Ode to Obama - November 4, 2008

I've been down this road before
Heartbroken, knocked around
The promised hope, the dreams I dared
Ashes now, dust, all gone.

Back some four, eight years ago
I believed; a foolish innocent -
One man could not destroy this land
Our law, our hallowed precedents.

No longer innocent and not naive
Do I dare, dare to believe
That hope is something to be grasped
That things can really, truly change ?

I dared. I voted for the man
With millions more, defied despair
Chose hope, believing in his plan
To make our nation whole again.

Therein lies his greatest gift
To lead us back from the abyss
Of hate and war, divisiveness
To hope again, to heal the rift.


Copyright © Jacob 2008

Bruce for Barack - Late Night

h/t to Joe Sudbay at Americablog

Why Andrew Sullivan is voting for Obama

Andrew Sullivan, erstwhile writer for The Atlantic and author of the delightful "The Daily Dish," has written an essay detailing why he is voting for Barack Obama. The particulars involving the sins of the Bush administration and the details as to our country's present perilous condition are well-known. But Sullivan succinctly ties them together in all their gory perversity to argue that McCain offers more of the same.

Sulllivan speaks of 9/11 and the "war on terror" as that has taken shape in Iraq and Afghanistan. It isn't merely that most of the U.S. military has been trapped "in an unending counter-insurgency in one country [Iraq] where al-Qaeda was weak before 2002," or that "Islamist factions in Pakistan's government are horrifyingly close to nuclear technology," or that "Iran has gained in power and influence in the Middle East..." but that all these things derive from the incompetence and mistakes of our leaders.

"These mistakes," writes Sullivan, "were compounded - and in large part created - by what I believe will one day be seen as the core event of the last eight years: the collapse of constitutional order and the rule of law fomented in a mixture of hubris and laziness by the president himself. It is now indisputable that the president and vice-president of the United States engineered a de facto coup against the constitution after 9/11, declaring themselves above any law, any treaty, and any basic moral norm in their misguided mission to rid the world of evil. ...

"Cheney and Bush, unlike any presidency in American history, have dangerously pushed constitutional government to the brink of collapse. ...

"No economic mismanagement can compare with this attack on the basic institutions of our democracy and the constitution. No incompetence in conducting an occupation can be deemed comparable with this level of criminality and indecency. No reaction to a natural disaster, however hapless and negligent, is as grave as this crime. No financial crisis eclipses it in gravity. The president's oath is to protect the constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. Instead, the president himself became an enemy to the constitution he swore to uphold."

McCain won't do, says Sullivan, for "...in the end, McCain [...] when push came to shove ... acquiesced to the legalization of America's use of the very same torture techniques once used against him. And in this campaign, we have seen how no Republican candidate can escape the logic of bigotry, fanaticism and xenophobia that now grips and motivates the Republican party base."

McCain, says Sullivan, will follow the same road as Bush/Cheney. While in some ways, Obama's policies "are too liberal" for Sullivan, he believes "McCain is not serious on spending. But he is deadly serious on not touching taxes. So, on the core question of debt, on bringing America back to fiscal reason, Obama is still better than McCain."

But, the "task of restoring the rule of law and Constitutional balance" is the most vital thing. "Unlike McCain, Obama has never wavered on torture or habeas corpus or on keeping the executive branch under the law. His deep understanding and awareness of the Constitution eclipses McCain's."

After a long section of why Barack Obama offers a kind of last "hope" for our country, Sullivan concludes with this:

"I endorse Barack Obama because I will not give up on America, because I believe in America, and in her constitution and decency and character and strength."


This is a superb article. Please read it in its entirety here.

Republican "family values"

Senator Barack Obama flew to Hawaii to visit his ailing grandmother, his "rock," sick with cancer and near death.

Madelyn Dunham has died.

The California GOP has filed a complaint with the FEC charging the Obama campaign violated the law by providing a campaign plane for Obama to fly to Hawaii.

Is Hawaii not a state?

The Obama campaign says the flight was run by its lawyers who pronounced its legality.


Ah, hell. What does it matter? The California Republicans are sick bastards. Family values, my ass!

Madelyn Dunham - RIP

[The following comes from the Huffington Post, via Blue Herald.]

In what was clearly a very difficult portion of his address Monday night in North Carolina, Barack Obama spoke for several minutes on this grandmother’s death from cancer Sunday night. At one point, it seemed, he was moved to tears.

