The AP reports it as “a mixture of boos and cheers.”
The AP is incorrect. The cheers was trying to drown the boos. But, you can here the boos clearly..
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Biden to Palin: Don't lecture me about patriotism.
Go Joe!
CNN:
Joe Biden Thursday night told Sarah Palin not to lecture him on patriotism, after weeks of attacks mocking him for his statement the wealthy should be patriotic and pay higher taxes because not enough has been asked of them.
"Sarah Palin had great fun saying Joe Biden thinks paying taxes is patriotic. Well, let me tell you what Joe Biden thinks," the Delaware senator said at an outdoor rally. "Joe Biden thinks that anybody who takes millions of dollars offshore to avoid paying their fair share is unpatriotic."
"That is not patriotic and it will stop, it will stop in an Obama-Biden administration! Enough! I've had it up to here! Don't lecture me on patriotism," shouted Biden, getting drowned out by the applause of his supporters. "I'm dead tired of being taken advantage of. I'm getting tired of it."
CNN:
Joe Biden Thursday night told Sarah Palin not to lecture him on patriotism, after weeks of attacks mocking him for his statement the wealthy should be patriotic and pay higher taxes because not enough has been asked of them.
"Sarah Palin had great fun saying Joe Biden thinks paying taxes is patriotic. Well, let me tell you what Joe Biden thinks," the Delaware senator said at an outdoor rally. "Joe Biden thinks that anybody who takes millions of dollars offshore to avoid paying their fair share is unpatriotic."
"That is not patriotic and it will stop, it will stop in an Obama-Biden administration! Enough! I've had it up to here! Don't lecture me on patriotism," shouted Biden, getting drowned out by the applause of his supporters. "I'm dead tired of being taken advantage of. I'm getting tired of it."
Palin on Troopergate report: You need to read the report.
Thinkprogress:
While Sarah Palin was boarding her campaign bus this morning, a reporter seeking comment on the new Troopergate report shouted out to her, “Governor, did you abuse your power?” She responded:
If you read the report, you’ll see that there’s nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member. You’ve got to read the report, sir.
As Jake Tapper notes, Palin is dodging the question and parsing her answer. “It’s true that there’s nothing ‘unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member’ in principle,” he writes, “but the report is not as Gov. Palin is presenting it.” The report explicitly states that she did abuse her power and acted unethically:
For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 2952.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.
Memo to Palin: No, you need to re-read the report where it discussed about Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.
LOL for Saturday from McCain: ‘As President, I’m going to end these abuses [of power] whatever it takes.’
Thinkprogress:
Just moments ago at a townhall rally in Davenport, IA, John McCain delivered this statement:
As a Senator, I’ve seen the corrupt ways of Washington and wasteful spending and other abuses of power, and its corruption. We now have former members of Congress residing in federal prison. That’s how bad it’s gotten. As President, I’m going to end these abuses whatever it takes.
The definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over again and expected a different results.
Open thread for Saturday.
On a side note: Here is what is happening on the campaign trail this weekend:McCain-Palin team
10/11/2008
Road to Victory Rally: Saturday October 11th in Johnstown, PA
10/11/2008
Road to Victory Rally with John McCain in Davenport, IA
Obama-Biden team
10/11 Barack in Philadelphia, PA @ 8:15am EST
Barack Obama will be holding a Change We Need Rally at Progress Plaza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
10/11 Barack in Philadelphia, PA @ 9:30am EST
10/11 Barack in Philadelphia, PA @ 11:15am EST
10/11 Barack in Philadelphia, PA @ 1:10pm EST
Barack Obama will be holding a Change We Need Rally at the Intersection of South 52nd Street and Locust Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
10/12 Joe and Jill in Scranton, PA @ 3:15pm EST
Joe and Jill Biden will hold a Change We Need Rally at Riverfront Sports Complex in Scranton, Pennsylvania with Bill and Hillary Clinton.
10/12 Bill and Hillary Clinton in Scranton, PA @ 3:15pm EST
Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton will join Joe and Jill Biden for a Change We Need Rally at Riverfront Sports Complex in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
10/12 Bill Clinton in Roanoke, VA @ 6:15pm EST
Untold chapter of TrooperGate
First, the replacement of fired Monegan, Charles Kopp.
But while much attention has focused on Monegan’s firing, some point to how she handled his replacement as a real test of judgment.
Late on the afternoon of Friday, July 11, 2008 Palin’s office announced Monegan would step down and be replaced by Kenai Police Chief Charles Kopp. Kenai is about 160 miles from Anchorage and has less than 8,000 residents. Palin said she brought in Kopp to usher in a “new direction.”
Kopp was no stranger to Palin, nor Juneau. He served on transition teams for both Governors Frank Murkowski and Palin. But he was not given the role of top cop in her administration. That only came after Palin fired Monegan.
Almost as soon as Kopp was named to the job, John Cyr of the Public Safety Employees Association says he began receiving complaints, about 10 in all, about Kopp. Even before his first day, news broke about a sexual harassment claim that was filed against him a few years earlier by a former employee.
A letter of reprimand was placed in Kopp’s file for the incident that he referred to as a series of “friendly hugs.” Since no further complaints were made, the letter was removed from his file after two years and Kopp said there were never any other complaints. Kopp also told reporters that Palin knew about the complaint before she appointed him.
The harassment allegations became the awkward focus of his first press conference, forcing a stammering Kopp at one point to declare, “There’s no skeletons in my closet.”
During the press conference a press secretary interrupted reporters’ questions saying, “The point of this press conference is to discuss our [department’s] future.” And yet when reporters asked Kopp to define the new direction he deferred to the governor's office saying, “It’s not the role of me to comment on new directions."
Read on.
Second, Palin's initial pledge to cooperate in TroopGate probe
Pages 65-67 with key findings on Palin are reproduced here (pdf). Here are the highlights in the TrooperGate report:
“For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin Abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.” [p.8]
“Compliance with the code of ethics is not optional....“The evidence supports the conclusion that Governor Palin, at the least, engaged in ‘official action’ by her inaction if not her active participation or assistance to her husband in attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired" [and there is evidence of her active participation]. [pgs 65-66]
She knowingly, as that term is defined in the above cited statutes, permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor’s office and the resources of the Governor’s office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired. Her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act.” [pgs 65-66]
“Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda.” [ p 66]
“In this case, Governor Palin has declined to provide an interview. An interview would have assisted everyone to better understand her motives and perhaps help explain why she was so apparently intent upon g Trooper Wooten fired in spite of the fact she knew he had been disciplined following the Administrative Investigation.” [p 66]
“Governor Palin has stated publically that she and her family feared Trooper Wooten. Yet the evidence presented has been inconsistent with such claims of fear.” [p 67]
“Finally, it is noteworthy that in almost every contact with subordinate employees, Mr. Palin’s comments were couched in terms of his desire to see Trooper Wooten fired for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.” [ p 67]
“I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palin’s real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family related reasons. [p 67]
“The Attorney’ General’s Office failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails.” [p 74]
On a side note: the legislative council doesn't have the power for indictment:
The report made no specific recommendations on penalties or how to proceed. Civil penalties range, theoretically, from impeachment by the Legislature to a reprimand or a fine of up to $5,000 by the state personnel board, but most legislative sources thought it unlikely any action would be taken.
