A Message From Bolt Hall Re: Prop H8

got this from a friend at Cal Berkeley:

November 13, 2008

Dear Boalt Hall Students, Faculty, and Staff:

Last Tuesday, America witnessed a change many believed would never come. But even with cheering crowds, joyful tears and the thrill of progress felt all across the state and country, the night was bittersweet. Some of us had our hopes validated by Senator Obamas rise to President-elect, but crushed by the passage of Proposition 8. We do not want to discourage elation over the Presidential election, but we hope to remind our Boalt community that on November 4, 2008, Californians elected Barack Obama and voted to take rights from your fellow students. Our state is now among the 30 that have altered their constitutions to ban same-sex couples from marrying.

Much has been said about the possible reasons behind Prop 8s passage, including the notion that voters of color pushed the proposition to victory. We, the queer community at Boalt and our straight allies, reject this oversimplified and faulty analysis. We will not join in fragmenting our diverse community, nor isolate ourselves from the larger community whose support we must have in the fight for equality.

We are heartbroken and angered by the attack on our dignity, our families, and our civil rights. After a night of monumental progress, we were reminded that the promise of equal rights in America will remain unfulfilled so long as hateful, discriminatory laws remain the status quo. This is not a question of religion or race, nor sex or sexuality. In some ways, its not even about marriageits about equal rights and full humanity. And, in the spirit of solidarity with all groups, we recognize that it is also about a chilling legal and social precedent: constitutional amendments that destroy established rights and uphold bigotry.

Today, we reach out to you, our community. We ask that regardless of your background or identity, you recognize that Prop 8 is unacceptable and wrong, and it must be repealed. We then ask you to get involved in this civil rights movement. Talk to your family and friends. Talk to us, to each other. E-mail us to join our listserve set up for organizing on this issue to be kept abreast of new developments and ways you can take action: queercaucusorganizing@gmail. com.

To you who are leaders of campus student groups: help us build bridges. To you in the Administration: support our efforts with your institutional weight. We are lawyers and future lawyers, this is our system, and we each have a tangible role now in making sure it is a system that advances equal rights for all.

As President-elect Obama said, our stories are singular but our destinies are shared.

In solidarity,

Boalt Hall Queer Caucus a community of queers and allies

If you are an ally in this movement, please join our Google group created to do organizing on LGBT issues: queercaucusorganizing@gmail. com

Attend upcoming events and sign the marriage equality petition sponsored by Equality California:

o Events:
Saturday, November 15, 10:30 a.m.: nationwide protest at city halls around the country. Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco will have protests at their city halls. Go to: http://jointheimpact.wetpaint. com/?t=anon.

Equality California lists all events here: http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/ cd/month.asp?c=kuLRJ9MRKrH&b= 4028667.

o Petition:

Equality California has a marriage equality petition: http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/ ka/ct/contactus.asp?c= kuLRJ9MRKrH&b=4742747&en= 9rKQLZPvEfKOKQODIhJGKXPKJoKTI3 MJJeKPL6MPJrI5.

The First 100 Days: Hype or The Stuff Of Legends?

This is an interesting chart. Have a gander and let us know if you think the first 100 days are all hype of a new president or the stuff legends are made out of.

Blog on friends, blog on all.

Prop H8 = Bigotry in Sheep's Clothing

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Keith seems to get a bit weepy here, no?


I flashed back to the Buddy Holly Tune...
"Well, I wonder wonder wonder, hoop badoo a hoop, who wrote the book of love..."

Really there is no argument that justifies the passing of Prop H8. Simply because a majority thinks it's right doesn't make it so. That's what the Constitution should protect us from - misguided and bigoted thinking.

I still think the Constitution is on our side here and it's only a matter of time before the Supreme Court weighs in on this and decides it once and for all, that you can marry one person of whomever you love, no matter the gendered identification one affixes to themselves. Genitalia has got nothing to do with why I wanted to get married to my spouse, and it should be of no concern to you as to what we do together as long as it's consenting. You cannot legislate morality, particularly if it's bigotry in sheep's clothing.

An Interesting Take On Prop H8

Found this in the LA Times today

Why does it matter whether gay couples remain married in a post-Proposition 8 world? One answer has to do with the dignity and stature that marriage confers. Even if marriage provides no greater rights than domestic partnership, a separate-but-equal regime unavoidably signals that same-sex relationships are of lesser worth.

Another answer has to do with the future of gay marriage writ large. Gay marriage is in the cross-hairs of a culture war, and culture wars, both sides know, are won through symbols, examples and personal experiences that shape one's worldview.

Each of the 18,000 same-sex couples and their families in California represents a potential catalyst for broader acceptance of gay marriage. The more familiar we become with gay spouses and their children -- as our friends, neighbors and co-workers -- the more gay marriage will become an unremarkable thread of our social fabric. Proposition 8 may then come to be viewed, in the long run, not as an enduring constitutional principle but as the will of a narrow and ultimately temporary majority.

If your son were gay, would you not like him to marry the man he loves? The Yes on H8 crowd seems to think that being gay is something one does voluntarily. It's a fact of nature, and should not be denied, but embraced as a part of humanity. The tyrany of the slim majority led us to this very wrongheaded and bigoted piece of "legislation." It needs to be erased as the "will of the people" has been wrong in the past, and is wrong today on 8.

On The Economy George Bush Built

This is just a small slice of some interesting reading regarding the critical situation the W, Rove and Co. has placed Obama in. Of course, their hope is that Obama has to tighten the belts so much that they find it easy to win the Whitehouse back. Trouble is, it's worse than one can imaging, and putting our children into hock for our transgressions is wholly irresponsible

Borrowing money has a flip side, however. When you can't make your car payments, you learn that the bank really does own your car and will come take it away. When you borrow money from Guido for a "sure fire" business idea, you learn that Guido isn't such a nice guy if it doesn't work out. While equity investors can lose their investments, borrowers can potentially lose everything. When President Bush borrows $5 trillion dollars from other countries to run the government, he's really borrowing from future tax payers - making it seem like we aren't paying taxes, when we are really paying more taxes than we should, because he is borrowing irresponsibly. This is how Republicans make it look like everything is rosy on their watch, so they can hand enormous amounts of debt to the next administration, whose job it is to tighten belts and reduce spending until the borrowing is back under control.

Republicans do this because voters can see stock market indices much more clearly than they can see national debt figures. This is called paying your Visa bill with your MasterCharge, also known as Reaganomics. As Tom Friedman writes in the New York Times:

Never has one generation spent so much of its children’s wealth in such a short period of time with so little to show for it as in the Bush years.

If you click on over, be sure to read "Godzilla's Tail."

Blog on friends, blog on all.

Bigotry Has No Place In The Constitution

It's hard to believe that so many bigots live in California. Perhaps not. My thinking is that many people were tricked into voting yes for Proposition 8 because those who paid for advertisements were both lying and playing to people's fears in order to secure votes. It's the typical reichwing approach that should be abolished in America as a tactic that foments fear over love and hate over hope.

The upside is that those in favor of allowing two people to marry regardless of their sexual orientation have legal teams assembled. I do believe the US Constitution is on our side here, and with OBAMA HEADED FOR THE WHITEHOUSE (I am still flummoxed that I can type that), we may have some seriously great judges who don't operate from a place of bigotry when it comes to making serious judicial decisions about such cases.

