User's Blog

Mean old Katie tried to make her tell us what she reads.

Cameraphone pic by my neighbor K.B.

From Will Bunch at Attytood. I really don't know if McSpain is smart enough to figure out this type of strategy, but I guess Rover's people probably are and they are running his campaign...

"I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I've reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We'll just slip the word to them that, 'for God's sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about Communism. We can't restrain him when he's angry -- and he has his hand on the nuclear button' -- and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace."

-- H.R. Haldeman's 1978 The Ends of Power.

Read more! »

From Global Research --- Not quite sure of the ramifications, intent or reason, but it could be something interesting, like an October Surprise. We all know there is no telling what bush-boy will do. Maybe something regarding the COG -- Continuity of Government.

Pre-election Militarization of the North American Homeland. US Combat Troops in Iraq repatriated to "help with civil unrest"
By Michel Chossudovsky

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10341

Global Research, September 26, 2008

Read more! »

I'm watching "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train" on DVD.

Zinn was born in poverty on the Lower East Side and was a union shipbuilder at age 18
until he joined the Air Force, served on a bomber, and dropped napalm on a French town in WW2.

Upon returning he learned that the history of American labor, such as the Ludlow Massacre,
was not included in even graduate school texts.

He went South and taught at Spelman, the black college; where he was an early activist
against segregation, was targeted by the FBI, and was fired.

Active in the Peace Movement, he went to Vietnam at the time of the Tet Offensive, to arrange the release of 3 POW airmen.

He was beaten by American police while protesting more than once, and arrested for his words.

He wrote the Peoples History of The United States, telling our story from the side of the Indians, Slaves, Workers, Socialists.

He continues to contribute, from the WTO demonstrations to 9/11 to the Iraq fiasco to battling the Big Brother encroachment on domestic rights.

His wife of 64 years died in May.

--
John McCain can TALK DOWN to most of us from his position of age, from his wartime record, from his claim to a life of public service.

But Howard Zinn is older. Zinn's wartime service is less checkered and is buttressed by his subsequent activism against atrocity and mass bombing. His public service is tireless and less self-serving.

Where's John McCain when it's his proper place to be the student, not the font of wisdom?

Absent. Negligent. Complicit in the killing and abuse of power. Active in the lies.

I'll take Woody Guthrie, Howard Zinn, and Lloyd Wagner over a hundred McCains and all their money, anyday.

Timbuck said it would be OK to post this. If anyone is interested in raiding Hannity comment on this post. I have a private Google group set up for this so anyone who replies affirmatively to this will get an invite.

Just when you think the McPathetic campaign couldn't go any lower , they manage to find a heretofore unknown level of substrata.

In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.

Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”

The notion that a stunt like this could "shut down the race for a week" , is absurd until you realize that the media would probably fall for it. Even with the all the important shit going on right now , you just KNOW the media wouldn't be able to resist a Redneck Royal Wedding between Bible Spices slutty daughter and her shit for brains baby daddy.
I can just picture it , Sarah and Todd with their "Sunday go to meeting" shotguns , Reverand Witch Hunter bar-b-queing a few "witches before presiding over the main event,Bristol waddling down the aisle, her belly straining the seams on her white dress , Levi in his best bib overalls. A regular Jerry Springer extravaganza which trailer park America will whole heartedly embrace.
And of course , talking about the kids will still be off limits , unless it's to ask what gifts the blessed couple want from Wal-Mart

Chris Rock says, when Michael Vick sees Sarah Palin,
smiling and posing for the camera with an animal corpse
covered in blood,
Vick must think, "Why am I in jail again?!!"

Maybe Jane Fonda has a similar thought-- when she sees John McCain,
who made THIRTY TWO propaganda tapes for the Viet Cong, while in captivity; venerated as an war hero.

And what-about the POWs who accepted early release? How do they feel about
McCain who, to this day, calls them "the slipperys, the slimeys, and the sleazys"?
They were broken. He was broken. How dare he sneer at them?

Was it really Honor that kept McCain from slinking home early? Or knowledge of his dishonor?

Disabled Vets of America rates McCain at only 20% on Vet's issues. (Obama at 80%.)
Iraq and Afghanistan Vets of America grades McCain a "D". (They gave Obama a B+)

I don't fault McCain for cracking under torture. I do fault him for cracking and
supporting Bush's torture policies.

I watched this video with a gnawing on-edge feeling.
Does it cross the line into swiftboating McCain?
I think it might. But it does also raise valid points I haven't heard elsewhere...

Bush mass for shut ins is on the air!

LIVE FROM THE ST GEORGE THE BLESSED CATHERDRAL IN CRAWFORD TEXAS ITS BUSH MASS FOR SHUT INS!

Good morning Bush worshippers, those who are ill and those who it's just best not to mix with society. May Lord God Bush bless you all for coming. For it is he who brought us life and everything else. He is a thousand points of light! He makes the sun rise in the morning, puts the frost on our flakes and puts the fruit on the trees. All praise the glory of Lord God Bush. Today we celebrate Debate.

DEBATE CELEBRATION

This week was the first debate between good and evil this presidential election. According to the holy Drudge Report, John the Good won with over 70% of the public agreeing, some people were so moved as to vote many many times for John. He should win in a landslide come November.

SING PRAISE TO LORD GOD BUSH

Are you optimistic bout the way things are going?
No, I never ever think of it at all

Dont you ever worry
When you see whats going down?

No, I try to mind my business, that is, no business at all

When its time to function as a feeling human being
Will your bachelor of arts help you get by?

I hope to study further, a few more years or so
I also hope to keep a steady high

Will you try to change things
Use the power that you have, the power of a million new ideas?

What is this power you speak of and this need for things to change?
I always thought that everything was fine

Dont you feel repression just closing in around?
No, the campus here is very, very free

Dont it make you angry the way war is dragging on?
Well, I hope the president knows what hes into, I dont know

Dont you ever see the starvation in the city where you live
All the needless hunger all the needless pain?

I havent been there lately, the country is so fine
But my neighbors dont seem hungry cause they havent got the time

Thank you for the talk, you know you really eased my mind
I was troubled by the shapes of things to come

Well, if you had my outlook your feelings would be numb
Youd always think that everything was fine

We can make it happen
We can change the world now
We can save the children
We can make it better
We can make it happen
We can save the children
We can make it happen

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF CHENEY

Lord God Bush smirked down upon the people and spoke. `John the Good will be my successor. Those who disagree with this are America haters!'.

What is it that the Profit Cheney is trying to teach us? It is that John the Good shall be Lord God Bushs successor. Those who question this are America haters. This the word of George.

Bush mass is over

Your attendance has been recorded and will be sent to the proper authorities. Go in arrogance, may the Lord God George W Bush be with you.

Sarah Louise Heath Palin (born February 11, 1964) is the current governor of Alaska, Republican vice presidential candidate, a compulsive breeder, and a major lady dick.

The only thing Sarah Palin seems to enjoy more than having children is giving those children ridiculous names and inadequate sex education.

In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant, a feat that sounds a lot more impressive than it is unless you’ve ever met a girl from Wasilla, few of whom have either a full set of teeth or a vacant womb. She then finished runner up in the Miss Alaska pageant, a feat that sounds a lot more impressive than it is considering the state is nearly 75% male.

Sarah Palin’s political views are totally cribbed from the "Focus on the Family" website. Pro-life, unless you’re talking about the life of a criminal; limited government involvement in people’s lives, unless those people have a uterus or are gay and want to get married; and guns for whoever wants them, as many as they like, unless they look Islamic, in which case they should be detained indefinitely, preferably naked and arranged in a human pyramid.

Palin married her high school boyfriend Todd—a very common dick name—in 1988 when she was 24, and, if you do the math, also knocked-up. The couple has five children: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig. Should she birth any further issue—and she very well might—it is entirely possible she will name it Trix Rabbit Palin.

http://ap.google.com/article /ALe qM5gJ nOskE 3GnUi A9uKV SxCFw SZuRI wD93D AQR81

Leave it to the Rude One.

If at tonight's debate, Jim Lehrer asks Barack Obama, "How do you answer your critics who say you lack the experience necessary to be President?" and the Democratic candidate doesn't say, "Experience? Are you fucking kidding me, Jim? Let's get that out of the way real quick. The Crypt Keeper over there chose as a running mate a fucking idiot who couldn't find Pakistan on a map even if it had a giant cock-shaped neon arrow pointing at it saying, 'It's here, bitch.' A fucking moose-slaughtering tool who thinks that Russia gives a happy monkey fuck about Alaska. So let's just shove that thought aside. And as for experience, that dead Eisenhower-looking motherfucker's been around DC for three decades, and his party had no holds barred power for six of the last eight. Where did that get us? No, no, fuck that.

