When It Comes to Obama, The FOX is WRONG!

John McCain: Economic Disaster

Wake Up America

Bailout?

James McMurtry "We Can't Make It Here"

Cheney's Toy by James Mcmurtry

More McCain Versus McCain

Paul Newman has Died

Classic Country Saturday with the White Stripes

Political Cartoon of the Week and Asshole of the Week

Obama to McCain: "You We're Wrong"

Obama: So John, you like to pretend like the war started in 2007. You talk about the "surge," the war started in 2003. At the time, when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said you knew where the weapons of mass destruction were -- and you were wrong. You said we were going to be greeted as liberators -- you were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shi'a and Sunni, and you were wrong. ...if the question is, who is best equipped as the next president to make good decisions about how we use our military, how we make sure we are prepared and ready for the next conflict, then I think we can take a look at our judgment

The Debate

More maybe later

McCain Pissed ME OFF when he said he has always taken care of the troops. That is an Out and Out Lie, or should I say Lies cause he mentioned it more than once. McCain has a 20% approval rating with the Disabled Vets. He has either voted against or missed important votes for Vets.

Question??? NBC invited Palin to the after debate spin. She Declined. The Republicans sent Guli instead. Joe Biden was there for the Dems. Why are the Republicans Hiding Palin????

BTW. I watched the debate on TV while surfing a few live blogs. Most of the blogs say OBAMA won hands down. MSNBC poll has OBAMA up by 75% atm. George Will on ABC gives a small lead to OBAMA and I fainted, LOL

BailOut?

Scam E-mail Alert

l Scam Alert

Just a quick heads up about a suspicious e-mail that showed up in my inbox a few hours ago. Consider yourself warned:

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

DEAR AMERICAN:
I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.

I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.

I AM WORKING WITH MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY. AS A SENATOR, YOU MAY KNOW HIM AS THE LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S. THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE.

THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED A BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.

PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS.

YOURS FAITHFULLY MINISTER OF TREASURY PAULSON

McCain bailout plan: More deregulation

KATIE COURIC: And, Bob, I understand that John McCain actually floated an alternative plan. What can you tell us about that?

BOB ORR We're told at the White House Senator McCain offered an alternative plan that would include fewer regulations and more corporate tax breaks for businesses, kind of a private solution. But we're also told those ideas angered and surprised Democrats like banking chairman Chris Dodd who now says he thinks the White House summit was more of a political stunt for McCain.

-----

You've got to be joking right? This is what got us into this mess. Trickle Down has become Pissed Upon. These same Rich Aholes cry about Welfare yet have their pockets lined with corporate welfare. SMH - Wolf

HeartBeat Away From McCain

During the second half of her interview with Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), Katie Couric gave Palin a chance to defend her previous claims that Alaska’s proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience. Palin lamented the fact that the press had “mocked” the notion, adding, “Our next door neighbors are foreign countries — they’re in the state that I am the executive of

WaMu fails by Kos

Daily Kos

Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night in the largest bank failure in American history.

Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual to JPMorgan Chase. The remainder of WaMu, the nation’s largest savings and loan, will be operated by the government. Shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out. WaMu deposits are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to the $100,000 limit for each account. WaMu customers are unlikely to be affected.

Yay, the nation's largest S&L has been nationalized, along with the nation's largest insurance company, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The Republicans are well on their way to their goal of a socialist utopia. Who would've thunk it?

---

By Wolf

And the Auto Industry gets a 25B Bail Out to upgrade the Industry. I wonder how many Ex-Steelworkers are grinding their teeth in anger as I am tonight? There was no Bail Out for the Steel Industry in the 80s. I once ran an overhead crane that was made in 1892. No upgrade for the 14 steel mills that US Steal closed and used the profit to buy Marathon Oil. No caring about the 11,000 people just from my mill alone (The Homestead Works) that had to survive as the Rich got Richer.

Poll from CNN

Obama calls McAhole at 8:30 am about making a joint statement on the economy. Ahole agrees but then blindsides Obama appearing on television announcing the suspension and the subsequent debate no-show.

Quick Vote

John McCain's request to delay campaigning and this week's debate is:

An effort to help the economy	24%	46023
A political gimmick	71%	135962
Something else	5%	10328

Deja Vu All Over Again

Where have we heard this before?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

From The Daily Kos: State of the Nation

From Think Progress

In recent weeks, McCain has been trying to obscure his record on deregulation, which is deeply unpopular with the American public.

McCain campaign manager’s lobbying firm paid by Freddie Mac through last month.