I got this in an email from a friend of the No On 8 movement:

Today, as the ballot counting for Proposition 8 in California continues, Lambda Legal, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU, filed a petition in the California Supreme Court on behalf of Equality California and six same-sex couples urging the court to invalidate Prop 8 if it passes. The petition charges that Prop 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution' s core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group — lesbian and gay Californians. Prop 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. Whatever the outcome of the election or the lawsuit, we and the California Attorney General agree that existing California marriages are valid, and Lambda Legal will work in the courts to protect these marriages if they are attacked.

It's unfortunate that it has come to this. It's going to be one of the acid tests of our Constitution and the judicial process to prevent the tyranny of the masses from violating fundamental rights promised us by our ancestors - you remember, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." - which was the forerunner to the Constitution.

It's not just parchment. I would include the freedom to marry the person you love regardless of sexual orientation as one of those "unalienable Rights." Much like black individuals being counted as 2/3rds a citizen was struck down oh, so long ago. Bigotry has no place in any State or the US Constitution.

Really, if you don't believe in Gay Marriage, don't marry some one of the same gender. I have still not ever seen a legitimate argument that explains how heterosexual marriage is harmed if John and David or Sally and Jennifer, who have been together for the last 18 years, get married to cement their relationship.

The Difference Between Patriotism and Hypocrisy

It's obvious that the GOP strategy to win elections is to foment hatred. Hence the malaise they painted across the ACORN concern. Of course, this is not acceptable. In fact, ACORN has accomplished some very good things. The trouble for the GOP is that they don't like the idea that new voters won't vote for them.

Much like the wacky notion that judges who ajudicate cases and make decisions against the interest of the GOP partisans, the GOP tries to pain them as "activist." No, they are not activists, but making high quality decision. Simply because people don't agree with them doesn't make them activists. Simply because ACORN is registering people who will likely vote against the GOP doesn't mean they are bad for America.

Why has ACORN suddenly become such a rallying cry for Republicans? The ultimate answer, of course, is to win the election. Partisan forces are unsettled by the large numbers of new voters ACORN is bringing into the system. Such rhetoric also seems to divert attention from one of the most unpatriotic activities we can imagine -- activities designed to suppress turnout through illegal purges of voter rolls, intimidation of voters at polling places, voter caging and similar tactics.

The highly charged rhetoric has had consequences. A torrent of hate mail and phone calls have poured into our offices, including death threats against our staff. Our Boston and Seattle offices were broken into last week.

The citizens ACORN has helped register this year are very real. Many of them will be coming out to vote today and in future elections. Far from being a threat, our work to encourage participation in democracy is deeply necessary for the reweaving of the fabric of our democracy. These voters should be welcomed to our democracy.

It's Not Too Late To Change Your Mind As To Who The Real Elitist Is

The reichwing fear-mongers have been furiously attempting to paint Obama as an "elitist," but if you look at the two candidates "celebration" receptions, it's clear.

Barak Obama is holding his in a public park, making room for large numbers of real people.

There's no telling how many people will show up, but given the historic nature of the event I'd say 2.5 million -- about twice the number that police estimate pack Grant Park for the annual fireworks display -- isn't an unreasonable guess.

McSame is having his at the Biltmore - with room for only a small number of his "supporters."

Senator John McCain has opted for the tried and true for his election night party: the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, a semi-secluded, exquisitely manicured spot that is to Phoenix what the Waldorf-Astoria is to New York.

Which one is elitist?

Hope Starts In Your Neighborhood

Found this article at the Christian Science Monitor. It's not long, so I cut the whole thing. Rifle through it and see what you think. My thought was that hope starts in your neighborhood, and if yours is without, perhaps you should think about Obama as a the only candidate who can bring it. With 8 years of Bush/Cheney, it's doubtful that the tenor of America will change with McSame/Palin at the tiller "with a steady hand."

Charlotte, N.C. – There has been a lot of speculation that Barack Obama might win the election due to his better "ground game" and superior campaign organization.

I had the chance to view that organization up close this month when I canvassed for him. I'm not sure I learned much about his chances, but I learned a lot about myself and about this election.

Let me make it clear: I'm pretty conservative. I grew up in the suburbs. I voted for George H.W. Bush twice, and his son once. I was disappointed when Bill Clinton won, and disappointed he couldn't run again.

I encouraged my son to join the military. I was proud of him in Afghanistan, and happy when he came home, and angry when he was recalled because of the invasion of Iraq. I'm white, 55, I live in the South and I'm definitely going to get a bigger tax bill if Obama wins.

I am the dreaded swing voter.

So you can imagine my surprise when my wife suggested we spend a Saturday morning canvassing for Obama. I have never canvassed for any candidate. But I did, of course, what most middle-aged married men do: what I was told.

At the Obama headquarters, we stood in a group to receive our instructions. I wasn't the oldest, but close, and the youngest was maybe in high school. I watched a campaign organizer match up a young black man who looked to be college age with a white guy about my age to canvas together. It should not have been a big thing, but the beauty of the image did not escape me.

Instead of walking the tree-lined streets near our home, my wife and I were instructed to canvass a housing project. A middle-aged white couple with clipboards could not look more out of place in this predominantly black neighborhood.

We knocked on doors and voices from behind carefully locked doors shouted, "Who is it?"

"We're from the Obama campaign," we'd answer. And just like that doors opened and folks with wide smiles came out on the porch to talk.

Grandmothers kept one hand on their grandchildren and made sure they had all the information they needed for their son or daughter to vote for the first time.

Young people came to the door rubbing sleep from their eyes to find out where they could vote early, to make sure their vote got counted.

We knocked on every door we could find and checked off every name on our list. We did our job, but Obama may not have been the one who got the most out of the day's work.

I learned in just those three hours that this election is not about what we think of as the "big things."

It's not about taxes. I'm pretty sure mine are going to go up no matter who is elected.

It's not about foreign policy. I think we'll figure out a way to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan no matter which party controls the White House, mostly because the people who live there don't want us there anymore.

I don't see either of the candidates as having all the answers.

I've learned that this election is about the heart of America. It's about the young people who are losing hope and the old people who have been forgotten. It's about those who have worked all their lives and never fully realized the promise of America, but see that promise for their grandchildren in Barack Obama. The poor see a chance, when they often have few. I saw hope in the eyes and faces in those doorways.

My wife and I went out last weekend to knock on more doors. But this time, not because it was her idea. I don't know what it's going to do for the Obama campaign, but it's doing a lot for me.

Jonathan Curley is a banker. He voted for George H.W. Bush twice and George W. Bush once.

"Draconian Estimates Of Jobs..."

The one problem for the McSame Palin ticket is that the internets never forget:



Well, let's get some clarification about this "draconian estimates of jobs..."

"Take more of those revenues and share them with the state of Florida," sounds like "spreading the wealth" to me.

This doesn't sound like a man who can win on Tuesday, does it?

Liberal Professors: The Null Effect

More proof that leadership by faith over fact is dead as a guiding philosophy for any one:

Three sets of researchers recently concluded that professors have virtually no impact on the political views and ideology of their students.

Why should we care? Well, because a while back the GOP nutballers were all a twitter worried that "college" sullies the political soul. If there is no effect of the political views of faculty on their students, what does that say about the "right"wingers who claim otherwise?

