"

(CNN) -- A 90-year-old Akron, Ohio, woman who shot herself as sheriff's deputies tried to evict her from her foreclosed home became a symbol of the nation's home mortgage crisis Friday.

Addie Polk is being treated at Akron General Medical Center after shooting herself at least twice in the upper body Wednesday afternoon, her city councilman said.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, mentioned Polk on the House floor Friday during debate over the latest economic rescue proposal.

"This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world," Kucinich said after telling her story. "This bill fails to address the fact that millions of homeowners are facing foreclosure, are facing the loss of their home. This bill will take care of Wall Street, and the market may go up for a few days, but democracy is going downhill."

Neighbor Robert Dillon used a ladder to enter a second-story window of Polk's home after he and the deputies heard bangs inside, Dillon told CNN affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio.

"I just thought she may have fell or couldn't get up or something," he told WEWS. "I didn't know [she had shot herself] until I got in there. And even when I got there, she was breathing, but she wasn't saying anything to me. I knew she needed help then."

Dillon said he saw blood when he put his hand on Polk's shoulder.

"There's a lot of people like Miss Polk right now. That's the sad thing about it," said Akron City Council President Marco Sommerville, who had met Polk before and rushed to the scene when contacted by police. "They might not be as old as her, some could be as old as her. This is just a major problem."

In 2004, Polk took out a 30-year, 6.375 percent mortgage for $45,620 with a Countrywide Home Loan office in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The same day, she also took out an $11,380 line of credit.

Over the next couple of years Polk missed payments on the 101-year-old home and in 2007 Fannie Mae assumed the mortgage and later filed for foreclosure.

Deputies had tried to serve Polk's eviction notice more than 30 times before Wednesday's incident, Sommerville said. She never came to the door, but the notes the deputies left would always disappear, so they knew she was inside and ambulatory, he said.

The city is creating programs to help people keep their homes, Sommerville said.

"But what do you do when there's just so many people out there and the economy is in the shape that it's in?"

Many businesses and individuals have called since Wednesday offering to help Polk, Sommerville said.

"We're going to do an evaluation to see what's best for her," he said. "If she's strong enough and can go home, I think we should work with her to where she goes back home. If not, we need to find another place for her to live where she won't have to worry about this ever again."

He said that by the time people call for help with an impending foreclosure, it's usually too late.

"I'm glad it's not too late for Miss Polk, because she could have taken her life," Sommerville said. "Miss Polk will probably end up on her feet. But I'm not sure if anybody else will."

CNN's Jim Kavanagh, Brad Lendon and Mallory Simon contributed to this report.

All AboutHome Financing • Ohio • Countrywide Financial Corporation

Supreme Decisions

Senator Biden and Governor Palin on the Supreme Court. Joe Biden offers thoughtful and insightful answers to the questions. Yes, he can be a bit verbose, but I would take a chatty-cathy over a dumb hillbilly any day.

Here is the video clip:



Katie Couric: Why do you think Roe v. Wade was a good decision?

Joe Biden: Because it's as close to a consensus that can exist in a society as heterogeneous as ours. What does it say? It says in the first three months that decision should be left to the woman. And the second three months, where Roe v. Wade says, well then the state, the government has a role, along with the women's health, they have a right to have some impact on that. And the third three months they say the weight of the government's input is on the fetus being carried.

And so that's sort of reflected as close anybody is ever going to get in this heterogeneous, this multicultural society of religious people as to some sort of, not consensus, but as close it gets.

I think the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment … offers a right to privacy. Now that's one of the big debates that I have with my conservative scholar friend, that they say, you know, unless a right is enumerated - unless it's actually, unless uses the word "privacy" in the Constitution - then no such "constitutional right" exists. Well, I think people have an inherent right.

Couric: Are there Supreme Court decisions you disagree with?

Biden: You know, I'm the guy who wrote the Violence Against Women Act. And I said that every woman in America, if they are beaten and abused by a man, should be able to take that person to court - meaning you should be able to go to federal court and sue in federal court the man who abused you if you can prove that abuse. But they said, "no, that a woman, there's no federal jurisdiction." And I held, they acknowledged, I held about 1,000 hours of hearings proving that there's an effect in interstate commerce.
Women who are abused and beaten and beaten are women who are not able to be in the work force. And the Supreme Court said, "well, there is an impact on commerce, but this is federalizing a private crime and we're not going to allow it." I think the Supreme Court was wrong about that decision.

Couric Why, in your view, is Roe v. Wade a bad decision?

Sarah Palin: I think it should be a states issue not a federal government-mandated, mandating yes or no on such an important issue. I'm, in that sense, a federalist, where I believe that states should have more say in the laws of their lands and individual areas. Now, foundationally, also, though, it's no secret that I'm pro-life that I believe in a culture of life is very important for this country. Personally that's what I would like to see, um, further embraced by America.