The New York Times reports tonight that, until last month, Freddie Mac paid $15,000 a month to the lobbying firm owned by Rick Davis, John McCain’s campaign manager:

[Freddie Mac] paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager , according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. […]

They said they did not recall Mr. Davis doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee composed of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the coming midterm congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s firm, Davis & Manafort, was kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis’s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who was widely expected by 2006 to run again for the White House.

Mr. Davis took a leave from Davis & Manafort for the duration of the campaign, but as a partner and equity-holder continues to share in its profits.

On Sunday, when asked about Davis’s lobbying activities, McCain claimed, “My campaign manager has stopped that, has had nothing to do with it since and I’ll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it.”

From Think Progress

When Will They Stop Their Racist Smears?

LIMBAUGH: These polls on how one-third of blue-collar white Democrats won't vote for Obama because he's black, and -- but he's not black. Do you know he has not one shred of African-American blood? He doesn't have any African -- that's why when they asked whether he was authentic, whether he's down for the struggle. He's Arab. You know, he's from Africa. He's from Arab parts of Africa. He's not -- his father was -- he's not African-American. The last thing that he is is African-American. I guess that's splitting hairs, I don't -- it's just all these little things, everything seems upside-down today in this country.
-------

“Obama’s father was, for the record, from Kenya which is not an Arab part of Africa.”

And Counting

Saturday with Paul Simon And LadySmith Black Mambazo

HomeLess

Political Cartoon of the Week

Assholes of the Week

McCain health care adviser Al Hubbard has argued that Americans consume health care like caviar. John Goodman, another McCain health care adviser, previously said there are no uninsured Americans.

I'm Going To Miss The House That Ruth Built

It would have been great if the NY Yankees made it the World Series this year being that they will be playing in a new Yankee Stadium next year.  I can still remember the first time I walked into that great stadium. My dad had taken the day off from work so we could see Joe DiMaggios last game.  The pictures above (thanks MSNBC) are of some of my favorite memories. Don Larsons perfect game in the World Series. Roger Marris breaking Ruths home run record and the great Mickey Mantel hitting Tape Measure home runs. I only hope the new ballpark comes close to making more great memories. 

Homeless

Homeless advocacy groups and city agencies across the country are “reporting the most visible rise in homeless encampments in a generation.” These tent cities — reminiscent of Hoovervilles during the Great Depression — continue to grow with “with foreclosures mounting, gas and food prices rising and the job market tightening.”

From Think Progress

ABC Calls Out McCain On His Financial Flip Flops

Gramm spearheaded efforts to pass banking reform laws, including the landmark Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which served to reduce government regulations in existence since the Great Depression separating banking, insurance and brokerage activities. ... critics of Gramm point out that this same legislation may have been pivotal in encouraging the corporate practices that led to the 2008 mortgage crises in America.

Integrity?

"That's why he needs to be president"

Obama's New Social Security Ad

I know - Another Obama Ad... What happens to SS is perhaps the most important issue of the campaign for me. I'll be 65 next month and took an early retirement earlier this year. I get very worried when I hear McSame talking about privatizing SS. Yeah, give all that money to Wall Street, watch the fat cat corporations get richer with my money. NOT Now, NOT Ever!
BTW: I hear according to the Media that Obama isn't doing well with Old Farts like me. I don't know where they get their numbers. If you read the last ARRP magazine you would see that Obama agrees with them on the SS issue 100%. The only question that McSame bothered to answer was in disagreement with the ARRP.

Lose Your Home, Lose Your Vote

“Democrats in Michigan are trying to block what they call a Republican effort to deny voting rights to people facing foreclosure,” filing “for an injunction to prohibit the GOP from challenging Michigan voters whose homes are on foreclosure lists.” The tactic is a form of “voter caging.”

.McCain Knocks Obama Over Hollywood Fundraiser -- But McCain Just Held One Himself

From The Huffington Post

John McCain used an appearance before a blue-collar crowd near Youngstown, Ohio, to take a class-tinged shot at Barack Obama tonight.

"He talks about siding with the people just before he flew off for a fundraiser in Hollywood with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends" McCain said of his rival. "Let me tell you, my friends, there's no place I'd rather be than right here with the working men and women of Ohio."

McCain apparently forgot to mention that he was handed out with his celebrity friends just last month. From August 25:

McCain attended a fundraiser at the Beverly Hills Hilton Monday night, which included a number of Hollywood Republicans, capping off a $4.7 million, two-event day in the Golden State.

The presumptive GOP nominee made little in the way of news in his remarks though he joked about his afternoon taping at the Tonight Show.

