It's not about issues, it's about CELEBRITY! Palin's Action Figures

I guess we shouldn't expect too much from people who gave Bush enough votes so he could cheat his way into office two times in eight years!

The Republicans this time around have made it clear they don't give a damn about the issues which are so important to the future of this country. They have taken a former beauty pageant contestant, turned mayor, turned a do-nothing governor and made her into a true Republican CELEBRITY!

Everyone knows that for millions of our fellow citizens, that's all that is really important. Someone who's a CELEBRITY can do no wrong. A CELEBRITY can be dumb as a brick, but she's a CELEBRITY!

Listen to how people respond when asked the question why they like Palin. I haven't heard one yet that had anything to do with issues, other than the issue of abortion by right wing extremists or Roman Catholic fanatics. That's it.

You'd think we are voting for the prom queen of the local high school!


And just when you think it couldn't get any worse, Justin Paulette reports this morning on AOL news that Sarah Palin now has a series of action figures.

McCain gushes: "Isn't this the most marvelous running mate in the history of the nation? Sarah Palin -- she's magnificent."


Well, not really. Action figures or no, she's without doubt one of the worst running mates in the history of the nation. But, because the hoi polloi is fascinated and consumed by CELEBRITY, the fact she's a liar and a cheat and totally and completely unqualified for the vice presidency, will not matter.

Jesus, we're in trouble!

Obama's Muslim faith - or "How are we supposed to conduct a democracy like this?

That's the question asked by George Zornick in an article on Eric Alterman's most recent "Altercation."

He's referring to the brouhaha which has arisen when some truth-challenged media types said Obama referred to be of the Muslim religion.

This, from Mr. Zornick:

"You may have heard that Obama suffered a 'verbal slip' on Sunday, referring to 'my Muslim faith' in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on This Week. Naturally Drudge featured it, linking to The Washington Times, which seems to have been the first to write a mainstream story. But then so did Joel Thorton at The Dallas Morning News, as did Fox News, and the Chicago Sun-Times, and UPI too.

"Of course the 'slip-up' was even more widely disseminated by people on the Internet who are completely loony tunes. The more responsible (relatively speaking) mainstream accounts of this gaffe simply couched the story in terms of the fuel it provided the Internet crazies, although of course Fox News wondered 'whether Obama's misstatement will continue to fuel rumors of his faith, allegiances or patriotism.'

"Why all the coverage of what seems to be a simple misstatement -- nobody actually thinks Obama just revealed he was a Muslim, and yes, there are outlandish people on the Internet. So why take up valuable newshole with this? These questions are made even better by the fact that Obama didn't even make a verbal gaffe. He was incorrectly corrected by Stephanopoulos, and then subsequently taken out of context by these reports.

"Obama was suggesting that Fox News and others 'closely allied' with Republicans were pushing the idea that he is a Muslim. Then he said: 'Let's not play games. What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come ...

"Stephanopoulos broke in and inexplicably 'corrected' Obama, interjecting: 'your Christian faith.' Obama momentarily agreed, but then explained 'well, what I'm saying is that he hasn't suggest that I'm a Muslim. ...

"So, in the course of an interview, Obama strings together the three words 'my Muslim faith,' gets a knee-jerk reaction correction from the interviewer, has the clip edited down and circulated all over the internet, and then has numerous mainstream outlets write about it. How are we supposed to conduct democracy like this?" [My emphasis]


The video is here and Zornick says "it makes this whole exchange even more clear."

Eric Alterman's "Altercation" is here.

If it's not one jet, it's another!

[Photo of an Embraer 190 - not Palin's]


Sarah Palin, the lying governor of Alaska, who implied clearly that sold the state's jet on eBay to save the state of Alaska some money, but didn't, now has another jet on which to flit about the country trying to sell the hoi polloi on the notion that she's the "real deal."

The vice presidential candidate now has her own chartered jet. It's an Embraer 190, and boasts Palin's name in "big blue letters."

According to Nikki Waller at the Wall Street Journal Travel Blog, "The plane, chartered from JetBlue, seats about 100 and will be the traveling home for the 44-year old Alaska Republican governor, her staff and security and accompanying paying media through the Nov. election."


Whoopee!

Do you think Queen Palin will decide this jet is too costly an item for a "reformer" such as she is, and try to sell it on eBay?

Nah...

Palin scares the hell out of Ed Koch

Ed Koch, the erstwhile former mayor of a "cosmopolitan" city, New York, has always spoken his mind and gone his own way. Although he was elected for three terms as a Democratic mayor, Koch has broken with his party on several occasions.

Keith B. Richburg, writing at The Trail for the Washington Post, says that "from 1977 to 1989, Koch has frequently crossed party lines to endorse Republicans, including former mayor Rudy Giuliani, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (who switched to become an Independent), and former Gov. George Pataki."

Koch is not jumping to the Repugs this year!

"She scares the hell out of me," said Koch in a telephone interview, and he referred to Palin's attempt to censor books in the Wasilla public library. Koch believes "'the country is safer in the hand of Barack Obama." And to protect the United States, continued the former mayor, also means "'defending the public with respect to their civil rights, civil liberties and other needs,' including gay rights and abortion rights."

Not only so, but because Sarah Palin scares the hell out of him, Koch is planning to campaign for Obama this fall. "I'll do whatever they want me to do."


I hope Ed realizes that Sarah Palin scares the hell out of a lot of people.

Palin - Alaska's Queen

Palin is Alaska's Queen. And in Alaska, her subjects bow and scrape and "respect" her. They also ignore the fact that she abuses her office. That's to be expected, I suppose, 'cause she's so "pretty" and so "nice."

Thus, in a very queen-like manner, Governor Palin traveled from her governorship in Juneau to the little, bitty town of Wasilla where she messaged a group of "evangelical students" by telling them they needed to wend their way around the state "to make sure God's will be done here."

It all happened on June 8, at the Wasilla Assembly of God. She addressed the graduates of the "Master's Commission" program.

Queen Palin spoke for about eight minutes, referencing the New Testament epistle of Ephesians.

"What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys as you go out throughout Alaska -- I can do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline. Pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done, in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that."

She continued to say she could do things like develop Alaska's natural resources and pave the roads and ensure that the state troopers are well-equipped.

"But," she continued, "really, all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts isn't right with God. And that's going to be your job."


Queen Palin used state funds for this little excursion for God! Sharon Leighow, a Palin spokeswoman, said the state paid for the trip because she was invited to the event as the governor of Alaska, not a private citizen.