"Now lemme say somethin' here directly to Johnny Maverick. Your America failed. Your version of this country, where we go and fight bullshit wars and where rich people are gonna be all generous with their money and where businesses will take care of themselves, that shit failed. It's done, Johnny Maverick. And this fuckin' wreckage is owned by the Republican president and the Republican Congress, and that includes you, motherfucker. You still stink of this shit, and no matter how hard you try to run, those gimpy little legs can't get you far enough away so that you don't smell like Uncle Sam just took a dump on you. You own this. You think you can just put it aside like some out-of-wedlock baby and wait for the DNA test to make you pay child support? No, motherfucker. You broke it, you bought it, you gotta carry it around with you. Every time you got down on those broken knees in front of George W. Bush and was first in line to take his dick in your mouth, you owned another piece of it, and now that he's come, you wanna spit? Fuck you. Swallow that shit, bitch.

by Bob Herbert

Rephrasing: If you knew there was an unqualified co-pilot in the cockpit of a jetliner with a 72 year old pilot with known health issues, would you get on the plane?

Legendary actor Paul Newman dies at age 83

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A spokeswoman for screen legend Paul Newman says the actor has died at age 83.

Spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic says Newman died Friday of cancer. No other details were immediately available.

Newman was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times, winning a regular Oscar in 1987 for "The Color of Money" and two honorary ones. He was equally at home in comedies such as "The Sting" and dramas such as "Hud."

He sometimes teamed with his wife, Joanne Woodward, also an Oscar winner for the 1957 film "Three Faces of Eve."

The LA Times factcheck of the debate-- shows McCain wrong or lying more.

The article lists several cases of 'they're both right' without noting that McCain repeatedly insisted that only-he was right. Whereas Obama repeatedly acknowledged the degree to which McCain was right/ and then specified where they differ.

In other words, they weren't -really- "both right". Because Obama was the only one who correctly said "we're both right". While McCain wrongly asserted "only I am right".

Is that the definition of 'straight talk'? ...making simple, clear (but false) statements?

And so Obama's not Straight Talkin', because his words are complex and labryinthine (but true)?

If so, then McCain's straight talk = Colbert's "truthiness".

When reality is complex, only liars have simple answers.

Am I seeing things or do you guys think that McSame is losing it tonight? He doesn't look good at all. He isn't very animated at all, by and large Obama is more animated then McSame is. McSame also doesn’t like being challenged and it shows. He can grin all he wants but you can tell he isn't happy at all. While Obama started slow and a bit hesitant, he gained his footing very early on. Obama is stronger then McSame, at least that's the way it seems to me.

What do you expect in Mississippi ?

Now that John McCain has decided to attend Friday night's debate, Ole Miss should be able to breathe easy. The presidential debate, after all, is supposed to be Ole Miss's big moment. Hosting the first such forum of the general campaign, administrators hoped, would help the school shed the racial-backwater image that has clung to it since its embattled 1962 integration, when 120 federal marshals could barely hold back the violent riots that left two civilians dead and dozens injured. The fact that the debate participants will include Barack Obama, the nation's first black presidential nominee of a major party, would only add to the symbolism. The high-profile event is a chance "to invite the nation and the world to visit us and see Ole Miss today," says university chancellor Robert Khayat. "This is a very different place from 1962. I'm confident that they will see that." (Click here for photos of Barack Obama's family tree.)

That might, however, be very hard to see if, as the University's Daily Mississippian newspaper reported on Sept. 12, the audience of thousands right outside the debate hall watching by simulcast includes some unwelcome guests: the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klansmen won't be wearing robes or hoods or making "a big hoopla," says Imperial Wizard Richard Greene, 46, who refuses to divulge how many members the Mississippi chapter has. Nor will they take advantage of the designated protest zone outside the debate theater to stage one of their typical demonstrations — which include fiery speeches and a cross burning — for fear of causing riots. "We don't want anybody to get hurt," says Greene, who insists physical violence is no longer part of the Klan way of doing things. But Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, which studies hate groups and extremism in America, disagrees: "That's hogwash," he says, citing a lawsuit under way against a different Klan branch, the Imperial Klans of America, for allegedly assaulting a teenager at a county fair in Kentucky.

The Klan will, however, have pamphlets and membership applications on hand for any audience members who happen to share the Klansmen's views. Some examples of those views: Obama's election "could be the destruction of America," says Greene, who states categorically that he would not vote for a black candidate. Says the Emperor of the Mississippi White Knights (the group's ritual leader), who asked not to be identified: "Locally, every place that has come under black rule has declined, and has declined sharply." He cited Jackson, Miss., and Washington, D.C., as examples. "Not all black people are particularly bad people," the emperor adds. But leadership, he asserts, "is just not in their character ... it's just not in their ability." The Obama campaign did not return requests for comment.

Would these fuckers die already?

He rips Bible Spice , then smacks down Leslie Blitzer. A Twofer !

Here's a part of the Katie Couric/Para Sailin' interview. Get a load of what this moron says about Putin. She really said this, I saw the interview.

Katie Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundry that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters.

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

Read more! »

Take a look at this bullshit, of 180 countries rated from 1 to 10 on how corrupt their governments supposedly are.
"Transparency International"

I've seen deeper houseplants.
Marge Gunderson goes full retard.

Kudos to Cambell Brown for turning the sexism charge right back on McPOW for hiding Caribou Barbie from any real press exposure. She deserves some kind of award for keeping a straight face while she does it too.

Guess the CEO should have asked for some golden body armor, and a golden crash helmet.

Corporate India is in shock after a mob of sacked workers bludgeoned to death the chief executive who had dismissed them from a factory in a suburb of Delhi.

Lalit Kishore Choudhary, 47, the head of the Indian operations of Graziano Transmissioni, an Italian-headquartered manufacturer of car parts, died of severe head wounds on Monday afternoon after being attacked by scores of laid-off employees, police said.

The incident, in Greater Noida, just outside the Indian capital, followed a long-running dispute between the factory’s management and workers who had demanded better pay and permanent contracts.

It is understood that Mr Choudhary, who was married with one son, had called a meeting with more than 100 former employees - who had been dismissed following an earlier outbreak of violence at the plant - to discuss a possible reinstatement deal.

A police spokesman said: “Only a few people were called inside. About 150
people were waiting outside when they heard someone from inside shout for
help. They rushed in and the two sides clashed. The company staff were
heavily outnumbered.”

Other executives said they were lucky to escape with their lives. “I just
locked my room’s door from inside and prayed they would not break in. See,
my hands are trembling even three hours later,” an Italian consultant,
Forettii Gatii, told a local newspaper.

What should Congress do with the $700 billion proposal to take pressure off the credit markets?


Pass the legislation quickly.........................16%
Pass it, but add stimulus and foreclosure relief.....33%
Reject it............................................51%

Total responses to this question: 121879

heh...heh...heh...heh...heh...

122K responses. 84% do not agree with the Assministration and it's toadies, Paulson and Bernanke.

Go get 'em, Dodd.

Borrowing from another post:

"The queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said without even looking around."

-- "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

With that purley greedy capitalist action of tainting milk and baby's formula --- watering it down then putting in some industrial cemical to make it look wholesome, there is talk going on around there to execute those milk business people for the sickness and deaths their actions have caused.

Yet here, Wall Street Banking executives will probably still get their multi-million dollar severence packages or parachutes. We hate to put rich, white men in prison for crimes or lack of social morality. It might do some good to see some heads roll. Maybe instill a bit of integrity and morals in those big whigs that fvck over the public -- the little people who are the back bone of this nation.

Why can't I embed youtube videos on here?

Am I not doing it right, or is that option turned-off?

Because this thing is hilarious.

So's this.

by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)

"The Wall Street financial disaster is an opportunity to create a genuine ownership society. If Congress invests $700 billion in the market, then the American people must get something of real value for their investment.

"Simply purchasing bad debt, "cash for trash" and not receiving anything of value or giving $700 billion and not having a commensurate equity interest in Wall Street firms is unacceptable. No "cash for trash".

"Since the bailout will cost each and every American about $2,300, tomorrow I will offer legislation to create a United States Mutual Trust Fund, which will take control of $700 billion in stock assets, at market value and not higher, convert those assets to shares, and distribute $2,300 worth of shares to new individual savings accounts in the name of each and every American."

Kucinich arrived at the $2,300 figure by dividing the cost of the bailout ($700 billion) by the US population (over 300 million).

With our economy in crisis,the U.S Government is scrambling to rescue our banks by purchasing
their "distressed assets", i.e., assets that no one else wants to buy from them. We figured that instead of protesting this plan, we'd give regular Americans the same opportunity to sell their bad assets to the government. We need your help and you need the Government's help!

Some pretty amusing shit.