"I just came from taping the Jay Leno show so those of you that are up late tonight and don't wish to watch any re-runs of the Democratic convention," McCain said to laughter from the nearly 1,200 donors in the hotel ballroom. "So naturally we had to have a few age jokes and I told him that my Social Security number is 8. I am that old."

And while Barack Obama has the majority of Hollywood backing his candidacy, McCain had his own small cadre of celebs in attendance tonight. Among those that were spotted:

Stephen Baldwin
Pat Boone
Wilford Brimley
Dean Cain
Jon Cryer
Robert Duvall
Angie Harmon
Patricia Heaton
Lorenzo Lamas
Craig T. Nelson
Gail O'Grady
Jason Sehorn
Gary Sinise
Jon Voight

He Was For it, Before He Was Against it

McCain makes a turn to embracing regulation

A decade ago, he champion deregulation of banking, insurance

WASHINGTON - A decade ago, Sen. John McCain embraced legislation to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries, helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades in favor of a less restricted financial marketplace that proponents said would result in greater economic growth.

Now, as the Bush administration scrambles to prevent the collapse of the American International Group (AIG), the nation's largest insurance company, and stabilize a tumultuous Wall Street, the Republican presidential nominee is scrambling to recast himself as a champion of regulation to end "reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed" on Wall Street.

In 2002, McCain introduced a bill to deregulate the broadband Internet market, warning that "the potential for government interference with market forces is not limited to federal regulation." Three years earlier, McCain had joined with other Republicans to push through landmark legislation sponsored by then-Sen. Phil Gramm (Tex.), who is now an economic adviser to his campaign. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act aimed to make the country's financial institutions competitive by removing the Depression-era walls between banking, investment and insurance companies.

That bill allowed AIG to participate in the gold rush of a rapidly expanding global banking and investment market. But the legislation also helped pave the way for companies such as AIG and Lehman Brothers to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments.

From The WP on MSNBC

Fundamentals

McSame said to day that he would form a commission and that government regulation won't get us out of this economic disaster. The way we got into this mess was because of Government De-Regulation. BTW. The reason the market went up today was because the Fed pumped 70 billion into it.

Some of Obama's Speech today:

It happened in the 1980s, when we loosened restrictions on Savings and Loans and appointed regulators who ignored even these weaker rules. Too many S&Ls took advantage of the lax rules set by Washington to gamble that they could make big money in speculative real estate. Confident of their clout in Washington, they made hundreds of billions in bad loans, knowing that if they lost money, the government would bail them out. And they were right. The gambles did not pay off, our economy went into recession, and the taxpayers ended up footing the bill. Sound familiar?

---

This was not the invisible hand of the market at work. These cycles of bubble and bust were symptoms of the ideology that my opponent is running to continue. John McCain has spent decades in Washington supporting financial institutions instead of their customers. In fact, one of the biggest proponents of deregulation in the financial sector is Phil Gramm - the same man who helped write John McCain's economic plan; the same man who said that we're going through a 'mental recession'; and the same man who called the United States of America a "nation of whiners." So it's hard to understand how Senator McCain is going to get us out of this crisis by doing the same things with the same old players.

--

What has happened these last eight years is not some historical anomaly, so we know what to expect if we try these policies for another four. When lobbyists run your campaign, the special interests end up gaming the system. When the White House is hostile to any kind of oversight, corporations cut corners and consumers pay the price. When regulators are chosen for their disdain for regulation and we gut their ability to enforce the law, then the interests of the American people are not protected. It's an ideology that intentionally breeds incompetence in Washington and irresponsibility on Wall Street, and it's time to turn the page.

Just today, Senator McCain offered up the oldest Washington stunt in the book - you pass the buck to a commission to study the problem. But here's the thing - this isn't 9/11. We know how we got into this mess. What we need now is leadership that gets us out. I'll provide it, John McCain won't, and that's the choice for the American people in this election.

John McCain has Lost His Mind! Chevy Chase

The Truth Be Dammed

Obama on the Situation in Financial Markets

A statement from Senator Barack Obama on the Situation in Financial Markets:

"This morning we woke up to some very serious and troubling news from Wall Street.

"The situation with Lehman Brothers and other financial institutions is the latest in a wave of crises that are generating enormous uncertainty about the future of our financial markets. This turmoil is a major threat to our economy and its ability to create good-paying jobs and help working Americans pay their bills, save for their future, and make their mortgage payments.

"The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store. Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.

"I certainly don't fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It's a philosophy we've had for the last eight years - one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It's a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises.

"Well now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up - from the struggles of hardworking Americans on Main Street to the largest firms of Wall Street.