Doesn't Ms. Palin have anything else to do except attend a religious commencement and give a mini-sermon to fundamentalist Christian youth, urging them to bring Alaska to Jesus? Should Alaska fund this preaching mission with taxpayer dollars?

What would be said if perchance Ms. Palin was of the Unitarian faith and attended a graduation of Unitarian students and said it didn't really matter what they believed about God, they just needed to get out and work for Alaska?


There's more about Queen Palin. The Washington Post reports that Queen Palin "has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a 'per diem' allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business."

In other words, instead of being present in the state's capitol, Queen Palin was absent more than half the time -- she was AT HOME! And the taxpayers of Alaska were financing this!

Not only so, but she's taken the children "on official out-of-town missions," for which she charged the state travel expenses. "And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife."

Queen Palin received $16,951 for her travel. "The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away.

There's much more involving traveling about the state and country on the taxpayer's dime. All of which cost the state of Alaska thousands of dollars.

Maybe it's all "legal." But it stinks. One should not claim "per diem" when one is living in one's own house. Stay in the governor's mansion! One does not need to drag one's kids all over the country for sled races and snowmobile races and to attend Christian teen centers!

Come to think of it, maybe that's all she really is - a hockey mom! But wasn't it great that she "sold" that jet on eBay?

Fannie & Freddie CEO's to walk away with millions

Is this a great country or what?

The ex-CEO of Fannie Mae, Daniel Mudd, is expecting to receive "up to $8.4 million in compensation," and the former head honcho of Freddie Mac, Richard Syron, is looking to pocket $15.5 million.

That's pretty damn good wages for running two of the most important corporations in the nation into the ground! How important? "The two companies own or guarantee about $5 trillion of the nation's outstanding mortgages, about half the nation's total."

Senators Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Jack Reed, D-RI, are not happy about this. In a letter to James Lockhard, director of the FHA, Schumer and Reed state emphatically "We find it way out of line that these two executives will be rewarded with millions of dollars in bonus compensation at a time when taxpayer dollars may have to be deployed to cover any financial losses caused by errors in management."

Lockhart, however, has the power to reduce the numbers if he so desires.

This is just another example of how the corporate predators prey on the public with the advice and consent of the Bush administration!

Like a fish out of water, McCain flip-flops

We written on numerous occasions about the "real" McCain, and the fact that McCain's "maverick" label is not only misleading, but absolutely untrue. It has become increasingly evident that McCain's position (when he knows what it is) changes depending upon the political situation - i.e., whether he needs the votes of a particular segment of the population.

As the campaign continues, it becomes increasingly clear -- if it wasn't before -- that John McCain will indeed do whatever it takes to become president. "Lies 'R' Us" could be his new campaign slogan.

For a detailed listing and analysis of McCain's flip-flopping, click here.

Sarah Palin - Christian theocrat (stealth candidate?)

[The photo's a fake. McCain is not very religious. He used to be an Episcopalian, but changed to Southern Baptist to get the "evangelical" vote. Evangelicals don't consider Episcopalians to be "real" Christians. That's why McCain had to pick Palin or someone like her. The fundys know he's religiously-challenged. And his wife's a brewess, for god's sake! How does that work? Southern Baptists can't drink!]


Let's start another conspiracy theory:

Sarah Palin is a "stealth" candidate put up by the Christian Domionists to take over the presidency and install a Christian theocratic government. Assuming McCain wins in November and survives his first term, Palin runs for and wins the presidency in 2012. If John McCain dies in office for any reason, the timetable is moved up.

"Ca-ching!"


Okay, I admit it's a bit far out, but...

1) She was the pick of the Christian Dominionists who foisted her on John McCain, in spite of the fact that he wanted Joe Lieberman to be his vice presidential running mate.

2) Palin is an extremist Christian fundamentalist with extremist views on everything from personal freedoms to global warming and evolution.

3) The churches with which Palin has been associated are connected to the Christian Dominionist or Reconstructionist movement which advocates a theocratic government ruled by Old Testament law.

4) Palin does not believe in separation of church and state as evidenced by her statements and practices.

5) In October of 2007, Governor Palin "signed a proclamation ... which emphasized the Christian Heritage of America."


David Brody, "senior national correspondent" for the Christian Broadcasting Network, says that Palin's signing of the Christian Heritage proclamation was a "'ca-ching' moment for Evangelicals."

"I'm telling you folks. The Evangelical base is revved up about this pick. A McCain campaign source told me that there is so much excitement from the Evangelical community about this pick that it's making their head spin. This source told me, 'The event at Saddleback was the baking of the cake. Sarah Palin is the frosting.'"


Here's a brief summary of the Christian Heritage proclamation, which is riddled with errors, statements out of context and deliberately ignores the fact that, while many of of so-called Founding Fathers were "religious" in a generic sense, they would most certainly soundly denounce this very proclamation. Jefferson, for example, thought the New Testament gospels were idiotic fables.

Ms. Palin, however, being a theocrat, signed this proclamation which set aside the week of October 21-27, 2007 as "Christian Heritage Week." [Sorry, if there are non-believers in Alaska, or Jews, or Unitarians, or main-stream Protestants, or Buddhists, or whatever, you're not included - you don't get your own week.]

Now the reason this Christian Heritage week is important is so we don't forget that lots of the people involved in "structuring" American history were "Christians of caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their faith."

According to the theocrats and Ms. Palin, one of these "Christians" was Benjamin Franklin. It's too silly. Old Ben would have tossed his cookies if you lumped him with these religious fruitcakes! Christian? Not likely!

George Washington is another. Well, I think ol' George went to some Anglican church on rare occasions to nod to God, but he, too, would laugh out loud at the attempt to portray him as a fundamentalist Christian. He was a deist, for Christ's sake!

And then, Thomas Jefferson is held up as a person of Christian heritage. Jefferson, as we've noted, would be even more harsh in his denunciation of Palin and friends. Jefferson thought religion was nothing but trouble even if, once in a while he mentioned a deity in order to be politic.

There's more, but all of it's tripe.


What's important though, comes through in the preamble of the proclamation: It is to remind "Alaskans of the role Christianity has played in our rich heritage."

What about the role of other religions? What about the role of all those Founding Fathers who had no use whatsoever for Christianity or fools who parade about like Palin and the Republican Party, pretending that they are the Party of God?

This is a secular country, ladies and gentlemen! To proclaim a "Christian Heritage Week" smacks too much of a violation of the no establishment of religion clause in the Constitution.