"...On November 11, 1992, Dolores Alfond, sister of missing airman Capt. Victor Apodaca and chair of the National Alliance of Families, an organization of relatives of POW/MIAs, testified at one of the Senate committee's public hearings. She asked for information about data the government had gathered from electronic devices used in a classified program known as PAVE SPIKE.

The devices were primarily motion sensors, dropped by air, designed to pick up enemy troop movements. But they also had rescue capabilities. Someone on the ground--a downed airman or a prisoner on a labor gang--could manually enter data into the sensor, which were regularly collected electronically by US planes flying overhead. Alfond stated, without any challenge from the committee, that in 1974, a year after the supposedly complete return of prisoners, the gathered data showed that a person or people had manually entered into the sensors--as US pilots had been trained to do--"no less than 20 authenticator numbers that corresponded exactly to the classified authenticator numbers of 20 US POW/MIAs who were lost in Laos." Alfond added, says the transcript: "This PAVE SPIKE intelligence is seamless, but the committee has not discussed it or released what it knows about PAVE SPIKE."

McCain, whose POW status made him the committee's most powerful member, attended that hearing specifically to confront Alfond because of her criticism of the panel's work. He bellowed and berated her for quite a while. His face turning anger-pink, he accused her of "denigrating" his "patriotism." The bullying had its effect--she began to cry.

After a pause Alfond recovered and tried to respond to his scorching tirade, but McCain simply turned and stormed out of the room. The PAVE SPIKE file has never been declassified. We still don't know anything about those 20 POWs..."

As if the thought of taxpayer money going to bail out the Wall Street scum bags isn't bad enough , the bill that the Bush crime syndicate is trying to push through is worse.

Section 2:

(a) Authority to Purchase.--The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.
(b) Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;
(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;
(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and
(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

That's a lot of power being put into the hands of the Treasury Secretary , surely there are checks and balances ?
NOPE.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

But at least he has to report to Congress twice a year , even if they can't do a damn thing about his decisions.

Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.

And then there's the obligatory assault on the debt ceiling.

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

This thing looks like another "Patriot Act" power grab , using a crisis to expand Executive Branch powers , while screwing us over in the proccess.
Reid , Pelosi , and the Dems in Congress had better not cave on this one ,although , standing up would require an actual SPINE. I think this might be a good time to call our Congress Whores and remind them who they work for.

Bush mass for shut ins is on the air!

LIVE FROM THE ST GEORGE THE BLESSED CATHERDRAL IN CRAWFORD TEXAS ITS BUSH MASS FOR SHUT INS!

Good morning Bush worshippers, those who are ill and those who it's just best not to mix with society. May Lord God Bush bless you all for coming. For it is he who brought us life and everything else. He is a thousand points of light! He makes the sun rise in the morning, puts the frost on our flakes and puts the fruit on the trees. All praise the glory of Lord God Bush. Today we celebrate Wall Street Bailout.

WALL STREET BAILOUT CELEBRATION

Wall street bailout is a good holy moral thing. Giving out tax money to large banks is good, giving it to the needy and poor is bad. Those who oppose this hate America.

SING PRAISE TO LORD GOD BUSH

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF CHENEY

Lord God Bush smirked down upon the people and spoke. `The wall street banks need our tax money. Those who question this are America haters!'.

What is it that the Profit Cheney is trying to teach us? It is that the holy people that Lord God Bush giving our tax money to wall street banks is a holy and moral thing. Those who question this are America haters. This the word of George.

Bush mass is over

Your attendance has been recorded and will be sent to the proper authorities. Go in arrogance, may the Lord God George W Bush be with you.

Talk about putting lipstick on a pig! McPOW doesn't want Palin to have to do anything but spew memorized talking points.

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.

McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

The wrangling was chiefly between the McCain-Palin camp and the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which is sponsoring the forums.

Commission members wanted a relaxed format that included time for unpredictable questioning and challenges between the two vice-presidential candidates. On Wednesday, the commission unanimously rejected a proposal sought by advisers to Ms. Palin and Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, to have the moderator ask questions and the candidates answer, with no time for unfettered exchanges. Advisers to Mr. Biden say they were comfortable with either format.

(snip)
A commission member said that the new agreement on the vice-presidential debate was reached late Saturday morning. It calls for shorter blocks of candidate statements and open discussion than at the presidential debates.

McCain advisers said they were only somewhat concerned about Ms. Palin’s debating skills compared with those of Mr. Biden, who has served six terms in the Senate, or about his chances of tripping her up. Instead, they say, they wanted Ms. Palin to have opportunities to present Mr. McCain’s positions, rather than spending time talking about her experience or playing defense.

I'll bet she still gets her ass handed to her , but as long as she doesn't start rolling on the floor and speaking in tongues , the media will call her the winner.

...doesn't mean they aren't thinking about Marshall Law. Posse Comitatus ? We don't need no stinking Posse Comitatus.

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.

Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.

Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.

It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help at home. In August 2005, for example, when Hurricane Katrina unleashed hell in Mississippi and Louisiana, several active-duty units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas.

But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.

After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one.

“Right now, the response force requirement will be an enduring mission. How the [Defense Department] chooses to source that and whether or not they continue to assign them to NorthCom, that could change in the future,” said Army Col. Louis Vogler, chief of NorthCom future operations. “Now, the plan is to assign a force every year.”

(snip)
In the meantime, they’ll learn new skills, use some of the ones they acquired in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing any of it.

They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.

Training for homeland scenarios has already begun at Fort Stewart and includes specialty tasks such as knowing how to use the “jaws of life” to extract a person from a mangled vehicle; extra medical training for a CBRNE incident; and working with U.S. Forestry Service experts on how to go in with chainsaws and cut and clear trees to clear a road or area.

The 1st BCT’s soldiers also will learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.

“It’s a new modular package of nonlethal capabilities that they’re fielding. They’ve been using pieces of it in Iraq, but this is the first time that these modules were consolidated and this package fielded, and because of this mission we’re undertaking we were the first to get it.”

The package includes equipment to stand up a hasty road block; spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and, beanbag bullets.

“I was the first guy in the brigade to get Tasered,” said Cloutier, describing the experience as “your worst muscle cramp ever — times 10 throughout your whole body.

“I’m not a small guy, I weigh 230 pounds ... it put me on my knees in seconds.”

The brigade will not change its name, but the force will be known for the next year as a CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced “sea-smurf”).

“I can’t think of a more noble mission than this,” said Cloutier, who took command in July. “We’ve been all over the world during this time of conflict, but now our mission is to take care of citizens at home ... and depending on where an event occurred, you’re going home to take care of your home town, your loved ones.”

While soldiers’ combat training is applicable, he said, some nuances don’t apply.

“If we go in, we’re going in to help American citizens on American soil, to save lives, provide critical life support, help clear debris, restore normalcy and support whatever local agencies need us to do, so it’s kind of a different role,” said Cloutier, who, as the division operations officer on the last rotation, learned of the homeland mission a few months ago while they were still in Iraq.

Read the rest

October surprise anyone?

From Open Left:

Speaking of frosting one's ass, this report will do so. Not because the charges against Amy Goodman were dropped, which is a good thing, but the fact that the RNC paid $10 million, count 'em, $10 million samoleons to the St. Paul police department to combat civil suits so the cops could go beat the shit out of liberals.

Read more! »

I phoned a childhood friend last night. He processes 401(k) accounts. Usually he just answers callers' questions. But he said that so many people are shuffling their retirement money from market-exposure to fixed savings; that the company website was overloaded-- and staffers like himself have to take phonecalls and key-in the orders individually. They're swamped.

--

Last night, a chintzy paper sign was posted on the front door of my apartment building, advertising the dotcom address of a youth hostel booker.

I tore it down, and within an hour it was replaced, this time between the metal-grating and the glass of the door.

I looked up the webpage, and our sleepy building of immigrant families and the elderly-- is described as a "HOT... HOT... HOT... trendy HIP hang-out scene... HIP PARTY Dorm" with "no curfew".

At 11:00pm, there was a commotion in the hallway as a half-dozen youths waited impatiently and a bumbling, loud guy with a cell-phone tried to get in touch with someone from the building managment company. Apparently they tourists had payed for a night, but the loud guy couldn't find any keys for them.

The website shows all the interior walls of the apartment unit in question have been removed. Ten beds are crammed into the tiny space. Beds rent for $33.50 each. An annual rent of $120,000. No, wait.
That price is in Euros!

Recently, the landlord offered us money to give up our lease and leave. My buyout price just went way up!

--
This week I worked at the Met Opera at Lincoln Center, hanging decades of portraits of fat ladies dressed as vikings; and blow-ups of TIME magazine articles depicting audiences in gowns and jewels; and sculptures of composers; and huge, 70-year old posters-- with graffiti such as "Can't Sing!" and "Barking Bob!" and "evil spawn" scrawled under the names of performers. Great fun! One giant wall of headshots was 10 heads high by 84 wide. Like a Vietnam Wall memorial of fake moustaches and wigs and crowns and veils.

