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Saturday, September 13, 2008

PAGE 1 NY TIMES

PALIN'S RECORD AS MAYOR OF WASILLA AND 2 YEARS AS GOVERNOR

Personal Vendettas... Censorship... Cronyism... Secrecy And Lying...

Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.

LinkHere

Be Afraid, Be Very Very Afraid" I'm John McSame and I approved this message

Newspapers Deliver Millions of 'Terror' DVDs to Subscribers -- In 'Swing States'
Source: Editor & Publisher

The arrival of tens of millions of DVDs of a controversial DVD on doorsteps around the nation -- but almost exclusively in election "swing states" -- via newspaper home delivery continues this weekend, with explanatory articles and subscriber feedback appearing on some of the papers' Web sites.

The DVDs of the 60-minute film, made in 2005, and titled "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," arrived today with, among other papers, the Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer in Raleigh, with delivery with the Miami Herald and other papers set for Sunday.

... It was shown on Fox News just before the 2006 mid-term elections, and conservative activist David Horowitz screened the film on college campuses during 2007. An article at the group's site, www.radicalislam.org, endorsed John McCain as the strongest candidate this past week, then was pulled down.

An article at the site of the Morning-Call in Allentown, Pa. today reveals that it will be inserted in the Sunday paper there tomorrow. It continues: "A call to Clarion wasn't returned, but the nonprofit's spokesman, Gregory Ross, told the Harrisburg Patriot-News this week that 28 million copies of the DVD are being distributed nationwide throughout September. He said the intent is not to sway voters' opinions about the presidential candidates."
LinkHere

Hundreds in Anchorage rally against Palin spot on GOP ticket

Source: Kansas City Star/McClatchy Newspapers
Hundreds of protesters turned out in Anchorage, Alaska, today in a rally against Gov. Sarah Palin's candidacy for vice president. At least 500 protesters were outside the Loussac Library waving signs.

At least 100 Palin supporters were on the other side of the street showing support for the governor.

The protest came hours after the governor held a morning rally in downtown Anchorage, attended by as many as 1,500 cheering supporters, then flew off to Nevada to resume campaigning. It's the first public demonstration against Palin since she accepted McCain's offer on Aug. 29.

The protesters included a mix of Obama supporters, anti-war protesters, abortion-rights advocates and people upset that Palin, when she was Wasilla mayor, asked a city librarian about removing books.

'Bush War Crimes Conference' convenes

Andover law school convenes Bush War Crimes Conference - WATCH LIVE
Stephen C. WebsterPublished: Saturday September 13, 2008
PROGRAM WILL RETURN SUNDAY, 9 A.M. EST. SEE EMBEDDED VIDEO BELOW.
Saturday morning, the dean of Massachusetts School of Law at Andover will convene a two day planning session with a single focus: To arrest, put to trial and carry out sentence on criminals in the Bush Administration.
The conference, arranged by Lawrence Vevel, cofounder of the Andover school, will focus on which of Bush's officials and members of Congress could be charged with war crimes. The plan also calls for "necessary organizational structures" to be established, with the purpose of pursuing the guilty "to the ends of the Earth."
"For Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and John Yoo to spend years in jail or go to the gallows for their crimes would be a powerful lesson to future American leaders," Velvel said in a media advisory.
In a published document entitled "The Long Term View" (PDF link), Vevel argues, at the very least, "there is no question" George W. Bush is guilty of conspiracy to commit torture, a war crime.
"He is a former drunk, was a serial failure in business who had to repeatedly be bailed out by daddy's friends and wanna-be-friends, was unable to speak articulately despite the finest education(s) that money and influence can buy, has a dislike of reading, so that 100-page memos have to be boiled down to one page for him, is heedless of facts and evidence, and appears not even to know the meaning of truth," said Vevel.
The conference will focus on:
# What international and domestic crimes were committed, which facts show crimes under which laws, and what punishments are possible.
# Which high level Executive officials -- and Federal judges and legislators as well, if any -- are chargeable with crimes.
# Which international tribunals, foreign tribunals and domestic tribunals (if any) can be used and how to begin cases and/or obtain prosecutions before them.
# The possibility of establishing a Chief Prosecutor’s Office such as the one at Nuremburg.
# An examination of cases already brought and their outcomes.
# Creating an umbrella Coordinating Committee with representatives from the increasing number of organizations involved in war crimes cases.
# Creating a Center to keep track of and organize compilations of relevant briefs, articles, books, opinions, and facts, etc., on war crimes and prosecutions of war criminals.