Calling it a “bittersweet time” in his life, there were moments when one could detect the sadness in his voice and face. The crowd in Charlotte did its best to pull him along, screaming out words of support as he detailed Madelyn Dunham’s life and drew from it threads that weaved into his candidacy and message. It was a poignant moment: the woman who helped raise him passing away just hours before the election. No matter what happens tomorrow, I’m going to feel good about how it has turned out because all of you have created this remarkable campaign. She is gone home. And she died peacefully in her sleep, with my sister at her side. And so, there is great joy as well as tears. I’m not going to talk about it too long because it is hard, a little, to talk about. I want everybody to know though a little bit about her. Her name was Madelyn Dunham. And she was born in Kansas in a small town in 1922. Which means she lived through the Great Depression, she lived through two world wars, she watched her husband go off to war, while she looked after her baby and worked on a bomber assembly line. When her husband came back they benefited from the GI bill, they moved west and eventually ended up in Hawaii. She was somebody who was a very humble person, a very plainspoken person. She is one of those quiet heroes we have all across America, who are not famous, their names are not in the newspapers, but each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They sacrifice for their children, and their grandchildren. They aren’t seeking the limelight. All they try to do is do the right thing. And in this crowd, there are a lot of quiet heroes like that, people like that, mothers and fathers and grandparents who have worked hard and sacrificed all their lives and the satisfaction that they get is in seeing their children or maybe their grandchildren or their great-grandchildren live a better life than they did. That is what America is about. That is what we are fighting for.

The slithery, slippery, sneaky Sarah Palin

Which one is correct? The first Troopergate report which found that Gov. Palin did, indeed, abuse her power, or the second, which said she did not violate the state's ethics code?

Wait, the first report also said she didn't violate the state's ethics code, but did abuse her power.


Palin initiated the investigation by her State Personnel Board. The Board hired an Independent Counsel, who, after his investigation found that lo, and behold, she did not abuse her power and the first report was wrong to say that she did!

Here's part of the "official" reason for that finding: Palin is, glory be, Wonder Woman. She would never do anything wrong, and everyone knows. ...

Oops. That's wrong.

Here it is: "These findings differ from those of the Branchflower Report because Independent Counsel has concluded the wrong statute was used as a basis for the conclusions contained in the Branchflower Report, the Branchflower report misconstrued the available evidence and did not consider or obtain all of the material evidence that is required to properly reach findings."

Okay. So Branchflower somehow based his investigation on the wrong law. And then he looked at the evidence and got it wrong. But he didn't have all the "material evidence." Wait a minute. Palin refused to provide the "available evidence" and/or "material evidence," and refused to testify in the Branchflower investigation!

Branchflower must be pretty dumb. You think? Not!

Something smells!

Still, how could the Personnel Board reach the conclusion that Palin had not abused her power, when the Branchflower report clearly showed she did?

Well, it might have something to do with the fact that Palin oversees the State Personnel Board, which consists of three members. Two of those members are hold-overs from the current administration, but the third was appointed by Palin. AND THEY ALL CAN BE FIRED BY PALIN!

Aha! And we're supposed to believe that the State Personnel Board, of which 1/3 of the members were appointed by Palin and of which all members serve at her pleasure, was in no way intimidated or coerced to conclude Palin was innocent?

Please!

But, it ain't over yet. Walter Monegan may have the last word!

All of this does, however, pretty much put to the lie Palin's claim of being the great Alaskan uprooter of corruption. Under the Palin administration, it's business as usual in Alaska!

Christian Right prayers will give win to Obama

The prayer warriors are busy tonight. They've been busy for months and they'll be even busier tomorrow, pleading with their god that he/she do the "right" thing in this election, i.e., intervene so that Obama goes down to defeat and those two god-fearing paragons of righteousness, McCain and Palin, ascend to the house of White in the land of the lobbyists.

Most of these deluded religionists will try to avoid asking god directly to elect McCain and Palin - not all, of course, but most - for that would be presumptuous. God might get pissed. But, they "know," down deep in their wee little hearts, that god prefers the GOP ticket.


So, they'll pray something like this:

"Dear god, we stand at a crossroads for our nation, which you have so richly blessed because you like Americans better than any other people in the world, and we are afraid of the direction our nation will take under a bad, bad leader like the man whose last name starts with "O." We are afraid, O Lord, that he will lead the nation down the path of wickedness where unwanted babies are tossed from windows, and men will marry goats and women will marry horses. We're afraid for our families and for your vision of true marriage, O Lord.

"We've done all we can and it looks like it wasn't enough, so we are praying mightily, and we need you to hear our prayers, O Lord, so that our nation can continue in righteousness and we can invade other countries that our godly leaders tells us are part of the Axis of Evil. We can even invade countries outside of that Axis, O Lord, if it is your will and if you so instruct our godly leaders.

"We're also afraid, O Lord, that the bad, bad man whose last name starts with "O" will raise our taxes and then how will we tithe to our thousands of churches that carry out your work in the world? This bad, bad man will also want to provide health care to the poor, the elderly, the young, O Lord. You know how something like that can wreck a budget. And he'll no doubt want to regulate our free markets, O Lord. You know this last financial crisis was just a glitch and regulation is communistic and therefore a sin.

"O Lord, this bad, bad man will no doubt make our corporations pay more in taxes and cut emissions at a terrible cost and the trickle down effect will stutter to a halt and the poor will no longer get those measly drops of welfare they have become used to. He'll tax the small businessman, O Lord; your own Ms. Palin said so. The worst, of course, is that the billions we give in corporate welfare will be cut back. What will the rich, do, O Lord?