Forget About Activist Judges - How About A Run Amok Activist President

Why is it that Lame Duck Presidents feel like they need to piss in all the bedrooms in the Whitehouse before they suffer the regime change we all need here in the good old US of A?

The White House is working to enact an array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift existing constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

Looks like Bush, who has screwed the pooch in Iraq, is not content to just screwing our economy, proving once again that elitist Republicans are dangerous for America. Beware the NeoCon in sheep's clothing. They come wrapped in American Flags and claim they are doing "Right." In the long run, I'm betting more and more of the real conservatives are wishing they turned out the lights and pretended they were not home when the fundamentalist Christians came a knocking low about 9 years ago. They've shed the skins and put on an Activist Suit.

Hello...is this thing on....any one home in the GOP going to reign in their runaway activist President? That's not his job. His job is to enforce the rules in place, not put them asunder.

A Couple Of Sweet Old Ladies

I'm likin' these new bloggers:

If I hear that McCain is a Maverick one more time I just might throw myself to the floor and break a hip. A maverick is an independent individual who doesn’t go along with a group or party. If John McCain’s a maverick I am one of those cheerleaders on the sidelines of Harold’s beloved Dallas Cowboys. Nobody seems to dispute that the Republican party led by George W. Bush got us into this mess but what everybody seems to forget is that Sarah Palin and John McCain are Republicans. Look, when the Religious Right came knocking at the door of the RNC Membership Round-Up, someone should have turned out the porch lights and told everyone inside to be quiet until they went away… the same thing I do when those nice looking boys on bicycles with bibles come to my door. But the Republicans opened that door, invited them in and now they have to live with that decision.

Cecilia, when was the last time a politician brought a tear to your eye… moved you deep in your soul? Honestly when was the last time you really felt that Americans could do anything if we put our hearts and minds to it? I am an old lady. Most of my life politicians have moved me. Most of my life I have felt that Americans can do anything if we put our hearts and minds to it. It’s been 8 long years. I had almost forgotten what that felt like. Thank you Barack Obama. Thank you.

Here's a Fun Splice-O-Rama for Today

Enjoy:

I Thought The MSM Had a Left Wing Bias

Really, this video is proof that the right wing is full of nut job paranoid fear mongers:



But when you raise ACORN as a concern, shouldn't you also be concerned about this, no?



"What makes America Special is what's in this room..."

Really, the hypocrisy of the GOP knows no bounds:

Remember, there is a big difference between truthiness and the truth, and the truth has a known liberal bias.

"Because We're Both Mavericks:" wtf?

Have a look:


WTF? Because we're both mavericks? Have we seen a complete meltdown of the GOP as we knew it?

When "Protecting" Freedom Means Killing Liberty

In GOP Controlled & George W. Bush's America, you may think they are advancing freedom, but they do it at the cost of Liberty. Have a look. We are a heartbeat away from martial law and Nationalistic Totalitarianism.



This is Homeland Security? I once heard about a man who proclaimed "Give me Liberty, or give me death." I wonder, is the trade for "security" worth it?

Here's A Fun Video

Enjoy:

Image Is Everything

Now we know where the priorities rest with the Palin/McSame ticket:

An acclaimed celebrity makeup artist for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin collected more money from John McCain's campaign than his foreign policy adviser. Amy Strozzi, who works on the reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" and has been Palin's traveling stylist, was paid $22,800, according to campaign finance reports for the first two weeks in October. In contrast, McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was paid $12,500, the report showed.

Money well spent, no?

Can You Trust The GOP When They Say Theirs Is The Change We Need?

Doubtful:

In some other respects, a Los Angeles Times examination of state records shows, her approach to government was business as usual. Take, for example, the tradition of patronage. Some of Palin's most controversial appointments involved donors, records show.

But I thought McSame Palin were going to bring change to D.C.

* More than 100 appointments to state posts -- nearly 1 in 4 -- went to campaign contributors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications.

* Palin filled 16 state offices with appointees from families that donated $2,000 to $5,600 and were among her top political patrons.

* Several of Palin's leading campaign donors received state-subsidized industrial development loans of up to $3.6 million for business ventures of questionable public value.

* Palin picked a donor to replace the public safety commissioner she fired. But the new top cop had to resign days later under an ethics cloud. And Palin drew a formal ethics complaint still pending against her and several aides for allegedly helping another donor and fundraiser land a state job.

Well, that doesn't sound promising for what she will be doing if selected as Veep.

Job Creation: GOP Style

Jobs Are Being Created by the W, Rove And Co. Have a look at this new, lucrative field:

Apologies, for some reason the embed function is not working on this post. Click here to go direct to the video.

Solving the "Elite" Problem In D.C. - A Modest Proposal

Given McSame's preoccupation with trying to label people they don't like as elite, I got to thinking on my AM run. I know, you hate when that happens.

I propose we eliminate the extraordinary wealth that sits resident in Congress and causes those who work for the Senate and the House to believe they are smart enough to make decisions for us. Simultaneously, we can save the taxpayers a great deal of money.

Here's the proposal. It's very simple: Given the wealthy status of most of congress, we could reduce their salaries to minimum wage.

Would they do the work if they had to do it for free? I don't think that our founding fathers received any payment for their efforts, did they? There's no reason to support welfare for congressional representatives. They have a splendid benefits package and get paid well into the six figures.

What about McSame and Obama? Would they accept minimum wage to do the work of the Senate? Certainly, McSame doesn't need the income. Obama, perhaps. But we already know know something about the strength of Obama's character. He did go a different way in terms of earning potential.

How many Harvard Law Review editors are sitting out of the extremely lucrative legal field? How many Senators are still raking in enormous salaries despite being independently wealthy (e.g. McSame with Seven homes and untold staff to keep them up)?

Shall we put the measure to a vote? All those in favor say Aye!

Where Do Those "Elites" Live?

There are three flaws with the McSame Palin definition of elitist: 1) Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't McSame live and work as a Senator in the DC Area? 2) Doesn't the fact that they think they are the best team for the Whitehouse mean that they think they are better than any one else to do the job? Lastly, 3) What about the Nine Eleven survivors? Don't they live in New York?

Holy Crap their hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Interesting Quote du Jour

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

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

...Nothing about the Republican ticket offers the hope America needs to regain it's standing in the world, that's why we're going to support Barack Obama. I think that Obama has shown his ability and integrity.

Barry Goldwater's Granddaughter is voting Obama! So too should you.

Blog on friends, blog on all.

Subpoenas, Depositions and A Quick Question

Do you think that McSame thought experience deflecting legal attacks were a necessary criteria for selecting his Veep running mate? Or is it that he couldn't find some one to run with that had a clean slate and was subpoena proof?

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband will provide depositions Friday to the state Personnel Board, which is looking into whether Palin unfairly fired Alaska's public safety director this summer, the couple's attorney told CNN.

If you ask me, it can't be a good sign when a Veep candidate is being subpoenaed to give a deposition (let alone one that involves her husband). We may not actually discover more on Friday. Even so, do you really want some one in public office that is already distracted and tangled in legal problems?

Incidentally, my spouse this morning, as we had on NPR listening to another speechifying opportunity for McSame, called out to me over my coffee. McSame was stipulating one more time that he was particularly "Proud of Governor Palin," and happy he selected her as his Veep Candidate. This is the conversation as it occurred

Spouse - That is Offensive!