Says she never ventured beyond Kuwait border

Well she's definitely gun crazy, isn't she?

Associated Press/file
Palin camp clarifies extent of Iraq trip

WASHINGTON - Sarah Palin's visit to Iraq in 2007 consisted of a brief stop at a border crossing between Iraq and Kuwait, the vice presidential candidate's campaign said yesterday, in the second official revision of her only trip outside North America.
Following her selection last month as John McCain's running mate, aides said Palin had traveled to Ireland, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq to meet with members of the Alaska National Guard. During that trip she was said to have visited a "military outpost" inside Iraq. The campaign has since repeated that Palin's foreign travel included an excursion into the Iraq battle zone.
But in response to queries about the details of her trip, campaign aides and National Guard officials in Alaska said by telephone yesterday that she did not venture beyond the Kuwait-Iraq border when she visited Khabari Alawazem Crossing, also known as "K-Crossing," on July 25, 2007.
Asked to clarify where she traveled in Iraq, Palin's spokeswoman, Maria Comella, confirmed that "She visited a military outpost on the other side of the Kuwait-Iraq border."
It was the second such clarification in as many weeks of the itinerary of what Palin has called "the trip of a lifetime." Earlier, the campaign acknowledged that Palin made only a refueling stop in Ireland.
In her interview with ABC News Thursday night, Palin did not mention Iraq in describing the visit, saying only that she went to Kuwait and Germany to meet with US forces.
According to an itinerary obtained from the Alaska National Guard, the Republican governor visited troops and airmen at a series of bases in Kuwait, including Camp Buehring, Camp Virginia, and Ali Al Salem Air Base.
Her visit to Iraq itself was during a short stop at Khabari Alawazem Crossing on the second day of her two-day trip to the region.
With all this talk about Sarah Palin redefining feminism and people who don't support her candidacy being sexist, I think we could use a little clarification.

"MAVERICK" TO MUDSLINGER

(cover photo from Atlantic Monthly)