"Oh my god, he'll want to stop the righteous war in Iraq and bring our soldiers back which will mean that the entire Middle East - your land, O Lord - will be taken over by the Islamists who defy your name. Worse, O Lord, they might want to keep their own oil, and you know how that would hurt your favorite country. And the bad, bad man who would be president won't let us drill in the pristine Arctic, O Lord, like Ms. Palin says we should; he talks about alternative energy sources, O Lord, but you know that's because he hates powerful companies who invest their wealth to make more wealth for themselves.

"Dear Lord, hear our prayer. We are mightily afraid. It is even possible, O Lord, that our brother James, last name Dobson, O Lord - in case you forgot - won't be able to call up the White House and give instructions to our leaders if that bad, bad man is elected.

"So we pray that you hear our prayers for we know that you are the righteous one and you hear the prayers of your righteous followers. We pray that your will be done, O Lord. So, intervene, O Lord. Make the election process null and void. Flip those ballots, O Lord, that vote for the bad, bad man. Your will be done, O Lord."


The people who are doing all this praying contend that they are following the will of god as laid out in the Bible, the infallible, inerrant word of god. The problem is that it isn't that difficult to make, even an "infallible" and "inerrant" Bible say pretty much whatever one wants it to say. So, the anti-gay folks on the Christian right, take one verse out of the "Old Testament" in which they believe god condemns homosexuality. But they ignore hundreds of other "laws" or "commandments" of god.

Here are a few verses they always" seem to miss.

From Micah, the prophet:

"He [God] has told you, O man, what is good,
And what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do justice
And to love goodness,
And to walk modestly with your God;
Then you will achieve wisdom." [Micah 6:8 - The Jewish Study Bible]


From Jesus, the rabbi:

"How blest are those who show mercy;
mercy shall be shown to them. ...

How blest are the peacemakers;
God shall call them his sons." [Matthew 5:7, 9]

"Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the Law and the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete. I tell you this: so long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Law until all that must happen has happened." [Matthew 5:17 - 18]

"Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can you be children of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on good and bad alike, and sends the rain on the honest and the dishonest. ... There must be no limit to your goodness ...

"Be careful not to make a show of your religion before men; if you do, no reward awaits you in your Father's house in heaven ...

"Again, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogue [church] and at the street corners, for everyone to see them. I tell you this: they have their reward already. But when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is there in the secret place ..." [Matthew 5:43-48; 6:1-6]

Then, this - especially appropriate for those who preach a "prosperity" gospel and the rich:

A young man asks: "...Good Master, what must I do to win eternal life? Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: "Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not give false evidence; do not defraud; honour your mother an father."' 'But, Master,' he replied, 'I have kept all these things since I was a boy.' Jesus looked straight at him; his heart warmed to him, and he said, 'One thing you lack: go, sell everything you have, and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, follow me.' At these words his face fell and he went away with a heavy heart; for he was a man of great wealth.'"


But what do we do with Paul's command in Romans 13?

"Every person must submit to the supreme authorities. There is no authority but by act of God, and the existing authorities are instituted by him; consequently anyone who rebels against authority is resisting a divine institution ... For government, a terror to crime, has no terrors for good behaviour. You wish to have no fear of the authorities? Then continue to do right and you will have their approval, for they are God's agents working for your good. ... That is why you are obliged to submit. It is an obligation imposed not merely by fear of retribution but by conscience. That is also why you pay taxes. The authorities are in God's service and to these duties they devote their energies. ...

"Discharge your obligations to all men; pay tax and toll, reverence and respect, to those to whom they are due. Leave no claim outstanding against you, except that of mutual love. He who loves his neighbour has satisfied every claim of the law. ..."


Very few, if any of us, believe that Paul was right about blind obedience to the authorities. In fact, if our beloved Founding Fathers followed Paul, we would still be bowing and scraping before an English king or queen! And Paul would have considered our Constitution an abomination! Was he wrong about paying taxes, too? And if not, why all the carping about paying taxes amongst the McCain/Palin followers?


The point, my friends, [to quote Mr. McCain] is that when push comes to shove [to cite a well-worn cliche], those on the Christian Right pick and choose (just like everyone else) those verses in the Bible that best confirm their theological prejudices.

And the Christian rightists of our time ignore, for the most part, the teachings of Jesus.

Nowhere has that been clearer than during this election. There's a reason why they ignore the Jesus we read of in the Gospels. That Jesus sits in judgment upon, not only their distorted and hateful theology, but on their politics, which is driven, of course, by their distorted and hate-filled theology.

Which means that if god picks up on their prayers and if "his will be done," Obama's a lock for the presidency.

Praise God!

[All New Testament quotations are from The New English Bible]

Another reason to vote for Obama

The video is from the Canadian Broadcasting Company's documentary, The Bush Years.


Steven D. at the Booman Tribune writes how:

"In ancient Rome, and at other times in human history, rulers displayed the heads of their enemies after they had been executed. It is a particularly barbaric practice, and one much opposed by those on the right who recite endlessly that Muslims are barbarians because a few extremists cut off the heads of captured Westerners. Yet, here was the President of the United States of America, supposed the most advanced and moral society in the world, ordering the CIA to bring him the heads of our enemies on ice so he couild gloat over them like some demented feudal baron. ..."