Me - What?

Spouse - Do you think that any Presidential Candidates in the history of Presidential candidates have ever said that they were "proud" of their Vice President choice?

Me - What, do you think that was sexist?

Spouse - No, it's just plain offensive and condescending. If she were a man, he would not be saying he was "Proud" of his vice presidential pick.

Me - Well, I think it's sexist and offensive, but that's just how the GOP does it's business

Spouse - No! It's offensive, and I'm pissed.

Me - Well, I guess we know how you are going to vote....

Question - Is it sexist (which the McSame folks were hooting and hollering about finding not acceptable when they announced their pick), offensive, or both?

What's Your Tax Cut Going To Be?

This may be fun for folks to try. Calculate your tax cut under Obama and McSame.Go ahead, plug in your numbers and be honest. Then plug in Bill Gates' numbers and see what you get.



Oh, and here's proof that any one can use the calculator:

Falling On Their Own Swords

Well, much as we would like to see them do so, you won't find any of the GOP faithful falling on their own swords at this point in time. Even so, it looks as if the smart thinking Republicans are sucking large quantities of helium out of the McSame/Palin baloon:

The timing of the financial crisis couldn’t have been worse for Republicans. When Lehman Brothers went under on Sept. 15, McCain was tied or in the margin of error in national polls. But when his poll numbers fell along with the stock market, wealthy conservatives saw little reason to invest their shrunken holdings on what was far from a sure thing.

“Republican donors, at the end of day, aren’t stupid,” said another Republican familiar with third-party activities this cycle. “They’re not going to throw good money after bad.”

And it wasn’t just the economic bad news — McCain did little to help his own cause.

The GOP, having hung their hats so long and hard on the W, Rove and Co are withering on the vines of their own making. You won't be getting a lot of sympathy from the left of, as it appears, now the right.

BOO - Did She Scare You Too?

I was out on my morning run today, heading past one of the local neighborhoods that sponsor some serious competitions for scary Halloween decoration. Amidst the witches, ghosts, goblins, I noticed this image of Sarah Palin. Was this an endorsement or meant to scare me? I think the latter. I actually burst out laughing out loud, despite running up hill at the same time. Some one has a very interesting sense of humor.

In the less than funny department...In even worsening news for the McSame Palin ticket, we find that Ms. Palin is playing fast and loose with the ethics again - a lot like George Bush Sr.'s fuzzy math. It may not be against the law, but it's rather fuzzy ethically to travel to luxury hotels on State Taxpayer dollars:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

Another Right Thinking Republican Thinks Right

No surprise, but still a huge blow to McSame, Colin Powell endorses Obama:

Colin Powell, a Republican and retired general who was President Bush's first secretary of state, broke with the party Sunday and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, calling him a "transformational figure" while criticizing the tone of John McCain's campaign.

The former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said either senator is qualified to be commander in chief. But after studying both, he concluded that Obama is better suited than McCain, the standard-bearer of Powell's own party, to handle the nation's economic problems and help improve its world standing.

And here's a couple of interesting points:

"This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign," Powell said. "But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him?"

Powell said McCain's choice of Palin raised questions about judgment.

"She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired. But at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president," he said. "And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made."

Here's the video of this particular testimony.

Blogging Like You Mean It

I've been ruminating on a few questions as a bit of a diversion from the nutty last 18 or so days leading up to 4 Nov. Back when I first started blogging, things were a lot simpler. To tease out topics, some one periodically send out a meme to spur some ideas. I haven't received one of those in a great long while (which in the long run is good by me), but I got to thinking.

If I had to write my last blog entry, what would I write? Kind of like the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, if today you had to post your last post, what would you write?

Also, over the years, I've found inspiration in various musical artists (depending on my mood). If you blog on a regular basis, do you have a play list for your music that drives your inspiration? Who's your favorite artist to blog to?

I'm listening to public radio this AM, and one of the guest speakers had a point. "Our next president won't save us, we are going to have to save him. His middle name is going to be pinata." Perhaps my last post will have a title: Saving Our Nation From Ourselves....I'll have to ruminate on the content.

When I'm in a blogging zone, I usually click on Nirvana - Nevermind....and write.

Blog on friends, blog on all.

Here's a couple of Mark Fiore Vids for fun

Enjoy:



Enjoy:



You should pop over to Mark's location for the most recent one. You can't embed the most current release.

McSame: Not Able To Connect The Dots

But enjoyable as it's been to watch conservatives flee from the GOP, something about all this leaves me feeling a little down. Because as the more respectable, literate conservatives distance themselves from the GOP, increasingly, the only ones left on the right are paranoid, rage-driven, xenophobic nuts. Bitter? You betcha! Twisted too!

This just proves the point, that McSame - while he may have been a good choice about a year ago to run for President - has fallen into the trap of following the advice of people with the same mindset as those who have advised W. And, the people are getting sick and tired of leadership by faith over fact, derision and division over unifying high quality values and morals, and fear mongering over a message of hope.

As evidence, on just need look to the debate last night. On more than one occasion, it looked like McSame was trying to connect the dots between talking points, but was wildly unsuccessful in doing so because bullet points don't comprise a high quality discussion about what's ailing the economy.

Let's have a look:

MCCAIN: Energy -- well, first -- second of all, energy independence. We have to have nuclear power. We have to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. It's wind, tide, solar, natural gas, nuclear, off-shore drilling, which Senator Obama has opposed.

And the point is that we become energy independent and we will create millions of jobs -- millions of jobs in America.

OK, what -- what would I cut? I would have, first of all, across-the-board spending freeze, OK? Some people say that's a hatchet. That's a hatchet, and then I would get out a scalpel, OK?

Because we've got -- we have presided over the largest increase -- we've got to have a new direction for this country. We have presided over the largest increase in government since the Great Society.

Government spending has gone completely out of control; $10 trillion dollar debt we're giving to our kids, a half-a-trillion dollars we owe China.

I know how to save billions of dollars in defense spending. I know how to eliminate programs.

SCHIEFFER: Which ones?

MCCAIN: I have fought against -- well, one of them would be the marketing assistance program. Another one would be a number of subsidies for ethanol.

I oppose subsidies for ethanol because I thought it distorted the market and created inflation; Senator Obama supported those subsidies.

I would eliminate the tariff on imported sugarcane-based ethanol from Brazil.

I know how to save billions. I saved the taxpayer $6.8 billion by fighting a deal for a couple of years, as you might recall, that was a sweetheart deal between an aircraft manufacturer, DOD, and people ended up in jail.

But I would fight for a line-item veto, and I would certainly veto every earmark pork-barrel bill. Senator Obama has asked for nearly $1 billion in pork-barrel earmark projects...

Holy Smoke - A man that is this scattered on a fairly direct question is asking for line item veto? The Republicans have been trying for that for so long and it's been shot down every time. Why do they persist? Because they suck as negotiators. Veto is another key indicator that the politicians have failed to reach a compromise that is acceptable. To introduce line item veto would allow the President to sit and lord over congress rather than work with them to craft well designed bills.