Couric: Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution?

Palin: I do. Yeah, I do.

Couric: The cornerstone of Roe v. Wade.

Palin: I do. And I believe that individual states can best handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in an issue like that.

Couric: What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?

Palin: Well, let's see. There's, of course in the great history of America there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but …

Couric: Can you think of any?

Palin: Well, I could think of … any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But, you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.


© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Echo Chamber

Someone really needs to get McCain out of the echo chamber. He is really starting to look out of touch.


McCain on Palin: "I haven't heard anyone" asking her to resign
On CNN Espagnol, McCain made the following comments on recent criticism of Palin:



"I haven't heard anyone asking her to resign."

"The enthusiasm is incredible."

"If some people have been attacking her fine, but it's not working with the American people. She's more popular than ever."

Something fun

You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (13% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Reading List

WOW! Wow! I am at a loss for words. Seriously. I don't even know how to respond to this.

McCain/Palin needs the bailout!

I have not written in a week or so due to some personal stuff going on in my personal life that had me sidelined for a while. But, I am now back and better than ever. A couple of things to catch up on: If you have been living in a cave, here are the clips from Saturday Night Live featuring Tina Fey as Sarah "Baracuda" Palin. Enjoy.


9/27/08



9/13/08


The scarey thing about the first skit is that most of the answers that Ms. Fey gives are direct quotes from Governor Palin. Aside from the fact that it is hillarious to watch, it is scarey that Ms. Palin is so stupid and so egocentric that she believes she is qualified enough for this position.

Next, Palin gave a speech yesterday in which she said she has been listening to Biden speak since she was in the second grade. When asked by Katie Couric about that comment she answered that she was just showing that Biden has a lot of experience and she is the new thing. Isn't that taking a bit of a risk, considering that McCainn is older than Biden?

What is a "Real American?"

I saw this on another blog that I read pretty regularly and thought it was interesting. Hats off to Veonix Rising for making a very good point about what the Republican Party thinks is a "Real American."

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.”

But if you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

But if you name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.

If you graduate from Harvard law School, you are unstable.

But if you attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, 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.

But 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.

But 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 teach children about sexual predators, you are irresponsible and eroding the fiber of society.

But 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 laywer 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.

IBut if your husband is nicknamed “First Dude”, with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn’t register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that hates America and advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

It’s the hyprocrisy, stupid!

The Media Chimes In

Here is an article from The New York Times to be published this morning about Senator McCain's liberty with the truth. When most media outlets are saying McCain is lying more than telling the truth, you know something is wrong. Of course, one media outlet, Fox News, isn't complaining. Yeah, fair and balanced my ass. Anyway, here is the article, written by Jeff Zeleny.

September 13, 2008
McCain Barbs Stirring Outcry as Distortions
By MICHAEL COOPER and JIM RUTENBERG
Harsh advertisements and negative attacks are a staple of presidential campaigns, but Senator John McCain has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats, independent groups and even some Republicans for regularly stretching the truth in attacking Senator Barack Obama’s record and positions.

Mr. Obama has also been accused of distortions, but this week Mr. McCain has found himself under particularly heavy fire for a pair of headline-grabbing attacks. First the McCain campaign twisted Mr. Obama’s words to suggest that he had compared Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, to a pig after Mr. Obama said, in questioning Mr. McCain’s claim to be the change agent in the race, “You can put lipstick on a pig; it’s still a pig.” (Mr. McCain once used the same expression to describe Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health plan.)

Then he falsely claimed that Mr. Obama supported “comprehensive sex education” for kindergartners (he supported teaching them to be alert for inappropriate advances from adults).

Those attacks followed weeks in which Mr. McCain repeatedly, and incorrectly, asserted that Mr. Obama would raise taxes on the middle class, even though analysts say he would cut taxes on the middle class more than Mr. McCain would, and misrepresented Mr. Obama’s positions on energy and health care.

A McCain advertisement called “Fact Check” was itself found to be “less than honest” by FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan group. The group complained that the McCain campaign had cited its work debunking various Internet rumors about Ms. Palin and implied in the advertisement that the rumors had originated with Mr. Obama.

In an interview Friday on the NY1 cable news channel, a McCain supporter, Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, called “ridiculous” the implication that Mr. Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” comment was a reference to Ms. Palin, whom he also defended as coming under unfair attack.

“The last month, for sure,” said Don Sipple, a Republican advertising strategist, “I think the predominance of liberty taken with truth and the facts has been more McCain than Obama.”

Indeed, in recent days, Mr. McCain has been increasingly called out by news organizations, editorial boards and independent analysts like FactCheck.org. The group, which does not judge whether one candidate is more misleading than another, has cried foul on Mr. McCain more than twice as often since the start of the political conventions as it has on Mr. Obama.