"We have the power to investigate. We have the power to change law based on the investigation. We don't have the power to convene a grand jury, for example, and seek an indictment," Sen. Kim Elton, the Democratic chairman of the legislative council, said in a telephone interview. "We understood at the beginning that we were on a fact-finding mission, but we don't have the power to prosecute."
This is really up to the Alaskans. But, it is clear that Palin violated Alaskans' trust.
But while much attention has focused on Monegan’s firing, some point to how she handled his replacement as a real test of judgment.
Late on the afternoon of Friday, July 11, 2008 Palin’s office announced Monegan would step down and be replaced by Kenai Police Chief Charles Kopp. Kenai is about 160 miles from Anchorage and has less than 8,000 residents. Palin said she brought in Kopp to usher in a “new direction.”
Kopp was no stranger to Palin, nor Juneau. He served on transition teams for both Governors Frank Murkowski and Palin. But he was not given the role of top cop in her administration. That only came after Palin fired Monegan.
Almost as soon as Kopp was named to the job, John Cyr of the Public Safety Employees Association says he began receiving complaints, about 10 in all, about Kopp. Even before his first day, news broke about a sexual harassment claim that was filed against him a few years earlier by a former employee.
A letter of reprimand was placed in Kopp’s file for the incident that he referred to as a series of “friendly hugs.” Since no further complaints were made, the letter was removed from his file after two years and Kopp said there were never any other complaints. Kopp also told reporters that Palin knew about the complaint before she appointed him.
The harassment allegations became the awkward focus of his first press conference, forcing a stammering Kopp at one point to declare, “There’s no skeletons in my closet.”
During the press conference a press secretary interrupted reporters’ questions saying, “The point of this press conference is to discuss our [department’s] future.” And yet when reporters asked Kopp to define the new direction he deferred to the governor's office saying, “It’s not the role of me to comment on new directions."
Read on.
Second, Palin's initial pledge to cooperate in TroopGate probe
Pages 65-67 with key findings on Palin are reproduced here (pdf). Here are the highlights in the TrooperGate report:
“For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin Abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.” [p.8]
“Compliance with the code of ethics is not optional....“The evidence supports the conclusion that Governor Palin, at the least, engaged in ‘official action’ by her inaction if not her active participation or assistance to her husband in attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired" [and there is evidence of her active participation]. [pgs 65-66]
She knowingly, as that term is defined in the above cited statutes, permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor’s office and the resources of the Governor’s office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired. Her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act.” [pgs 65-66]
“Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda.” [ p 66]
“In this case, Governor Palin has declined to provide an interview. An interview would have assisted everyone to better understand her motives and perhaps help explain why she was so apparently intent upon g Trooper Wooten fired in spite of the fact she knew he had been disciplined following the Administrative Investigation.” [p 66]
“Governor Palin has stated publically that she and her family feared Trooper Wooten. Yet the evidence presented has been inconsistent with such claims of fear.” [p 67]
“Finally, it is noteworthy that in almost every contact with subordinate employees, Mr. Palin’s comments were couched in terms of his desire to see Trooper Wooten fired for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.” [ p 67]
“I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palin’s real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family related reasons. [p 67]
“The Attorney’ General’s Office failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails.” [p 74]
On a side note: the legislative council doesn't have the power for indictment:
The report made no specific recommendations on penalties or how to proceed. Civil penalties range, theoretically, from impeachment by the Legislature to a reprimand or a fine of up to $5,000 by the state personnel board, but most legislative sources thought it unlikely any action would be taken.
"We have the power to investigate. We have the power to change law based on the investigation. We don't have the power to convene a grand jury, for example, and seek an indictment," Sen. Kim Elton, the Democratic chairman of the legislative council, said in a telephone interview. "We understood at the beginning that we were on a fact-finding mission, but we don't have the power to prosecute."
This is really up to the Alaskans. But, it is clear that Palin violated Alaskans' trust.
SPB News for Saturday.
Palin schedules bus tour of West Virginia — CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) — In what may be another signal that the troubled economy is forcing John McCain's campaign to play electoral map defense, Sarah Palin has scheduled a bus tour for Sunday through West Virginia, a state that's been leaning red throughout this presidential race.
Prop 8 = Prop Hate — To the children of same-sex parents: You Are Bad. — Doesn't matter if you are happy, well-adjusted, well cared-for, educated or secure. Doesn't matter if your parents are hard working, tax paying, law abiding or nice. — Children brought up in loving …
New college major: homeland security 35 students began Daniel Webster College's new major in homeland security this fall. The students will spend the next few years taking classes with anxiety-producing names: Acute Stress Management, Sociology of Disasters and Ideology, Conflict and Terror. Now, about 300 schools have homeland security programs.
Kanjorski wants AIG to reimburse money Executives of bailed out American International Group who spent lavishly on a junket at a California resort should be forced to reimburse the company, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D) said Thursday. Mr. Kanjorski sent a letter Thursday to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke asking him what steps he would take to recover the $443,000 recently spent by AIG executives on spa treatments, golf, ocean-view rooms and surfing lessons at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. Mr. Kanjorski called the junket "appalling."
KBR contractor gets 3 years in child porn case --KBR rehired mercenary after firing him for possessing child porn earlier in the year 10 Oct 2008 A federal judge rejected arguments Friday from a former mercenary in Iraq who said his sentence for possessing child pornography should be lighter to more closely align with what military personnel would face. [!] Ira L. Waltrip, who drove a bus in Iraq for Houston-based contractor KBR Inc., was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 41 months in prison. KBR had fired Waltrip in January 2006 from a contract job at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq after he was discovered with a collection of pornography that appeared to contain images depicting minors. No charges were filed. Despite that, KBR rehired Waltrip in December 2006. He was still working for KBR in Iraq in April when he was again discovered with a suspected cache of child pornography, leading to his conviction and sentence on Friday.
Pentagon's secret budget numbers
$450b over previous fig- ure; Ex-budget official calls it a 'political document.'
U.S. would support Taliban talks
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said U.S. is willing to reconcile with Taliban.
Was Palin wearing an ear piece?
Are Palin’s expensive Kawasaki 704 glasses and earrings part of a hidden phone earpiece? Her cue: ("not at all... yes, you know what...")She plugged her left ear to hear from the earpiece in her right ear. The thin white line coming down from her glasses is a brickhousesecurity antenna.