The Very Foundation of the GOP Is Fundamentally Bankrupt

If you listen to the true conservatives - of the smaller governments, less taxes type - you will find our current situation as QED of why that philosophy is fundamentally bankrupt as a means of dictating governmental policy and action:

In hindsight, there's no question that we would have been better off if we had been regulating derivatives -- and had a clearinghouse for it...The Fed was really adamantly opposed to any form of regulation whatsoever. I guess if I had to do it over again, I certainly would have pushed for some way to give greater transparency to products which turned out to be injurious to our markets.

Really, there is no way for McSame or Palin to claim that they can fix this current situation by advocating "less" taxes and regulation that eventually goes away. You can trust Wall Street like you can trust a kid left alone in the kitchen near the cookie jar before dinner. And given McSame's record of advocating de-regulation over regulation, does he really represent the "change" we need? Not in my book.

Blog on friends, blog on all.

GOP: The Bigotry Specialists

Capitalize on the hate must be one of the campaign tactics for the McSame/Palin. With friends like these, we don't need the Taliban to breed fear and hate among the American people.

A friend of mine forwarded this image. I do apologize for not having a link for a source as I didn't have one. Talk about chutzpah from the man on the motorcycle.

Very Interesting

View and then let us know your thoughts:



I found the video to be very interesting.

Vote No On Prop 8

The nutters who have no better use for their cash are ramping up their campaign to trick people into voting yes on California's Proposition 8. It's quite simple. If you love some one, who happens to be the same sex, and you decide to get married in a civil ceremony (or a religious one if you like, and they let you), what harm does it do to heterosexual marriage? None.

My marriage will not harm any one else's marriage. The larger question is what is it about heterosexual marriage that needs protection?



What would it mean to heterosexuals if they were prevented from getting married?



Of course, simply because you disagree doesn't make your position correct:

A Sunday Morning Romp Around The News

Found some interesting articles for this morning's political wonks:

Now, the Florida salesman and staunch Republican has abandoned the GOP ticket. Sarah Palin, he thinks, looks under-equipped to be vice president. And McCain, he says, displayed an unsteady response to what may be a global economic depression.

Humm...That's interesting.

But the faithful still like Palin. The bigger question is who's really running for the office of Veep?

Todd Palin would become a familiar voice for the Palin administration. Independent legislative investigator Stephen Branchflower's report on Monegan's subsequent firing -- in part, the investigation found, because he wouldn't fire Wooten -- contains an exhaustive record of Todd Palin's frequent and intimate presence in the day-to-day workings of his wife's administration.

One has to question the judgment of a Presidential candidate who doesn't do the dilligence to screen his Veep candidate. Moreover, we know for certain that McSame would carry forward with the W, Rove and Co's Gitmo strategy, no?

The Uighurs filed habeas corpus petitions, and Judge Ricardo Urbina of Federal District Court in Washington ordered them released. Judge Urbina said it was time to “shine the light of constitutionality” on the Bush administration’s detention camps.

They need the light. The Bush administration told the countries it was trying to persuade to take the detainees that they posed no threat. It has stipulated in court documents that they are not a threat. But after Judge Urbina’s ruling, the government suddenly claimed the 17 men were a threat, and managed to obtain a stay of the judge’s order from the federal appeals court in Washington.

Sounds like solid GOP strategy, no?

Well, if nothing else, we know the GOP is very good at stirring up hate in spades:

By the time McCain asks the crowd “Who is the real Barack Obama?” it’s no surprise that someone cries out “Terrorist!” The rhetorical conflation of Obama with terrorism is complete. It is stoked further by the repeated invocation of Obama’s middle name by surrogates introducing McCain and Palin at these rallies. This sleight of hand at once synchronizes with the poisonous Obama-is-a-Muslim e-mail blasts and shifts the brand of terrorism from Ayers’s Vietnam-era variety to the radical Islamic threats of today.

That’s a far cry from simply accusing Obama of being a guilty-by-association radical leftist. Obama is being branded as a potential killer and an accessory to past attempts at murder. “Barack Obama’s friend tried to kill my family” was how a McCain press release last week packaged the remembrance of a Weather Underground incident from 1970 — when Obama was 8.

Just The Kind Of Gullible American The GOP Loves

If gullibility came sold at the local Walmart, the GOP would support subsidizing people for their very own dose of it to gain their favor. But, really, they don't need to. They pray and hope for these kinds of folk:



Nice, huh?

How about his lovely song:



Laced with hate, the GOP is running strong on the threads of fear and vengeance. Not the kind of population we would wish on the rest of the world, is it?

I prefer hope over hate.



And how about real change:



Remember, Barak Obama is Irish (I know that I've posted this before, but it's a fun video). Enjoy:

Mark Fiore Gets It! Finally We Can Embed His Cartoons

I've been a huge fan of Mark Fiore for a great long while. Used to be I'd have to just link up. Now we can embed them. I'm sure he would appreciate some hits over at his location. Here's a few fun ones to whet your apetite:






Blog on Friends, blog on all.

All You Do Is Show Your Love for Hypocrisy and "Cold Blooded" killing by Voting for Sarah Palin

Hypocrite:




Cold Blooded Killer:



Can any one explain to me why people want this woman to be one heart beat away from the Presidency?

Fearing Fear Itself

We are to the point of fearing fear itself. America in all its resplendent free market capitalistic glory is on the auction block with few bidders. How this came to be is obvious in retrospect: too much exuberant leverage, not enough regulation; too strong a belief in asset-based prosperity, too little common sense that prices could go down as well as up; excessive “me first” greed, too little concern for the burden of future generations; a political morass unworthy of our Founding Fathers. You may have more to add to the list, but frankly there isn’t enough time. Historians can sit back and reflect, but at this very moment, America is for sale and there is fear and trembling in the auctioneer’s voice.

This WallStreet Fire Sale brought to you by the GOP and the For More years for the GOP Foundation.

McPalin May Point You To Ayers, But They Should Be Woried About Keating

You have got to know that the McSame and Palin team or expert slanderers are hoping that the American people are dimwitted and easily hornswoggled as they were by George Bush. They bring up Ayers as a red herring, but could it be that it is only the GOP Propaganda Crack Pipe Smoking Faithful that fall for it?

Really, if the GOP is ready to bring up Ayers as a blemish on Obama's record, they aught to be ready to discuss Charles Keating.



Is McSame really the man to trust to solve the fiscal crisis he helped germinate and fertilize all the while looking out for his own personal gain? I don't think so.

Blog on Friends, Blog on all.

McSame: He's No Maverick

Aparently, McSame's claim that he's a maverick, and Palin's claim that both he and she are mavericks isn't is a smidge disingenuous.

There’s that word again: maverick. In Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican candidate, used it to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, no fewer than six times, at one point calling him “the consummate maverick."

But to those who know the history of the word, applying it to Mr. McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive.

“I’m just enraged that McCain calls himself a maverick,” said Terrellita Maverick, 82, a San Antonio native who proudly carries the name of a family that has been known for its progressive politics since the 1600s, when an early ancestor in Boston got into trouble with the law over his agitation for the rights of indentured servants.

In the 1800s, Samuel Augustus Maverick went to Texas and became known for not branding his cattle. He was more interested in keeping track of the land he owned than the livestock on it, Ms. Maverick said; unbranded cattle, then, were called “Maverick’s.” The name came to mean anyone who didn’t bear another’s brand.