If you have a strong stomach, you can real Steven's entire post here.

The Spiritual Warfare Network of Sarah Palin and Katherine Harris

Bruce Wilson has posted a new article at the Huffington Post indicating that Katherine Harris, Florida's ex-Secretary of State, who many blame for George W. Bush's ascendancy to the White House, was active "in the same national Spiritual Warfare network which Sarah Palin has been associated with and may still be a member of. ...

"Mounting evidence suggests John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is deeply involved with a global religious movement bent on imposing theocracies around the world and whose top leader, C. Peter Wagner, has decreed to his followers it is God's will that a forcible, massive transfer of wealth, from the 'godless' to members of his movement, take place."

Wilson's article is in depth and contains a number of videos. Read and watch here.

Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin - ethically challenged

Ted Stevens, the long-time Senator from Alaska, has been convicted on all seven counts of an indictment accusing him of failing to report gifts on Senate forms.

Ted Stevens has long thought himself immune from any threat. After all, for over 30 years he has brought home cartloads of federal money for his state of Alaska. And that's probably why not a few people think that in spite of his status as a convicted felon, Alaskans will elect him to the U.S. Senate one more time.


It's fascinating to watch Republican crooks in action. After the jury in Washington, D.C. found him guilty, Stevens said they didn't.

In a debate with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, Stevens was asked how he was going to respond to John McCain and Sarah Palin, who have both called upon him to resign. Here's what he said:

"I have not been convicted of anything."


Maybe it's the water in Alaska. Or maybe it's the cold weather.

Ted Stevens, duly indicted and then convicted by a jury of his peers, says he hasn't been convicted.

Sarah Palin, after a bipartisan investigation charges her with abuse of power, said that meant she was "vindicated."

Or maybe it's that both Stevens and Palin are unable to differentiate between what is real and what is not.

More likely, I think, is that they are both cut from the same ethically-challenged mold.

The ponderous hypocrisy of the Christian right

Palin is in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It is a cold Thursday night. Thirteen thousand faithful, with "their Christian literature and thundersticks in tow," have come to an outdoor baseball stadium to see the hockey mom from Alaska, the moose-slayer, the pit bull who ignites their basest instincts.

Rebecca Traister at Salon.com describes the scene as they waited for the Guv:

"Finally, about an hour before Palin's scheduled arrival, Bowman Field kicked off its pre-party with the National Anthem sung under the giant flag suspended from a crane over the 'Victory in Pennsylvania' sign. A security sniper ogled the chilly crowd with his night-vision glasses, and a local minister took the stage to offer a benediction that hit the trifecta of guns, gays and abortion. The preacher asked forgiveness 'for so many [who] have shed innocent blood through the course of abortions, and so many [who] would stop the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.' With these abominations in mind, the preacher continued, 'Thank you for raising up a woman like Gov. Sarah Palin at a time like this. Bless her for standing against those who would remove the guns from our cabinets, and those who would want to remove the baby from the womb of her mother. Bless her family as they adjust to changes in their lives that are going to be taking place on Tuesday.'"

Doesn't that sound exactly like one of Jesus' sermons as reported in the Gospels? I can just hear him now, standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, blessing the local procurator for "standing against those who would remove guns from our cabinets." And don't you remember all Jesus sermons against abortions? And boy, did he take after those gay folks! Wow! He wouldn't even let them have any of the loaves and fishes!

You'd think that clownish preacher might have said something about the blood dripping from the hands of all those neocons who sent our young men and women to fight an illegal war based upon the lies of the current Repugnican prez. I guess the only blood that counts is prenatal.


Ms. Traister writes that "Palin was her down-home bestest, peppering her brief address with references to First Dude's four snow-machine world championships, a lot of gratitude toward the veterans in the crowd, and a lot of folksy, g-droppin' references to how 'the time for choosin's comin' real soon,' a golden-oldie reference to Ronald Reagan's famous 1964 speech in support of Barry Goldwater. Combined with Palin's repeated use of the phrases 'You betcha!' and 'Drill, baby, drill!' and her guess that the crowd was 'so doggone proud' of the Phillies, and her environmental justification that 'God has so richly blessed this land with resources' that should probably strip-mine it, Palin seemed to be imitating Tina Fey's imitation of her on 'Saturday Night Live.'"

Toward the end, Palin invoked Reagan again, saying "In the end, what John McCain and I believe in is what Ronald Reagan believes in ... we believe that America is still that shining City on a Hill that Ronald Reagan used to speak of."

Yup. You betcha! That Shining City on a Hill. Where God lives. And all righteous Republicans. Democrats live on the bottom of the hill.

Now, lest you think Ms. Traister got out of that God-lovin' bunch of folks without incident, think again. Here's how she tells it:

"While I was interviewing some of the attendees, accompanied by another Salon staffer who was holding a video camera, a Palin fan in a newish silver sedan drove by and hit me hard in the back with the side mirror of the car, hard enough to bend the mirror back. Then the car drove off without anybody inside pausing to ask if I was all right. The middle-aged woman in the passenger seat, however, might have saluted me with an un-Christian hand gesture."