"This country can't afford another four years of this failed philosophy. For years, I have consistently called for modernizing the rules of the road to suit a 21st century market - rules that would protect American investors and consumers. And I've called for policies that grow our economy and our middle-class together. That is the change I am calling for in this campaign, and that is the change I will bring as President," said Senator Barack Obama.

Little Steven Saturday

Assholes of the Week

Political Cartoon of The Week

My Thoughts Exactly

If You Look Really Hard, You Can See Russia

by BarbinMD

Following the lead of Fox News, John McCain recently tried to slap some lipstick on the pig that is Sarah Palin's foreign policy credentials:

Q: Can you honestly say you feel confident having someone who hasn’t traveled outside the United States until last year, dealing with an insurgent Russia...

MCCAIN: Sure...Alaska is right next to Russia. She understands that.

And last night the seventy-two year old's running mate put to rest any questions about her ability to deal with Putin :

Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin told Gibson, "They're our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

So there! If you go to an unnamed island in Alaska and look really hard across Siberia, the Ural Mountains, eight time zones and about 4,000 miles, you can see Moscow. I know I feel better.

September 11th & The Republicans! Special Comment Olbermann

Keith is right. The Republicans don't own 9 11. I don't know how many times I've heard the Neo-cons on Paltalk yammer that liberals have forgotten about 9 11. I've heard it in real life as well. I for one will never forget and get pissed off every time I hear right wing idiots make that claim. You see, I was raised in a small Long Island town, Far Rockaway NY. On 9 11 more than 90 people from Far Rock died in the towers as well as 10 firemen. There is a memorial page on my High School web site, take a look if you will. The Republicans don't own 9 11.

Gutter Politics: McCain Campaign Called Out For Half-Truths

Here's a list of more news sources that are calling foul on McCain's campaign tactics:

The New Republic...
Mark Halperin... EJ Dionne... McClatchy Papers... Joe Klein... CBS... ABC's Jake Tapper... Andrew Sullivan... MSNBC...
Paul Begala... AP... David Corn... Atlanta Journal Constitution... Glenn Grenwald... Taylor Marsh... Chicago Tribune... Slate...
Politico's Jonathan Martin... Ruth Marcus...The American Prospect... Ari Melber...

Obama gets Tough

Obama: "You Can Put Lipstick On A Pig - It's Still A Pig... You Can Wrap An Old Fish In A Piece Of Paper Called Change, It's Still Gonna Stink After Eight Years

See Below

McCain Camp's Phony Lipstick Charge Won't Fly

I had to post this because it ran on GMA this morning and they didn't explain it and seem to want people to believe it's an attack on Palin. This was posted on Talk Left last night. Wolf

By Jeralyn

John McCain's phony outrage over Sen. Barack Obama's use of the cliche and oft-used lipstick on a pig analogy in reference McCain's co-opting of his change meme when McCain/Palin will just be a continuation of failed Bush policies.

The Obama campaign, via Politico:

Enough is enough. The McCain campaign’s attack tonight is a pathetic attempt to play the gender card about the use of a common analogy – the same analogy that Senator McCain himself used about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health care plan just last year. This phony lecture on gender sensitivity is the height of cynicism and lays bare the increasingly dishonorable campaign John McCain has chosen to run.

More...

Others not falling for it: Josh Marshall and Jake Tapper at ABC:

Last October, asked about Sen. Hillary Clinton's health care plan, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was blunt.

McCain said Clinton's proposal was “eerily” similar to the ill-fated plan she devised in 1993. “I think they put some lipstick on a pig,” he said, “but it’s still a pig.”

Elizabeth Edwards compared McCain's health care plan to an attempt to put lipstick on a pig.

Maybe Gov. Palin shouldn't have been so quick to call herself a pit-bull in lipstick. She's the one who injected gender quips into the race with that statement during her RNC acceptance speech.

As Ari Melber says, it's the McCain camp playing the gender card.

There's so many more important things to discuss. McCain's phony distractions are not worth the attention being given to them.

Update: Recently, one of our federal judges included a photo of a pig with lipstick in a judicial opinion. I wrote about it here. (No insults about the judge allowed, I have pending cases in front of him.)

Alaskanomics: how Palin's state sucks the rest of the country dry

Michael Kinsley:

Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC. It has four different taxes on oil, which produce more than 89% of the state's unrestricted revenue. On average, three-quarters of the value of a barrel of oil is taken by the state government before that oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaska residents each get a yearly check for about $2,000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1,200 pushed through by Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices. Any sympathy the governor of Alaska expresses for folks in the lower 48 who are suffering from high gas prices or can't afford to heat their homes is strictly crocodile tears.