Read more! »

Some background on the last, absolutely insane words from Ms. Palin in the (31 second) video, "God has sent me," is in order.

At a speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God on June 8 this year, Mrs Palin described how Thomas Muthee had laid his hands on her when he visited the church as a guest preacher in late 2005, prior to her successful gubernatorial bid.

In video footage of the speech, she is seen saying: “As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he’s so bold. And he was praying “Lord make a way, Lord make a way.”

“And I’m thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn’t even know what I’m going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are. And he’s praying not “oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,” no, he just prayed for it. He said “Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened.”

Keep in mind that this insanity is WHY some Americans support her.

A real Christian would recognize the source of the conceit and deceit.

I just watched clips from the Daily Show, including Sarah "Gimmick" Palin being asked by Sean Hannity what she thought of Tina Fey's portrayal on Saturday Night Live.

Palin responded that she 1. watched it with the volume off. 2. Thought it was hilarious.

This reply was nuts on several levels.

Jon Stewart noted that it's inane to watch political comedy with the sound off.

I would like to add that it's an evasive, lawyerly, plausible-deniability thing to do. Like when Bush's press secretaries deny that they've ever read any incriminating stories in any major newspapers or books; so they can avoid answering reporters' questions on serious topics .

It also means that she can't take a joke, despite having a cruel, demeaning sense of humor herself.

And it means that she's irrationally afraid of criticism and mockery. She doesn't know about 'words will never hurt me'.

And it means she's a liar. Do you -believe- she didn't watch with the sound on?

It's almost worse if she's telling the truth. Did she let handlers watch it For Her, and tell her what to think and how to respond? Is she that willing be spoonfed in a bubble?

These aren't trivial concerns. These are matters of judgement that call into question her fitness to do... geez... to do ANY job that requires sanity and an ability to function socially.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/ news/ campaign-2008/ 2008/09/18/ john -mccain -makes -spanish -gaffes -during -interview _print.htm

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/ archives/ 217802.php

---

Parody:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ andy-borowitz /mccain- proposes- sending-t_b_ 127736.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced it will use $50 billion to back money market mutual funds whose asset values fall below $1 in another step to contain raging financial turmoil.

"For the next year, the U.S. Treasury will insure the holdings of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund -- both retail and institutional -- that pays a fee to participate in the program," the Treasury said in a statement.

President George W. Bush approved use of the Exchange Stabilization Fund to guarantee payments, Treasury said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/ 20080919/bs_nm/ financial_treasury_dc_1

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 504 points,
its worst drop since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But Bush did not address the nation Monday night.

Instead, Bush held a state dinner for the president of Ghana.
Gratin of Maine lobster, late-summer corn pudding, ginger-scented farm lamb
and graham cracker crumble with cocoa pod shell were served.

The toast President Bush gave to President Kufuor Monday was
383 words long.

On Thursday, Bush addressed the economy in a statement
263 words long.

In the two minutes between 10:15 and 10:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Bush said
"“I will continue to closely monitor the situation in our financial markets
and consult with my economic advisers."

Now watch this drive.

This post is 264 words long.
I went-back and changed the spacing to make it look longer.
My Pet Goat takes more than two minutes for Bush to read, we know that for sure.

In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, thank you, The End.

...that's not a free market." --Nancy Pelosi, today, growing a pair

From the Brookings Institute/ Urban Institute

An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Executive Summary - Revised September 15, 2008
Roberton Williams, Howard Gleckman

Published: September 15, 2008 || Availability: PDF | Printer-Friendly Version

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

The text below is an excerpt from the complete document. Read the full report in PDF format.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This short paper summarizes the Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Revised September 15, 2008

Abstract
Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to a newly updated analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. Obama would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction
Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to a newly updated analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Neither candidate?s plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified.

Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. These projections assume the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire in 2010 and that the Alternative Minimum Tax is fully effective. Both candidates

(End of excerpt. The entire report is available in PDF format.)
*********************

McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households.

Yeah, those millionares need all the help -- the little folks will just have to struggle to make mortgage payments. It'd be twelve years of the bush presidentcy.

The Bush Administration takes depravity to new lows. From ABC News.

Under New Policy, FEMA Says Ice is Not Its Responsibility

By MEGAN CHUCHMACH
September 18, 2008

Hurricane survivors are being put at risk in Texas and other hot weather states because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is no longer providing ice in relief situations, say watchdogs, relief workers and local leaders in Hurricane Alley.

"It's frustrating that the government can deliver $85 billion to bail out AIG, and they can't deliver ice in Texas," said Ben Smilowitz, executive director of the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP), a nonpartisan organization that monitors the nation's disaster response system.

Read more! »

http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose your house lose your vote

http://sev.prnewswire.com/ banking-financial-services/ 20080911/ DC3280011092008-1.html

(Note: my headline is not intended to imply that Engler is deceased -- just playing on the fact that he has retired from politics)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/18/opinion/edcollins.php

Over the HuffPo Sam Stein reports on Carly Fiorina's comments on Para Sailin's experience. You can't make this stuff up.

Carly Fiorina, a key surrogate for John McCain on economic issues, said on Tuesday that Sarah Palin does not have the experience needed to run a major company like the one that Fiorina formerly headed.

"Do you think [Sarah Palin] has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard?" asked the host.

"No, I don't," responded Fiorina. "But you know what? That's not what she's running for."

Read more! »

I'm in Baton Rouge. Looks like it's gonna be a while.

Anyway -- just having boasted recently about my great kids -- I thought I'd share how my just turned 25 yr. old daughter is faring in Houston.

Before the storm, she cooked as much as she could of what was in her freezer and froze it. She filled several coolers with ice in preparation. She supplimented that with the usual non-perishable/no cooking required supplies -- got lamps/oils/batteries/water/etc. She got a battery-powered charger for her cell phone (something I hadn't thought of) -- and she's doing fine. The big tough looking boyfriend is a great help, too.

Anyway -- my baby has been feeding her neighbors who didn't have money to stock up -- and she says her boyfriend is the regular boy scout -- going around checking on older/ill neighbors -- making minor repairs for them and such.

I'm so proud. And you know what she said? "I was ready because of years of watching you."

And if you read stories about the GOP trying to control the message -- it's true. They put out in a news story saying they gradupled distribution points -- making it sound like they're doing so much. They claimed during the storm they had at least 40 trucks ready to move in. They had 8. They sent out 8 trucks -- to Houston! The closest truck to my daughter's neighborhood was 30 miles away. So if they did quadruple that number -- that makes 32 -- meaning they still aren't up to the 40 they claimed were positioned and ready. (Not that she personally needed one -- but as I said -- she's been taking care of her neighbors in the complex.)

There are a bunch of great articles on the current economic mess at The Nation magazine's website.

The amazing (chilling!) part is their sentiments are shared by Whatta, Uzi, and Me and nearly every commentator I've read today.

It's a strange day when we all agree.

The rotten Fanny & Freddie bail-out:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080929/editors

8 more first-rate economic articles, on the frontpage alone:
http://www.thenation.com/

This guy usually writes a pretty insightful and considered blog and today's is no exception

The Denouement

"Denouement (n) -- The unraveling of a plot; a catastrophe....

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

There is something supernally appropriate to the fact that, in order to find the most suitable definition for just right word to describe the ongoing crisis of the financial system, we have to refer to a dictionary published in 1913.

We are now into the second year of the unraveling of the world financial system. It could be described as the Great Denouement (or final act) of a plot that began in 1913, when Congress created the Federal Reserve System, aka the Focus of Evil in the Modern World. So far the effects of the unraveling have had minimal impact on the larger economy.

This is about to change."

More at link on Lehman, AIG and financial crisis

Coca-Cola celebrates Ramadan
Company observes Muslim holiday with star, crescent design on cans

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: August 19, 2008
10:35 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Coca-Cola plans to celebrate Ramadan this year by decorating cans with a crescent moon and star – a widely recognized Islamic symbol.

The moon and star can be found on at least 11 flags of Muslim countries, and now it will be featured on packaging in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco, Tunisia and other Islamic countries during the Sept. 1-30 Muslim holiday, blogger Bob McCarty reported.

Coca-Cola's 2008 Ramadan can

Coca-Cola has hired a company named ATTIK to handle packaging, Brand Republic reports. Its Christmas cans are usually decorated with secular-themed images of Santa Claus, but McCarty asked the company whether it planned to introduce Christian symbols as well.

"When I learned the symbol of the Islamic faith will appear on Coca-Cola packaging during Ramadan 2008, I found myself wondering whether or not the Atlanta-based soft drink maker will soon include the Christian cross and Jewish star of David in future holiday packaging designs targeting people of those faiths," he wrote on his blog, Bob McCarty Writes.