A McCain spokesman, Brian Rogers, said the campaign had evidence for all its claims. “We stand fully by everything that’s in our ads,” Mr. Rogers said, “and everything that we’ve been saying we provide detailed backup for — everything. And if you and the Obama campaign want to disagree, that’s your call.”

Mr. McCain came into the race promoting himself as a truth teller and has long publicly deplored the kinds of negative tactics that helped sink his candidacy in the Republican primaries in 2000. But his strategy now reflects a calculation advisers made this summer — over the strenuous objections of some longtime hands who helped him build his “Straight Talk” image — to shift the campaign more toward disqualifying Mr. Obama in the eyes of voters.

“I think the McCain folks realize if they can get this thing down in the mud, drag Obama into the mud, that’s where they have the best advantage to win,” said Matthew Dowd, who worked with many top McCain campaign advisers when he was President Bush’s chief strategist in the 2004 campaign, but who has since had a falling out with the White House. “If they stay up at 10,000 feet, they don’t.”

For all the criticism, the offensive seems to be having an impact. It has been widely credited by strategists in both parties with rejuvenating Mr. McCain’s campaign and putting Mr. Obama on the defensive since it began early this summer.

Some who have criticized Mr. McCain have accused him of blatant untruths and of failing to correct himself when errors were pointed out.

On Friday on “The View,” generally friendly territory for politicians, one co-host, Joy Behar, criticized his new advertisements. “We know that those two ads are untrue,” Ms. Behar said. “They are lies. And yet you, at the end of it, say, ‘I approve these messages.’ Do you really approve them?”

“Actually they are not lies,” Mr. McCain said crisply, “and have you seen some of the ads that are running against me?”

Mr. Obama’s hands have not always been clean in this regard. He was called out earlier for saying, incorrectly, that Mr. McCain supported a “hundred-year war” in Iraq after Mr. McCain said in January that he would be fine with a hypothetical 100-year American presence in Iraq, as long as Americans were not being injured or killed there.

More recently, Mr. Obama has been criticized for advertisements that have distorted Mr. McCain’s record on schools financing and incorrectly accused him of not supporting loan guarantees for the auto industry — a hot topic in Michigan. He has also taken Mr. McCain’s repeated comments that American economy is “fundamentally sound” out of context, leaving out the fact that Mr. McCain almost always adds at the same time that he understands that times are tough and “people are hurting.”

But sensing an opening in the mounting criticism of Mr. McCain, the Obama campaign released a withering statement after Mr. McCain’s appearance on “The View.”

“In running the sleaziest campaign since South Carolina in 2000 and standing by completely debunked lies on national television, it’s clear that John McCain would rather lose his integrity than lose an election,” Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said in a statement.

At an event in Dover, N.H., a voter asked Mr. Obama when he would start “fighting back.” Mr. Obama, who began his own confrontational advertising campaign Friday, said, “Our ads have been pretty tough, but I just have a different philosophy that I’m going to respond with the truth.”

“I’m not going to start making up lies about John McCain,” Mr. Obama said.

The McCain advertisements are devised to draw the interest of bloggers and cable news producers — but not necessarily always intended for wide, actual use on television stations — to shift the terms of the debate by questioning Mr. Obama’s character and qualifications.

Mr. Sipple, the Republican strategist, voiced concern that Mr. McCain’s approach could backfire. “Any campaign that is taking liberty with the truth and does it in a serial manner will end up paying for it in the end,” he said. “But it’s very unbecoming to a political figure like John McCain whose flag was planted long ago in ground that was about ‘straight talk’ and integrity.”

The campaign has also been selective in its portrayal of Mr. McCain’s running mate, Ms. Palin. The campaign’s efforts to portray her as the bane of federal earmark spending was complicated by evidence that she had sought a great deal of federal money both as governor of Alaska and as mayor of Wasilla.

Ms. Palin has often told audiences about pulling the plug on the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, an expensive federal project to build a bridge to a sparsely populated Alaskan island that became a symbol of wasteful federal spending. “I told Congress, ‘Thanks but no thanks’ for that Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska,” she said this week in Virginia.

But her position was more like “please” before it became “no thanks.” Ms. Palin supported the bridge project while running for governor, and abandoned it after it became a national scandal and Congress said the state could keep the money for other projects. As a mayor and governor, she hired lobbyists to request millions in federal spending for Alaska. In an ABC News interview on Friday with Charles Gibson, Ms. Palin largely stuck to her version of the events.

Disputed characterizations are not uncommon on the trail. At a campaign stop this week in Missouri, Mr. McCain said that Mr. Obama’s plan would “force small businesses to cut jobs and reduce wages and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.”

Jonathan B. Oberlander, who teaches health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that Mr. Obama’s plan would not force families into a government-run system. “I would say this is an inaccurate and false characterization of the Obama plan,” he said. “I don’t use those words lightly.”

Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting from Dover, N.H.