Finally, what does this accomplish? Why would a secular government proclaim a Christian Heritage Week? Are these extremist Christian loonies so afraid of their "loving" God that they try to please him by this kind of religious pandering? Will they go to hell if they quit wearing their religion on their sleeve for one minute?

A comparison of Palin and Muslim fundamentalism

Juan Cole, writing for salon.com, asks a pertinent question and then provides the proper answer:

"What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick."


Cole argues that Palin, because of her religious beliefs and theocratic worldview, is closer to Muslim fundamentalists than she is to our nation's Founding Fathers.

"On censorship, the teaching of creationism in schools, reproductive rights, attributing government policy to God's will and climate change, Palin agrees with Hamas and Saudi Arabia rather than supporting tolerance and democratic precepts."

Cole then gets into specifics, detailing how Palin's views stack up in relation to fundamentalist Muslim views.

For example:

When mayor of Wasilla, Palin "inquired of the local librarian how to go about banning books that some of her constituents though contained inappropriate language. She tried to fire the librarian for defying her. Book banning is common to fundamentalisms around the world, and the mind-set Palin displayed did not differ from that of the Hamas minister of education in the Palestinian government who banned a book of Palestinian folk tales for its sexually explicit language."

When Ms. Palin was running for governor, she said that "creationism should be taught in public schools, at taxpayers' expense, alongside real science. Antipathy to Darwin for providing an alternative to the creastion stories of the Bible and the Quran has also become a feature of Muslim fundamentalism. Saudi Arabia prohibits the study, even in universities of evolution ... "

Cole also discusses, in detail, the issues of abortion, Palin's belief that her way is God's way, and global warming, comparing Palin's views with those of Muslim fundamentalists.


You can read the entire article here.

Republicans fail to "derail" Palin probe!

The Republican attempt to derail the probe as to whether Sarah Palin "abused her power when she dismissed the state's public safety commissioner" has failed!

You can read more on the "probe" here.

A capsule version: Alaska Republican Rep. John Coghill attempted last week to pressure the powers-that-be to turn over the probe to the Alaska Legislature's Legislative Council into possibly replacing Democratic Sen. Hollis French, who is in charge of the probe.

Coghill charged that French was politicizing the process to help the national Democratic ticket.


It didn't work.

Still, Palin and the Republicans are trying to do everything to block the investigation. Palin, who initially said she should be "held accountable," now says she will not cooperate.

Pit Bulls disguised as hockey moms are not accountable, I guess.


The Anchorage Daily News has more on the "troopergate" story here.

An Alaskan's take on Palin

You are likely to have seen this piece already. It's an email by one Anne Kilkenny, "a long-time resident of Wasilla, Alaska, who has known Sarah Palin for 16 years." Initially intended for a few friends and relatives, it got posted to the Internet and was soon read by millions of people.

While Kilkenny is no fan of Palin, she offers a rather moderate and balanced critique. More importantly, she fills in some details than dear Sarah "forgot" to mention in her acceptance speech and still forgets to note while on the campaign trail.

The email has been disseminated with the title, "The Sarah Palin I Know."

You can read it in its entirety here.

It's official - it's now the Christian Republican Party!

The Christian right dictates to the Republican Party the planks in their platform, and tells the Republican presidential nominee which person to choose as his vice presidential running mate. The Republican presidential nominee bows to their orders because he knows he cannot possibly win without the wingnuts on his side.

Thus, ever so gradually, but surely, over the past 25-30 years, the party known formerly as the Republican Party has become the Christian Republican Party.

And the Christian fundamentalists who control things are gloating.


The problem for the nation is this: The Christian Republican Party does not put "Country First," in spite of all the banners waving over the heads of the delegates at the RNC. In fact, the Christian Republican Party doesn't really care about much of anything except maintaining the status quo for the rich and powerful and ensuring that their very specific credos are front and center.

Front and center and the most important issue for the Christian Republican Party is abortion. Next comes homosexuality, especially same-sex marriage. Then there's abstinence education. Then creationism. Then maintaining the sanctity of the Pledge of Allegiance, i.e., keeping the words, "under God." Next is the extreme importance of posting copies of the Ten Commandments in courthouses and schools. Then there is the issue of vouchers so parents can use taxpayer dollars to send their kiddos to private (religious) schools where they won't be subjected to satanism and other perversions. Then there's the matter of public prayer--in schools, military institutions and government agencies...

I probably forgot a couple of things.

But the headliner, the banner issue is abortion. That is absolutely all that matters. And that's why the Christian Republican Party is crazy for Sarah Palin. They don't give a damn whether she's qualified or not to be vice president or president! They make that clear over and over again. What makes her "perfect" for the job is that she is "pro-life."


From the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a right-wing, pro-life group, dedicated to electing pro-life candidates all across the country.

"John McCain has cemented his role as the one true, authentically pro-life choice for President. ... His words, on the heels of his choice of pro-life heroine Sarah Palin for VP, are exactly what the pro-life voters needed to hear. The enthusiasm of values voters shown this week for the McCain-Palin ticket drives home the saliency of the abortion issue in this election."

Heroine?

Oh, and Ms. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the Susan B. Anthony prez, a damn liar, went on to say that Senator Obama "thinks babies that survive abortions should be left on the table to die." It's incredible that such a person would claim to have any "values" at all!


From the editor of Charisma magazine. This gentleman, a self-professed Christian, is also a damn liar! One reason Charisma won't support Obama, he says, is "his lack of experience. He does not have one major accomplishment to his name in his life as a public servant."

How does a so-called follower of Jesus justify such bullshit?

But then we come to the real problem - Obama's views on the "sanctity of life." Obama is pro-abortion, he says. Another lie!

Thirdly, and almost as important as abortion is Obama's "sympathy toward those who are attempting to legitimize homosexuality."

The final big lie is this: "McCain is for limited government, and Obama sees government as the solution to all major problems in society."

Simplistic and stupid.

There's much more. If you have a strong stomach, you can read it here.


From CBN News: The reaction of the evangelical community to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate has been "EXTREMELY POSITIVE."

Tony Perkins of the right-wing Family Research Council says that "Sarah Palin clearly addresses the issues so many conservatives are concerned about."

Matt Staver, of the right-wing Liberty Counsel, says Palin was an "Absolutely brilliant choice. ... She [Palin] is attractive, articulate, conservative, pro-family, pro-life, and pro-marriage. John McCain hit this one out of the ballpark."