In 2006, Coca-Cola released a statement about its recognition of Ramadan.

"In a globalizing world, Ramadan presents an opportunity to showcase the true values of Islam and what it stands for," it said. "Because no other brand is as inclusive as and no other company is as diverse as Coca-Cola, we have a unique opportunity to play a valued role as an international bridge-builder and facilitator of dialogue during Ramadan."

I'm blatantly ripping this off from a front-page post on Kos, but it's worth repeating. This is what our representatives SHOULD be doing. From a Bipartisan Energy Summit Friday morning organized by The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:

WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we’re in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We’re burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn’t seem so.

If only all of the Democrats could speak so clearly...

Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch both went under last night, and AIG is teetering on the brink.

http://ap.google.com/article /AL eqM5i oHc80 xKMiA TnqCp K0cDK Jzk_n PQD936 VT1G0

Going to be an interesting opening on Wall Street this morning.

Mudflats blog.

Pauline's star is fading fast.

Bush mass for shut ins is on the air!

LIVE FROM THE ST GEORGE THE BLESSED CATHERDRAL IN CRAWFORD TEXAS ITS BUSH MASS FOR SHUT INS!

Good morning Bush worshippers, those who are ill and those who it's just best not to mix with society. May Lord God Bush bless you all for coming. For it is he who brought us life and everything else. He is a thousand points of light! He makes the sun rise in the morning, puts the frost on our flakes and puts the fruit on the trees. All praise the glory of Lord God Bush. Today we celebrate Sex and Drugs for Oil.

SEX AND DRUGS FOR OIL CELEBRATION

Sex and drugs for oil is a good holy moral thing that is only questioned by people who hate America. True patriots look the other way.

SING PRAISE TO LORD GOD BUSH

Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Is all my brain and body need
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Are very good indeed

Keep your silly ways or throw them out the window
The wisdom of your ways, I've been there and I know
Lots of other ways, what a jolly bad show
If all you ever do is business you don't like

Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Is very good indeed

Every bit of clothing ought to make you pretty
You can cut the clothing, grey is such a pity
I should wear the clothing of Mr. Walter Mitty
See my tailor, he's called Simon, I know it's going to fit

Here's a little piece of advice
You're quite welcome it is free
Don't do nothing that is cut price
You know what that'll make you be
They will try their tricky device
Trap you with the ordinary
Get your teeth into a small slice
The cake of liberty

Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Sex, drugs, rock, roll
Sex, drugs, rock, roll

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF CHENEY

Lord God Bush looked down upon the people and spoke. `The holy people I appointed at the interior department who are trading sex and drugs for oil contracts are doing a good holy moral thing for the country. Those who question these antics are America haters!'.

What is it that the Profit Cheney is trying to teach us? It is that the holy people that Lord God Bush appointed at the interior department who are trading sex and drugs for oil contracts are doing a good holy moral thing for the country. Those who question these antics are America haters. This the word of George.

Bush mass is over

Your attendance has been recorded and will be sent to the proper authorities. Go in arrogance, may the Lord God George W Bush be with you.

WASHINGTON -- Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.

Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.

Asked if he considered the pictures of Obama on the box to be racial stereotypes, Whitlock said: "We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's -- there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market. So we've taken that model and, using political satire, have highlighted his policies, his position changes."

The socially conservative public policy groups American Values and Focus on the Family Action co-sponsored the summit.

White women have moved from 50-42 percent in Obama's favor before the conventions to 53-41 percent for McCain now, a 20-point shift in the margin that's one of the single biggest post-convention changes in voter preferences. The other, also to McCain's advantage, is in the battleground Midwest, where he's moved from a 19-point deficit to a 7-point edge.

Obama, for his part, shows little or no progress on his chief challenges -- the question of his experience, the definition of the change he'd bring about and his efforts to entice former Hillary Clinton supporters aboard. Obama continues to lead McCain by a wide margin in enthusiasm, but his advantage on some key issues has softened.

Notably, far more people see Obama than McCain as in tune with the economic problems Americans are experiencing -- but in trust to handle the economy the gap between the two has narrowed to a slim 5-point Obama advantage. That speaks to McCain's advantage on experience, expressed, for example, in his 17-point margin in trust to handle a crisis.

http://abcnews.go.com/ PollingUnit/ Politics/ story?id=5751238

----

I see lots of McCain ads -- seemed like every other ad during the Olympics was a McCain ad. Not a lot of Obama ads so far though. Some, but not a lot.

The New York Times has an interesting article on Palin's rise to power , and her record along the way. Dick Cheney has got nothing on this hag , except at least he's not religiously insane.

WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal.

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as one of her qualifications for running the roughly $2 million agency.

Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.

When Ms. Palin had to cut her first state budget, she avoided the legion of frustrated legislators and mayors. Instead, she huddled with her budget director and her husband, Todd, an oil field worker who is not a state employee, and vetoed millions of dollars of legislative projects.

And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.

“You should be ashamed!” Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. “Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!”

Ms. Palin walks the national stage as a small-town foe of “good old boy” politics and a champion of ethics reform. The charismatic 44-year-old governor draws enthusiastic audiences and high approval ratings. And as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, she points to her management experience while deriding her Democratic rivals, Senators Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr., as speechmakers who never have run anything.

But an examination of her swift rise and record as mayor of Wasilla and then governor finds that her visceral style and penchant for attacking critics — she sometimes calls local opponents “haters” — contrasts with her carefully crafted public image.

more..

but she could See It From There...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/palin_camp_clarifies_extent_of_iraq_trip/

Boston Globe:
"Palin also told ABC that she had traveled to Mexico and Canada. Her campaign had previously mentioned a Canada visit, but not a trip to Mexico. Comella said yesterday that Palin had visited Mexico on vacation, and Canada once last year.

"We did not have 100 percent confirmation about the Mexico trip in the initial days we were being asked. It was a personal trip," Comella said.

Palin's campaign did not respond to requests for details about when she traveled to Mexico and where she went, nor did it provide details of her 2007 Canada trip or indicate whether it was for business or pleasure."

Obama drew a political cartoon in words, the other day.

He said that you can't change something (such as McCAIN or a PIG)

by decorating it (with PALIN or LIPSTICK).

In this picture, McCAIN is the piggie.

Palin is THE LIPSTICK.

I guess "Omigawd! He called her a lipstick!" doesn't have the same shock value.

In all the discussion of this topic, am I the only who has correctly deduced the perfectly-clear metaphor Obama drew?

And it took me half a week?!
What does that say about us? Are we so afraid of offending this cunt that we can't think straight?!

Thankfully, Obama can think. He wasn't blinded by a hatred of women. Nor by a misguided fear of offending.

He looked at a woman who called herself a pitbull in lipstick, and saw who she REALLY is.

And then explained that she isn't even the scrappy fightin' dog in that picture.
She's the absurd window-dressing.

He called a spade a spade.

The emperor has no clothes. The maverick has no balls.

p. m. carpenter takes McCain't to the woodshed.

For clearly Obama is not dealing with adults; he is, rather, merely suffering the characteristically manufactured stunts and tantrums of incorrigible GOP infants.

I'm afraid (delighted, actually) that I have very little to add in the way of comment about that gravest controversy of our time: porcine cosmetics.

After all, what could possibly be left to say in the media's wake of untrammeled, full-blown scandal mode? Indeed, as yesterday progressed (devolved, actually), even the cable networks of stultifying overkill were publicly brooding about their conspiratorial role in the "controversy."

Read more! »

Who should Libertarians vote for?

Barak Obama taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School.

Since 1991, Joe Biden teaches Constitutional Law as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law.

I rest my case.

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.

http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/09/11/ washington/ 11policy.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/ 2008/09/11/ america/ 11policy.php

Time to go get Osama.....

This time it may be for an extended stay. An area from Houston to the right across the Louisiana border is expected to be on the "dirty" side of the storm -- the side that gets the worst of it -- so our power and water may be affected such that it may be a while before we can come back home. I hope not -- but it's quite possible.

I may have to talk with the boys -- again -- about moving -- this time telling rather than asking. And maybe it needs to be away from the Gulf Coast -- as much as I hate the thought of leaving. It's looking like this is just the beginning of what may be years of frequent evacuations and more potential to be affected. I don't have the resources to do this, frequently.

So -- by sometime tonight I should be some 250-300 miles away from where the storm is supposed to hit. Now -- I'll stop procrastinating and go pack. See you later, folks!

Sarah Palin sheds phony crocodile tears at Obama's disparagement of her lies.

But she's the pot calling the kettle black!

She's no mere victim of disparagement, but Palin's also such an accomplished practicioner
of disparagement, that a judge cited her for it: saying it was a form of child abuse!

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.royalty/msg/f561bcf79df5335a

PARIS (AP) -- The European Union is drawing a line in the sand with Russia: the bloc isn't going to let Ukraine get dissected like Georgia.