Sam Maverick’s grandson, Fontaine Maury Maverick, was a two-term congressman and a mayor of San Antonio who lost his mayoral re-election bid when conservatives labeled him a Communist. He served in the Roosevelt administration on the Smaller War Plants Corporation and is best known for another coinage. He came up with the term “gobbledygook” in frustration at the convoluted language of bureaucrats.

This Maverick’s son, Maury Jr., was a firebrand civil libertarian and lawyer who defended draft resisters, atheists and others scorned by society. He served in the Texas Legislature during the McCarthy era and wrote fiery columns for The San Antonio Express-News. His final column, published on Feb. 2, 2003, just after he died at 82, was an attack on the coming war in Iraq.

Terrellita Maverick, sister of Maury Jr., is a member emeritus of the board of the San Antonio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

Considering the family’s long history of association with liberalism and progressive ideals, it should come as no surprise that Ms. Maverick insists that John McCain, who has voted so often with his party, “is in no way a maverick, in uppercase or lowercase.”

“It’s just incredible — the nerve! — to suggest that he’s not part of that Republican herd. Every time we hear it, all my children and I and all my family shrink a little and say, ‘Oh, my God, he said it again.’ ”

“He’s a Republican,” she said. “He’s branded.”

Bush Fumbles Gitmo: May Require Us To Set Terrorists Free

I've been saying this for a long time , but the egregious, and downright illegal handling of the people detained at Guantanamo may force us to set them free. Moreover, it looks like the W, Rove and Co. have made tremendous errors in judgment about the people they decided to spirit away indefinitely.

Really, do we want to live in country where people who are not found guilty of any wrong doing are locked up against their wills regardless from whence they came?

“I think the moment has arrived for the court to shine the light of constitutionality on the reasons for detention,” Judge Urbina said.

Saying the men had never fought the United States and were not a security threat, he tersely rejected Bush administration claims that he lacked the power to order the men set free in the United States and government requests that he stay his order to permit an immediate appeal.

The ruling was a sharp setback for the administration, which has waged a long legal battle to defend its policies of detention at the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, arguing a broad executive power in waging war. Federal courts up to the Supreme Court have waded through detention questions and in several major cases the courts have rejected administration contentions.

In yet another case of the W, Rove and Co. costing the Taxpayers giant, heaping sums of money based on their illicit actions, we may find that the class action lawsuit rendered by former Git-mo detainees may cost us enormous sums of dollars to make right. I'll bet there are at least a dozen sleazy lawyers gunning for such a case.

I suppose this is what happens when you have a President used to making messes that other people clean up for them.

Same Message, Different Wrapper

The GOP hasn't got anything new and original whatsoever.



If you liked that one, you will like this next one. Here we see that Sarah Palin is nothing without her notes. Could she actually say something of substance without them? The larger question is if we subtracted all of those where she was using her talking points notes, would there be any substance there? Is this the kind of vapid puppet we want in the Veep position?


Leaves me wondering if she is the puppet, who is the master?

The Republicans have got to hate Youtube - catches them in all manner of foolishness. You cannot really complain about Youtube because it isn't mainstream media, but it will bite you in the ass and hold you accountable to what you said today, yesterday, and about nearly 8 years ago.

See:

Your Fear Of Gay Marriage Is Irrational And Has No Foundation Beyond Hate

What is it about two men or two women getting married that hurts your marriage? Really, nothing.

If you don't believe in gay marriage don't marry some one of the same gender. Certainly, to women getting married or two men getting married does not hurt my marriage. In fact, it may amplify the dignity of it.



Hate is no reason to bar freedom. Vote no on Prop -8.

GOP: Bankrupt On Trust

Did you ever wonder why, when McSame or Palin get asked a question that they don't like, they simply don't answer it and instead spew the usual talking points that make no sense as any kind of answer to the stipulated question? I was munching on my breakfast and listening to NPR and McSame was interviewed. Pay attention to what he says when asked the hard questions. Be sure to click the listen now button to grab the unadulterated comments.

When asked about Palin's foreign policy experience that makes her qualified, McSame shifts the topic to

energy independence...she has oversighted the oil and natural resources...she's very highly qualified and very knowledgeable..."I've turned to her for advice many times in the past," McCain said. "I can't imagine turning to Sen. [Barack] Obama or [Sen. Joseph] Biden because they've been wrong. They were wrong about Iraq. They were wrong about Russia."

Where's the WMD in Iraq McSame? Well, the days of "trust us" government are over in Washington. Leadership by faith over fact is dead as a policy making methodolgy. Simply because Palin has charisma in spades does not make her qualified to be the Big Veep.

McSame goes so far as to claim that Palin is the "most popular governor in" in the USA, as if that's a qualification to be Veep. Now, I bet those who live in California might say, "my governor can wipe the floor with your governor," but no doubt there are other states who would credibly argue that this is hogwash.

Do you trust McSame? Should we trust McSame? Or, has the GOP leadership proven time and again that leadership by faith over fact gets us in to deep, deep, deep shit?

Three Questions When Considering If Republicans Can Actually Lead This Country

1) Given - McSame suspended his campaign to help get the bail out legislation passed.
2) Given - George Bush wanted this bail out to pass and made a desperate plea to the people by shoveling more fear at us (read: the sky is falling, or the boy who cried wolf - your choice). By default we know that he should have been leading the vote gathering on all sides of the isles.
3) Given - Republicans in charge crafted the plan.
4) Given - There was compromise on the original three page Paulson blank check plan.
5) Given - The plan did not pass.

Question - If the Republican leadership cannot lead their own party members to vote for a plan they think is the only reasonable option, how can they lead the country that has been deeply divided by the W, Rove and Co over the last eight years?

And another thing, this is just some wild thinking on my part: Perhaps this economic situation is what bin Laden was hoping for when they ran the planes into the Trade Center. They knew that GWB would fuck things up so bad fighting the paper tiger in Iraq and that it would lead to further economic calamity.

No one could have guessed that there would be a proposal for a 700 billion dollar blank check to bail out the people who made bad bets in the financial markets. How are we to know that this is the right solution if we cannot define what it will solve. If we buy into the GOP Driven madness, we may be playing directly into bin Laden's hands, much like everything GWB has done.

Who would have thought four airplanes in 2001 would have led to such repercussions. If we make the move to accept a 700 billion dollar bail out, perhaps we will see what bin Laden was hoping for - a complete financial melt down of the American way of life.

Question - Would bailing out Wall Street actually solve the problem or fall right into the trap the terrorists hoped for when they ran their planes into the WTC and the Pentagon and Pennsylvania?

It seems to me that much like Luke Skywalker needs Darth Vadar, George Bush and the Republicans need bin Laden. With out the fear, there is no there there.

Question - Should we follow a party that predicates their every move based on fear?

What Do You Get For Your 700 Billiion Dollar Investment?

This is an interesting perspective:

Letters to the Editor, 29Sep08 Wall Street Journal

For $700 billion, Treasury could buy all the equity in the top 11 banks by market capitalization. Those banks have $7.95 trillion of assets representing 73% of all assets on publicly traded bank balance sheets. Or the Treasury could buy all the publicly traded banks except Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase. There is no compelling reason to buy just the bad assets.

James Lang
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Any Clearer Now?