The ends justify the means, you know, for those who really believe in Jesus and Amurrica!

God is a conservative - a poem

Dontcha sometimes wonder
Why politicians politic
If politics are dirty
And vice-a-versa?

Is that why pols wash their hands
And take a stand on principles
Promising to clean things up?
Oh yes. Oh sure. You betcha!

But why is it conservatives
The "values" party fuddy-duds
Who end up being the very ones
To sling the dirtiest of mud?

"Real Americans" they claim to be
And demonize all those who disagree
Liberals are the enemy
Aliens in their fair country.

Barack Hussein they denigrate
Obama, though, will be their fate
And while he rules as head of state
On him they'll concentrate their hate.

They'll do it in the name of god
Never thinking it is odd
In times when push had come to shove
Their god spoke not of hate, but love.

"Values people" that they are
They pay the price of what they dream
For all who dance the devil's dance
The ends will justify the means.

God's will, you see, they've come to know
And god is a conservative
So strike the heretic a blow
God will bless you, let you live.

In America.
The land of the free.

Palin - so dumb it hurts

The wingnuts on the right are crying that the media is being too hard on poor Sarah Palin. The media has actually dared to criticize her!

Palin herself claims that the First Amendment may be in danger when the media takes her to task for her nefarious and false attacks on Barack Obama.

As Glen Greenwald put it: "This is actually so dumb it hurts."

"Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama's associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate's free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.

"'If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations,' Palin told host Chris Plante, 'then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.'"


To repeat: "This is actually so dumb that it hurts."

What is truly frightening is that, not only is this ignoramus a governor of one of our states, but is running for vice president of the United States of America, and she does not understand one of the most, (if not THE MOST), vital amendments to our Constitution.

As Greenwald says, Palin has it backwards. What the First Amendment does is guarantee a free press. "Thus, when the press criticizes a political candidate and a Governor such as Palin, that is a classic example of First Amendment rights being exercised, not abridged."

Maybe we need an amendment to the Constitution barring anyone from running for public office who cannot demonstrate a thorough knowledge of that document.

Again, from Greenwald: "It it even possible to imagine more breathtaking ignorance from someone holding high office and running for even higher office?"

The answer to that is "No!"


John Stuart Mill got it right: "Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives."

Pathology at Palin rallies

[Photo of Palin in Ocala, Fl by Joe Byrnes - Star Banner]


Two Palin rallies in Florida. Not unique, according to news reports. The pathology of Palin supporters is rabidly evident across the nation.

New Port Richey, Florida. Saturday, November 1. Palin's "preaching" to the choir. Halfway through her remarks the chant begins:

"John McCain! Not Hussein!"

A woman attendee who helped lead the chant said she did it because it rhymes. And she doesn't know whether or not Obama is a Muslim. "He says he's not, but we have no way of knowing." The woman's husband, even more brilliant than she, said that because Obama's middle name is Hussein, "I guess Obama was named after Saddam Hussein."


Ocala, Florida. Saturday, November 1. About two thousand people show up at a local high school to hear the cheerleader from Alaska.

Here's some of what she said:

1) She wants to hear Obama say, just once, he wants America to win [the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan]. The woman is a devious liar. Obama has said that very thing on numerous occasions!

2) John McCain should be president because he was a war hero and is the only one "in this race who has ever really fought for you."

3) Obama will levy "massive new tax burdens." Another lie.

4) Palin quoted from Joe the Plumber, that intellectual giant whose real name is Sam, who is not a licensed plumber, and who hasn't paid his taxes, who said that Obama's proposals "sound like socialism."

5) Rep. Kurt Kelly, another Republican liar, tried to paint over Palin's ignorance by blaming the media: "The press," he said, "has been nasty, biased, and, I guarantee you, they have been callous to the very values we hold dear. ... Nasty, biased and callous ... that's NBC."


Here's some of what her pathological supporters said:

1) One man doesn't trust Obama. "We're not ready to go socialist. I can't even believe we let this man run for president. He's a radical socialist."

2) Another man said, "Obama's blood is Arab. His middle name is Hussein. He has a gray area that's very bad. He wants more civil rights. He wants to change the Constitution." Palin, however, according to this clown, is "an everyday American."

3) A woman said she holds the same religious beliefs as McCain and Palin. "They're not trying to get rid of our flag and our anthem. If something happens [to McCain], Palin is more than capable."

4) Then a man said he doesn't think Obama has a valid birth certificate.

5) Ed Burkhart, a Repugnican volunteer who drives a McCain/Palin trolley around, spoke of Obama's "palling" around with terrorist, William Ayers, and Michelle Obama's remark about being really proud of her country for the first time. She should apologize, said Burkhart. Furthermore, said this Repugnican genius, Obama has a "socialist agenda" ... and "all of [Obama's] promises are nothing more than a trap that has been sprung on a free society."