The EU tugged Ukraine westward on Tuesday by launching a symbolic new accord, wading into Moscow's backyard for a second straight day on fears that Russia is flexing its muscle among former Soviet states.

The 27-member bloc stopped short of offering Ukraine membership during an EU-Ukraine summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But the two sides began work on an "association accord" -- a step that offers closer political and economic ties and in the past has been designed to prepare nations for eventual membership.

http://ap.google.com/article /ALe qM5hG PU43Y 0QClp fv6YL XruLD Oxe3v gD933 N5P00

-------------------------------------

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Turning a deaf ear to Russia's complaints, the Bush administration is moving to rebuild Georgia's military while asserting it will not let Russia divide Europe again.

"Georgia, like any sovereign country, should have the ability to defend itself and to deter renewed aggression," Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

The Pentagon will send an assessment team to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, later in the week to help figure out Georgia's "legitimate needs" as a way of showing U.S. support for the country's security, Edelman said.

http://ap.google.com/article /ALe qM5jf S6y-A 7WF82 KotI6 KMN41 IA3M4 QD933 H1R80

Yeah, I know he can sometimes be a jerk, but with this comment Chris Matthews said on Hardball this evening, he has redeemed himself, at least a little.

Think about how people twenty years from now might look back at this 2008 election. The energy crunch has grown to cripple the economy. We're moving product on old railroads and gas-guzzling trucks. The air is clogged with pollution again from fossil fuels because it's all we have.
India, China, Russia, Brazil are grabbing and outbidding us for resources; our failed education system has cost us our innovative edge. We can't compete. We've fallen back to a second-rate power.
And the young people twenty years from now, and the older folks who can remember it will look back at this fateful election of 2008 that set the course for the century and see videotapes of us arguing about lipstick.

Lipstick.

This game that's being played is not an insult of a candidate. It's an insult to the intelligence of our democracy, which is really all we have, each of us, to decide and build the future.
Our only escape is to force ourselves, against all the distractions, to think through the hearts and minds of those young people who will have to live in the world we are now deciding who's to build, who's to lead us to.

This comes from a post on Kos. I saw the show but I'm lazy tonight so the quote and clip can be found here.

"Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident.

Its tax burden per resident is 2 1/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double.

The trick is that Alaska's government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it."

Self reliance?! WELFARE MOTHER OF FIVE.

Lie-berman isn't gonna have lunch with the Democrats anymore , and hopefully after November , he won't have his committee Chairmanship either.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office is denying reports that former Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman has been barred from attending weekly Democratic caucus lunches, while acknowledging he will no longer be showing up.

"While it is no secret that the Democratic caucus is disappointed in Senator Lieberman’s attacks on Senator Obama, the irresponsible report that Senator Lieberman has been excluded from caucus meetings is completely untrue," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid. "Senator Lieberman has chosen to not attend Democratic caucus lunches, and that is his choice."

The Connecticut Independent, who was defeated in a Democratic primary two years ago and has gone on to become one of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's biggest supporters, is considered a traitor by many in the Democratic base.

After a speech at the Republican convention last week in which he excoriated Democratic nominee Barack Obama, Lieberman further estranged himself from the Democrats with whom he caucuses in the Senate. Assuming the party picks up a few more Senate seats in November's elections, it's likely Lieberman will be formally heaved from the caucus and stripped of his committee chairmanship.

Reid's office did not deny those rumors in its brief statement released Tuesday.

Lieberman told The Hill earlier Tuesday that he would be skipping the lunches.

"I think it's probably wise for me and for my colleagues in the Democratic caucus to dine somewhere else for the next few weeks," said Lieberman, who was the party's vice presidential nominee in 2000.

I have a feeling that once Joe gets kicked to the curb by the Democrats that he will cease being useful to the Republicans as a prop , and they'll probably shun him as well. It would be sweet to see him relegatd to the back benches , despised and powerlss until , hopefully , the idiots in Connetticut elect a real Democrat.

From CNN, McDoucheBag keeps setting them up to be hit out of the park.

CAMDEN, South Carolina (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told CNN Wednesday he agrees with President Bush's veto of legislation expanding a children's health insurance program, saying the bill provided a "phony smoke and mirrors way of paying for it."

"Right call by the president," the Republican White House hopeful told CNN's John King. "We've laid a debt on these same children ... that we're saying we're going to give health insurance to."

The bill, which would cost $35 billion over five years, is meant to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program to provide coverage to an additional 10 million children.

Read more! »

Bush Extends 9/11 National Emergency Yet Again
By Peter Dale Scott

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10065

Global Research, September 4, 2008

Though few Americans realize it, Cheney and Rumsfeld worked through the 1980s and 1990s on emergency nuclear-response plans which allegedly suspended the American constitution and also Congress.[1] (Through these decades Rumsfeld was CEO of a major pharmaceutical firm, and in the later 1990s Cheney was CEO of Halliburton; but their private status did not deter them from continuing to exercise a supra-constitutional planning power conferred on them by Ronald Reagan.)

Read more! »

Get It?! Laura Bush killed a boy drunk driving...

Below is a link to the most extensive set of Palin+Inlaws underage drinking photos,
that I could locate in 90 seconds of searching:

Palin wasn't referring to the mortgage giants!

She was talking about Fannie Mae Jenkins and
Freddie "Mac" Mac-cain-nook,
two Eskimos retirees from Wasilla, who had grown too fat and expensive
to compete in the free market.

Sarah volunteered to take them on the 'long hike' into the snow, last Winter.

Three tracks departed, only one set of footprints returned.

OF COURSE Palin doesn't know anything about mortgages.
In Alaska, politicans get their houses from LOBBYISTS.

heh...heh...heh... Get a load of this.

From Sam Stein at HuffPo:
Gov. Sarah Palin made her first potentially major gaffe during her time on the national scene while discussing the developments of the perilous housing market this past weekend.

Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."

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

Read more! »

September 8, 2008
Nazarbayev: Kazakhstan Interested in Baku-Supsa Pipeline

Georgia -- Kazakh Prezident Nursultan Nazarbayev said his country would be interested in participating in the privatising process of the Tbilisi-Supsa oil pipeline as well as the port of Supsa itself.

"As soon as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline enters into operation, all Azerbaijani oil would be transported through it, which leaves the Tbilisi-Supsa infrastructure. We are interested in this pipe as well as the port of Supsa itself," Nazarbayev said at a news conference after talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

President Saakashvili's visit to Kazakhstan is aimed at increasing economic cooperation between the two countries. Georgia hopes to act as a transit point for Kazakh oil and gas. In response, the Kazakh president has indicated that his country would be interested in having stakes in Georgian pipeline and transport infrastructure.

http://www.usacc.org/content.php?id=2510&type=news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/orebalance

This morning -- listening to Mika talk about identifying with Sarah Palin -- I realized something. I am elitist about motherhood. When ambitious girls were dreaming about careers -- I was dreaming about the kind of mother I wanted to be. And I may not have been the perfect role model -- but I did become a great mother. And it's a good thing I was so inclined -- because I ended up having children who needed somebody who could patiently make parenting them a priority. I am introverted and engage in a lot of self-reflection. As a result -- I understand myself very well -- and it led the way to a greater understanding of those little personalities that got half their genes from me.

My children all had special needs -- and they've all achieved levels of development better than expected for their circumstances. I raised some very wise -- very loving little people who will be positive contributors to their environments. But not all children need 24 hour devotion to thrive and succeed -- and the outcome might not have been the same -- but not horrible -- and possibly even still pretty good even if I didn't have the personality and the will to do what I did.

Now -- here's where I grow elitist. I -- unrealistically -- believed that people who didn't have the drive or the traits to be as committed to their children's development shouldn't have children. I realized this morning how wrong I've been. I'm great -- but not perfect. And there's a huge spectrum between unfit mother and perfect mother -- and perhaps everything above not doing them more harm than good constitutes a "good" parent.

So -- perhaps this conversation can help end the mommy wars and pave the way to more realisitic policies toward parenting.

Now - the above is just a bonus. Here's what I think we can win. Sarah Palin is definitely not the traditional mother. She doesn't seem to have the "natural extinct" we expect mothers to have nor does she exhibit many other "feminine" traits we associate with mothers. But maybe she doesn't have to in order to be a good parent.

Now -- here's where I think we can win. When we say to Sarah Palin -- no you don't have to fit the traditional concept of "mother" to be a good parent -- we point to a gay man and say therefore neither does he.

We tear down the rightwing argument against gays adopting children -- and lift up and energize the gay/lesbian who don't feel we care enough about them. I think we could weaken the inspiration to vote GOP and strengthen the inspiration to vote Democratic. And we'd be doing it by lifting people up rather than tearing anybody down.