The Delegate From Sadr City

Pics






Majid Al-Bahadli more than hopes Obama can change the world

By Joshuah Bearman
Published on September 04, 2008


Majid Al-Bahadli camea long way to get to Denver. Born near Basra, raised in Sadr City, refugeed after the 1991 uprising against Saddam, married and naturalized in Seattle, Majid is the only Iraqi delegate at the Democratic National Convention.
"I think there are other Arabs, from Michigan and places like that," he says. "But no one else is from Iraq. As far as I know, I'm the only one at any Democratic convention. Or Republican convention. I'm the only one ever!"
We're on the floor of the Pepsi Center on Monday, where 4,000 delegates, 15,000 journalists and god-knows-how-many DNC staff, finance people, party bigwigs, hangers-on and fresh-faced, yellow-vested volunteers will fill the room in the run up to Thursday's epic nomination. Majid is an Obama delegate. This is impossible not to know if you get anywhere near Majid, who rotates between self-designed T-shirts that announce, IRAQI AMERICANS FOR OBAMA and IRAQ FOR OBAMA, YES WE CAN!
"I first heard Obama speak in 2004 in Boston," Majid says of his American political awakening. "And after that, I was just waiting for him to announce he would run in 2008."
When that happened, Majid, who is 41 and has three kids, started canvassing his neighborhood, standing in front of grocery stores, talking to friends, talking to strangers, talking to anyone who would listen about his fundamental belief in his candidate. "I don't have anything bad to say about Hillary, but I know in my heart that Obama will change the world."
For Majid, this is more than rhetoric. With his entire extended family still in Baghdad, he has more at stake than almost anyone else here.
"I talked to my brother, Khalid, before I left. Everyone there is watching on CNN, Al Jazeera. Both conventions mean a lot to them. Now, I am an American. I love it here. Issues like health care and the economy are important to me, because they affect millions of my new American family. But I have an Iraqi family too, and they need security and safety immediately. Their lives are the ones that will change. Or stay the same, with McCain."
The convention is called to order, and the Washington delegation feels the moment. They wave signs, holler, dance to the interstitial music between speakers (oddest segue: "Addicted to Love" after BillClinton's speech Wed­nes­day). One guy wears a button-and-sticker headdress making a none-too-subtle argument: McCAIN IS INSANE. Almost everyone within a 20-foot radius wears a blue button with OBAMA FOR CHANGE in English, Arabic and Hebrew — all Majid's work.
"That's how I got started," he says, "with the buttons!"
In the months before the state's February 8 caucus, Majid bought a button maker, created dozens of designs and churned out thousands of buttons. "People started ordering them from everywhere, even abroad. I gave them to people at synagogues and mosques. Now, you have Arabs wearing Hebrew and Jews wearing Arabic. That's how much Obama's message resonates with people."
Majid's success is also derived from his infectious enthusiasm. When Majid made his case for Obama at his local public library on February 8, his fellow caucus-goers were so moved by his heartfelt statement and personal history that they surprised him with a nomination as a precinct delegate. In a year of intense competition for delegate positions, it's not easy to get to the convention, especially in Washington state, where three stages of caucusing winnow thousands of precinct-level hopefuls to fewer than 80 delegates. The three-month process turned out to be a campaign of its own, an exercise in democracy that most Americans don't even realize is possible, and one well-suited to Majid, who loves people as much as they love him. At the final stage, Majid had 30 seconds to tell 1,100 people why he should go to Denver. When the votes were counted, he had convinced 900 of them, a landslide victory.
"Eighty seven percent!" he exclaims, recalling the shock, "of all the votes!"
When I point out that this is almost as much as Saddam Hussein used to get, Majid says, "It's no joke! Where I come from, it was one ballot and one name. You guys don't know what you have here with democracy. Half the country doesn't participate! I don't get it. You vote for who you want and have no fear of being killed. This is an incredible luxury."
Majid has been appointed to the tallying committee, meaning he will play a procedural role in voicing his state's votes. "I can't wait," he says, "to see all the names there, and next to mine I will mark the box for Obama!"

ABC finally covered Book Banning in Alaska.

This comes from African Americans for Obama in Ohio.

Who would you hire, after comparing the shocking disparities in Educational Achievements of Obama and Biden vs. McCain and Palin?

Resumes

Let's look at the educational background of your two options:

Obama:
Occidental College (Los Angeles) - 2 years studying Politics and Public Policy.
Columbia University (New York) - B.A. Political Science with a specialization in International Relations.
Harvard Law School - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude, and also where he became the first African- American editor, of the Harvard Law Review.

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and a B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 of 899.

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester.
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - General Studies.
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - Journalism.
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester.
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism.