6) One fellow had a T-shirt bearing McCain's picture and the words, "a Hero for President." The wearer said he was supporting the right man for the country. "Anyone who served this country, first and foremost, is a hero. But he is also a POW. ... So he knows what it takes to serve this country. He's been in combat. He's been held in enemy territory."


This is all so sad. Such ignorance. Such prejudice. Such just plain stupidity.

Palin the cheerleader is conned by Canadians

The story about Sarah Palin being duped by the Quebec comedians, The Masked Avengers, is old news. It's worth looking at again, though, because it reveals just what a lightweight Ms. Palin really is.

Her responses to Marc-Antoine Audette reveal her to have the mentality of a high school cheerleader.

She thought she was talking to Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France.

Item: "We have such great respect for you, John McCain and I, we love you," Palin "gushed." "We love you"? This is not the way leaders of countries talk to one another, unless, of course, they're involved in an three-way affair!

Item: In response to a remark by Audette that she might end up in the Oval Office, Palin said, "Maybe in eight years," chuckling nervously. That, too, is not something a world leader would confess over the phone to a peer.

Item: When Audette refers to Johnny Hallyday, a French singer/actor as his special adviser to the U.S., and singer Stef Carse as Canada's prime minister, and the comedian, Richard Z. Sirois as the provincial premier, Palin has no clue. She is totally oblivious. Evidently, she does not know the name of the Canadian prime minister!

Item: Audette tells Palin he loves killing animals. Palin suggests, "We should go hunting together. We can have a lot of fun together while we're getting work done. We could kill two birds with one stone.

Item: Palin consistently fawns over who she thinks is Sarkozy. "I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally - and your beautiful wife, oh my goodness. You've added a lot of energy to your country with that beautiful family of yours." Spoken like a cheerleader!

Item: Audette then tells Palin that his [Sarkozy's] wife, Bruni, is "hot in bed" and has written a song for Palin, the title of which is [translated into English] "Lipstick on a Pig." Audette says the song is about Joe the Plumber. Palin remains clueless.

Item: At the end of the call, Audette refers to the Hustler porn video, "Nailin' Paylin," and says it is "the documentary they made on your life." Palin says, "Oh, good, thank you, yes."


Perhaps Audette summed the whole thing up later, when he said: "You can see that she's, well, not really brilliant."

I'd say if a bulb burned any dimmer, there would be no light at all.

Palin's foreign policy experience revealed

Sarah Palin, who believes that proximity causes experience -- she can see Russia from her house and therefore has foreign policy experience -- was interviewed the legal guru, Greta Van Susteren.

Here's part of that interview on FOXNews:

Van Susteren: When you talk to Senator McCain, is it mostly about strategy or are you talking big picture right now?

Palin: Both. Both. But not so much strategy about the campaign at all because we both are so confident that we are on the right path, and in these final days of the campaign, we're acknowledging that people are understanding the stark contrast between the two tickets. And that's good.

This is the place we need to be right here, still as a bit of an underdog in these last few days, but realizing that Americans are really starting to hear what our opponents are talking about when they talk about spreading the wealth, taking more from our small businesses and from our families and then redistributing other people's hard-earned money according to a politician's priorities, that that is -- that is not good for this uniquely American, pro-entrepreneurial system that we have that has allowed our country to be the greatest country on earth.

We realize that more and more Americans are starting to see the light there and understand the contrast. And we talk a lot about, OK, we're confident that we're going to win on Tuesday, so from there, the first 100 days, how are we going to kick in the plan that will get this economy back on the right track and really shore up the strategies that we need over in Iraq and Iran to win these wars?

+ + + +

Obviously, Sarah Palin has a hard time stringing words together so they make sense. She also lives in a world unconnected to reality. Obama's lead has stretched into the double-digits and other than Rick Davis, no one gives the McCain/Palin ticket a chance. So, I guess in one sense she is right: "Americans are starting to see the light there" and that's why they're voting for Obama/Biden!

It's interesting, too, that this historically- and truth- challenged poser believes it is our "uniquely American, pro-entrepreneurial system" that has made our country "the greatest country on earth." Other countries are not "pro-entrepreneurial?" And is that what makes our country great? I always thought it was because we were the "land of the free, and the home of the brave," because we based our common life on the Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to privacy, etc.

Maybe Ms. Palin should take a couple of courses in American history?


But the worst of it is this: "we are going to kick in the plan that will get the economy back on the right track and really shore up the strategies that we need over in Iraq and Iran [my emphasis] to win these wars."

IRAN? What the hell is she talking about? Does she know the difference between Iraq and Iran? Does the McCain/Palin ticket plan to start a war against Iran in the first 100 days of their
fanasty administration?

Nothing like having a vice presidential running mate that, not only has no foreign policy experience, but flaunts her stupidity before the whole world, hey John?

Cheney - the kiss of death endorsement

George W. Bush is nowhere in evidence. George W. Bush has NOT hit the campaign trail on behalf of John McCain, even though McCain had expressed hopes that he would do so. George W. Bush did not even show up at his Party's convention.