In her right ear:
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/...
You be the judge:
In her right ear:
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/...
You be the judge:
Jimmy Carter kicks King George while economy falls down
Reuters:
Former President Jimmy Carter said on Friday the “atrocious economic policies” of the Bush administration had caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Carter told reporters on a stopover in Brussels that “profligate spending,” massive borrowing and dramatic tax cuts since President George W. Bush took office in 2001 were behind the market turmoil and economic crisis.
“I think it’s because of the atrocious economic policies of the Bush administration,” said the 84-year-old Democrat, who served in the White House from 1977-1981 during a period of high inflation and energy crisis.
Whoever wins next month’s U.S. presidential election would inherit economic problems that would force them to postpone implementing some of their proposed reforms, he said.
Read more
Former President Jimmy Carter said on Friday the “atrocious economic policies” of the Bush administration had caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Carter told reporters on a stopover in Brussels that “profligate spending,” massive borrowing and dramatic tax cuts since President George W. Bush took office in 2001 were behind the market turmoil and economic crisis.
“I think it’s because of the atrocious economic policies of the Bush administration,” said the 84-year-old Democrat, who served in the White House from 1977-1981 during a period of high inflation and energy crisis.
Whoever wins next month’s U.S. presidential election would inherit economic problems that would force them to postpone implementing some of their proposed reforms, he said.
Read more
Gen. Petraeus backs Obama: 'You have to talk to enemies.'
Bad news for McCain..
The Washington Independent:
Petraeus also came out unambiguously in his talk at Heritage for opening communications with America’s adversaries, a position McCain is attacking Obama for endorsing. Citing his Iraq experience, Petraeus said, “You have to talk to enemies.” He added that it was necessary to have a particular goal for discussion and to perform advance work to understand the motivations of his interlocutors.
Petraeus also came out unambiguously in his talk at Heritage for opening communications with America’s adversaries, a position McCain is attacking Obama for endorsing. Citing his Iraq experience, Petraeus said, “You have to talk to enemies.” He added that it was necessary to have a particular goal for discussion and to perform advance work to understand the motivations of his interlocutors.
McCain's wife and father continued business partnership with Keating despite McCain's claim that he ended his relationship with Keating
PHOENIX—Sen. John McCain’s wife and father-in-law continued a lucrative business partnership with disgraced financier Charles H. Keating Jr. for 11 years after the GOP presidential nominee said he ended his close friendship with Keating in March 1987.
Cindy McCain’s business partnership with Keating in a real-estate development between 1986 and 1998 netted her a tidy profit, in addition to years of significant tax benefits. Her father, who died in 2000, earned similar returns.
McCain’s campaign and his Senate office did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails concerning Cindy McCain’s investment with Keating. McCain and his wife file separate tax returns and signed a pre-nuptial agreement before their marriage in May 1980. Cindy McCain owns one of the nation’s largest beer distributorships, Hensley & Company.
On Monday, McCain’s attorney, John Dowd, said in a conference call with reporters that McCain was not aware of his wife’s and father-in-law’s investment with Keating at the time it was made. “John was unconnected to that and unaware of it at the time and did not participate in it,” Dowd said.
However, during the Keating Five Senate Ethics Committee hearings in 1990-91, McCain testified that he was aware of the family investment with Keating in early 1986.
Under questioning from Dowd, McCain said he learned of the investment from a Hensley & Co. executive.
“I was told …they were going to invest in a shopping center and that the investment –- the project — was being put together by a subsidiary of American Continental,” McCain told the ethics committee. “He [the executive] later told me that had happened. And I had no interest in it and just noted in passing that this investment took place.”
Read on.
Cindy McCain’s business partnership with Keating in a real-estate development between 1986 and 1998 netted her a tidy profit, in addition to years of significant tax benefits. Her father, who died in 2000, earned similar returns.
McCain’s campaign and his Senate office did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails concerning Cindy McCain’s investment with Keating. McCain and his wife file separate tax returns and signed a pre-nuptial agreement before their marriage in May 1980. Cindy McCain owns one of the nation’s largest beer distributorships, Hensley & Company.
On Monday, McCain’s attorney, John Dowd, said in a conference call with reporters that McCain was not aware of his wife’s and father-in-law’s investment with Keating at the time it was made. “John was unconnected to that and unaware of it at the time and did not participate in it,” Dowd said.
However, during the Keating Five Senate Ethics Committee hearings in 1990-91, McCain testified that he was aware of the family investment with Keating in early 1986.
Under questioning from Dowd, McCain said he learned of the investment from a Hensley & Co. executive.
“I was told …they were going to invest in a shopping center and that the investment –- the project — was being put together by a subsidiary of American Continental,” McCain told the ethics committee. “He [the executive] later told me that had happened. And I had no interest in it and just noted in passing that this investment took place.”
Read on.
Why has the U.S. government purchased 1 million coffins?
A strange bargain of the US is actively being discussed in American internet. Plastic coffins in quantity of 500 000 to 1 000 000 purchased by the US have been found not far from Atlanta, state of Georgia.
The situation is such that no one can explain why needed to create a reserve of mournfully goods.
You can take a look at the video of Alex Jones.
Why coffins? Why in the middle of Georgia?
Well, apparently the Government is expecting a half million people to die relatively soon, and the Atlanta Airport is a major airline traffic hub, probably the biggest in the country, which means Georgia is a prime base to conduct military operations and coordination. It is also the home of the CDC, the Center for Disease Control. I don't want to alarm anyone, but usually you don't buy 500,000 plastic coffins "just in case something happens," you buy them because you know something is going to happen. These air tight seal containers would be perfect to bury victims of plague or biological warfare in, wouldn't they?
More info on the coffins:
http://www.infowars.com/?p=3466
A change in tune; McCain booed when he asks his supporters to ‘respect’ Obama.
During a campaign rally this evening in Lakeville, MN, an audience member asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for a “real fight” with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) at next week’s presidential debate. When McCain responded, “We want a fight, but we will be respectful,” the crowd broke out into loud boos. Ana Marie Cox reports, “McCain, visibly angry, stopped them: ‘I want EVERYONE to be respectful, and let’s make sure we are.’” The crowd then applauded
McCain: "He is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared about as President of the United States. If I didn't think I would be one heck of a better president I wouldn't be running."
Older Woman: "I have read about him. He's an Arab".
McCain: "No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."
And this is McCain's price to pay when he and Palin breed more hatred and racism in a disillustioned country into many uneducated voters.
Later Update: In the expanded version of the video , I don't hear any reference to terrorist when the woman calls Obama an Arab.
Friday, October 10, 2008
It's official: Palin abused power of her office according to the findings.
I was waiting on the full report to be released before posting. A more full discussion of the report will be posted tomorrow once I go through all of the report.
The report by investigator Steve Branchflower found that Palin violated the state's executive branch ethics act, which says that "each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."
