Senator Barack Obama has now, in my opinion, clinched the presidency of the United States with a win in Ohio. Our world has now changed for the better.
.
Let's be clear, though. This is not a victory for me. This is not a victory for the Democratic Party. This is not a victory for a liberal or progressive ideology. This is a victory for America. This is a victory for the middle class. This is a victory for every man, woman and child who ever saw a rough spot in life. A victory for those who have been less fortunate that most. A victory for all Americans who have trouble getting proper health care. A victory for the entire planet. A new world order can now begin.
The people of the world will wake up tomorrow smiling, proud of what America has accomplished. The people of the world will know that the horrific history of slavery that has eaten away at the hearts of the American people for many, many years may now finally be put to rest. This does not mean racism is gone...but it certainly means the path of healing may now finally begin.
.
With this victory I begin to cry
With this victory I am able to sing
With this victory I start to laugh
With this victory LET FREEDOM RING!
.
Congratulations, President Elect Barack Obama! The world is proud of you, proud of America and proud of you and me.
Well folks, here we go! It's one day before the election and all final polling data has been released. I have eliminated all states with a 5% or less margin for Obama and below are the results.
Dare I be smiling at this point? I don't know...but I do know that everyone needs to be getting out the vote tomorrow. USE YOUR PHONES. Call everyone in your address book. Have everyone you call to call everyone in their address books. We are oh so close, so let's win one for the middle class and the future of our children.
The history of fake outrage by the Republican campaign has been ridiculous. We've all seen the outrage over mini happenstance. The latest was the outrage over the girl with a B carved in her face. Of course, once it was found out to be true where was the outrage towards her? It was non existant.
Morning Joe:
I'm an avid watcher of Morning Joe and have been a fan since they started. It's part of my morning routine and I enjoy the dose of right wing banter that it gives me. I've always liked Joe, despite his possible murder of an aide in his office, Lori Klausutis. His spirit is in the right place even though his politics are in the wrong direction.
This morning Joe Scarborough's sidekick Willie Geist headed out to a neighborhood in Manhattan wearing a McCain/Palin T-shirt. He had an obvious video crew and was attempting to give out McCain/Palin T-Shirts. Nobody wanted one.
He got answers ranging from "Is this your Halloween outfit?" to "I don't like McCain, he stands for everything I'm against."
The video was light hearted and fun to watch if you're an Obama supporter. Willie did manage to get 2 McCain supporters to stop after hours of waiting. Unfortunately for him, they were the only two. It wasn't the video that got my blood boiling...it was the response from Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnacle.
After the video finished Joe Scarborough was outraged saying, "Aren't liberals supposed to be open minded?!?!" Mike Barnacle got his own jab by saying that we are "humorless" and to "LIGHTEN UP!" He's kidding right? They send Willie Geist to the most liberal part of New York City and expect people, 5 days before an election, to laugh and joke about something as serious as a possible McCain/Palin administration? Yeah, right.
Fake Outrage:
I grow weary of the fake outrage from the right wing talking heads. I grow weary of them constantly trashing Obama and then being "outraged" at every little thing they can. There is one simple word to describe it. PETTY.
Pettiness may lose them this election. I, for one, hope it does.
According to an article by Janet Porter on WorldNetDaily, anyone voting for Barack Obama next week is going to hell. It is apparent from the article that anyone voting for Barack Obama is not a Christian.
Here is a great quote from the article.
To all those who name the name of Christ who plan to willfully disobey Him by voting for Obama, take warning. Not only is our nation in grave danger, according to the Word of God, so are you ... [T]his election is not about race. It's not about the economy. It's about obeying God. And more...
Be forewarned: If you willfully disobey God on life and marriage because of race or false hope for the economy, you will usher in the kind of change that brought the Soviet Union to collapse. But the warning goes far beyond that. To those who think that God's grace gives them license to willfully disobey Him without consequences – think again:
Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matthew 7:21-23)
It seems Christians only have one choice this year. Vote for John McCain or you can kiss your Christianity goodbye!
"To those who call themselves by the name of Christ who ignore what God says about life and marriage, who and are clinging to a fantasy of economic gain, think again ... Then obey Him in the voting booth and out of it. If not, do us all a favor and quit calling yourself a Christian. "
Is this woman insane? Why would anyone feel that the person they voted for affected their religious stance anyway? I'm pretty sure that anyone could quote scripture till they were blue in the face and could not find ANY valid interpretation that would lead them to believe that a vote for Obama is a vote that will send you straight to hell.
Let's skip the fact that Janet Porter has a mental problem. Let's assume, for the moment, that she is a sane individual with a normal thought process. If, by some other standard of insanity, that is true, then why would any normal Christian say such a thing? Isn't Christianity the religion of tolerance? Isn't it the religion of peace? Isn't it the religion of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?" If that's the case, then Janet Porter, not Barack Obama voters, could be on the fast track to "Hell."
Please...someone...anyone tell me in what world would the Right Wing let us get away with saying anything REMOTELY close to what Ms. Porter is saying? The double standards MUST STOP. This MUST be widely reported. I have faith that the American people can smell a bullsh*tter when they have to. WorldNetDaily should be ashamed of themselves for allowing that article to be posted. Then again, when's the last time you saw a Conservative be ashamed of anything they do?
Saying anyone who votes for Barack Obama is not Christian is wrong, immoral and totally against what Christianity is actually trying to teach. Someone PLEASE tell her this!!!