John McCain, aka John McSame, realized quickly that he didn't want George W. Bush anywhere near him. He has struggled to distance himself from G.W. and his failed administration.


Dickie Cheney has been out of sight, also. How many McCain/Palin rallies did Cheney attend to offer his encouragement and support?

John McCain, aka John McSame, doesn't want Dickie Cheney anywhere near him, either.


But yesterday, Cheney leaped out from his hiding place to bestow upon John McSame a kiss of death endorsement. Cheney, in the open, in front of god and everyone, said he was "delighted to support John McCain."

McCain said, "Crap!" (I made that up. But it's probably true.)


Barack Obama, though, thought Cheney's endorsement a fine idea. Obama has claimed, rightfully, that McCain/Palin represent a continuation of the Bush administration, and Cheney's endorsement verified that claim.

Obama said: "I'd like to congratulate Senator McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it. That endorsement didn't come easy. Senator McCain had to vote 90 percent of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it. He served as Washington's biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq, and supports economic policies that are no different from the last eight years. So Senator McCain worked hard to get Dick Cheney's support."


"Shoot!" said Cheney, when told of Obama's remarks. Everybody ducked!

Palin's medical records

It's been two weeks now since Sarah Palin told Brian Williams she would release her medical records. Then she told ABC news she would release them "early last week." In the course of the discussion Palin said the records would show she was in good health and the mother of five children.

Hmmm. Why, then, does she not follow the example of all the other candidates, who have released at least some of their medical records?

What is it that Sarah Palin is hiding from view?

Is she not in good health? Maybe she's had only four children? Why hasn't the media been able to speak directly to Palin's doctor, Catherine Baldwin-Johnson?

Obviously, Palin does not intend to release her medical records. She really is one devious, lying, "hockey mom."

Stop praying for McCain/Palin or the Revolutionary Prophecy as told to Joe Bob Godlymann

Joe Bob Godlymann is one of those unknown, unsung prophets of the biblical word. CEO of the Contrarian School, Godlymann has decided it is time to speak god's prophetic word to a world desperately in need of the truth. Godlymann has a special relationship with god, and god has spoken directly to Godlymann several times.

For example, one time Godlymann was on his knees in prayer at the Contrarian chapel, when he saw an angelic-like vision appear on the wall behind the altar. The vision spoke, saying "Be awake, Joe Bob, be alert, I shall soon return with a word from god. She is not happy!"

Another time, and this was when he got instructions where he would receive his main vision, Godlymann was waiting on the 18th tee box at Pebble Beach, thoroughly pissed as he'd previously dumped a dozen balls into the Pacific, when he heard a voice speaking in his golf bag. Startled, he grabbed the bag, turned it upside down, dumping his clubs on the ground. Unfortunately, a side pocket was open and all of his tees and his Rolex watch fell into a muddy patch.

"Dadgummit!" said Godlymann (who seldom curses). Then the voice said, "Hey, get over it, Godlymann, I'm trying to talk to you."

"Jesus!" exclaimed Godlymann.

"No," said the voice. "Jesus is a myth. I'm real. I'm the god you pray to all the time, and I've got a message for you to share with the world. If you recall, the angel you saw told you I was pissed off. Well, I am! So listen carefully."

Godlymann's foursome included a priest of the Greek Orthodox persuasion, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, and a Roman Catholic bishop. They watched as Godlymann bent his ear to his empty golf bag.

"What the hell is he doing?" asked the bishop.

"He's always been a little weird," said the priest.

"I think he's praying," suggested the rabbi.

Godlymann stood up straight. "I heard you guys," he said. "And you're all wrong. But I've got to go now." And Godlymann, leaving his clubs strewn next to his empty bag, forgetting even the Rolex, ran toward the clubhouse. The three clergymen would not see him for several months.


The Contrarian School is based upon the book of Revolution. The book of Revolution was supposed to be in the New Testament, but certain sneaky Christians paid off the "orthodox" bishops in the 4th century to dump Revolution in favor of The Revelation of John. The bishops then systematically destroyed all copies of the book of Revolution. Except one.

The one they missed was hidden in a cave near Masada and it was discovered a few years ago by a Israeli model on a photo shoot who hid in the cave to change her bikini. Esther Zivni threw it in her big tote and took it to Tel Aviv where she locked it away in her bank safety deposit box. It was there for several months. By that time, of course, the model had lost her looks and had to go to work for the Israeli army as a recruiting officer. Then, she remembered the book and after retrieving it from the bank, she began to read it. She was astounded.

What to do? It was obviously god's word. But no one knew about it. No one had even heard of it. Then she remembered an American she'd had an affair with about a year previously. She smiled. That was a Mount Ararat experience! Esther called her former lover whose name was Joe Bob Godlymann. She had met Joe Bob on the Mount of Olives when he was on a pilgrimmage to Israel. She was, he said, his Israeli surprise.


Joe Bob laughed at first. A book called Revolution? Finally, still believing Esther had lost her mind, Joe Bob said to send it to him.