Update: The legislative council voted 12-0 to release the Trooper-Gate report, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Running on empty; McCain camp goes after Michelle ...
Bad move. Bad move by McCain. This will cost him dearly.
The McCain campaign is now broadening their attack on Obama's past association with William Ayers to include Michelle Obama -- even though McCain has repeatedly said spouses should be off limits during the campaign.
The attack? Bernardine Dohrn, Ayers' wife and fellow former Weatherman, went to work in 1984 for the major Chicago-based national law firm of Sidley & Austin, and three years later, Michelle joined the mega-firm as well.
That's the entire attack. We wish we were joking. But we aren't.
Former governor Milliken deserts McCain.
And most likely we will hear other fellow GOPs back away from McCain.
By Pat Shellenbarger / Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- He endorsed John McCain in the presidential primary, but now former Republican Gov. William Milliken is expressing doubts about his party's nominee.
"He is not the McCain I endorsed," said Milliken, reached at his Traverse City home Thursday. "He keeps saying, 'Who is Barack Obama?' I would ask the question, 'Who is John McCain?' because his campaign has become rather disappointing to me.
"I'm disappointed in the tenor and the personal attacks on the part of the McCain campaign, when he ought to be talking about the issues."
Milliken, a lifelong Republican, is among some past leaders from the party's moderate wing voicing reservations and, in some cases, opposition to McCain's candidacy.
During a stop in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican U.S. senator from Rhode Island, said he's voting for Obama and urging others to do likewise.
McCain campaigned for Chafee's unsuccessful re-election bid in 2006, but Chafee said he is concerned McCain has swung to the right, a divisive strategy that could make it difficult for him to govern.
"That's not my kind of Republicanism," said Chafee. He had similar reservations about Obama's lack of experience, but said the Democrat's handling of the campaign convinced him he's ready to lead.
By Pat Shellenbarger / Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- He endorsed John McCain in the presidential primary, but now former Republican Gov. William Milliken is expressing doubts about his party's nominee.
"He is not the McCain I endorsed," said Milliken, reached at his Traverse City home Thursday. "He keeps saying, 'Who is Barack Obama?' I would ask the question, 'Who is John McCain?' because his campaign has become rather disappointing to me.
"I'm disappointed in the tenor and the personal attacks on the part of the McCain campaign, when he ought to be talking about the issues."
Milliken, a lifelong Republican, is among some past leaders from the party's moderate wing voicing reservations and, in some cases, opposition to McCain's candidacy.
During a stop in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican U.S. senator from Rhode Island, said he's voting for Obama and urging others to do likewise.
McCain campaigned for Chafee's unsuccessful re-election bid in 2006, but Chafee said he is concerned McCain has swung to the right, a divisive strategy that could make it difficult for him to govern.
"That's not my kind of Republicanism," said Chafee. He had similar reservations about Obama's lack of experience, but said the Democrat's handling of the campaign convinced him he's ready to lead.
Troopergate hearing (Updates through the day)
Come back for updates. ADN.Com is posting updated stories on the homepage.
Here is the latest:
12 noon: Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau and the Legislative Council chairman, stepped out for a bathroom break and was asked how it was going inside. "I'm not going to characterize it," he said. "I'm tempted to, but I won't." None of the others coming and going from the room have had anything to say.
Then Jeff Turner, an aide to the Senate majority, came out and said it would be at least another hour until any official word emerges from within.
11:50 p.m.: It may be a while. Green just stepped outside again and reports they're now on page 20 of the 200-plus page document. "Go home," she advised.
Six degrees of Hank Paulson
Propublica has a cool new widget which shows Henry Paulson's connections to virtually everyone else in the financial services industry.
When the GOP and wives turn into monsters.
Crooks and Liars:
John McCain and Sarah Palin were backstage, and Lehigh County GOP Chairman Bill Platt was warming up the crowd of 6,000 at a rally here for the Republican ticket.
"Think about how you'll feel on November 5 if you wake up in the morning and see the news, that Barack Obama -- that Barack Hussein Obama -- is the president-elect of the United States," Platt said. The audience at the Lehigh University arena booed at the thought of it.
"The number one most liberal senator in the United States of America was, you guessed it, the ambassador of change, Barack Hussein Obama," he added.
All journalists covering the McCain-Palin events should take out extra life insurance. Read Milbank's entire piece. He finishes it off with this..
Audience members participated in the Obama critique by shouting words such as "liar!" and "socialist!""Who is the real Senator Obama?" McCain asked.Unclear.But we do know his middle name is Hussein.
Update: Not even the Fox News poll could find Ayers having an effect on support for Obama.
Update: Not even the Fox News poll could find Ayers having an effect on support for Obama.
IAVA Paul Rieckhoff gave McCain a D and Obama a B
Crooks and Liars:
Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA sits down with Rachel Maddow to discuss his group's 2008 report card on how members of Congress voted on Veterans issues. John McCain: D. Barack Obama: B.
RIECKHOFF: There were 53 original co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle [for the new GI Bill]. Eventually, right-wing folks like Senator Warner got involved with folks on the left like Senator Webb. Every major veteran services organization in the country supported it, more ¾ of the House. So, this was kind of a legislative locomotive. And one of the only blocks along the way consistently was Senator McCain.
So, it's not a partisan issue here. The G.I. bill had tremendous support. And he was just really behind this legislative issue. Now, he's made attempts to go back and say he was holding out for transferability. Transferability, being able to transfer your G.I. bill benefits to your family members. It was already in the law.
It was at the discretion of the Department of Defense.So, it's kind of a red herring there. But the reports are out there now. Everybody can check the vote. Go to VeteranReportCard.org, you can check their votes and everybody else who's up for reelection this year.
Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA sits down with Rachel Maddow to discuss his group's 2008 report card on how members of Congress voted on Veterans issues. John McCain: D. Barack Obama: B.
RIECKHOFF: There were 53 original co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle [for the new GI Bill]. Eventually, right-wing folks like Senator Warner got involved with folks on the left like Senator Webb. Every major veteran services organization in the country supported it, more ¾ of the House. So, this was kind of a legislative locomotive. And one of the only blocks along the way consistently was Senator McCain.
So, it's not a partisan issue here. The G.I. bill had tremendous support. And he was just really behind this legislative issue. Now, he's made attempts to go back and say he was holding out for transferability. Transferability, being able to transfer your G.I. bill benefits to your family members. It was already in the law.
It was at the discretion of the Department of Defense.So, it's kind of a red herring there. But the reports are out there now. Everybody can check the vote. Go to VeteranReportCard.org, you can check their votes and everybody else who's up for reelection this year.
And that makes 3!
Thinkprogress:
In a 4-3 decision released this morning, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, stating that same-sex couples have the right to wed. Citing the equal protection clause of the state constitution, the justices ruled that civil unions were discriminatory. From the ruling:
Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice. […]To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others.”