I am a cynic and this is how I see the electoral map with one week to go. It's looking like New Hampshire could be the state to watch this time around! Come on New Hampshire, Barack the vote! I will give another electoral map update on Friday. Let's hope it changes!
John McCain's military service record has led many to believe that he is a hero. Personally, in many ways, I believe he is. However, so is John Kerry and that didn't stop the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth from slandering him with lies, half-truths and propaganda. Most of the information herein can be found here. I have summarized some of the relevant points but there are many more in the article. After reading this, make up your own mind on Barack Obama's character. He could have easily let the far left run ads on what I'm about to summarize for you. Obama takes the high road. He doesn't allow such character attacks on McCain's military career, no matter how horrific some of the details are.
Former General Wesley Clark made an attempt to set the record straight about John McCain's military service, but was met with harsh criticism from the conservatively biased media. Apparently, John Kerry's military record is up for scrutiny but John McCain's isn't.
The facts remain that none of the people imprisoned with John McCain are out on the trail campaigning for him. Has anyone ever asked themselves why? Have you ever wondered why none of his crew mates from the USS Forrestal are campaigning with him? Well I did, and what I found will surprise you and perhaps even cause you to question his record yourself.
McCain - Man of Honor?
In the spring of 1974, Navy commander John McCain has returned home from his horrific experience in Hanoi. While on the grounds of the Fort McNair military base, McCain runs into John Dramesi, an Air Force lieutenant colonel who was also imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam.
However, there is a difference between these two men even though they shared a similar experience in North Vietnam. Some call it an "honor gap." Understandably, John McCain cracked under the torturous conditions as many before him had. He offered a "confession" to his North Vietnamese captors. Mr. Dramesi, on the other hand, not only attempted two daring escapes but he never uttered a single solitary disloyal word. Dramesi was tortured daily for over a month with sessions that nearly killed him. In fact, for his heroism, Dramesi received two Air Force Crosses, on of the branch's highest distinctions. Even McCain calls him "one of the toughest guys I've ever met." This, in my opinion, proves Dramesi's an honorable man who, when given a chance, will tell it like it is.
That's unfortunate for McCain, as Dramesi recalls a conversation he had with McCain while discussing a trip abroad that each of their college's sponsored. Here is the conversation:
"I'm going to the Middle East," Dramesi says. "Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran."
"Why are you going to the Middle East?" McCain asks, dismissively.
"It's a place we're probably going to have some problems," Dramesi says.
"Why? Where are you go.ing to, John?"
"Oh, I'm going to Rio," said McCain
"What the hell are you going to Rio for?"
McCain, a married father of three, shrugs and says, "I got a better chance of getting laid."
You'd think that Dramesi would have been shocked by his chauvinistic banter, but he wasn't. Dramesi had this to say about the comment made by McCain.
"McCain says his life changed while he was in Vietnam, and he is now a different man," Dramesi said recently. "But he's still the undisciplined, spoiled brat that he was when he went in."
So, as we can see, an adulterous nature has been established by a fellow servicemen. Could he be lying? Sure he could...but unlike the Swift Boat Veteran's for Truth attacks (SBVT) on John Kerry, Dramesi was actually where he claimed to be. Many in the ads by the SBVT were not even in the area of John Kerry while claiming the moronic stories they did. Once one piece of their ads or the book Unfit for Command come out, it is difficult to trust anything else that is said by the same source. Unfortunately for Kerry, the American people just heard the headlines...not the evidence of outright falsehoods that came after.
Educating John McCain:
John McCain III was the son and grandson of high level military. His grandfather, John Sidney "Slew" McCain was a 4 star Admiral and commanded a U.S. carrier force in World War II. His father, "Junior" McCain was also a 4 star Admiral. It is perhaps in this revelation, that McCain's anger and frustration took root. Always feeling the pressure of his father and grandfather's accomplishments, but not quite having the brainpower to match them. McCain was a lousy student, barely passing classes, at times.
His sophomore year was his first recorded temper tantrum. When McCain tried picking up a pair of women while cruising with a friend, he was laughed at by the ladies, obviously not interested. McCain yelled and cursed them so fouly that he found himself in court on a profanity charge. Throughout his educational career he would drink until hammered and treat girls as poorly as any drunk you've met in your lifetime. Had McCain's parents not intervened he would have been expelled from Annapolis for excessive demerits.
McCain's First Airplane Crash:
Let's all not forget that Mr. McCain was a pilot. He wasn't a commercial airline pilot, either. He was a bonafied "Maverick" from Top Gun. At least according to him. Unfortunately, he's the only one who thinks so highly of his flight career.
An excerpt from his book is a good way to begin:
"I enjoyed the off-duty life of a Navy flier more than I enjoyed the actual flying," McCain writes. "I drove a Corvette, dated a lot, spent all my free hours at bars and beach parties." McCain chased a lot of tail. He hit the dog track. Developed a taste for poker and dice. He picked up models when he could, screwed a stripper when he couldn't."
I'm pretty sure that, at the time, he wasn't thinking about running for President. Back to his flight issues, according to those he flew with, McCain had issues with stalling his plane mid flight. It was at a training camp in Corpus Christi Bay that his first "crash" occurred. During a routine practice landing the plane stalled, and McCain was knocked out on impact. Thankfully, he came to, as he had landed underwater. He swam to the surface and was rescued. After the experience, instead of taking it easy and learning from his mistakes, McCain decided to still go out for the evening after a taking some painkillers.