Dr. Richard Land, the Southern Baptist flake: "Governor Palin will delight the Republican base. She is pro-life. She is an avid hunter and member of The National Rifle Association ..."


The accolades continue in this same vein. Notice there is nothing about the great issues that we face as a nation. Nothing about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nothing about nuclear proliferation. Nothing about peace between Israel and Palestine. Nothing about a failing economy, stinking lousy health care, the growing number of poor among us, the lack of medical treatment for our returning wounded veterans, our decaying infrastructure, the tax burden that has been shifted from the wealthy to the middle class, the corporate ownership of the political process, the intense lobbying that so often negates legislation beneficial to the people of the country, the need to improve our educational system, the decaying inner cities, the flight of jobs overseas...well, we could go on and on.

Amazingly, these lovers of Jesus don't give a rat's ass about any of those critical issues. They've turned an entire political party into an ultra-right, Christian fundamentalist institution.


Maybe there really is a hell!

Palin and the big duo, Freddie and Fannie

It's quite disconcerting to be told that Sarah Palin has had, well, tons of executive experience -- especially compared to that worthless community organizer, Barack Obama -- and then find, that maybe she doesn't have a fricking clue what the hell she's talking about.

It's not that she's dumb, but it could be that she's ignorant and not everything can be covered in the Repugnican playbook, you know.

Give her a break?

Nah.

The Huffington Post has the story, but I'll tell it my way:

Sarah Palin, the commercial fisherwoman and failed car wash owner turned mean mayor and godawful governor - oh, yeah, we musn't forget hockey mom -- was speaking in front of a bunch of people who might vote in the coming election in the town of Nazareth, Colorado, better known as Colorado Springs.

Attempting to show her expertise with regard to things economic and thereby prove her executive prowess and her ability to step up to the plate on day one, she spoke of the "perilous housing market."

Unfortunately, her handlers weren't able to get to her on time and she must have been off-script, for Ms. Palin said the "lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had 'gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.'"

Everybody who knew anything about Fannie and Freddie said "Huh?"

As McClatchy noted, these companies "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies." Furthermore, it is very likely that the American taxpayers are going to be hit with a huge financial blow in order to bail them out.

"Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement ... saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration."

Yup. And, you know, I think because she thought they were "guv'rmint" companies, she said they had gotten "too big." That's part of the mantra being chanted by the Christian Republican Party - the Democrats want a HUGE guv'rmint! My God, they're tooooooo big. Shut 'em down!


You're probably thinking, "Oh, boy, the Repugs must be worried now!"

Wrong. As Mr. Davis, the head honcho (and major lobbyist) running the McSame campaign said, this election isn't about issues, its about personalities. In other words, McSame and Palin/Bush can say any damn dumb thing they want, because nobody cares. Just portray them as "celebrities" and they've got the thing won.

I'm afraid Mr. Davis is right.

Huffington Post here.

Sarah Palin: the hockey mom who wouldn't be senator

Not too long ago, when the idea of running for the United States Senate was introduced to Sarah Palin, she begged off.

She said words to the effect that how could she continue to be a "hockey mom" if she was a U.S. Senator. Her son needed her.

Now, a U.S. Senator may not have as much prestige as the vice president of the United States, but the truth is that a Senator's work is at least as important, if not more so.

But, we all know that the reason Palin agreed to run with McCain as his vice presidential mate was because she loves her country (almost as much as Alaska) and she puts "Country First," just like the signs proclaimed at the Republican National Convention. And because she puts "Country First," she is willing to surrender a good deal of the "mothering" her children need and should have.

Not only so, but because she loves her country so much, she'll drag them onto a national stage, pregnant or not, along with a future son-in-law, that fuckin' redneck, where the Christian right can proclaim her redeemed and shower her with applause that in spite of their failed abstinence policies, daughter Bristol (named for Bristol Bay) did NOT have an abortion!

Still, I'm curious. Why, a short time ago, was being a "hockey mom" more important than being a United States Senator? And why, now, is being a hockey mom of little or no significance? (And why haven't we heard about her years as a commercial fisherwoman? Oops! That's another post!)

You could write it off as typical Republican hypocrisy. Or maybe she knew she didn't have a chance running for the Senate. Or maybe James Dobson flew to Alaska and told her to hold off 'cause they were going to have a slot for her on the national Christian Republican ticket in a year or two. Hey, that's no crazier than what actually did happen -- the Christian right gathered and told McCain who to choose and McCain, bowing and kissing their collective fundamentalist asses, said "I shall do as you say, M'Lords!"

Well, she ain't a hockey mom any more! The lipstick's gone, too!

Palin's compassion for her military men & women

Another very interesting post by Jesus' General.

Ah, Palin's compassion is something to behold. Her commitment to her returned warriors is as vast as it is priceless!

"Faced with the prospect of so many Alaska Guardsmen and soldiers returning home after suffering traumatic brain injuries (TBI), Gov. Sarah Palin reached deep into Alaska's coffers to allocate one hundred dollars to teach health care professionals how to recognize TBI cases."

No wonder she's ready to be commander-in-chief of the United States! This must be one of those "decisions" that Tucker Bounds couldn't recall when questioned by Campbell Brown.

Ugh!

Jesus' General here.

The environment and Sarah Palin

Rick Steiner, an Alaskan "guest columnist" for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is disappointed with John McCain's pick for a running mate. By choosing Sarah Palin, says Steiner, McCain "has shown a spectacular, even dangerous lack of judgment."

Steiner explains: Not only is Ms. Palin utterly lacking any qualifications to be vice president, but she "is an evangelical, anti-choice, pro-gun, right-wing conservative who wants creationism taught in schools. She is currently under investigation by the Alaska Legislature for alleged abuse of office. Many of us in Alaska simply cannot imagine Palin having anything to do with U.S. foreign policy, domestic policy, national defense or the countless other affairs of federal governance."

But what is extremely "worrisome" about Palin "is her abysmal record on the environment during her two years as governor, and how that would translate into national environmental policy if she became vice president."

Mr. Steiner offers the following as evidence of Palin's perfidy:

1. Climate change. Palin has done nothing about this "except hold meetings and appoint a 'climate sub-cabinet' ... Lots of talk, no action. Although in the past two years the Arctic summer sea ice shrunk to the lowest levels every recorded, Palin apparently does not believe it is human-induced or cause for alarm..."