Got this in my inbox this afternoon...Thought you all would enjoy this fair and balanced look at the issue at hand:

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, and you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and be President of the Law Review, and you are unstable.
* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
* If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude," with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

My Note to My Reps

Here's what I just sent to my congressional reps. Feel free to plagiarize and send to yours.

Dear Senator...,

It occurs to me that if Warren Buffet can invest in seriously discounted firms with the opportunity to earn a triple or more ROI, that we should require the same for any investments made on behalf of the American People. Bailing out Wall Street without getting an equity stake and placing some thorns in the legislation that allows us to extract blood from those who caused this mess is pointless.

Truly, can any one really define the problem definitively that the 700 billion dollars is to solve? If we toss 700 billion dollars onto George Bush's house of cards, it will fold because the house is built on wormwood and no oversight or regulation. What's plan B if the 700 dollars doesn't fix the problems but causes more?

Is this bill a lifesaver for the corporate fat cats or the American People? Fear of fiscal catastrophe is not a reason to vote for a bad solution. My hope is that you and your colleagues are able to find a solution that works for America, not Wall Street.

And finally, we should ensure that those who have made enormous sums of money working for these firms make the sacrifices that reflect their involvement in creating the problem. In other words, if you are the CEO of one of these failed firms and you made over 10 million dollars, you could stand to toss in 8 or so of those millions to rectify the problem no? Sure it's a lot of money, but they made the bad bets. Let's hold them accountable.

Thank you,

Blog on friends, blog on all.

Be A Fly On The Wall: Do You Care Where Your Slice Of The 700 Billion Dollar Bail Out Will Land?

The Debate on the 700 Billion Dollar Bail out for the GOP's rich pals is going on right now. Nancy Pelosi is talking at this moment. Click here to listen in if dare or care.If Warren Buffet can invest in seriously discounted firms and get equity and the chance to earn a serious ROI, why can't we get that for the American People?

Here's a suggested email that you may want to send to your congressional representative that a friend of mine sent to his. You can Form Mail to your representatives at senate.gov or house.gov.

There is NO problem extant that can't be postponed until the next presidency and the next congress. The problem with the economy hasn't been adequately described: a problem the dimensions of which can't be described can't be solved. Where is the spreadsheet model that says that $700b will prevent the dire result that not providing $700b is supposed to prevent? If nobody actually knows the dimensions of the problem, how is $700b the solution? If the government proposes to prop up a house of cards, the house of cards will fall regardless. What is Plan B?

Blog on friends, blog on all.

One House Versus Seven: Who Has Your Best Interests In Mind?

Chris Rock has a valid point. Would you rather have some one dealing with economic issues who has one home or seven? McSame could lose half his homes and still sleep well at night. Is that the man you would like to have protecting your interests in the Whitehhouse?

Can I Get A Translation Here? Any One Know What The Hell Palin Is Saying

If that's not enough to get you worried about the Palin/McSame ticket, how about this?



Can any one tell me why McSame finds this woman qualified for the gig?

Well, if you watched last night's debate, you would have found it basically a draw. Even so, the Republican Governor of Mississippi can't help but apply wide praise for Obama. He even said that both McSame and Obama are well qualified. That should put to rest those nutters who say Obama is not so.

"There's No One As Irish As Barak Obama"

While you are busy waiting for your slice of the 700 Billion Dollar Bail out (don't hold your breath) here's something to lighten your day:



This is the email I got from Shay Black that announces the posting of this tune:

At last, a song that chronicles in verse Barack Obama's historic journey to become the first Black Irish President of the United States.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADUQWKoVek
Hit the little button that says "Watch in high quality."

Recorded on September 14th, 2008 at the Sunday night Irish music session at the Starry Plough pub in Berkeley, California.
http://www.starryploughpub.com/history/
This is an open music and song session, now running weekly for over thirteen years.

The basics of the song started with the Corrigan Brothers in Ireland. www.HardyDrew.com

Extra verse contributions (in some form) by Shay Black, Celia Ramsey, Chris Caswell, Walter Askew (Salty Walt), Craig Johnson, Tom Clancy, Barry Gleeson, Dave Sahn, Peter Heelan.

Please forward, and if you can't learn all the words, learn and sing the chorus.

Yes, we can.

~ Shay Black

In case you are wondering what the quote says behind the singer, here you go:

No revolutionary movement is
complete with out its poetic
expression. If such a movement
has caught hold of the
imagination of the masses,
they will seek a vent in song
for the aspirations, fears, and
hopes, the loves and hatreds
engendered by the struggle.
Until the movement is marked
by the joyous, defiant singing
of revolutionary songs, it lacks
one of the most distinctive
marks of a popular revolutionary
movement; it is the dogma of the few
and not the faith of the multitude

Palin Speaks - Makes No Cents

Well, if you didn't follow the links to review Palin's answers to four or so questions from the press, here's what you get about the Fiscal Crisis.

JERSEY JOURNAL: What do you think of bailout package before congress?

A: I don't support that until the provisions that Sen. McCain has offered are implemented in Paulson's proposals.

Well, now that McSame has stopped his campaign and stepped into the mix, and Bush has weighed in, we have a solution now right? Nope:

Urgent efforts to lash together a $700 billion rescue plan for the national economy broke apart Thursday night, hours after key lawmakers had declared they had reached a deal.

I see, so if this represents the best efforts of McSame, we can see that they GOP is no good at building bipartisan support for critical situations. Looks like we have a good demonstration of the McSame/Palin leadership capacity right here unfolding before us.

Just A Quick Question

Given that Wall Street is poised for a major bail out - borderline social welfare for wealthy individuals - I just have one small question: Where's the 700 Billion Dollar Bail Out for America's public educational institutions?

It strikes me as odd that Americans would rather have their children in schools that are literally falling apart when they wouldn't ever consider working an 8 hour day in one of them. How about we swap out the financial industry facilities and have them go to work in our nations schools and let our children have the plush office spaces they obviously were not using ethically.

Just A Quick Question

Given that Wall Street is poised for a major bail out - borderline social welfare for wealthy individuals - I just have one small question: Where's the 700 Billion Dollar Bail Out for America's public educational institutions?

It strikes me as odd that Americans would rather have their children in schools that are literally falling apart when the wouldn't ever consider working an 8 hour day in one of them. How about we swap out the financial industry facilities and have them go to work in our nations schools and let our children have the plush office spaces they obviously were not using ethically.

Would You Get Paid Over Ten Million Dollars If You Ran A Failing Business?

The bigger question here about this financial industries mess that the W, Rove and Co. helped germinate, fertilize, and grow is why are not the Millionaires who own and run these companies bailing themselves out? They should have the cash.

There appears to be no upside for the taxpayer, but Wall Street is made whole? It's very clear to me that the GOP is not in it for me or us but for themselves. That's what the "Ownership Society" means. If you are a single parent raising three children working two jobs to make ends meet, but your home is being foreclosed, forget about Chapter 11 (because George Bush made it harder for you to do that), "you're on your own..."

McSame: Cuts And Runs

You may have heard that McSame wants to ditch Friday's debate to focus on his bit with the economic bail out that will cost the American Taxpayers dearly. Perhaps it's because he's protecting his own vital interests? Or, he really doesn't want to be called to the carpet as one of the people that helped get us into this mess.