"Crash" Number Two:
McCain's second "crash" came about due to his youthful addiction to gambling. Many of those that served with McCain would relish in their stories of Mr. McCain's gambling addiction, including himself. He was a craps player and used the term "addictive" to describe it.
One day, while flying over Spain, John McCain deviated from his designated flight path, apparently viewing the casinos from a lower perspective. According to the report, John McCain flew too low to the ground and he ended up slicing through a power line, bringing darkness to much of the surrounding area. Apparently, the military has a stricter code on what they consider a "crash." It could also have to do with his self described, "daredevil clowning" that led to the designation.
Most pilots would have lost their wings after the first crash, and almost all of them after a second crash. But thanks to the ole "family pull" he remained a pilot. Had he not been, he would never have endured the torture of a Vietnamese prison camp.
Crash Number Three:
The third crash from Mr. McCain came while flying back from Philadelphia. He was there on a date with his former model girlfriend, and soon to be wife, Carol Shepp. He was landing his plane at a refueling stop in Norfolk, Virginia when his plane stalled...again. This time, however, he managed to bail out at around 1000 feet and survived with no injury. The same could not be said for the plane, however.
This pretty much sealed the deal on his flying privileges. They were now, apparently, irrevocable.
Vietnam:
First, I cannot begin to understand the pain and suffering the John McCain suffered for our country. He did so with honor and I commend him for his decision to stay at the camp until the other prisoners were allowed to go with him. However, his decision to throw the military Code of Conduct that governed POWs was clear; "give no information. . . which might be harmful to my comrades." Under the code, POWs are bound to give only their name, rank, service number and date of birth. They are to give no statements that are disloyal to their country.
After McCain's fourth crash in Hanoi, he was captured. After what was probably a horrific period of pain and discomfort he proclaimed to his captors, "I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital." McCain now insists that he was "bluffing" the Vietnamese in order to get hospital treatment. However, according to Dramesi, who as we recall from earlier, did not give up any information, said McCain tried justifying his behavior while they were still prisoners. "I had to tell them," McCain insisted to Dramesi, "or I would have died in bed."
It is understandable that he was to give up the information, but lying to the American public about it, is not. I will end with this:
"Dramesi says he has no desire to dishonor McCain's service, but he believes that celebrating the downed pilot's behavior as heroic — "he wasn't exceptional one way or the other" — has a corrosive effect on military discipline. "This business of my country before my life?" Dramesi says. "Well, he had that opportunity and failed miserably. If it really were country first, John McCain would probably be walking around without one or two arms or legs — or he'd be dead.""
Conclusion:
Now I don't know if everything I have summarized is true. But I do believe some of it is. I believe John McCain has cheated on his wife, wasn't a very good pilot, and was not as honorable in his actions as he claims.
Any of you who have not read this article must read it now. I have only covered HALF of the article to keep this post from being too long. Please take the time, think about it objectively, and make your own decision before you cast a vote for John McCain.
We learned from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that a man's military record is not off limits. We found out it was okay to question a man's bravery, a man's purple heart and a man's entire military service. We found out it was okay to outright LIE to the American people by using veterans who were not even stationed anywhere near John Kerry. What we found out thanks to the SBVT was shameful and completely below the belt.
What we have found out about Obama is that he refuses to allow an attack based on military service. He refuses to let the 527 groups run attacks against McCain's military record. I believe that if every voting American were to read the article I referenced, McCain would not even have a chance in this election.
It appears some of the old cast of Happy Days has decided to get together and make an important statement. This is well worth 3 minutes of your time. If you have any trouble viewing this, click here.
In a true reversal of fortunes it appears that the Republican smear machine won't be using al-Qaeda against Barack Obama like was done to John Kerry in 2004.
2004:
In 2004, John Kerry was bashed by Fox News that Osama bin Laden had endorsed him. They derived this ridiculous attack from a video he released just days before the election. Dick Morris, a Faux News contributor, said "I think that Al Qaeda is voting with its silence for John Kerry." Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said terrorists "are going to throw everything they can between now and the election to try and elect Kerry."
This is the purest example of Fox News' (and other Conservative media outlets) attempts to brainwash America. They repeatedly make accusations through innuendo and I find it disgusting. I used to be a Fox News junkie. I watched it for hours upon hours during the run up to the 2004 election and the 2006 election. It finally reached a tipping point and I could no longer bare the sadness and disappointment in the "Fair and Balanced" news source.
2006:
We all know that the Bush administration isn't concerned with al-Qaeda. However, I still am and would love to know that there was a team totally dedicated to finding him. It just seems crazy that Bush would say he isn't concerned with him anymore. Osama bin Laden obviously is the reason 9/11 happened. Why would Bush shut down the team trying to find him? This was barely reported on Fox News, as I was still a junkie. I began having to go to other news sources to find factual information. The attacks on the democratic party were monumental. Thankfully, they all came to realize they were going to lose. It's why the election night coverage was so boring. What we've learned is that when Fox News knows its team has lost, they are silent. It was around this time I began watching MSNBC and CNN more.
2008:
Now it appears that John McCain has been endorsed by al-Qaeda supporters. Where is Faux News bashing McCain for the endorsement? Where are the "Fair and Balanced" smears that were put on John Kerry in 2004 that should now be towards McCain in 2008? There is no backlash at all from Fox. Does anyone find this strange? I doubt it. I can't believe they haven't been sued for false advertisement for their slogan, "Fair and Balanced" after watching their Tim Russert and Colin Powell coverage.