Joe Biden is on and he just kicked butt about Iraq and what has to happen in Iraq in order to stabilize the country. He talked about getting Iran and Syria on board in order to stabilize Iraq. He said that McSame and Palin just don't have a plan to do this, or at least one they talk about.

I really can't see Palin, despite all the briefings, knowing issues as well as Biden does. He can pull facts out of his head that she won't even be aware of no matter how much coaching she gets.

I really am looking forward to their debate. And don't miss the show, it really is worth watching.

Obama came out and gave McPOW and Caribou Barbie a nice freindly kick in the balls.

Speaking to 800 people at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, Ind., the Democratic presidential nominee ridiculed John McCain and his running mate, the Alaska governor, for describing themselves as agents of change at this week's GOP convention.

"Don't be fooled," Obama told the crowd surrounding him in a large barn. "John McCain's party, with the help of John McCain, has been in charge" for nearly eight years.

"I know the governor of Alaska has been saying she's change, and that's great," Obama said. "She's a skillful politician. But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up."

McCain has vowed to wipe out earmarks, which are targeted funding for specific projects that lawmakers put into spending bills. As governor, Palin originally supported earmarks for a controversial Alaska project dubbed the "bridge to nowhere." But she dropped her support after the state's likely share of the cost rose. She hung onto $27 million to build the approach road to the bridge.

(snip)
Obama delivered some of his most withering criticisms yet of McCain, although he did so with chuckles and an air of mock disbelief. McCain has acknowledged voting with President Bush 90 percent of the time in Congress, Obama said.

"And suddenly he's the change agent? Ha. He says, 'I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.' Who is he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman, who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell his campaign manager, who was one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?"

"I mean, come on, they must think you're stupid," Obama said as the crowd laughed and cheered.

That's what I like to see , call them on their bullshit. I expect the media bobble heads will be clutching their pearls , and heading to the fainting couches because he dared to criticize their favorite trailer park queen though.

And unfortunately , the GOP have a point , a lot of Americans ARE stupid.

Bush mass for shut ins is on the air!

LIVE FROM THE ST GEORGE THE BLESSED CATHERDRAL IN CRAWFORD TEXAS ITS BUSH MASS FOR SHUT INS!

Good morning Bush worshippers, those who are ill and those who it's just best not to mix with society. May Lord God Bush bless you all for coming. For it is he who brought us life and everything else. He is a thousand points of light! He makes the sun rise in the morning, puts the frost on our flakes and puts the fruit on the trees. All praise the glory of Lord God Bush. Today we celebrate Takeoveer.

TAKEOVER CELEBRATION

Today we celebrate Lord God Bush taking over the evil government sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. He shall install holy republican people to oversee these former liberal organizations so they can become holy..

SING PRAISE TO LORD GOD BUSH

I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around,this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometownIn '65 tension was running high at my high school
There was a lot of fights between the black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two cars at a light on a Saturday night, in the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed, in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come, to my hometown
My hometown
My hometown
My hometown
Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming backto your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
Talking about getting out
Packing up our bags maybe heading south
I'm thirty-five, we got a boy of our own now
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and saidson take a good look around, this is your hometown

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF CHENEY

Lord God Bush looked down upon the people and spoke. `We are taking over these morgage companies and I shall install men in my own image to right that ship just as I righted this blessed country'.

What is it that the Profit Cheney is trying to teach us? It is that by taking over these morgage companies and installing men just like Lord God Bush, that ship can be righted too. This the word of George.

Bush mass is over

Your attendance has been recorded and will be sent to the proper authorities. Go in arrogance, may the Lord God George W Bush be with you.

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US State Department on Friday rejected Russian criticism of the United States for sending a sophisticated warship to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia.

"We certainly reject the Russian charges," deputy spokesman Robert Wood told reporters when asked about Moscow's reaction to sending the Mount Whitney, flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, to the port of Poti.

"It's bringing humanitarian supplies, such as, I believe 4,000 blankets, juice, diapers, hygiene products. There's absolutely no foundation to this Russian charge," Wood said.

Moscow charged that the ship might contravene international conventions and was unsuited for its supposed aid mission.

"The question arises of whether the USS Mount Whitney's entry into the Black Sea conforms with the provisions of the Montreaux Convention of 1936," foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists, referring to an international pact limiting naval deployments there.

The Russian spokesman described the Mount Whitney as "the number one ship of its type in the US Navy" and noted its sophisticated reconnaissance technology.

Read more! »

POTI, Georgia -- The flagship of the U.S. navy's Mediterranean fleet anchored Friday outside this key Georgian port, defiantly delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged U.S. ally in a slap at Moscow.

The USS Mount Whitney was the first navy ship to travel to Poti since Georgia's five-day war with Russia last month. The continued presence of hundreds of Russian soldiers here has been a major point of friction between Russia and the West, which insists Moscow hasn't honoured a ceasefire deal to pull back to positions held before fighting broke out Aug. 7.

Read more! »

From the All Spin Zone:

Palin: “So Sambo beat the bitch!”

How many Republicans think it is OK for Sarah Palin to use racist language? Please raise your hands! Did they all put their hands up?

Commentary By: Steven Reynolds

Let’s just say the young governor has a large vocabulary and doesn’t stint in using it, whether the words are racist or not. Those words in the title are Palin’s reaction, spoken in a diner, to Barack Obama’s finally winning the Democratic nomination. From LA Progressive:

“So Sambo beat the bitch!”

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Read more! »

The serial liars at Faux News are airing airing a fairy tale disguised as a documentary. Sarah Palin : An American Woman

Sarah Palin and her family have captivated voters since the Alaska governor was tapped to be John McCain’s running mate in a surprise decision a week ago.

Republicans have touted her corruption-fighting record, her small-town values and the energy many say she brings to the GOP ticket. Democrats have assailed her experience level and her position on abortion, while others have focused intently on her teenage daughter’s pregnancy.

But Palin has only been in the national spotlight for a short time, and there’s plenty more to know about a woman seeking to become the first female vice president of the United States.

I'm sure it sinks to Faux's normal standards of molested truth , and tortured facts, served up with a huge shovel.

The Rude Pundit whips on Johnny Walnuts.

9/05/2008

At some point last night, it stopped being funny. Here was the scene: the Rude Pundit was watching John McCain speak on a movie screen at the Parkway Theatre in south Minneapolis. In the audience were over 300 people who had come to see a comedy show, which happened before McCain spoke. The past couple of nights at the Parkway, the whole thing took on a raucous, Rocky Horror Picture Show/MST3K feel, with anyone who wanted hurling sarcasm at Joe Lieberman and Sarah Palin.

Read more! »

By AIDA SULTANOVA

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney assured Azerbaijan on Wednesday of America's "abiding interest" in the region's stability. It was the first stop on a tour of three ex-Soviet republics that are wary of Russia's intentions after its war with Georgia last month.

Russia was watching the trip with suspicion, and a top Russian security official accused Cheney of an ulterior motive: seeking to secure energy supplies in the South Caucasus in exchange for U.S. support.

Cheney met with U.S. Embassy officials and international oil executives before going to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev's residence on the Caspian Sea.

Cheney said the principle of territorial integrity was endangered today, noting that they were meeting "in the shadow of the Russian invasion of Georgia."

http://ap.google.com /article /ALeqM5jMblTvfD k7nNZtmNURqS18 whPrYAD92VC2CO1

By JENNIFER LOVEN

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pushing back against an increasingly aggressive Moscow, President Bush said Wednesday the U.S. will send an extra $1 billion to Georgia to help the pro-Western former Soviet republic in the wake of Russia's invasion.

Read more! »

I mentioned that I was going to post a few articles about Cheney's visit to the caucuses, but perhaps I should provide a bit of a primer first.

It can probably be summed up as:

"Once upon a time there were a lot of dinosaurs around the Caspian Sea. Now there is a lot of fossil fuel around the Caspian Sea."

Read more! »

MANDATORY!
http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=2825

Let's hear from the trool on this one. Enlighten us as to why we should vote for a sorry douchebag that supported Bush policies 90% of the time. Support that led to this unprecedented cataclysm:

I got my first home with an FHA loan.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve on Friday informed top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance giants, that the government is preparing a plan to seize the two companies and place them in a conservatorship, officials and company executives briefed on the discussions said.

The plan, effectively a government bailout, was outlined in separate meetings that the chief executives were summoned to attend on Friday at the office of the companies’ new regulator. The executives were told that under the plan, they and their boards would be replaced, and their shareholders virtually wiped out, but that the companies would be able to continue functioning with the government generally standing behind their debt, people briefed on the discussions said.

Read more! »

Gene Lyons opines on the Democrats learning to respond in kind to republic skullduggery.