LinkHere

Gov. Palin’s Worldview

As we watched Sarah Palin on TV the last couple of days, we kept wondering what on earth John McCain was thinking.
If he seriously thought this first-term governor — with less than two years in office — was qualified to be president, if necessary, at such a dangerous time, it raises profound questions about his judgment. If the choice was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible.
It was bad enough that Ms. Palin’s performance in the first televised interviews she has done since she joined the Republican ticket was so visibly scripted and lacking in awareness.
What made it so much worse is the strategy for which the Republicans have made Ms. Palin the frontwoman: win the White House not on ideas, but by denigrating experience, judgment and qualifications.
The idea that Americans want leaders who have none of those things — who are so blindly certain of what Ms. Palin calls “the mission” that they won’t even pause for reflection — shows a contempt for voters and raises frightening questions about how Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin plan to run this country.
LinkHere
sparrow said:
Hey!
I just want to give everyone heads up that, Monday, the Ed Schultz Show will be airing a town hall meeting that's taking place tomorrow...somewhere in Alaska (I don't remember what town). Ed Schultz is a liberal radio talk show host, but there will be both lefties and righties included in the discussion about Palin as a mayor/governor. It should be interesting if nothing else.
The Ed Schultz Show airs on 1520am in Buffalo 12-3pm You can check his website for your local information.
Also, Ed Schultz will also be on the Larry King Show Monday to discuss the town hall meeting...

She was for it, before she was against it.

ABC Interview Part Three: Palin Defends Bridge To Nowhere Process

FLIP FLOP, FLIP FLOP,
FLIP FLOP.





ABC News has just sent out the next crop of excerpts from its interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. These things can be tricky to judge just from reading (Palin, for instance, came off much better on paper than on camera during last night's installment) but from the looks of it, it seems that Charlie Gibson got her to acknowledge that she was, in fact, once in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere.
Here is the transcript.

I Approved This Message

She Who Shall Not Be Named with Daughter

Well she certainly knows how to kill, She's definitely McBushs' girl

Brutal




Katharine Zaleski, 09.12.2008
Watching Sarah Palin legs to legs with ABC's Charlie Gibson in her first interview was like watching a man question a wind-up doll. Palin looked like she came to the interview with ten answers programmed to memory, ten answers she had rehearsed over and over again with the top PR operatives John McCain inherited from Karl Rove.
The charade failed. Palin looked like a moose in the headlights or a broken Stepford Wife, especially when she couldn't define the Bush Doctrine. And when trying to cover for her lack of foreign policy experience, she was wrong in telling Gibson that many vice presidential candidates had not met with heads of state. More amazing than her being wrong is that it appears she doesn't care about foreign policy or our nation's history. Does she know who George H.W. Bush is? Dick Cheney? Two vice presidents, one currently serving, whose positions in the State Department made them obvious acquaintances of foreign heads of state. But why should we be surprised? In an interview only a month before
Palin remarked that she didn't even know what the vice president does:

Sarah Palin Interview: What does the VP do?


He has enthusiastically supported George Bush on the issues of greatest importance today

Bill Squadron, 09.12.2008
Having discovered that to today's worried Americans the mantra of "experience" loses to the appeal of "change," McCain is trying to use his obsolete maverick laurels to recast himself as the "change" candidate.

In 2005, Barack Obama was rated at 92. In 2006, Obama was an 80

John McCain Gets Testy With Vet Over GI Bill

The video that should sink John McCain's presidential dreams

Here's what McCain has done for veterans recently:
● Did not support new GI bill legislation because he thought it was too generous and would result in soldiers choosing to go to school instead of reenlisting. This bill passed 75-22 and McCain was one of three Senators who didn't show up to vote. Only after the bill was attached to the war funding request of the Bush administration, did McCain vote for the Webb bill. All 22 votes against the bill were by Republicans.
● Voted against providing at least $19 billion for military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy.
● Voted against providing $2.8 billion to increase veterans' medical care.
● Voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to provide improvements to health facilities that treat veterans and military personnel paid for by allowing dividends and capital gains tax breaks, for those with incomes greater than $1 million, to lapse.
● Voted against increasing medical services to veterans by $1.5 billion in 2007, paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
● In April 2006, McCain was one of 13 Senators to vote against $430 million for medical services for VA outpatient care and treatment for veterans. Despite his vote against, it passed overwhelmingly, 84-13. All 13 voting against were Republicans.