Now election time is near and Fox News has continued to grow their conservative base. Gone is the balance and objective reporting they had years ago. I believe they've lost many supporters who enjoyed another viewpoint on the news. However, they have replaced those people with more and more conservative nutjobs who will believe anything they say.
Fox News is like a horrific car crash, you can't help but watch from afar, even though you know it's wrong.
Well, SueBeeHonee, another author on this blog posted earlier about Cindy McCain's $300,000 complete outfit worn at the Republican National Convention. The argument got heated and I believe was left with everyone saying it didn't matter because it was Cindy McCain's money and she should be able to do with it whatever she wants. While I thought it was too over the top to pretend you "know people are hurting" the conservative leaning commenter's made their pitch and I will let it stand. But that brings us to what this entry is really about. Sarah Palin's Wardrobe.
List of Charges:
The Republican National Committee has spent over $150,000 to outfit Sarah Palin on the campaign trail. These charges are as follows:
Macy's in Minneapolis - 3 pays totalling..$28,343.13 Neimen Marcus in Minneapolis - ............$75,062.63 Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis & NY - ......$49,425.74 RNC for Hair & Makeup Expenses - .........$4,716.49 Barney's in NY - .....................................$789.72 Bloomingdale's in NY - ...........................$5,102.71
I know some of you will be asking, what's the point of going through this type of scenario again? The answer is simple, this is not the wife of a Presidential candidate spending her own money on an outfit. This is the McCain campaign & the RNC spending donation money on incredibly expensive clothing for Sarah Palin (and likely McCain, as well). How can you advocate for the poor when you spend money on clothing like that? How can you truly "know the people are hurting," when you so blatantly spend top dollar on unnecessary fashion?
The McCain campaign has answered this charge by saying they will be giving the clothing to charity once the campaign is over. Does anyone else find this to be a bogus claim? So what if they give it to charity, I doubt it will ever get the value it originally cost.
Shouldn't Republicans be upset by this? Shouldn't they be saying the McCain campaign has more important things to spend donated money on? Shouldn't they be saying why are you spending money on Sarah Palin's baby when she is not part of the campaign? Shouldn't they be asking any of those things?
Since I was receiving some whining from the Right about how nothing is ever posted here about ACORN or Ayers, I decided to do an entry dedicated to the FACTS about William Ayers and ACORN. As always, I will inject opinion as I see fit, but with sources that you can either choose to ignore or read and educate yourself on the situation.
Let's start with William Ayers, a 1960's former anti-war terrorist. He is well known for his radical past as well as his current work in education reform. What do we know about William Ayers? We know plenty. So let's start with a quick synopsis of his early life that led him to the terrorist acts he planned and went through with. This sums it up from Wikipedia.
Ayers became involved in the New Left and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).[7] He rose to national prominence as an SDS leader in 1968 and 1969. As head of an SDS regional group, the "Jesse James Gang", Ayers made decisive contributions to the Weatherman orientation toward militancy.[5]The group Ayers headed in Detroit, Michigan became one of the earliest gatherings of what became the Weatherman. Between the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the June 1969 SDS convention, Ayers became a prominent leader of the group, which arose as a result of a schism in SDS.[5]"During that time his infatuation with street fighting grew and he developed a language of confrontational militancy that became more and more pronounced over the year [1969]", disaffected former Weatherman member Cathy Wilkerson wrote in 2001. Ayers had previously become a roommate of Terry Robbins, a fellow militant, Wilkerson wrote. Robbins would later be killed while making a bomb.[8]
In June 1969, the Weatherman took control of the SDS at its national convention, where Ayers was elected Education Secretary.[5] Later in 1969, Ayers participated in planting a bomb at a statue dedicated to riot police casualties in the 1886 Haymarket Riot confrontation between labor supporters and the police.[9] The blast broke almost 100 windows and blew pieces of the statue onto the nearby Kennedy Expressway.[10] (The statue was rebuilt and unveiled on May 4, 1970, and blown up again by other Weathermen on October 6, 1970.[11][10] Rebuilding it yet again, the city posted a 24-hour police guard to prevent another blast.[10]) Ayers participated in the Days of Rage riot in Chicago in October 1969, and in December was at the "War Council" meeting in Flint, Michigan. Larry Grathwohl, an FBI informant in the Weatherman group from the fall of 1969 to the spring of 1970, thought that "Ayers, along with Bernardine Dohrn, probably had the most authority within the Weatherman".[12]
I will be the first to admit that what Ayers participated in was not only wrong, but terribly and horrifically wrong. He has even stated that if he had it to do all over again he would likely oppose the Vietnam war in similar ways. However, he's 60 years old now and realizes the hypothetical would never come to pass. Here's a quote by him I found interesting:
"I've thought about this a lot. Being almost 60, it's impossible to not have lots and lots of regrets about lots and lots of things, but the question of did we do something that was horrendous, awful? ... I don't think so. I think what we did was to respond to a situation that was unconscionable."
Obama's "ties" to William Ayers:
There is nothing that can sum this up better than Wikipedia. They've cited sources for all of the events and happenings between Obama and Ayers. I believe, if you chose to read the below and actually follow the sources, you would see that John McCain(and Anti-Socialism)'s attempt to link Obama to a former Terrorist is quite laughable. Read the below, if you dare to have your mind changed.