As if it couldn't support itself, Alaska also ranks No. 1, year after year, in money it sucks in from Washington. In 2005 (the most recent figures), according to the Tax Foundation, Alaska ranked 18th in federal taxes paid per resident ($5,434) but first in federal spending received per resident ($13,950). Its ratio of federal spending received to federal taxes paid ranks third among the 50 states, and in the absolute amount it receives from Washington over and above the amount it sends to Washington, Alaska ranks No. 1.

Alaska has been masterful in having the federal government send billions, while it gives its own tax revenues directly to its citizens. While Alaska could afford to pay for its bridges to nowhere (Palin approved!), it would rather have the rest of the 49 states shoulder the cost.

It gets away with it, and I won't begrudge a state or its federal delegation the ability to deliver the goods. Well, as long as they stay within the law. Otherwise, let the FBI swarm in (as they have, in Alaska).

What I do begrudge is Sarah Palin and the GOP walking around lying about that record. Lying about her support for the Bridge to Nowhere. Lying about her supposed opposition to federal pork. Lying about her state's role in fueling that most obnoxious and corruption-inducing congressional practice.

The GOP's ability to stare voters straight in the eye and then feed them a load of mooseshit is second to none. But let's not kid ourselves about reality.

Republicans and military men on John McCain

The Other Palin for President

Comments Are Closed

I have close the comment section for a number of reasons.
I have noticed a number of posts that have become increasingly violent.
I have received a numer of death threats.
Some people are questioning my patriotism because I refuse to change my views.

I do not endorse the Love it or Leave it mindset of these people. I didn't accept it in the 60's after I came home from Nam and protested that war. I certainly wont accept it now. Some of the commenter s think they can come here and demand I post good things about McCain. That is not what this blog is about. We need more ways to express the opposing viewpoints now that the McCain Campaign has forced MSNC to retire Olberman and Tweety to do other things for the debates coming up because they thought that they were a little to hard on the republicans during the RNC. It's true people have the right to know both sides of the issues. If you wish to support the other candidates that is your choice, just go to some of those Neo-Con blogs that sing the phrases of McCain. You wont find them here. Here you'll find the truth that dispels their lies. Everything posted here has been FACT CHECKED by more than one source. Let me say this in closing. I have been easy on Palin, a lot easier than some of the other blogs. There is a lot of stuff out there about her and her family that is true that you won't find here. I will only post about the issues. I've watched the Republicans and the Rightwing Media spew their trash; Baby Mama, Obama is a Muslim, Taxes, Questioning Patriotism, Calling Hillary bitch as well as many other sexist remarks not to mention the all the Racism. As I have said many times: Don't come here if you expect this blog to change.

Palin’s first gaffe: Claims Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac are taxpayer-funded.

From Think Progress
Speaking in Colorado this weekend, Gov. Sarah Palin tried to explain the recent federal bailout by claiming that lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had “gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.” The companies, however, “aren’t taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization,” McClatchy noted. Palin’s satement “is somewhat nonsensical because up until yesterday there was sort of no public funding there,” said Andrew Jakobovics of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “The ‘too expensive to tax payers,’ I don’t know where that comes from.”

Iraqi Vets Against The War Protest the RNC

Adam Kokesh, IVAW board member, interrupted his speech with a sign reading "McCain Votes Against Vets."

McCain's record on veterans' issues is extremely poor. He received a "D" rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Disabled American Veterans reports that he voted for legislation benefiting veterans only 20% of the time.

John McCain Voted With Bush 90%

Runaway Train

Thanks to Talk Left

60s Rant - Revisited

At a Trail in Chicago Abbie Hoffman Said:
I am an orphan of Amerika.
I live in Woodstock Nation.
It is a Nation of Alienated Young People.
We carry it around with us as a state of mind, in the same way the
Sioux Indians carried the Sioux nation with them. It is a nation of
cooperation versus competition. It is in my mind as well as the
minds of my brothers and sisters.
I am a child of the 60s.
I was born psychologically, 1960.
I am a cultural revolutionary.

At the same Trail Jerry Rubin said:
A father tells his son, Respect me or else. That's what Amerika told its youth, Respect us or else.
The kids grow up saying, I'm not going to Respect you or else.
When you go around killing black people.
I am not going to Respect You!

Bob Dylan once said "your sons and your daughters are beyond your command"

Those were trying times. Abbie is Dead and Jerry sold out. I stood
beside those men, many times on the streets of NYC. I have not
forgotten where I was and where I have been. My mind will never let me forget the abuses and death I have seen. Weather it was in Nam, in Amerika or in the streets today. I also have not forgotten where I am going.