2. Polar bears. Palin sued the Bush administration this summer to try to remove polar bears from the threatened species list. She claimed "her opposition was based on a 'comprehensive scientific review.' But when asked to release the scientific review, she refused."

Now, for the "good" part: "The document, later obtained by the public (from the federal government), clearly shows that, contrary to Palin's assertions, the state of Alaska's marine mammal scientists agreed with the federal conclusions that the polar bears are in serious trouble because of global warming and loss of their sea ice habitat, and that they would be gone from Alaska by 2050."

In other words, once again Palin lies in order to protect her allies in the oil and gas business!

3. Endangered species. "Earlier this year, Palin approved a $2 million state appropriation for a conference on the 'economic impacts' of the Endangered Species Act, designed to persuade the public that ESA listings were too costly and unwarranted. Recently she agreed to use the money instead to fund the state's lawsuit against the Bush administration over the polar bear listing -- a likely violation of the state constitutional provisions on appropriation. ..."

4. Predator control. "Palin approved and expanded the state's aerial predator control progam, where wolves are shot from aircraft and bears hunted from aircraft and killed upon landing. ... Last year, her administration offered a $150 bounty for each wolf killed until the bounty was ruled illegal by the courts. Hundreds of wolves are killed each year by this antiquated state program that has no scientific justification whatsoever, but rather is designed to appease Palin's urban sport hunter supporters."

Hockey mom, my ass! Sorry, but there is something seriously wrong with someone who thinks shooting wolves from the air and hunting down bears from the air to kill them is "sport"!

5. Pebble mine. "Palin aggressively opposed the 'clean water initiative' on the August ballot in Alaska (which then failed), favoring instead foreign mining company desires for fewer government regulations controlling their toxic effluent into salmon streams. ..."

6. Oil and gas drilling. Palin enthusiastically approves drilling everywhere in Alaska, "including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the central Arctic, the entire Arctic Ocean, and in fish-rich Bristol Bay and Cook Inlet." To this end, she has been lax in terms of "regulation and government oversight of Alaska's oil facilities ... "

7. Exxon Valdez oil spill damages. "Palin refuses to push Exxon to pay the government for the unanticipated environmental injuries from the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. ... Meanwhile, Exxon reaps record profits from Alaska."

8. Trans Pacific shipping. Coastal residents and organization have asked Palin repeatedly "to enhance the safety of merchant shipping through Alaska's Aleutian Islands, a primary shipping route between Asia and North America, but she's done nothing ...


Vote for McCain and you will put this human environmental disaster in a position to do harm, not just to Alaska, but to all of America!

You can read the entire article by Mr. Steiner here. This is an article by Faux News about the polar bear situation. Additional information about Sarah Palin and the environment here.

Republican mantra: "No, you can't!"

Jesus' General had an especially powerful post yesterday titled "No You Can't: Republicans Offer Strong Alternatives to Democratic Policies."

The General begins by noting how the Democrats have been urging "the people to chant the slogan 'Yes we can,' as if it were appropriate for them to allow people to do things or want things that are bad for them. Americans might forget that the world is a scary place, that there are evil people out there who want to kill us because we're free, and therefore that they need to submit to strong leaders who will protect them by making them less free. Americans need to learn not to abuse their freedoms and to accept the lot God has assigned them in life. To that end, Republican leaders are emphasizing what Americans must learn to do without. ...

"No, you can't expect us to care about people who have lost their jobs, who don't have the education necessary to find new jobs in a changing economy, or who live in struggling neighborhoods. That's something 'community organizers' care about, and no one takes that job seriously. ...

"No, you can't expect us to worry about people who have lost their homes. They don't donate enough money to the GOP to matter. ...

"No, you can't have more affordable health care or health insurance. The nation already has plenty of emergency rooms. ...

"No, you can't have a Republican administration that will uphold or value standards of professional ethics and responsibility. It doesn't matter whether you're a state trooper or a federal prosecutor: we'll fire people who are politically or personally inconvenient and hire friends, cronies, and anyone with sufficient political reliability. ...

"No, you can't assume that we'll ever tell the truth, the whole truth, or nothing but the truth, not even under oath (assuming you can get us there), and not even when the truth is clearly good enough to stand on its own. ...

"No, you can't have schools that teach comprehensive sex education where kids might learn about contraception or how to use it. The only effective methods for not getting pregnant are abstinence and sterilization ..."

"No, you can't have schools that teach evolution, either. Darwinism is an evil ideology that promotes the idea that we are all just animals who can behave as immorally as we want, and it must be stamped out (except for Social Darwinism, which is the GOP policy that we are all on our own and the richest few can behave however they want.) ...

"No, you can't look forward to a future in which women are treated as equals or with respect within the Republican Party. Don't let the presence of Sarah Palin on the ticket fool you; the vice-presidency is only the Fourth Branch of government while under the command of Dick Cheney. ... Sarah Palin will have as much importance in a Republican administration as the First Lady, so keep an eye out for her scrumptious mooseburger recipes but not much else. ...

"No, you queers can't have equality at work or in marriages. Being gay is a lifestyle choice, like illegal immigration, and not an immutable characteristic like being saved by Jesus Christ, so it would be wrong to protect it from discrimination. ... Two men in a decades-long committed relationship and raising healthy, well-adjusted children simply can't qualify as a real marriage or family like that enjoyed by those icons of family values John McCain, Newt Gingrich, Mark Foley, or Larry Craig. ...

"No, you can't insist that we should take any responsibility for anything bad that we've done ...

"No, you can't have your sons and daughters back from the Middle East any time soon ...

"No, you can't see any 'color' around here. Conservative evangelical Christians are almost all white. Oil executives are white (though oil is taken from mostly brown and black places). Bankers are mostly white. ... We have a a vice-presidential candidate who has been reported to refer to Barack Obama as 'Sambo' and Alaskan natives as 'Arctic Arabs.' We're happy with this B&W television of American society, so why aren't you? ...

"No, you can't have cheaper gas or greener, renewable alternatives. ...

"No, you can't expect to enjoy any Fourth Amendment protection. If you aren't committing any crimes, then you have nothing to hide from us; if you object, then you must have something to hide. ...

"No, you can't expect to enjoy much of the First Amendment, either. Preemptive war worked so well that we're now launching preemptive arrest raids: if we even think that you might disagree with us in public while cameras are rolling, we'll send the police to arrest you, ransack your house, and intimidate you into never being a problem again. Don't get too used to the books in the local library because Sarah Palin may decide to have a Washington Bonfire with them ...