The Hartford Courant notes that “the court’s ruling today will likely be the final judicial judgment in the case because it it based on the state constitution, rather then the U.S. constitution.”
Update: Gov. Jodi Rell (R) pledged to uphold the ruling, though she disagreed with it: "The Supreme Court has spoken," Rell said. "I do not believe their voice reflects the majority of the people of Connecticut. However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision -- either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution -- will not meet with success. I will therefore abide by the ruling."
In a 4-3 decision released this morning, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, stating that same-sex couples have the right to wed. Citing the equal protection clause of the state constitution, the justices ruled that civil unions were discriminatory. From the ruling:
Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice. […]To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others.”
The Hartford Courant notes that “the court’s ruling today will likely be the final judicial judgment in the case because it it based on the state constitution, rather then the U.S. constitution.”
Update: Gov. Jodi Rell (R) pledged to uphold the ruling, though she disagreed with it: "The Supreme Court has spoken," Rell said. "I do not believe their voice reflects the majority of the people of Connecticut. However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision -- either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution -- will not meet with success. I will therefore abide by the ruling."
‘Barack Osama’ appears on hundreds of absentee ballots in NY.
Here we go again..
Thinkprogress:
The Albany Times Union reports today that Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) “last name is spelled ‘Osama’ on hundreds of absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County,” New York. Both Democratic and Republican county election officials insist the error was a “honest mistake” and a “typo,” but the paper notes that “the letters ’s’ and ‘b’ are not exactly keyboard neighbors.” During the Democratic primary, Obama’s first name was misspelled on approximately 2000 absentee ballots in Florida.
Thinkprogress:
The Albany Times Union reports today that Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) “last name is spelled ‘Osama’ on hundreds of absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County,” New York. Both Democratic and Republican county election officials insist the error was a “honest mistake” and a “typo,” but the paper notes that “the letters ’s’ and ‘b’ are not exactly keyboard neighbors.” During the Democratic primary, Obama’s first name was misspelled on approximately 2000 absentee ballots in Florida.
Rednecks for Obama? Who knew?
SAINT LOUIS, Missouri (AFP) - When Barack Obama's campaign bus made a swing through Missouri in July, the unlikeliest of supporters were waiting for him -- or rather two of them, holding the banner: "Rednecks for Obama."
In backing the first African-American nominee of a major party for the US presidency, the pair are on a grassroots mission to bridge a cultural gap in the United States and help usher their preferred candidate into the White House.
Tony Viessman, 74, and Les Spencer, 60, got politically active last year when it occurred to them there must be other lower income, rural, beer-drinking, gun-loving, NASCAR race enthusiasts fed up with business as usual in Washington.
Viessman had a red, white and blue "Rednecks for Obama" banner made, and began causing a stir in Missouri, which has emerged as a key battleground in the run-up to the November 4 presidential election.
"I didn't expect it would get as much steam and attention as it's gotten," Spencer told AFP on the campus of Washington University in Saint Louis, the state's biggest city and site of last week's vice-presidential debate.
"We believe in him. He's the best person for the job," Viessman, a former state trooper from Rolla, said of Obama, who met the pair briefly on that July day in Union, Missouri.
Read on.
In backing the first African-American nominee of a major party for the US presidency, the pair are on a grassroots mission to bridge a cultural gap in the United States and help usher their preferred candidate into the White House.
Tony Viessman, 74, and Les Spencer, 60, got politically active last year when it occurred to them there must be other lower income, rural, beer-drinking, gun-loving, NASCAR race enthusiasts fed up with business as usual in Washington.
Viessman had a red, white and blue "Rednecks for Obama" banner made, and began causing a stir in Missouri, which has emerged as a key battleground in the run-up to the November 4 presidential election.
"I didn't expect it would get as much steam and attention as it's gotten," Spencer told AFP on the campus of Washington University in Saint Louis, the state's biggest city and site of last week's vice-presidential debate.
"We believe in him. He's the best person for the job," Viessman, a former state trooper from Rolla, said of Obama, who met the pair briefly on that July day in Union, Missouri.
Read on.
A clear desperation by the McCain camp.
Check this email out. This is floating around to Democrats. Someone passed this to me:
From:McCain Democrats
info@continuingthefight.com
Dear ******,
Many of you were strong Hillary Clinton supporters. In light of the recent events we realize that many of you are unsure how to best use your vote.
As democrats we find ourselves in a similar situation of doubt as to how best continue the fight this November election. In response, we have a created a site specifically for voters like you: democrats who wish to continue the fight we have worked so long and hard to support.
Visit ContinuingTheFight where we feature news and videos by and for democrats such as yourself. We, as a group, have decided to support Senator McCain's bid for president this fall. At ContinuingTheFight you can also keep track of various campaign events and we hope you will find the opinions expressed in the site in line with yours.
Hillary's defeat in the democratic primaries was a tough loss for all of us. But we should not let that discourage us now during such a tenuous point in our country's history. Come join the movement at ContinuingTheFight and together we will make a difference by guiding the US into the future we know is right.
Respectfully,
Democrats for McCain:
ContinuingTheFight
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.www.continuingthefight.com
The McCain camp is clearly targeting Hillary supporters again. I went on the website and it is clear that McCain is desperately pandering to Democrats. For those who supported Hillary, be aware that McCain is pandering for votes since Team Dumb and Dumber are trailing in the polls.
From:McCain Democrats
info@continuingthefight.com
Dear ******,
Many of you were strong Hillary Clinton supporters. In light of the recent events we realize that many of you are unsure how to best use your vote.
As democrats we find ourselves in a similar situation of doubt as to how best continue the fight this November election. In response, we have a created a site specifically for voters like you: democrats who wish to continue the fight we have worked so long and hard to support.
Visit ContinuingTheFight where we feature news and videos by and for democrats such as yourself. We, as a group, have decided to support Senator McCain's bid for president this fall. At ContinuingTheFight you can also keep track of various campaign events and we hope you will find the opinions expressed in the site in line with yours.
Hillary's defeat in the democratic primaries was a tough loss for all of us. But we should not let that discourage us now during such a tenuous point in our country's history. Come join the movement at ContinuingTheFight and together we will make a difference by guiding the US into the future we know is right.
Respectfully,
Democrats for McCain:
ContinuingTheFight
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.www.continuingthefight.com
The McCain camp is clearly targeting Hillary supporters again. I went on the website and it is clear that McCain is desperately pandering to Democrats. For those who supported Hillary, be aware that McCain is pandering for votes since Team Dumb and Dumber are trailing in the polls.
NSA spied on phone calls, pillow talks from US aid workers, officers, and journalists in Iraq.
Disturbing...
The US National Security Agency routinely spied on the phone calls of American military officers, journalists, and aid workers calling back home from Iraq, according to two former NSA operators.