Bill Ayers and Barack Obama at one time lived in the same neighborhood in the city of Chicago, and both had worked on education reform in the state of Illinois. The two met "at a luncheon meeting about school reform."[41] Obama was named to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge Project Board of Directors to oversee the distribution of grants in Chicago. Later in 1995, Ayers hosted "a coffee" for "Mr. Obama's first run for office."[42] The two served on the board of a community anti-poverty group, the Woods Fund of Chicago, between 2000 and 2002, during which time the board met twelve times.[42] In April 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's re-election fund to the Illinois State Senate.[41] Since 2002, there has been little linking Obama and Ayers.[42] The senator said in September 2008 that he hadn't "seen him in a year-and-a-half."[43] In February 2008, Obama spokesman Bill Burton released a statement from the senator about the relationship between the two: "Senator Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence. But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost forty years ago is ridiculous."[41]CNN's review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the non-profit projects in which the two men were involved.[44] Internal reviews by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, The Chicago Sun-Times, The New Yorker and The New Republic "have said that their reporting doesn't support the idea that Obama and Ayers had a close relationship".[45]
I suppose the conservatives of the world will claim "media bias" on all of the internal reviews so that they can continue to slander Obama's name by using the term "terrorist" and "Obama" in the same sentence. Once again, in my opinion, the Republican party shows that they have to lie to get ahead in a campaign. I find it disgusting and shameful, to quote Larry's new favorite term. Obama did not have a "close relationship" with Ayers so there is no need to compare the two ever again. That being said, let's move on to the next "scandal" involving Barack Obama.
As I did before, let's go over what ACORN is and then we'll see how Obama ties into the latest voter fraud "scandal."
ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now. It is a community-based organization that advocates for low and moderate income families by working on neighborhood safety, health care and other social issues. ACORN was founded in 1970 by Wade Rathke and Gary Delgado. Maud Hurde is now the president and has been since 1990.
ACORN says that it is non-partisan but I'm pretty sure they have been aligned with the policies of the Democrats for quite some time. I suppose having a view on policy and being non-partisan CAN go hand in hand...but generally "the poor" are democrats so it is likely ACORN, being advocates for the poor are a progressive organization despite the "non-partisan" claim.
ACORN's primary issues they fund raise for are actions against predatory lending, helping the poor establish affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, education reform and gun control. They have had many successful and unsuccessful campaigns within each category.
House of Representatives Republican leader John Boehner (pronounced Bainer) called for ACORN to be barred from receiving federal monies, and for a ban on ACORN contracting with candidates for federal office. He said, "ACORN spent decades promoting the housing policies that brought America's economy to the brink, and similarly over the years has committed fraud on our system of elections"
In contrast, John Atlas writes an editorial that ACORN has "accumulated many enemies" and has been "subjected to vicious attacks from business lobbyists, conservative politicians, and right-wing media." This same source says that the Bush administration has harassed ACORN with accusations of voter fraud. In a report released on October 2008, the United States Department of Justice Inspector General found that former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was wrongfully fired by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalas after Iglesias declined to indict over alleged voter fraud at an ACORN affiliate in New Mexico, citing insufficient evidence.
I'm not a big fan of a non-partisan group being partisan. But ACORN is an excellent organization and the good they have done far outshines any bad. In fact, I could not find any evidence of ACORN being indicted for voter fraud or any other misgivings.
John McCain and ACORN:
Yes, even John McCain has his own ties to ACORN. We might as well get those out of the way first. In October 2008, the McCain campaign released a web-based ad suggesting ACORN was partly responsible for the 2008 economic crisis. ACORN pushed back on this accusation via its website, calling the spot "a smear ad". On October 13, ACORN released a picture of Senator McCain attending an ACORN immigration forum to Politico. Wow, let's string McCain up for having ties to ACORN why don't we?
Let's get some truths about Obama's ties to ACORN out of the way first.
"Discredited Republican voter-suppression guru Ken Blackwell is attacking Barack Obama with naked lies about his supposed connection to ACORN.
• Fact: Barack was never an ACORN community organizer. • Fact: ACORN never hired Obama as a trainer, organizer, or any type of employee. • Fact: ACORN was not part of Project Vote, the successful voter registration drive Barack ran in 1992.
In his capacity as an attorney, Barack represented ACORN in a successful lawsuit alongside the U.S. Department of Justice against the state of Illinois to force state compliance with a federal voting access law. For his work helping enforce the law, called “Motor Voter,” Barack received the IVI-IPO Legal Eagle Award in 1995.
Ken Blackwell is best known today for disenfranchising Democratic voters in his dual role as Ohio Secretary of State and chair of George Bush’s Ohio campaign in 2004. To see him shed crocodile tears for the integrity of the vote while making accusations about Barack and ACORN with absolutely no basis in fact is disturbing. Blackwell’s attacks against ACORN and community organizers continue a vile Republican pattern of mockery and viciousness against this noble profession. Community organizers are the very individuals Republicans should be celebrating for helping people to help themselves rather than depending on the government.
In an October 14 article, the Associated Press reported that "Obama and two other lawyers represented ACORN [the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] in 1995 in a lawsuit against the state of Illinois to make voter registration easier." Similarly, during the October 14 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, investigative correspondent Drew Griffin stated that "[a]s an attorney, [Obama] represented the ACORN group in a motor voter case in the state of Illinois, a case that he won." But neither the AP nor Griffin pointed out that the Department of Justice, the League of Women Voters of Illinois, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) joined with ACORN as plaintiffs in the suit."