"No you can't have 'habeas corpus,' you don't know what it means anyway -- at least, we don't know what it means, and anyone who does is an elitist snob who is out of touch with the real America ...

"This is what you can expect to get when you next vote Republican."


Read the entire article here.

Whom did Tennessee vote for in St. Paul?

[Photo of Tennessee Lt. Gov., Ron Ramsey]


Funny!

Tom Ridge, the sort of pro-life ex-governor of Pennsylvania and lately departed from the Department of Homeland Stupidity, referred to John McCain as John Bush in a media interview.

But an even better faux pas came on the floor of the Republican National Convention when the roll call was being taken to nominate Senator John McCain.

The Lt. Governor of Tennessee, Ron Ramsey, stood up to the mike and proudly cast "all 55 votes to George S. McCain." Yup.

Maybe these guys are auditioning for Comedy Central.

The thing is, no matter that Ridge and Ramsey came off looking goofy, there is nothing funny about today Republican Christian Party!

h/t to blueherald.com

A Palin biography?

Don't we already know more than we want to know about Sarah Palin?

Evidently not, for the publisher that represents many so-called "evangelicals" and fundy Christians, Zondervan, is in process of presenting the world with a biography of the Alaska governor.

Aren't biographies usually done when a person has accomplished something in life besides having five babies and sucking up to oil companies?

It will be interesting to see if this "Christian" publisher includes all the lies she has told along the way and continues to tell.

Probably not. Wouldn't want to tarnish the veneer of the "hockey mom" by telling the truth.

Will Bush suspend the election?

I've been very concerned about this for some time. I became more concerned when I read reports that Dutch Intelligence had withdrawn their operatives in Iran because they had received information that led them to believe the United States intended to strike Iran in the very near future.

Some months ago I read an article indicating that President Bush had arranged things so he would have the power to declare an emergency and suspend the upcoming election in November.

Betsy Hatmann, in an article titled "The Election That Might Not Happen," spells out the specifics:

"On May 4 last year, the White House issued the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, key parts of which remain classified and hence shrouded from public view. The directive outlines procedures to respond to a 'catastrophic emergency,' defined broadly as 'any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.' ... [T]he Bush directive transfers power from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the White House, where the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism is assigned the job of 'National Continuity Coordinator.'

"The unclassified part of the directive reveals little about who would have the authority to invoke emergency powers during a catastrophe. Nor does it refer to existing laws, such as the National Emergencies Act, that establish congressional checks on the executive's power to impose martial law or other extraordinary measures. Its wording is ambiguous - the directive shall be implemented 'consistent with applicable law,' without making clear which laws are 'applicable.' 'The Bush legal team has pushed a controversial theory that the Constitution gives the president an unwritten power to disobey laws at his own discretion to protect national security,' writes Charlie Savage in the Boston Globe. He quotes legal specialists who describe the vagueness of the new directive as 'troubling.'"

You think?

What, asks Ms. Hartmann, might be the "trigger to declare a state of emergency"?

"War with Iran - unfortunately, not so far-fetched. ... The assassination of a presidential candidate. ... A terrorist strike, on the scale of 9/11 or worse. ...

"With the right spin, any of these events might be construed as a 'catastrophic emergency.'"


There was a time when I would have blown all this off as ridiculous speculation. No longer. I've seen the Bush team at work.

Could the Bushites be planning a November "surprise?" Maybe that's why Bush and Cheney were not at the Republican National Convention. They weren't worried. The plan to stay in office no matter what.

Hopefully, this is still mere speculation and November 4 will come and go and we'll have elected Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Still, as Ms. Hartmann reminds us, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. It could be the price of elections, too. Let's not count our spring flowers before they bloom."


You can read all of Ms. Harmann's article here. Newsweek has a related article here. And another scenario here. Still more here.

Bush the "socialist"

The Republicans spend a lot of time talking about the importance of a free-market economy. They don't like government regulations. They try to diffuse and delay real action to deal with Global Warming by warning that government regulation would hinder the free market economy. They deal with other environmental concerns the same way. Their health care programs are essentially built on the idea that the market should dictate how health care is delivered. Their plans to reform Social Security are built around the notion of a free market economy. For years Republicans have fought the public school system and today push for privatization of the public schools through the use of private entrepreneurs, vouchers and charter schools. Failing schools can go down the tubes - serves them right!

Republicans don't like "socialism," which is their catch-word for any government program they can pawn off on the corporations they serve.


But George W. Bush has become a "socialist." Today Mr. Bush pronounced "that the historic federal government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is needed to keep them from failing, a risk he called 'unacceptable' for an economy battered by housing and credit crises."

We wouldn't be involved in these "crises," of course, if the Federal Government had done its job in the first place. An unfettered and unregulated free market is a recipe for disaster and disaster has befallen us. So now the government is running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under a government agency called the Federal Housing Agency.

The sad part of this whole business is that the investors in those two corporations will lose their shirts! How many times must this scenario repeat itself before someone figures out we're doing something wrong. And, as in the past with the savings and loan scandal, the taxpayers will be docked billions to make things right!


But, it's business as usual in Bushdom. Do nothing. Let the market prevail. Then,when it's too late, bring in the government to show its "socialist" teeth and take over to prevent a fiscal 9/11, the total collapse of the system.

Please note that McCain's fiscal guru, former Senator Phil Gramm, is most responsible for the mortgage mess. That's why they call him "Foreclosure Phil."

Palin in the papers

McCain's operatives obviously failed to properly vet the vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.

But less than two years ago, when Ms. Palin was running for governor, the Democrats did their own vetting. They put together a document of 62 pages "with countless summaries or direct quotes, largely from local newspapers, [which covered] all of the important issues you would expect to see, from her views on abortion and abstinence to tangled oil pipeline questions."

Editor & Publisher reveals that "Politico.com obtained a copy and printed merely a handful of the hundreds of findings on Tuesday. These included serious matters such as her use of the mayor's office in political campaigns. But it also posted a PDF of the entire document which few have probably examined. Here [are] some of the more outrageous, or surprising, revelations -- strictly from newspaper clips."