The whistle blowers told ABC News that intercept officers listened to the personal conversations of hundreds of Americans "who are not in any way, shape or form associated with anything to do with terrorism" calling from satellite phones in Baghdad's Green Zone.
The (sadly) unsurprising accusations run contrary to the Bush Administration's insistence that it only eavesdrops on those with links to Al Qaeda unless it first obtains judicial approval.
Former Navy Arab linguist David Faulk told ABC that he and other NSA workers would swap intimate phone calls for entertainment.
Faulk described he would be told, "Hey, check this out, there's good phone sex or there's some pillow talk, pull up this call, it's really funny, go check it out. It would be some colonel making pillow talk and we would say, 'Wow, this was crazy.'"
US Army Reserves Arab linguist Adrienne Kinne said NSA officers insisted operators continued monitoring conversations identified in their systems as belonging to humanitarian aid organizations such as the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
"It was just always, that, you know, your job is not to question. Your job is to collect and pass on the information," she told ABC..
Both operators said despite abuses, the phone intercepts have helped identify terrorist planning and saved lives. But Kinne asserts the NSA spreading its wiretap dragnet indiscriminately hurts its ability to find useful information.
Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, responded by telling ABC the allegations are "extremely disturbing."
Read on.
TrooperGate report will be out today.
As we wait on the TrooperGate report today, a couple of updates:
The Guardian website reports that Palin, and some of her employees, may be censured. Also, in an attempt to mitigate the fallout, the McCain campaign released a competing report. The report clears her of any wrongdoings. (Note: the report is by the McCain campaign, not the Personnel Board.)
Finally,
Palin told a town hall questioner that he did not need to worry about Alaskan oil being exported to other countries.
"In fact," she added, "Congress is pretty strict on, um, export bans of oil and gas especially."
Wachovia brokers Greek Isles cruise is called off.
First AIG and now Wachovia. How in the world these companies in this bad economy take a company vacation especially when Wachovia will be purchased by Wells Fargo?
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A planned all-expenses-paid Greek Isles cruise for some of Wachovia Securities LLC's top brokers has been called off, the company said Thursday.
The weeklong trip for up to 75 employees of brokerage A.G. Edwards, which Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB) acquired last year, was to have included spouses and significant others, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. However, Jim Griffin, a spokesman for Wachovia Corp., said the trip has been called off.
"With uncertainty in the markets right now, financial advisers have told us that they prefer to remain close to their clients," Griffin said, "so Wachovia has made the decision to call off the trip."
Paulson got mother mortgage loan from Freddie and Fannie.
(h/t webofdeception.com)
Henry Paulson, 5 weeks before he became Treasury Secretary, got a FANNIE MAE/FREDDIE MAC 30 year fix mortgage/loan for his 82 year old mother in May 2005 for 5.37%, (below rate)
And:
Goldman Sachs has two tax liens from 2003 for $71, 424.88 and $32,451.50.
Click here to view document.
AK supreme court throws out GOP effort to quash Trooper-Gate
TPM:
The Alaska Supreme Court has rejected the effort by Republican legislators to quash the Trooper-Gate investigation, affirming the decision of a lower court last week.
Details from the ruling to follow...
Update: The court wrote: "The order of the superior court issued on October 2, 2008 granting the Motion to Dismiss is AFFIRMED. An opinion will follow."
The Alaska Supreme Court has rejected the effort by Republican legislators to quash the Trooper-Gate investigation, affirming the decision of a lower court last week.
Details from the ruling to follow...
Update: The court wrote: "The order of the superior court issued on October 2, 2008 granting the Motion to Dismiss is AFFIRMED. An opinion will follow."
Biden strikes back at Palin's age crack.
Palin took on Biden’s more advanced age of 65 on the trail and in an interview with Fox News prior to last week’s debate, saying "I think he was first elected when I was like in second grade."
Ripping into McCain’s proposal to spend $300 billion to buy bad mortgages from banks at face value, Biden said "Tuesday night, in the debate, McCain said, speaking of lurching, he was going to spend – he had a new idea. Sarah Palin says, I was in second grade when Joe Biden was elected to the United States Senate at age 29. That’s true," he said. "But she was in 6th grade the last time John had a new idea." The crowd of 500 at William Jewell College loved the line, bursting into laughter.
SPB News for Friday.
ABC: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans --U.S. Officers' "Phone Sex" Intercepted; Senate Demanding Answers Despite pledges by President [sic] George W. Bush and American intelligence officials to the contrary, hundreds of US citizens overseas have been eavesdropped on as they called friends and family back home, according to two former military intercept operators who worked at the giant National Security Agency (NSA) center in Fort Gordon, Georgia. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), called the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said the committee has begun its own examination.
States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal --Coup 2008 underway: Tens of thousands of eligible voters in Colo., Ind., Ohio, Mich., Nev. and N.C. illegally removed from rolls, blocked from registering Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times. Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina, could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day.
States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal --Coup 2008 underway: Tens of thousands of eligible voters in Colo., Ind., Ohio, Mich., Nev. and N.C. illegally removed from rolls, blocked from registering Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times. Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina, could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day.
Muqtada al-Sadr calls for anti-US protest Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for a delayed [formerly, April 9] anti-U.S. protest to take place in Baghdad. A statement posted on al-Sadr's Web site says "it has been decided to hold the anti-occupation protest on Oct. 18 in Baghdad." The Sadrists oppose negotiations for a security agreement that would extend the presence of U.S. troops in the country beyond the end of the year.
McCain's connection in the Keating scandal was prior to McCain being a Senator.
The media is certainly asleep at the wheel on this one. McCain claimed that it was shameful act and darkest moment in his life as Senator in the Keating Five scandal. What he left out is that McCain, himself, was pulling strings for Chares Keating when he was in Congress. In 1982, McCain was elected to Congress. He served two terms and was then elected to the Senate in 1986. What happened in 1982 while McCain was Congressman? McCain wrote five letters at Keating's request to supported a bill to forestall direct investment rule:
Keating was unhappy with the direct investment rule and began actively lobbying against it. Senate Ethics Committee Special Counsel Robert Bennett explained during the 1990 Keating Five hearings that John McCain wrote at least five letters to regulators, Treasury [see above pic] and White House officials to argue against these proposed restrictions on risky investments by S&Ls.
Bennett said that “In 1984 and ‘85, then Congressman McCain wrote several letters to Chairman [Edwin] Gray [of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board] and White House officials urging them to postpone promulgation of the direct investment rule… There is evidence that Senator McCain did so at the urging of Mr. Keating or other representatives of Lincoln.”
McCain’s work for Keating also included signing onto a bill to delay the direct investment rule in 1984 [Senate Ethics Committee Keating Five Investigation, 1990; HCONRES 363, 98th Congress]
Keating was unhappy with the direct investment rule and began actively lobbying against it. Senate Ethics Committee Special Counsel Robert Bennett explained during the 1990 Keating Five hearings that John McCain wrote at least five letters to regulators, Treasury [see above pic] and White House officials to argue against these proposed restrictions on risky investments by S&Ls.