I find this important because every report we seem to be seeing does not list the actual facts of this case. Instead they make it appear that Obama is a champion for ACORN, when in fact he was representing other organizations as well...including our own Department of Justice! Media Bias? Perhaps... The bottom line is, his ties to ACORN are over exaggerated, overplayed and Fox News is desperate to tie Obama to anything that will bring him down. Thankfully, most Americans feel the smear campaign is one reason NOT to vote for John McCain. Most Americans may not be as stupid as I once thought.
Here's some quotes from Reagan Democrats I think you will all enjoy.
A focus group showing a hard-hitting, no-holds barred anti-Obama attack ad from a 527 that has yet to air, to a group of midwestern Reagan Democrats. The results:
"Reagan Dems and Independents. Call them blue-collar plus. Slightly more Target than Walmart. Yes, the spot worked. Yes, they believed the charges against Obama. Yes, they actually think he's too liberal, consorts with bad people and WON'T BE A GOOD PRESIDENT...but they STILL don't give a f***. They said right out, "He won't do anything better than McCain" but they're STILL voting for Obama.
The two most unreal moments of my professional life of watching focus groups:
54 year-old white male, voted Kerry '04, Bush '00, Dole '96, hunter, Nascar fan...hard for Obama said: "I'm gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He's gonna be a bad president. But I won't ever vote for another god-damn Republican. I want the government to take over all of Wall Street and bankers and the car companies and Wal-Mart run this county like we used to when Reagan was President."
The next was a woman, late 50s, Democrat but strongly pro-life. Loved B. and H. Clinton, loved Bush in 2000. "Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."
I felt like I was taking crazy pills. I sat on the other side of the glass and realized...this really is the Apocalypse. The Seventh Seal is broken and its time for eight years of pure, delicious crazy...."
Conclusion:
Well, as we approach the end of this entry I've come the conclusion that my conservative friends have forced me to make a very wise decision. That wise decision involved actual research (not blog research or Fox News research) and brain power to come to the conclusion that Obama's ties with William Ayers and ACORN are nothing more than innocent encounters for Obama and should not, and do not, represent his world view or policy decisions. Bring on the critics....these "scandals" are DEAD.
A special commision was put in charge of the "Abuse of Power" allegations against Sarah Palin. Now that we have the findings of a bipartisan report to pave the way on Sarah Palin's abuse of power, let's get serious.
"The Palin family had a feud with Wooten prior to her becoming governor. They put together a list of 14 accusations which they took to the state police to investigate -- a list that ranged from the quite serious to the truly absurd. The state police did an investigation, decided that 5 of the charges had some merit and suspended Wooten for ten days -- a suspension later reduced to five days. The Palin's weren't satisfied but there wasn't much they could do.
When Palin became governor they went for another bite at the apple. Palin, her husband and several members of her staff began pressuring Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan -- a respected former Chief of the Anchorage police department -- to can Wooten. Monegan resisted, arguing that the official process regarding Wooten was closed. And there was nothing more that could be done. In fact, during one of the conversations in which Palin's husband Todd was putting on the squeeze, Monegan told Todd Palin, "You can't head hunt like this. What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, it can look like political interference."
Eventually, Palin got fed up and fired Monegan from his job. (Palin claims, not credibly, that she fired Monegan over general differences in law enforcement priorities.) This is an important point. Wooten never got fired. To the best of my knowledge, he's is still on the job. The central bad act was firing the state's top police official because he refused to bend to political pressure from the governor and her family to fire a public employee against whom the governor was pursuing a vendetta -- whether the vendetta was justified or not. After Monegan made his accusations, Palin insisted there was no truth whatsoever to his claims. Nonetheless, a bipartisan committee of the state legislature approved an investigation. In response, Palin asked the Attorney General to start his own investigation which many in the state interpreted as an effort to either keep tabs on or tamper with the legislature's investigation. Again, very questionable judgment in someone who aspires to be first in line to the presidency."
Now, after all that being said, Sarah Palin had to change her story because of the Attorney General turning up evidence that Palin's initial claims were false. Apparently quite a few staff members had raised concerns over Wooten's employment by Monegan. The real kicker is that the state actually has a recording. If you don't care to read about it, click HERE to listen to the actual MP3 audio.
The bottom line on "TrooperGate" is that we expect our elected officials to not take advantage of their power as a governing official. We expect them to uphold a code of Ethics and a general Morality that the majority of people share in this great country of ours. Sarah Palin did not. The currently available evidence now suggests that she 1) tried to have an ex-relative fired from his job for personal reasons, something that was clearly inappropriate, and perhaps illegal, though possibly understandable in human terms, 2) fired a state official for not himself acting inappropriately by firing the relative, 3) lied to the public about what happened and 4) continues to lie about what happened.
Why is it that all politicians won't come clean until the evidence forces them to do so? Bill Clinton did it, Nixon did it, Reagan never had to (Iran-Contra) because Ollie North took the fall for him. Yet Sarah Palin continues to lie about her involvement? Can we ever get the truth from these people? Do we really want someone with this obvious "lie to your face" mentality to be a heartbeat away from running our federal government?
Yes there is more to Sarah's abuse of her status as Governor of Alaska. The Palin's two-story, four bedroom, four bath home on Lake Lucille is worth $552,000.
"Todd Palin built the house with friends who were contractors, he said in a recent television interview."
Why is this important? It's important because at the same time Todd was building the new Palin house, just down the street the Wasilla Sports Complex was under construction.