1. On the death penalty. When questioned about the death penalty, in extreme cases, e.g. the death of a child, Palin said, "My goodness, hang' em up, yeah." (Anchorage Daily News, 8/18/06)

2. On religion. "Palin wrote a Letter to the Editor saying only, 'San Francisco judges forbidding our Pledge of Allegiance? They will take the phrase 'under God' away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words. God bless America.'" (Juneau Empire, 6/30/02)

3. On Walmart. "Palin presided over a wedding at a Walmart. ... 'It was so sweet,' said Palin, who fought back tears during the nuptials. 'It was so Wasilla.'" (Anchorage Daily News, 8/28/99)

On Walmart and health coverage. "Asked about expanding health care coverage and about Wal-Mart's corporate conduct, she delivered non-answers with a disarming smile." (Anchorage Daily News, 1/30/06)

4. Used public funds for political gain. "In her 2002 Lt. Governor bid, Mayor Palin used city employees, telephones, computers, fax machines for campaign fundraising and literature. On her candidate registration form, she used her City Hall fax number, and her mayoral e-mail address. Records show that Wasilla city property was used to contact supporters, donors, media contacts, and media purchasing. (Anchorage Daily News, 7/21/06)

5. Gender card. "After Palin fired Irl Stambaugh, the police chief, he sued the city in part based on gender discrimination. The [Wasilla] Frontiersman wrote, 'The gender discrimination issues stem from statements Palin allegedly made to others that she was intimidated by Stambaugh's size. He stands over 6-feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds, which, the lawsuit said, is attributed to his gender.'" (Frontiersman, 2/26/97)

Palin goes to Costco to see Ivana Trump. "Sarah Palin, a commerical fisherman from Wasilla, told her husband Todd on Tuesday she was driving to Anchorage to shop at Costco. Instead, she headed straight for Ivana. And there, at J.C. Penney's cosmetic department, was Ivana, the former Mrs. Donald Trump, sitting at a table next to a photograph of herself. She wore a light-colored pantsuit and pink fingernail polish. Her blonde hair was coiffed in a bouffant French twist. 'We went to see Ivana,' said Palin, who admittedly smells like salmon for a large part of the summer, 'because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.'"
(Anchorage Daily News, 4/3/96)

Palin couldn't run for Senate because she couldn't be the "team Mom." "A hockey mom and a former standout athlete herself, Palin said she understood her son's concerns. 'How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?' she said." (Anchorage Daily News, 4/24/04)

6. Lying. "Palin Exaggerated Work Experience for Mayoral Campaign. In 1997, Frontiersman columnist Paul Stuart wrote that after Palin had criticized her opponent for using City Hall resources for political gain, 'when Palin was asked back then (by me) why the lodge where she claimed, in her campaign, to have gained her management experience, had no record of a borough business license or of paying any bed tax, she paused and said it might have been because the place had no clients for a year or so.' In an article describing the possibility of recalling Palin, the Frontiersman wrote the 'reasons include Palin's alleged falsification of her credentials during the campaign last fall." (Frontiersman, 1/22/97, 2/5/97)

"Frontiersman Editorial Said Palin Made Statements That Were 'Patently Untrue,' Said She Had Shown 'Unrepentant Backpedaling and Incessant Whining.' A Frontiersman editorial wrote, 'Wasilla residents have been subjected to unlawfully appoint[ed] council members, statements that have been shown to be patently untrue, unrepentant backpedalling, and incessant whining that her only enemies are the press and a few disgruntled supporters of former Mayor John Stein." (Frontiersman editorial, 2/7/97)

Another Frontiersman editorial: "Mayor Palin fails to have a firm grasp of something very simple: the truth." (Frontiersman, 2/7/97)

7. Personal. "Palin's Brother-in-Law Appeared on Reality Dating Show. Lt. Gov. candidate Sarah Palin thought it might help her campaign when brother-in-law Jack McCann showed up as a desirable catch on the new 'reality' TV show, 'Looking for Love: Bachelorettes in Alaska.' That hope lasted until she actually saw an episode of the series, which turns out to be your basic meat market twitch and grin. 'Oh Lord,' she said, 'My sisters and I watched it in horror.' Jack, who is scheduled to appear again even though he crashed a mountain bike in the first episode, is pretty cute and has a sense of humor, Sarah reports. 'He described his occupation ... as an office environment consultant,' she said. 'He sells furniture.'" (Anchorage Daily News, 6/9/02)

"Palin told The Associated Press that she and her husband, Todd, made a bet on whether Murkowski would run. If the governor says he'll enter the race, Palin has to get the Big Dipper tattooed on her ankle. If Murkowski says no, todd gets a wedding ring inked on his finger." (Anchorage Daily News, 5/26/06.)


Doesn't a lot of this stuff sound familiar?

Read more from Editor & Publisher here. There's more here at the E & P Pub. And Politico is here.

Senator James Inhofe questions Obama's patriotism

James Inhofe, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, has long been know for making extraordinarily stupid comments. Inhofe refuses to believe (along with Sarah Palin) that climate change is caused by human beings. In fact, Inhofe said that he has "compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax."

Inhofe is a fundamentalist Christian. He has compared the environmentalist movement to the Third Reich. Environmentalist is all a "big lie." Not so long ago he "compared the United States Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo." He said that then EPA administrator, Carol Browner was like Tokyo Rose, and that the Weather Channel was behind the hoax of global warming.

In fact, said Inhofe, global warming is "the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state."

What does it say about the people of Oklahoma who voted this neanderthal into office?


The Tulsa World reported yesterday that Inhofe, while attending a breakfast for his state's delegation at the Republican National Convention, challenged Senator Barack Obama's patriotism.

Inhofe told the group that voters need to ask this question when they get into the polling booth on election day:

"Do you really want to have a guy as commander in chief of this country when you can question whether or not he really loves his country?

"That's the big question," he said.


When confronted later, Inhofe tried to "clarify" his comments. "I am not questioning Sen. Obama's patriotism, but you have to question why at times he seems so obviously opposed to public displays of patriotism and national pride, like wearing an American flag lapel pin."


And he said that with a straight face, proving clearly that he is an idiot and a dangerous lunatic.

The real Sarah Palin

[AP photo by Brian Wallace]

"According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat's primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would hear her, uttered the slur ['So Sambo beat the bitch!'] and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively. ...

"Besides insulting Obama with a Step-N-'Fetch-It, 'darkie musical' swipe, people who know her says she refers regularly to Alaska's Aboriginal people as 'Arctic Arabs' - efficient, lumping two apparently undesirable groups into one ugly description - as well as the more colourful 'mukluks' along with the totally unimaginative 'f**king Eskimos,' according to a number of Alaskans and Wasillians interviewed for this article."