Something unusual happened during the run-up to the Democratic convention: A presidential candidate was subjected to a highly prejudicial, not particularly honest personal attack, and for once the victim was a Republican. Interestingly, the political press jumped on it, happily trashing John Mc-Cain for two clueless remarks he never actually made. Are Democrats finally learning to fight dirty ? Should the rest of us feel good about it ? Meanwhile, the McCain campaign is running TV commercials mocking Barack Obama for not asking Hillary Clinton to be his running mate—a job she surely didn’t want. Because Republicans, of course, admire Hillary so. They’ve even found a Clinton delegate from Wisconsin to make a pro-McCain commercial, because.... Well, because why? Anybody calling themselves a Democrat who doesn’t understand how important it is for both parties, not to mention the nation, that Republicans pay the price for the catastrophic presidency of George W. Bush needs to turn in his party ID and magic decoder ring and find another hobby, something solitary and quiet, such as gardening or compiling a variorum edition of the “Pride and Prejudice” columns of Maureen Dowd.

Read more! »

Breaking news: Palin has just filed an ethics complaint against…herself. This is not a joke. This is the only way she can activate the 3-person Palin-appointed board whose job is to deal with ethics complaints, thereby circumventing the Alaska State Legistlature’s investigation that she thinks may come down against her.

Others have said this before, but watching one night of the McCain POW praise-fest has me boiling...

WHERE THE FXCK were all these pro-war-hero Republicans back when
Ann Coulter sneered at the 3 limbs Max Clelland lost in Vietnam,
and Republican ads compared him to Saddam and Osama?!!

Where were they when three-time purple heart hero John Kerry was being swiftboated?

Heck, where were they when naval sub commander Jimmy Carter was against Ronald Reagan--
whose war stories were from Hollywood movies he starred in?

Where were they when Bush's war-dodging was revealed?

Another change in the GOP message, worth considering: years ago the GOPcon was all Fear Fear Fear Fear. Which doesn't play against Obama's Hope. So this time they skip the fear & act as-if "everybody knows" that we need a battle-hardened Chuck Norris to Fight Back against the boogyman.
The "why" is skimmed-over. POWheroVet is the new Fear.

Lastly: Palin is very smooth. It's easy to forget she's just parroting a teleprompter. She makes it feel real. (Actually her deviations from the script were dangerously smooth, too.)

And our nation of TV drones --the ones who have a vivid inner life full of imaginary friendships with celebrities-- they just received a new superstar. And they vote. They even Pay to vote, for American Idol contestants. They're easily capable of deciding an election.

Lieberman gave a speech to the republic convention last night and burned the bridges, set the crops aflame, destroyed the seed corn, and dynamited the levee. Good for Lie-by as I hate his sorry ass as bad as any republic. Sayonara, sucka!

(CNN) -- Democrats accused former colleague Sen. Joe Lieberman of misleading the Republican National Convention when he addressed them in a speech Tuesday night.

A senior Barack Obama campaign adviser said Lieberman flat-out lied when he told delegates that Obama never successfully reached across party lines.

Read more! »

Top Ten Most Disturbing Facts and Impressions of Sarah Palin

1: Palin supports gunning down wolves from planes
2: Palin doesn't believe global warming is man-made
3: Palin is the candidate of powerful far right-wing cabal; her nomination seals their support for the little-wanted McCain
4: Palin staunchly opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest
5: Palin takes unnecessary risks with the health of her own child, supports failed abstinence-only programs
6: Palin is under investigation for allegedly abusing her power as governor to help her sister in a messy divorce
7: Palin lied about her plans for the "Bridge to Nowhere"
8: A so-called political reformer, Palin has big money ties to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been indicted for political corruption
9: Palin exploits her son's Iraq service for political gain
10: During her time as mayor, Palin drove a town deep into debt

Details at the link.

Bonus: Thomas Eagleton Watch

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- While Republicans pow-wowed in St. Paul, supporters of Ron Paul threw their own party in neighboring Minneapolis.

"Freedom brings people together," Paul said before a sold-out crowd at Tuesday's Rally for the Republic.

Paul, who said he entered the presidential race reluctantly, told the roaring audience, "I lost my skepticism. I hope you lost your apathy."

Can the constitution compete with a small-town mayor?

Stay tuned. Er, never mind. I didn't see it on the teevee...

I can't get enough of these folksy testimonials from everybody Palin ever climbed-over:

"While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day."

Much more: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/kpete/7146

Seth Colter Wallswalls@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting From DC Palestinian Attack In Israel Part of God's Judgment, Said Recent Guest At Palin's Church

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After several months of scrutinizing Barack Obama's former place of worship, reporters are now taking a close look at Alaskan churches frequented by presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

As the Huffington Post reported earlier Tuesday, Palin addressed a gathering at the Wasilla Assembly of God, asking them to pray for oil pipeline development and "God's will" in Iraq. Meanwhile, the Boston Herald and Newsweek have both identified Wasilla Bible Church as the Alaska Governor's most recent church. And it was at that Bible Church where a recent guest described a Palestinian attack on Israeli citizens as part of God's judgment coming to pass on Earth -- an analysis likely troubling both to Jews, as well as to mainstream foreign policy analysts.

_________________________________

More and links can be found at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palestinian-attack-in-isr_n_123297.html

When will this end? It now seems that even if she wasn't a member of AIP, her husband was for years, and there are people saying that she was at their meetings throughout the 90s. Can you imagine her not being able to get top-level security clearance because of her husband's activities in this radical group? What does it mean when the vice-president (shudder) can't get the sort of security clearance in order to do the job? Un-fuckin-believable!

...sometimes he still comes out with some classic lines.

While holding up a picture of the Wasilla city hall:

"It looks like a bait shop in southeast Louisiana."

McCain's wedding ring, suddenly too tight...

Journalist Amy Goodman, whose syndicated column appears weekly in The Union, was arrested late Monday afternoon outside the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., according to a report on her Web site, www.democracynow.org.

The Web site carries video of her arrest at http://www.youtube.com.

In the video, Goodman appears to be asking to speak to police, dressed in heavy riot gear. After asking her to step out of the street and back onto the curb, the officer she is addressing suddenly grabs her and arrests her.

According to a report on Goodman's Web site, "Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfuly detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. ...

"Ramsey County Sherrif Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul."

Bonus: Goodman interviews Jon Stewart somewhere near the Larry Craig Memorial Bathroom.

Jon is (apparently) too widely watched to be arrested.

It was a main theme during the Dem meeting that with all the problems, we have to rise above party politics and just all be Americans.

Now, with bush-boy down in Texas making sure everything works properly for hurricane aid and with the GOP meeting put on hold, they tell us it's time that we all come together, as Americans, to assist victims of the weather.

A really neat Madison Avenue type change of heart to adjust to a new marketing strategy.

It's the new patriotism mantra.

Does anyone want to take any bets on how long Palin lasts before she's dropped from the ticket?

In the past few day since she was named as McSame's Veep pick so much stuff has now came out that does not bode well for her continuing on the ticket, and I'm not talking about the baby switch story. There is troopergate and another questionable firing when she was mayor of that hick town up there. There are people in Alaska that are questioning her fitness for being vice-president and a heartbeat away from the presidency, including her own mother-in-law. And I've gotten the impression that there are some in the Alaskan Government that aren't too thrilled with her either. And now it comes out that McSame and the GOP are finally sending people up to Alaska to thoroughly vet her. Who knows what they are going to find?

What do you guys think? Is she going to make a decision that she has to spend more time with her family, or is she going to hang out to the end?

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp? S=8933298 &nav=menu57_2

I figured these asswipes had a hand in this.

"Last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC's spectacle in Denver, the country's most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.
CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Tim LaHaye and Paul Weyrich. At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges; in 2004, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told the group, "The destiny of the nation is on the shoulders of the conservative movement." This year, thanks to Sarah Palin's selection, the movement may have finally aligned itself behind the campaign of John McCain.
(snip)
Minnery added that his boss, Dobson, has yearned for a conservative female leader like Margaret Thatcher to emerge on the American scene. And while Palin is no Thatcher, "she has not rejected the feminine side of who she is, so for that reason, she will be attractive to conservative voters."

The members of the Council for National Policy are the hidden hand behind McCain's Palin pick. With her selection, the Republican nominee is suddenly -- and unexpectedly -- assured of the support of a movement that once opposed his candidacy with all its might. Case in point: while Dobson once said he could "never" vote for McCain, he issued a statement last week hailing Palin as an "outstanding" choice. If Dobson's enthusiasm for Palin is any indication, he may soon emerge from his bunker in Colorado Springs to endorse McCain, providing the Republican nominee with the grassroots support of the Christian right's single most influential figure. "
Read the rest here.

Time for Obama to stop catering to these lunatics and work on getting out the base instead.

Yeah, most of the big whigs will be down south courting Gustov -- to show the nation they are compassionatley hard at work.

Maybe show up via satelite feed.

Goes down with one of the better Sienfeld shows.