As Abbie said, I live in Woodstock Nation.
I do not have time for your put downs, your name calling and your lies. Look for me on the street helping to start a revolution, to overthrow pigs like you, you who can never understand what is like to be poor or be of another race or color.
You who Rant on and on about how bad things are, but do nothing about it.
And when the Revolution comes and you lose everything you have, you'll be there asking for help from those same folks you put down.
Don't expect it and don't say I didn't warn you.
So go a head, make fun, tell your lies
Theres revolution in the air.....

USA KARMA

Genocide of the Tribes
Small Pox Blankets
Slavery of Africans
Lynchings
Homestead Strike/Lockout 1892
Atomic Bombs
McCarthyism
HUAC
Vietnam
CIA in, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile
Che Guevara
FBI crimes against the Black Panthers
Fred Hampton
George Jackson -Soledad Brother
Malcolm X
Watergate
Kent State
Jackson State
Murder of 2 CWP Members by The KKK and The American Nazi Party
Waco
Ruby Ridge
Framing of Peltier
Iran/contra
The lies of WMD
Unconditional Support of Israel
Iraq
I know I left some out, forgive me

Rage Against The Machine For Ever

Rage Against the Machine - The Ghost of Tom Joad (live)

RATM is to the Last Decade or so to what Dylan was to the 60s, just a different type of music. The words are there with a Heavy Beat. I love this band. They are always throwing it in the face of the Elite, letting us know that they are with those who struggle for FREEDOM!

Political Cartoon of the Week

Asshole of the Week

During her speech to the Republican National Convention, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) sought to play up her experience as mayor of a small town in Alaska by mocking community organizing:

PALIN: And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities.

Biden Rips McCain Speech

Why I Love The Wilson Sisters

HEART - Barracuda

The ladies of Heart have contacted the McCain/Palin campaign and asked them to immediately cease and desist from using their song "Barracuda". A portion of the statement from Ann and Nancy Wilson:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

E-mail from Starhawk at the RNC

Eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee have been charged with criminal conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism, under the Minnesota version of the Patriot Act. The Welcoming Committee organized the food, logistics, housing, and meeting spaces for protestors coming to the Twin Cities. No actual acts of violence were committed or alleged to be committed by any of them. No weapons or physical evidence of any conspiracy were found. The entire case against them is built on the testimony of three paid informants who infiltrated meetings. Such testimony has been proven, over and over again, to be notoriously unreliable—as the informants have a vested interest in fabricating plots and plans that can justify their pay and a disproportionate police response, which we have seen.

This is exactly what we’ve always feared the various anti-terrorist laws would be used for: not to stop another September 11, but to target dissent.



I’ll have more information later on this—a press conference is scheduled for this morning. But let’s just be clear—when people can be charged with ‘conspiracy’ for things they have not actually done, we are all at risk. Almost all the protestors arrested in this last week were charged with ‘conspiracy’: ‘conspiracy to riot’, Riyanna was charged with ‘conspiracy to use poisonous substances’ (???) although no evidence of any poisonous substances were found anywhere on or around her. (Those charges were dropped.) When we can be arrested, tasered, beaten, have our property seized and illegally searched on no evidence that we’ve actually done something but only on suspicion that we might have thought about or spoken about the possibility of doing something or be somehow associated with a group that someone else thinks might be thinking of doing something—whoa, no one is safe.

Thanks again, everyone, for standing so strongly with us through all of this! Starhawk

Barack Obama vs. John Bush McCain

From Think Progress

I spent ten years in the USWA Local 1397 Homestead works and I was wondering when the USWA was going to say something about Palin and her Husband.
This is from Think Progress

Steelworkers President To Palin: ‘Stop Using Your Husband’s Membership In The USW As A Prop’

When Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, he trumpeted her husband’s union membership: “The person I’m about to introduce to you was a union member and is married to a union member, and understands the problems, the hopes and the values of working people,” he said. That day, and again last night, Palin also emphasized that her husband is “a proud member of the United Steelworkers Union.”

Conservatives are hoping the reference will play well in Michigan and Ohio. But the United Steelworkers union (USW) isn’t so pleased. USW President Leo Gerard noted that just because Todd Palin is a union member doesn’t mean that Palin is automatically qualified to represent labor interests:

It is important to realize that while the governor’s husband is a member of a union, this does not automatically qualify her for an on-the-job training program to become a heartbeat away from the presidency. And while her husband is one of 850,000 dues-paying members of the steelworkers union, it does nothing to absolve Sen. McCain of his long history of anti-union sentiment and anti-worker actions.