"[A]n insurance agent in Anchorage who knows the Palin family, said 'The GOP is kind of like organized crime up here. It's corrupt and arrogant. They're all rich because they do sweetheart deals with the oil companies, and they can destroy anyone. And they will, if they have to.'"

There's much more here.

Also, check out the blog, The Immoral Minority here for additional info about Alaska and Ms. Palin.

Georgia's on Cheney's mind

Dickie Cheney is the moral leader of the United States? Or not.


Dickie Cheney recently traveled to "oil-rich Azerbaijan and Georgia."

You remember Georgia. The regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared their independence from the mother country. Georgia took up arms to bring them back. Russia backed the breakaways. Bullets began flying.

Our leaders decried the military bullying of Russia. Leave Georgia alone. Get out of Georgia. So said Bush/Cheney and gang.

When Dickie Cheney made a stop to address "global business and political leaders" at a conference yesterday on Italy's Lake Como, he said that Russia was being a big, bad bear and had no business interfering in Georgia's problems, and that what Russia did was an "affront to civilized standards."

[Note to Palin: Italy is in Europe.]


Remember, this is the same Dickie Cheney who has been meddling in other countries' affairs for many, many years. This is the same Dickie Cheney who helped arm Saddam Hussein, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Osama bin Laden. Yup! All those guys!

This is the same Dickie Cheney who beat the drums for war in Iraq, a country which posed absolutely no threat to the U.S., and more lately has been crying bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.

For Dickie Cheney to chide Russia is no doubt the peak of hypocrisy!


There's more here than meets the eye, of course. Guess what? It's all about oil. Again. A pipeline is involved. Someone must control the pipeline. Russia wants the job.

Furthermore, one of McCain's top advisers is a lobbyist for Georgia and has made hundreds of thousands of dollars pushing Georgia's agenda in the United States Congress!

Russia threatens. We want our "friends" to control the pipeline. Thus, the Bush administration has sent a $1 billion aid package to Georgia to "help it recover from the war with Russia."

Putin, needless to say, says the U.S. should mind it's own damn business.

Consider this: the state of Georgia (U.S.) decides to declare its independence from the United States. The U.S. Army is sent to Georgia to change Georgia's mind. Bullets begin flying. Russia, tells the United States to back off 'cause Russia is backing the independence of Georgia! Then, when the fighting's over, Russia sends a billion dollar shipload of supplies to help Georgia recover.


Unfortunately, Washington these days sees everything in terms of black and white when the reality is many different shades of grays.

Cheney, though, is a full-blown hypocrite and a putz.

John McCain - MIA

Our thanks for Pam's House Blend and Open Left for the following:

John McCain has missed 63.8% of the votes in the 110th Congress. John McCain was not only a POW, he was MIA.

What follows is from Daniel de Groot at Open Left.

"I've looked through all the rejected cloture votes of the 110th Senate where the cloture motion got a majority. So this is where a bill would have passed, if not for the Republican minority blocking it. Here's a representative chunk of them:

* McCain skips a vote on a bill to create energy independence. Which he just promised to achieve in his Nomination Acceptance speech. McCain's vote would have been decisive as the measure failed cloture 59-40. But McCain hates partisanship. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on cloture for the economic stimulus package. Cloture failed 58-41. If McCain had voted yea, Reid would also have and cloture would be invoked. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on cloture for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Cloture failed 56-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on the Medicare Improvements Act. Cloture failed again 58-40, with McCain's potential "yea" being decisive. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skipped the vote on the bill to increase the minimum wage. It failed cloture 54-43. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for a sense of the Senate on Iraq. It fails 49-47. I thought McCain had strong opinions on Iraq? Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips another vote on cloture for a sense of the Senate on Iraq. Cloture fails 56-34. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for a bill to fund the Iraq war and compel redeployment. It fails 53-45. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for an energy conservation bill. No opinion on the energy crisis I guess. Cloture fails 50-44. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a bill on cloture for an energy bill. Fortunately energy is not an issue the American people care about. It fails 57-36. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a vote on another Energy cloture vote. It fails 53-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for the Intelligence Authorization spending bill. Fails 50-45. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for a bill to allow the government to negotiate over drug prices. Cloture fails 55-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips a vote on cloture for the motion of non-confidence in AG Gonzales. It fails 53-38. Obama missed this one.

* McCain skips a vote on the Farm bill. Cloture fails 55-42. Obama voted yea.

* McCain skips vote on cloture for an Immigration reform bill. I'm sure the nativist base is glad to know McCain didn't have their back. Luckily 44 of his colleagues were able to block the Hispanic Horde. Obama voted yea.


Pam continues: "Daniel notes that it's even more egregious that McCain did show up to vote 'nay' on many cloture votes -- thus not facilitating working across the aisle in a bipartisan manner -- the Arizona Senator reveled in blocking legislation."


'Nuff said!

Palin is unprepared

In spite of her "vast" executive experience (except, of course, the failed car wash bizness), Sarah Palin is simply unprepared to serve as vice president of the United States.

We knew that! From news reports, however, it appears a lot of dumb-dumbs and hockey moms don't get it. Or, worse, they just don't care.

She's a CELEBRITY!

However, the GOP knows and that worries them some. The Jed Report carries a brief story about GOP strategist, Todd Harris, who says that Ms. Palin will not be available for about two weeks.

Why is that? Well, she might make "a mistake."

Harris put it this way: "If she goes out and makes a mistake, that is something that [voters will] care about, and that's something that will haunt [McCain] for awhile, so I think this is a smart move."


Let's put this in perspective: John McCain, who has met Ms. Palin one time and knows literally nothing about her except what she has chosen to mention, decides she is ready to be vice president, or, god forbid, president of the United States.

It soon becomes obvious to all that she forgot to mention several things to Mr. McCain which are lurking around in her history, not the least of which is a 17-year old daughter who is pregnant out of wedlock. But whatever she did tell McCain, the Senator, being the genius he is, felt none of it mattered as she would gain the support of the extremists on the Christian right, and he knew he couldn't win without the fruitcakes for Jesus.

Country first, my ass!

Now, because her lack of knowledge about anything (in spite of the fact Alaska is next door to Russia), the GOP minions are secreting her away in the North Country to give her a crash course in how she should run the country should she need to do so.

[You'll notice that, while the other major candidates are appearing on the talk shows today, Ms. Palin is noticably absent!]

Ah...this whole scenario reminds me of those stumble-bums of old -- the Three Stooges.

[The Jed Report is here.]