The real question now becomes "Who were those contractors that did a favor for the Palin's by building their house? Was it done because of sports complex contracts they provided? Wayne Barnett of the Village Voice asks the question.
Wayne Barrett reports that after the $12.5 million Wasilla Sports Complex was approved, the design contract went to architect Blase Burkhart, "son of Roy Burkhart, who is described as a "mentor" of Sarah Palin and was head of the Republican Party in Wasilla." Roy Burkhart was also a Palin campaign contributor. Then Palin appointed Blase Burkhart to the builder-selection committee, which gave the construction contract to "Howdie Inc., a residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent." Nugent was a Palin campaign contributor, also. Suprised? I'm not.
What happened next is what gets the juices flowing. Barnett:
"A list of subcontractors on the [sports complex] job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002—at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor—Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office. Spenard actually filed a notice "of its right to assert a lien" on the deed for the Palin property after contracting for labor and materials for the site. Spenard's name has popped up in the trial of Senator Stevens—it worked on the house that is at the center of the VECO scandal as well.
Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies."As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were. The house was built very near the complex, on a site whose city purchase led to years of unsuccessful litigation and, now, $1.3 million in additional costs, with a law firm that's also donated to Palin collecting costly fees from the city. Dorwin and Joanne Smith, the principals of complex subcontractor DJ Excavation & Development, have donated $7,100 to Palin and her allied candidate Charlie Fannon (Joanne is a Palin appointee on the state Board of Nursing). Sheldon Ewing, who owns another complex subcontractor, Weld Air, has donated $1,300, and PN&D, an engineering firm on the complex, has contributed $699.
Ewing was one of the few sports-complex contractors, aside from Spenard, willing to address the question of whether he worked on the house as well, but he had little to say: "I doubt that it occurred, but if it did indirectly, how would I know anyhow?" The odd timing of Palin's house construction—it was completed two months before she left City Hall and while she and Todd Palin were campaigning statewide for the first time—raises questions, especially considering its synergy with the complex."
Does any of this seem a little off to you? Large construction contracts are being handed out to campaign contributers at the same time Todd's "buddies," who just happen to be contractors, are helping Todd build the new Palin house. At the same time Sarah is making sure there will be no public record of building permits. To me, this is a very similar situation that Ted Stevens is currently in. The main difference is that Sarah, as Governor of Alaska, can hide things a bit easier.
Here is the interview with Todd Palin on Fox News (of course).
Conclusion:
To me all of this seems to point to a family with ethics issues. Do we really want someone who so easily takes handouts and abuses power as our next Vice President? I want someone with who is a positive thinker, tells the truth and speaks to me with honesty. Sarah Palin is not that person. I will leave you with 2 women from Alaska speaking about Gov. Palin.
Sometimes the whining from the GOP gets to an all-time idiotic level that makes most of the American public throw up their hands in disgust. This is one of those times.
The GOP could have taken this opportunity to claim they helped America by not passing this bill. 95 Democrats could have joined them in this cause. Democrats could have said the legislation did not contain enough regulation or enough punishment for Wall Street executives that got us into this mess. The GOP could have said their constituents were upset and did not want them to vote for it. This didn't happen.
Instead, the GOP blamed the Democrats for the bill not passing.
What? Did I hear that right? I did.
The GOP is blaming the Democrats for this bill not passing because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi giving a speech telling the TRUTH?
Partisan Politics Aside:
Now we've heard from both sides that they want partisan politics & presidential politics off the table when voting for this bill. Because of this stance by the American people, John McCain suffered his worst poll numbers in a long time after the debate. Now, because of the bailout not succeeding, it is fair to say that he can re-stable his white horse. This is the fault of the GOP, hands down.
Most GOP & Democrats have resisted this bill since it's inception, as they should have. The lack of oversight and regulation by the original Paulson legislation was horrific, irresponsible and downright wrong. The Democrats knew this and immediately pounced on it. Good for them and for the fiscal Conservatives in the GOP that did as well. Though they did it for different reasons, the end result was the same.
Working Together:
I hate the term "Bi Partisan" as it has been an oxymoron of stupendous proportions in the last 8 years (sorta like Military Intelligence). This wasn't about bipartisanship, it was about political posturing during an election year. This is why so many democrats said no to the bill. Nancy Pelosi did not want the democrats owning this bill, period. I don't blame her. She wanted 2/3 of Democrats and 2/3 of Republicans to vote for this bill. There is VERY GOOD reasoning for this. She wants the Democrats AND the Republicans to own this equally. The way it was setup was to show that not everyone agreed with it, but that it was agreed upon on both sides of the aisle.
The Republicans did not vote NO to this bill because their feelings got hurt. But, stupidly, they are saying they did! What a crock! They have now taken a giant foot and inserted it directly in their asses because of this. Their original plan did not work so now they are crying foul on the Democrats. I cry foul on the GOP!
The Plan & Political Posturing:
The original plan of the GOP was to get Democrats to vote for this bill and then have the Republicans not show up so that later they could say, "We have nothing to do with this bill that George W. Bush and the Democrats have signed on for." A clever tactic that Nancy Pelosi saw right through. Nancy Pelosi saw that the only way for this bill to not cost the election for either party was to have bi-partisan support as well as bi-partisan negativity. This would create a political environment that would not only allow the bill to pass, but would also make it so that neither Presidential candidate was affected.
It worked perfectly.