In fact, McCain’s hostility to unions and union priorities runs deep:

– McCain voted to block the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize. [6/26/07]

– McCain condemned unions as “serious excesses” and said government workers are “crippled” by union contracts. [10/9/07; 5/21/07]

– McCain voted to filibuster a minimum wage hike last year. [1/24/07]

– McCain voted against a bill protecting discrimination against workers who go on strike, effectively allowing companies to hire permanent replacements for striking workers. [S. 55, 7/13/94]

– McCain voted against an amendment providing more effective remedies to victims of gender discrimination in the payment of wages. [7/17/07]

Last night, Gerard demanded that Palin “stop using USW as a prop.” Noting McCain’s opposition to the top priorities on USW’s agenda, Gerard asked Palin:

Are you with McCain – and against workers – on these issues? If so, you need to stop using your husband’s membership in the USW as a prop because then his union card cannot possibly cover up your or John McCain’s worker-savaging positions.

I love it

From The Daily Kos

So apparently Republicans hate community organizers. A reader sends me a pithy response:

Jesus was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.

BTW. For the Readers here that think that I am too one sided go read the Daily Kos.

Repost of RATM KICK OUT THE JAMS

I love this remake of a MC5 song from the 60s. This is the way I'm feeling right now about the Republicans and the Police State in St. Paul. Kick out the jams MotherFuckers!

Rage Against The Machine Gives Impromptu Performance For Protestors

The only post I've made about police violence on the blog was when Amy Goodman of the national show Democracy Now got busted. I haven't posted about the preemptive police raids on protesters meeting places or Starhawks bus before the RNC even started. I suggest if you want to read whats really happening go to Starhawks homepage. She has been blogging the Demos.

From Crooks and Liars

After police banned them from playing a political rally in Minnesota yesterday, Rage Against the Machine whipped out the loudspeaker and went a cappella.

The band’s original plan was to play an impromptu gig at left-wing rally Ripple Effect. Sadly, the police had other ideas, leaving Zack de la Rocha to address some angry fans.

“Rage Against the Machine is a band that has never, ever advocated violence,” he, er, rages. “We’ve always advocated a direct opposition to unjust wars like the one started by John McCain and the Republicans and Bush and all of them.”

He continues: “Why the F@#% are these cops so afraid of us? Are they afraid of us?”

I showed this video to our C&L team and BillW could not say enough how much he loved it. It’s terrible to me that the larger story of how the police have acted — or have been directed to act — has gone mostly unreported in the traditional media, becaue it really does exemplify the tenuous grasp on basic civil rights that most Republicans seem to possess.

Let me count the ways

Let me count the ways that Giuliani and Palin can piss me off.

I'll admit I did not watch most of the RNC speeches last night with the sound on. I did watch the body language of Giuliani and Palin. I noticed Giuli laughing a lot and wondered what was so funny.
This AM I sadly found out what both of them though was so funny. They were making fun of Obamas Community Organizer experience. I have spent more than half my life as a community organizer working with poor people, laid off steel workers and mental patients. Talk about being mad and angry!

I aslo heard Guli say this am that Plain got more votes than Biden when she ran for mayor of that small town of 6,000 +and he ran in the primary's. How can that be? Biden got 30,000 votes in the two primary's before he dropped out. Guli better go back to school and take a math 101 class.

Let me say this about Palin the all knower of foreign policy because Russia is so close to Alaska.
If that is so I must be an expert because I served most of my military time up there with a trip to Nam in between. This was during the cold war when we were told that we only had to hold off the Russians for 3 mins till the rest of the US could get its act together.

Here is a link for the commenter that seems to think I make things up about Palin. Please follow the links on that site if you think I'm making it up.

The Sarah Palin Digest

Eat This Poll, 27% My Ass

This is for the Loser who posted the comment that 27% of Hillary voters would vote for McSame after he put Palin on the Ticket

from The Daily Kos

• Some 45 percent of Clinton fans thought Palin was not very attractive as a candidate, and 55 percent said they would not be voting for McCain.
• Only nine percent of Clinton supporters said they thought they would vote Republican because Palin was on the ticket.
• Asked which ticket understood better the issues and concerns which are important to women, 53 percent opted for the Obama-Biden ticket compared to 35 percent for McCain and Palin.

This Shit Pisses Me Off

Today McCain campaign adviser Carly Fiorina said that “American women…will not tolerate sexist treatment” of Palin. "I would absolutely say that Hillary Clinton has been subject to sexism. By the way, if there are facts that you can show me, I would be delighted to see them, but I do not think that, based on my experiences, what I have seen, I do not think that the Republican Party subjected her to sexism."