Bennett said that “In 1984 and ‘85, then Congressman McCain wrote several letters to Chairman [Edwin] Gray [of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board] and White House officials urging them to postpone promulgation of the direct investment rule… There is evidence that Senator McCain did so at the urging of Mr. Keating or other representatives of Lincoln.”
McCain’s work for Keating also included signing onto a bill to delay the direct investment rule in 1984 [Senate Ethics Committee Keating Five Investigation, 1990; HCONRES 363, 98th Congress]
CREW files complaint against McCain
9 Oct 2008 // Washington, DC - Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether Senator John McCain (R-AZ) violated federal law and Senate rules by failing to disclose gambling winnings on his Senate financial disclosure reports.
According to a recent article in The New York Times , Sen. McCain is an avid gambler, who frequents casinos as often as once a month. The article states that in the winter of 2000, at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, “[Sen. McCain] and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.” Sen. McCain also reportedly spent a weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007, playing craps while there.
In July, Time reported that over the past decade, Sen. McCain has gambled on Mississippi riverboats, on Indian land, in Caribbean craps pits and on the Las Vegas strip, allegedly playing “for a few thousand dollars at a time.” In 2005, The New Yorker reported that while in New Orleans in the spring of that year, Sen. McCain gambled at Harrah’s Casino.
Federal law and Senate rules require all income to be reported on annual financial disclosure reports. The Senate Ethics Manual states that winnings, such as those derived from a lottery or a game show, are gifts that must be reported as income. Knowingly filing a false report is a crime punishable by up to five years in jail.
Nevertheless, Sen. McCain reported no income derived from gambling on the personal financial disclosure reports he filed with the Senate between 2000 and 2007.
Here is the complaint: 10/9/08: McCain Ethics Complaint
According to a recent article in The New York Times , Sen. McCain is an avid gambler, who frequents casinos as often as once a month. The article states that in the winter of 2000, at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, “[Sen. McCain] and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.” Sen. McCain also reportedly spent a weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007, playing craps while there.
In July, Time reported that over the past decade, Sen. McCain has gambled on Mississippi riverboats, on Indian land, in Caribbean craps pits and on the Las Vegas strip, allegedly playing “for a few thousand dollars at a time.” In 2005, The New Yorker reported that while in New Orleans in the spring of that year, Sen. McCain gambled at Harrah’s Casino.
Federal law and Senate rules require all income to be reported on annual financial disclosure reports. The Senate Ethics Manual states that winnings, such as those derived from a lottery or a game show, are gifts that must be reported as income. Knowingly filing a false report is a crime punishable by up to five years in jail.
Nevertheless, Sen. McCain reported no income derived from gambling on the personal financial disclosure reports he filed with the Senate between 2000 and 2007.
Here is the complaint: 10/9/08: McCain Ethics Complaint
Blowhard News for Friday.
Hewitt’s book ‘How Sarah Palin Won the Election…and Saved Amerca’ bites the dust.
The NY Observer reveals that right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt’s next book, “How Sarah Palin Won the Election…and Saved America,” is unlikely to ever get published:
The NY Observer reveals that right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt’s next book, “How Sarah Palin Won the Election…and Saved America,” is unlikely to ever get published:
One campaign book that has already bitten the dust is right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt’s How Sarah Palin Won the Election … and Saved America, which the literary agent Curtis Yates sent to publishers in New York last week.
When Media Mob reached Mr. Yates by phone on Monday, he’d already given up on trying to sell the book.
According to Yates, the plan was to finish the book “by a week after the election, and to have it out before the inauguration” and “obviously presumed” that McCain-Palin would win. “If they were to lose the election it would have just been How Sarah Palin Saved America,” Mr. Yates said. (HT: Oliver Willis)
Fox host jokes about size of Sen. Clinton’s legs.
Yesterday morning, Fox and Friends was outraged over these pictures of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), which the right wing is blasting as inappropriate and sexist. However, after sticking up for Palin, Fox personality Greg Gutfeld nevertheless decided to demean Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), stating, “Now if this were Hillary Clinton, you wouldn’t be able to see the guy’s face. I couldn’t resist it!”
Yesterday morning, Fox and Friends was outraged over these pictures of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), which the right wing is blasting as inappropriate and sexist. However, after sticking up for Palin, Fox personality Greg Gutfeld nevertheless decided to demean Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), stating, “Now if this were Hillary Clinton, you wouldn’t be able to see the guy’s face. I couldn’t resist it!”
Cindy McCain: Vietnam vets with PTSD were 18-year-olds who didn’t know what they were doing.
During a recent interview with Marie Claire, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) wife Cindy suggested that her husband has never had PTSD symptoms because “he was trained.” She also added that symptoms such as “cold sweats in the middle of the night” are reserved for the “the 18-year-olds who were drafted”:
During a recent interview with Marie Claire, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) wife Cindy suggested that her husband has never had PTSD symptoms because “he was trained.” She also added that symptoms such as “cold sweats in the middle of the night” are reserved for the “the 18-year-olds who were drafted”:
Q: You met your husband after his POW days. To what extent is that still with you - or is it a part of history?
McCAIN: My husband will be the first one to tell you that that’s in the past. Certainly it’s a part of who he is, but he doesn’t dwell on it. It’s not part of a daily experience that we experience or anything like that. But it has shaped him. It has made him the leader that he is.
Q: But no cold sweats in the middle of the night?
McCAIN: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. My husband, he’d be the first one to tell you that he was trained to do what he was doing. The guys who had the trouble were the 18-year-olds who were drafted. He was trained, he went to the Naval Academy, he was a trained United States naval officer, and so he knew what he was doing.
FOX News Upset At Newsweek For Printing An Un-Retouched Photo of Sarah Palin
The GOP and their propaganda arm, FOX News, are up in arms over the latest Newsweek cover of Sarah Palin that accompanies this scathing article by Jon Meacham. The article, that points to Palin's "commonness" as a problem to her credibility as a candidate, is less of a concern to the GOP than the fact that they did a close up of her face and did not retouch it to hide blemishes and pores. And you may remember.
The GOP and their propaganda arm, FOX News, are up in arms over the latest Newsweek cover of Sarah Palin that accompanies this scathing article by Jon Meacham. The article, that points to Palin's "commonness" as a problem to her credibility as a candidate, is less of a concern to the GOP than the fact that they did a close up of her face and did not retouch it to hide blemishes and pores. And you may remember.
McCain Co-Chair Calls Obama “A Guy Of The Street,” Raises Drug Use — Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a McCain campaign co-chairman, edged up to an explicitly racial attack on Barack Obama on Thursday, describing the Illinois Senator as a “guy of the street” before raising his youthful drug use.