That's where it began. Joe Bob read Revolution. Out of that came the Contrarian school. Today, the Contrarian school consists of three professors and 42 students. Most of the students are refugees from neo-Pentecostalism. They arrived in great psychological torment, severely damaged, but after months of counseling, they gradually returned to their senses.

Just because the Contrarian school is small does not mean that what it teaches is wrong. The name was taken from Revolution 1:36: "Contrary to the teachings of the Christians in Rome and contrary to the Emporer Constantine, I, God, did not require a Jewish person named Jesus to be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. On the contrary, I do not require anything. All people are my sons and daughters and I love them and forgive them unconditionally. What I have said, at least since the age of the prophets, is that in return for that unconditional love, my children should treat each other with mercy, justice and yes, even love."

The name of the book of Revolution derives from Revolution 15:1: "The message of mercy, justice and love has always been revolutionary. The Lord calls upon all of her followers to join the revolution and help restore creation to what she originally intended."

For several years now, the Contrarian school has been studying the book of Revolution. It's main thrust is to train scholars in the book of Revolution to carry the message of God to all people. One man and two women graduated recently to enter the world with this message of mercy, justice and love, but they made a terrible mistake. They hired on as writers for the McCain political campaign. All returned to the Contrarian school terribly shaken and discouraged. Their message was not welcomed and they were scorned and disparaged at every turn.

That's when Joe Bob Godlymann received his third vision. The first vision was the angel in the chapel. The second was a speaking golf ball in the bottom of his bag at Pebble Beach, during which he was instructed to hurry to the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles in France. Two and half days later, dragging from the long flight and time change, he tagged alongside a bunch of Japanese tourists all taking pictures, into the Hall of Mirrors.

"Psst," a voice said behind a golden pedestal. Joe Bob grunted, shook his head, and went to the golden pedestal. This time he saw no figure, just a golden glow, but a voice gave him a prophetic message to share with the world. Joe Bob, stunned and fully awake now, promised he would do his best, but asked, "Why the hell did I have to fly all the way over here to Versailles and meet you in the Hall of Mirrors?" The glow seemed to glow brighter. "I don't know. I just love this place, don't you?" and the glow slowly disappeared.

That reminded Joe Bob of Revolution 33:9, where it says the Lord's ways are mostly inscrutable to mere humans.


But Joe Bob wasted no time. Upon arriving home, he sat down at his computer and began to write his now famous "Revolutionary Prophecy" e-mail. It would go to 250,000 people because Joe Bob had purchased a client list from a mole he had planted at the Republican National Committee.

The Revolutionary Prophecy:

This is a vision from the God of Revolution:

Do not waste your time praying. I don't listen to most of your whining, anyway. And stop with the anti-abortion and anti-gay stuff. I love all people unconditionally. I understand why some people might choose to have an abortion. Homosexuality is not a choice. It's part of the way things are.

There are a lot of things to do in the world and you need to get busy. Stop that damn war in Iraq, which really isn't a war anyway. That's what I call a sin. All that death and misery! And some of you claim to be my friends. Not so!

Take care of each other. That's what you're supposed to do. Take care of your young and your old. Set up an educational program that works and health care for everyone. And figure out how to feed the hungry! If any one single person is hurting, I'm hurting.

You'd better do something about the environment, too. You really messed up that one! Give up the fossil fuels. Stop with the "Drill, drill, drill." Sheesh! What? Are you a bunch of idiots? There isn't going to be enough oil for the next generation anyway! Don't you care about your children and grandchildren?

Stop, too, with the socialism stuff. I don't give a hoot about your economic systems, so long as they work and provide benefit for everyone and not just those rich SOBs who are on my shit-list anyway.

Figure out a way to talk to each other when you disagree. Bombing isn't the answer. And you must not fight about religious stuff. I don't care about any of that.

What's with the witches? Have some of you lost your minds? The only witches are the ones you conjure up with your crazy beliefs! Same with demons and devils. They only exist inside your brain. I'm sick to death of all the prayers about occultists and other crap. It's all nonsense and nothing more than the attempt of so-called spiritual leaders to gain control over huge numbers of people. I reject all of it!

I want mercy, justice and love. Is that so damn hard to understand?

Oh, one last thing. I usually don't get involved in elections in any country, but this one is pretty important. Stop with the nastiness about Obama. He's going to win and he's going to need the help of everyone. And he's a Christian, for Christ's sake!

Mercy, justice and love. Can you remember those things? And stop praying for McCain/Palin. It ain't gonna happen, and I'm really tired of listening to all that hatred and bigotry been spewed out in my name.

Let the revolution happen!

God.

The secession of the blue states

From my good friend, Bob Poris.

Dear Red States:

If you manage to steal this election too, we’ve decided we’re leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we’re taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren’t aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly:

You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole’ Miss. We get 85% of America ’s venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama . We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition’s, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we’re going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they’re apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don’t care if you don’t show pictures of their childrens' caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we’re not willing to spend our resources in Bush’s Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country’s fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation’s fresh fruit, 95% of America’s quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford , Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite too, thank you.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we’re discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

Finally, we’re taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico .

Peace out,
Blue States