Obama has a great point

"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess," Obama said at a news conference in Clearwater, Fla. "It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once."

Really, if McCain can't run a campaign and deal with his congressional responsibilities, perhaps he should give up on one or the other. One thing is certain, the President will have to be able to juggle multiple weighty issues at the same time, with no time to cut and run on any one of them.

Calamity

Looks like George W. is going to speak to us again to try and scare us into giving him another blank check to rescue his pals in the financial industry. Should we bet that he and his team that brought us Iraq have a good idea about how to fix the economy they broke?

Meanwhile, Bush's chief spokeswoman, Dana Perino, revealed that the president is thinking about a national speech and said the country is at risk of a "calamity" without bold action to calm down the markets and soothe nervous Americans.

Well, they have one thing right, the W, Rove And Co. did bring us a number of calamities that have us in a number of irrevocable situations that if we actually had some smarter leadership they would never had put us in in the first place. The bigger question for me is how do we hold Bush and his pals accountable for the mess they brought us? Don't hold your breath.

Even so, given the past practice of Bush leading us by faith over fact and into a war based on faulty intelligence and sticking with the calamity that is Iraq as he was given a blank check to do whatever he damn well please (not the least of which was to totally disregard the Constitution in the process), should we hand him over another blank check to have him fornicate with our Economy some more?

You remember the old song by the Talking Heads...."Well, how did we get here...."

GOP: The Calamity Rendering Party - Calamity Means Profit For Us But Not For You.

Blog on friends, blog on all...

What Are They Afraid Of?

When some one squashes any questions about themselves by not allowing people in to ask any, it says to me two things: 1) they have something to hide, and 2) they are afraid of what questions will be asked as it may reveal the items in no. 1.

John McCain's presidential campaign has shielded the first-term Alaska governor for weeks from spontaneous questions from voters and reporters, and went to striking lengths Tuesday to maintain that distance as Palin made her diplomatic debut.

The GOP campaign, applying more restrictive rules on access than even President Bush uses in the White House, banned reporters from the start of the meetings, so as not to risk a question being asked of Palin.

Even more restrictive than Bush? Holy crap, that can't be better practice for America, can it?

Slogans The McSame/Palin Campaign Pitched Because They Were Too Close To The Truth

I was out on my run this AM and some one had chalked a slogan across the pathway critical of the GOP - something to the affect: "The Republican Rape Continues."

Then I got to thinking...there must be some really good slogans out there that the McSame/Palin campaign pitched because, while pithy, were too close to the truth to use, and I got on a roll. So, I thought I would toss this out there as...Drum Roll Please....

Windspike's GOP Slogan Challenge

Come up with a pithy one liner that the GOP should be using if they were honest brokers of the truth and open about what they really stood for. Think of it this way: If you were to craft a slogan one-liner that accurately reflects what the GOP has come to mean to you over these last 8 years, what would it be?

I'll start, and you comment away....

1 - Bail Outs For Us, Foreclosures for you.

2 - Your Tax Dollars Put To Work Making The Rich Richer

3 - Social Welfare for Iraq, Screw America

4 - Just Say Yes To No Bid Contracts

5 - Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps, It's Not Our Fault If You Have No Boots

6 - Screw The Economy, Blame The Dems

7 - Sending Your Sons And Daughters To The Slaughter To Feed The Wartime Profiteer Machine

8 - My Judges Are Right, Yours Are Activists

9 - GOP: The Anti-intellect

10 - Your Elitist If I Have To Use A Dictionary To Understand You

11 - Your College Degree Doesn't Mean Your Qualified

12 - I'm Qualified If I Believe I Am

13 - Leadership By Faith, Not Facts

14 - Trust Us, Because I Said So

15 - If You Trust Us With Iraq, You Can Trust Us With 700 Billion

16 - 700 Billion Dollars For Corporate America: Nothing For your Neighborhood Schools.

You get the idea...these things just keep pouring out of my keyboard.

Have fun and have at it...

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McCain = Bush: Is That Offensive?

Good question - For those of you that voted for Bush - twice - is it bad that McCain is the same? Why was this 61 year old library ushered off the property?

Cruch All You Want, We'll Make More

Just one question for the President: Where are we going to get 700 Billion Dollars when we are hemoraging cash for the Welfare State we created called Iraq?

The Bush administration this morning formally asked Congress to grant sweeping new powers to the Treasury secretary to buy as much as $700 billion in deeply troubled mortgage-related assets as part of a herculean effort to clean up Wall Street's financial crisis.

Sounds like the Doritos commercial. Crunch all you want, we'll make more. The Fed is good at printing cash, but when it becomes so diluted, it's not worth much. The bigger question will be who wins with this bailout? Do you think the CEOs of the various companies making bad bets on bad mortgages will have to sell a house or two to cover their losses or simply get fired and given multi-million dollar severance packages?

Quote for the Weekend

It has often and confidently been asserted, that man's origin can never be known: Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

Some times folks much smarter than I nail it right on the head. Had Darwin ever met George W. Bush and his ilk, he would shake his head and shout Q.E.D. for the world to hear.

How Much Will Your Tax Bill Change Under Obama vs. McSame?

A friend tossed me this chart. I haven't checked the numbers myself, but when the Rightwinger Faithful are done taking another long, deep hit of the GOP crackpipe of lies and come up for some clean air, hit them with this dose of reality. Life isn't going to get better under McSame. And, Obama does more for cutting taxes of the ordinary working class than his counter part would have you believe.

Notice, in particular, how big the tax breaks are for the uber-wealthy under McSame, versus how big the tax break will be for the lower and middle classes under Obama. Sure, he's going to raise taxes for the super rich, but I think the McSame clan can afford to pony up a bit more than they are already pitching on the heap.

What say you blogosphere?

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Just How Narrow Minded Are People In the GOP?

George W, proves once again that they are only interested in pushing their "morality" on us rather than protecting us. Instead of helping us, they inflict their values on us - which is contrarian to the principles these United States were founded under.

Again, they show us just now narrow they are and really, how uncompassionate these would be "compassionate conservatives" are.

LAST month, the Bush administration launched the latest salvo in its eight-year campaign to undermine women’s rights and women’s health by placing ideology ahead of science: a proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that would govern family planning. It would require that any health care entity that receives federal financing — whether it’s a physician in private practice, a hospital or a state government — certify in writing that none of its employees are required to assist in any way with medical services they find objectionable.

Laws that have been on the books for some 30 years already allow doctors to refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further, ensuring that all employees and volunteers for health care entities can refuse to aid in providing any treatment they object to, which could include not only abortion and sterilization but also contraception.

Don't any of these right wing nut balls remember the days when women were flayed on unsterilized tables in the dark rooms of illicit abortion houses? Do GOP folks really want to go back to those dismal and lethal times?

The mission of the GOP to stop abortion show complete and utter contempt for the value of the women's lives.

I'm Lucky But One Gets To Wondering

I've got a good job, and it's not in the banking industry, but I'm getting hit hard. One has to wonder...

"This has been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. There is no question about it," said Mark Gertler, a New York University economist who worked with fellow academic Ben Bernanke, now the Federal Reserve chairman, to explain how financial turmoil can infect the overall economy.

...if we weren't spending billions of dollars a week on a war we really didn't need in Iraq, perhaps we may not be in this bind?