Pelosi did her job on the phone with this one. She knew exactly how many FOR and how many AGAINST we had on the Democratic side. She knew this and adjusted where necessary. She knew the possible plan of the GOP and made sure the numbers on the Democratic side were right. The Democrats would not own this bill alone, PERIOD.
The Speech:
The day of the vote was like any other vote day in Congress with something a little bit different. It seemed the Republicans and Democrats were actually on board with what was happening. There was no feeling of smugness permeating the hall of Congress. There was no stink of ill feelings towards one another. This was all smoke and mirrors.
The GOP had never planned on signing off on this bill, and all they needed was an excuse. Nancy Pelosi gave them one.
Nancy Pelosi got up to give a speech that was full of truth. She let Congress know exactly why we got into this mess and that we should never let it happen again. She attempted to shame congress into doing the right thing. Unfortunately, thinking she could shame a Republican into understanding the truth was a mistake.
The Republicans saw their excuse and used it. They still voted JUST enough to lure American into believing it was Pelosi's fault it didn't pass. Thanks to Barney Franks (who happens to be one of my favorite congressmen), it didn't work.
Barney Franks, an outwardly gay congressman, has been at the forefront of the financial crisis for quite sometime. He is one of the first to dismiss Henry Paulson's plan and has fought diligently to get a bill passed that would keep Americans from losing jobs in the next few months. He's smart, funny and angry. His reputation as a hardball is only outweighed by his knowledge of the facts in any debate. This man knows what he is doing
Thursday:
Not only are we having a historic debate on Thursday, but we may see another version of the bailout plan up for a vote. Watch for major political posturing and for the Democrats to cave in as usual. Watch for the Democrats balls to shrink, voices go squeaky and dicks go limp.
They may have won this round...but the GOP knows how to be angry...and right now they are angry. If Democrats perform as they normally do when the GOP is angry...I expect them to give in to whatever they want.
"If the campaign has nothing to hide....why are they hiding so much?"
The lack of original thought process by Sarah Palin is mind boggling and very worrisome to me. The repeating of talking points over and over when asked the same question is an interview style that seems full of ignorance and disdain for the interviewer. Katie was as nice as she could be but it's still apparent she lacks confidence in the Gov. from Alaska. This is likely due to the fact that she hasn't had a real interview (including her own) where she answered any REAL questions with original answers that could show the ability to formulate her own opinion.
The Karl Rove Plan:
While Palin is doing the best she can to learned the canned answers from the McCain campaign, Karl Rove has a different plan. Karl Rove is a genius. He may be an EVIL genius, but an evil genius is still a genius.
Karl Rove has plans and then backup plans. His plan to keep Palin giving softball interviews and still coming up with ignorant responses is just that, a plan. He is lowering the American public's expectations of Sarah Palin. He is doing so in hopes that she comes out in the debates and does a really fine job. Karl Rove's plan may work. This would lead to the thinking, "Wow, she's not as stupid as she appears to be" to take hold of the American public.
Karl Rove's backup plan is being seen this week. He is preempting the possibility of postponing the debate with Mr. Obama on Sept. 26th, 2008. He did this in hopes that Obama would give in and they could use the VP debate slot and give Palin extra time to do her homework. While this backup plan appears to be backfiring, the main plan is still in effect.
The debates:
The debates are upon us and soon we will learn what kind of men & woman Obama, Biden, Palin & McCain really are. I am satisfied with the moderators and feel we can learn a lot. Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer and Gwen Ifill (VP debate) are all excellent and fair moderators. I do not believe this will be an issue this year. The lack of follow-up may still be.
It will be interesting to see how each moderator handles the follow up issue. We all know that the lack of follow up has taken us down a dark road in the past with Iraq and even the Sarah Palin pick itself. Will these moderators make the tough choice of being TOUGH? I doubt it. We will likely see the same old cherry picking of questions and lingering responses that plagued the last 3 election cycle debates. Sure there's a timer...but it won't be used.
I certainly hope that each moderator makes appropriate follow up questions and calls each candidate out if they don't answer the question. Don't let them get away with talking points! This goes for Obama/Biden as well! I want real answers from real people about real issues.
The "I get to meet Obama" Update:
My wife, my mother and myself will be volunteering at the Obama/Biden rally in Greensboro, NC this weekend. I will have the greatest honor of meeting Mr. Obama and shaking his hand. I look forward to this and hope to see any of you NC readers there!
The event is free to the public on a first come/first serve basis so BE THERE EARLY!
236 E. Washington Street - In front of the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot Greensboro, NC Saturday, September 27th Gates Open: 10:00 a.m. Program Begins: 12:15 p.m.
Parking Information: Attendees are recommended to park in City of Greensboro parking garages which are free on Saturdays and are located at:
Greene Street at Washington Street Davie Street at Market Street Bellmeade Street at Greene Street N. Church Street between Friendly and East Lindsay
Street Closures: Event participants should enter through gates off of Elm Street. Streets will be closed surrounding the Depot starting Friday, September 27th, at 6:00 p.m. Additional street closures will begin Saturday morning, September 27th, at 6:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m., and will affect the blocks of:
Davie and McGee Davie and Washington Davie Street to Market Washington Street from Davie to Lyndell Street Church Street from Washington to Market Lyndell Street to Market Hughes from Church to Lyndell
Closures should affect traffic patterns from 6:00 am Saturday September 27th, through 3:00 p.m. Traffic may be congested in the area through 6:00 p.m.
Posts