Thats Pure BULLSHIT!!!

– In November 2007, when a questioner asked “How do we beat the bitch [Clinton],” McCain replied, “That’s an excellent question.”

– In 1998, McCain made a lesbian joke that referenced Clinton’s daughter: “Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”

– In May, McCain adviser Alex Castellanos said, “Her problem is she’s Hillary Clinton. And some women, by the way, are named [bitch], and it’s accurate.”

– In March 2007, CNN host Glenn Beck said that Clinton’s “stereotypical” voice was “nagging,” adding that it “just sticks in your ear like an ice pick.”

I have Yet to see one left wing blog make a sexist statement against Palin.

And I will never forgive the Republicans for some of the racist remarks against Obama,

Don't Believe The EarMark Hype

Sen. John McCain has long campaigned against Congress earmarking federal money for pet projects back home, having gone so far as publishing “pork lists” detailing these financial favors. However, “three times in recent years, McCain’s catalogs of ‘objectionable’ spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time — Sarah Palin.”

Last Night at the RNC

Want to piss off a Pittsburgh Steeler Fan?

Fred Thompson just told the touching story of McCain giving the names of the Green Bay Packers to his captors while he was a POW, which makes sense since they're in Minnesota. Not like when McCain told the story, saying it was the Pittsburgh Steelers when he was in Pennsylvania recently. I can't wait until he goes to Florida and says it was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rant

I've been asked by a few of my readers to make my blog bi-partisan. Let me say before I go any further. To quote Hillary "No Way, No How, No McCain." If you want me to change my blog, change my politics, my way of thinking, then either start your own blog or go read some blogs that you agree with cause it's not gonna happen here, NO HOW, NO WAY!

Even though I am registered Non-Committed in the State of Pennsylvania, I have supported Democrats as well as a few Republicans in State and local elections. I never have and never will vote for a Republican for President.

I am so tired of people leaving comments questioning my loyalty to The USA. How silly can those folks be. However, I am not one to stand by my country right or wrong. To do that would totally discount the views from other citizens of the world about my country. Through a chat program I have made friends with people from all over the globe. I've spent more time listening to them than talking with them. Many of these folks ask the same questions I ask about the US.

Everything the Good Olde USA does effects the rest of the world. During the Bush administration the US has lost it's standing in the world. We have more enemys now than any time in our history. The Illegal war in Iraq has created more terrorists instead of stopping terrorism.

And now we have to look to four more years of the same if the McCain- Palin ticket wins in November. For the last two elections I've heard: This is the most important election of our times. This time I agree: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTIANT ELECTION OF OUR TIME.

McCain claims to be a Maverick. How can he be if he voted with Bush 90% of the time? I have posted on this blog a chart of McCain's Tax Cuts vs Obama's Tax Cuts. Go look at it and tell me if you still believe McCains TV ads. With McCain it will still be the same, Tax breaks for the rich and corporations, screw the working poor and middle class. How many times to we have to hear that Palin has more experience than Obama? I guess Obama's 12 years in government and many years as a community organizer counts less than being a mayor of a small town and a governor of a state for less than two years?

I heard at new line while watching the RNC tonight. That the Democrats are starting to be sexist. You don't know how angry this made me. The McCain ticket is the one that wants to do away with Womens rights as well as limit or even stop birth control. If it was up to Palin, Abortion would only be allowed if the mothers life was in danger. I guess that means if your daughter is raped, she will have to have the rapists child.

If the McCain ticket gets elected the Supreme Court will be stacked with Right Wing Judges. How many more Freedoms are you willing to lose? As I said before: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTIANT ELECTION OF OUR TIME. We don't need four years of the Same!

Barack Obama "We Rise and Fall as One Nation"

The Real McCain 2

Freedom of the Press? Not at the RNC

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now was arrested in Minneapolis today. According to the description of the video, she and two others are charged with conspiracy to riot. According to Coldsnaplegal, she was pepper-sprayed while handcuffed.

Palin The Same

Palins answers from the 2006 Alaskan Gubernatorial Questionnaire that stand out


1. Complete the sentence by checking the applicable phrases (you can check more than one).
Abortion should be:
SP: I am pro-life. With the exception of a doctor’s determination that the mother’s life would end if the pregnancy continued. I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent’s life.

10. Do you support the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling that spousal benefits for state employees should be given to same-sex couples? Why or why not?
SP: No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.

11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
(The Pledge was written in 1892, I can't believe her answer, it's almost laughable but sad)

What can I say except She was a bad choice for VP and McSame is gonna lose a lot of votes.