McCain may want to brush up on his stars and planets; Don't mess with scientist crowd.
If there's one rule in election-year politics, it's this: Don't mess with the science crowd. OK, labor unions and the NRA matter too, but John McCain may want to brush up on his stars and planets after Tuesday night's debate.
In the debate, McCain portrayed Barack Obama as an excessive spender, and he punctuated his attack (twice) with this example:
"[Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"
Turns out, a lot of people think we do. This is no ordinary overhead projector from your 5th grade classroom. The blog Cosmic Variance sums it up:
"If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting the Adler Planetarium, you'd probably guess that the 'overhead projector' he's talking about is the spectacular 'Sky Theater' -- one of the most engrossing, gorgeous venues for displaying visuals about space."
The science community is notoriously tight-knit, especially when rallying to a cause, and boy are they are rallying to this one. Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log has a great summary of the uproar:
-"For McCain to use this as a political zinger is insulting..." (Bad Astronomy)
-"Planetariums are Bridges to the Future, and America would be a much better place if all the congressional earmarks went to projects like them." (The Perfect Silence)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl78
In the debate, McCain portrayed Barack Obama as an excessive spender, and he punctuated his attack (twice) with this example:
"[Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"
Turns out, a lot of people think we do. This is no ordinary overhead projector from your 5th grade classroom. The blog Cosmic Variance sums it up:
"If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting the Adler Planetarium, you'd probably guess that the 'overhead projector' he's talking about is the spectacular 'Sky Theater' -- one of the most engrossing, gorgeous venues for displaying visuals about space."
The science community is notoriously tight-knit, especially when rallying to a cause, and boy are they are rallying to this one. Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log has a great summary of the uproar:
-"For McCain to use this as a political zinger is insulting..." (Bad Astronomy)
-"Planetariums are Bridges to the Future, and America would be a much better place if all the congressional earmarks went to projects like them." (The Perfect Silence)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl78
AIG cancels post-bailout party in California, says it will have no more.
Thinkprogress:
Thursday, AIG announced an important policy change - one that we wanted to be sure you knew about. A short time ago, our Chairman and CEO Ed Liddy said that he has ordered the immediate cancellation of all outside meetings, conferences, and recognition events across AIG, except those that are required by law or that are deemed absolutely critical to sustain our ongoing business needs.
Thursday, AIG canceled a specific party, originally scheduled for next week at the Ritz-Carlton in California’s Half Moon Bay, “after a re- evaluation of the costs under the new circumstances,” according to spokesman Joe Norton.
Obama purchases his own TV special.
Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of primetime television on CBS and NBC, sources confirm.
The Obama campaign is producing a nationwide pitch to voters that will air on at least two broadcast networks. The ad will run Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m.—less than a week before the general election.
The direct purchase of such a large block of national airtime right before an election used to be more commonplace before campaigns began to focus their endgame strategies exclusively on battleground states. Such a move is not without precedent in modern presidential politics, however—Ross Perot did a similar purchase in 1992.
Read more
Read more
Senator Chuck Hagel's wife endorses Obama.
Two days ago Lilibet Hagel, wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, endorsed Barack for president. Joined by Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, Lilibet told residents of Alexandria, Virginia that this is the first time she has endorsed a Democrat.
She said that her pick was not personal but was based on issues, including the war, the nation's debt and the current financial crisis. Lilibet believes that Barack is the right person for the job.
McCain declines to answer whether he supports ‘bipartisan solutions’ on health care and Social Security.
Thinkprogress:
Recently, the AARP asked both presidential candidates about their positions on issues related to senior citizens. McCain, however, “chose not to check any statements in the survey” on “health care, long-term care, Social Security and retirement security,” the Washington Post reports. The McCain campaign declined to answer whether it commits “to help end gridlock by working across party lines to develop and support common-sense, bipartisan solutions on health care and financial security”:
Recently, the AARP asked both presidential candidates about their positions on issues related to senior citizens. McCain, however, “chose not to check any statements in the survey” on “health care, long-term care, Social Security and retirement security,” the Washington Post reports. The McCain campaign declined to answer whether it commits “to help end gridlock by working across party lines to develop and support common-sense, bipartisan solutions on health care and financial security”:
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Ladies and Gentleman: The dumbing down of America!
My friends, that's not the work of a "winning" campaign.
Jonathan Martin, this morning:
That "news" in the morningSure enough, it's Bill Ayers.The McCain campaign is launching a web ad accusing Obama of trying to hide his ties to the 60s-era radical.
Steve Benen shows how the McCain camp really doesn't want to go there:
The web ad comes about 24 hours after top McCain campaign aides seemingly took the Ayers "issue" (I use the word loosely) off the table.
But as long as we're on the subject, McCain's associations continue to be increasingly interesting as well. We've known for a while that McCain has befriended a convicted felon who advised his supporters on how best to shoot federal officials, used the money of a convicted criminal to help buy a house, befriended a radical anti-Catholic televangelist, befriended a radical anti-American televangelist, was a long-time associate of Charles Keating, and hired for his campaign the publisher of a Confederate nostalgia magazine who has described Nelson Mandela as a "terrorist." This week, we also learned about
McCain serving on the board of the extremist U.S. Council for World Freedom, where he worked alongside Iran-Contra figures, and a eugenics researcher studying "white superiority."
Finally, the McCain-Palin mob. Great job by Blogger Interrupted on this one. That same blonde girl in the video that keeps popping up is hilarious. She looked like she was heavy medicated. Check out this people. These people sound dumb, angry. programmed and they are being provoked.
Jonathan Martin, this morning:
That "news" in the morningSure enough, it's Bill Ayers.The McCain campaign is launching a web ad accusing Obama of trying to hide his ties to the 60s-era radical.
Steve Benen shows how the McCain camp really doesn't want to go there:
The web ad comes about 24 hours after top McCain campaign aides seemingly took the Ayers "issue" (I use the word loosely) off the table.
But as long as we're on the subject, McCain's associations continue to be increasingly interesting as well. We've known for a while that McCain has befriended a convicted felon who advised his supporters on how best to shoot federal officials, used the money of a convicted criminal to help buy a house, befriended a radical anti-Catholic televangelist, befriended a radical anti-American televangelist, was a long-time associate of Charles Keating, and hired for his campaign the publisher of a Confederate nostalgia magazine who has described Nelson Mandela as a "terrorist." This week, we also learned about
McCain serving on the board of the extremist U.S. Council for World Freedom, where he worked alongside Iran-Contra figures, and a eugenics researcher studying "white superiority."
Finally, the McCain-Palin mob. Great job by Blogger Interrupted on this one. That same blonde girl in the video that keeps popping up is hilarious. She looked like she was heavy medicated. Check out this people. These people sound dumb, angry. programmed and they are being provoked.
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