If any of these people were Democrats, It would be called the "character" issue.

Maia Szalavitz, 09.12.2008
If any of these people were Democrats, we would read about how having an ex-junkie, prescription-forger thief as First Lady sends the wrong message to kids about drug use.

Rachel Maddow's Last Word: Elect Based On Competence!

Rachel Maddow compared and contrasted President Bush's, John McCain's, and Barack Obama's statements on September 11th on her show Thursday night, using them as a reminder of what Americans should be looking for as we head into the homestretch of the presidential election: competence.
Her remarks:
As we turn our attention back to the Presidential campaign, to the choice we will make in November, let September 11, 2008 remind us of what we require from our leaders and from our government: competence. Our choice isn't about language or personality or how well we relate to a politician. This day reminds us that our choice in November is about the competence of the government we will elect.
Watch:


Shove It To The Bastards Oprah

CHICAGO — A few weeks after cheering presidential candidate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, Oprah Winfrey will take up a different kind of political activism.
Monday's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be dedicated to a Senate bill targeting child predators, according to a release issued Friday by Chicago-based Harpo Productions.
During the show, which will detail the "extent and pervasiveness of child pornography trafficking in America," Winfrey will ask viewers to contact their senators about U.S. Senate Bill 1738, the Protect Our Children Act, Harpo said.
"What you are going to see is going to shock you to the core, but I'm asking you to please not turn away because this is happening in our country, to our children, in the United States every day," Winfrey said in the release.
Harpo said the show will be rated TV-14.
In 1991, Winfrey testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a national database of convicted child abusers. The "Oprah Bill" was signed into law in 1993.
In 2005, Winfrey, who has said she was also a victim of child abuse, launched the "Oprah's Child Predator Watch List" and pledged a $100,000 reward per case for information that leads to the arrest of fugitives featured on her show and Web site. Nine of the featured fugitives have been captured, Harpo said.
Winfrey has been a longtime supporter of Obama's and said she was moved to tears by his acceptance speech at the convention.

Friday, September 12, 2008

McCain Admits He's "Divorced" From Reality: Obama Camp Lets Rip

The Obama campaign is jumping all over a line from John McCain, in which the Arizona Republican suggested that time in Washington had made it easier from him to be out of touch with everyday concerns.
"I think John McCain is right about John McCain," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a fellow Chicagoan known for his brass-knuckled politics. "He has been there so long that is why he has voted 90 percent of the time with George Bush and that why his staff is bogged down by lobbyists that represent special interests."McCain's alleged gaffe came Thursday night at Columbia University during a service forum featuring both candidates.
"It's easy for me to go to Washington," said the Senator, "and frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have."
Watch:
McCain: It's easy for me to be out of touch

LinkHere

Palin Defends Her Initial Support For Bridge To Nowhere

ABC News has just sent out the next crop of excerpts from its interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. These things can be tricky to judge just from reading (Palin, for instance, came off much better on paper than on camera during last night's installment) but from the looks of it, it seems that Charlie Gibson got her to acknowledge that she was, in fact, once in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere.
Here is the transcript.
CHARLES GIBSON: But you turned against it after Congress had basically pulled the plug on it; after it became apparent that the state was going to have to pay for it, not the Congress; and after it became a national embarrassment to the state of Alaska. So do you want to revise and extend your remarks.
SARAH PALIN: It has always been an embarrassment that abuse of the ear form -- earmark process has been accepted in Congress. And that's what John McCain has fought. And that's what I joined him in fighting. It's been an embarrassment, not just Alaska's projects. But McCain gives example after example after example. I mean, every state has their embarrassment.
CHARLES GIBSON: But you were for it before you were against it. You were solidly for it for quite some period of time...
SARAH PALIN: I was...
CHARLES GIBSON: ... until Congress pulled the plug.
SARAH PALIN: I was for infrastructure being built in the state. And it's not inappropriate for a mayor or for a governor to request and to work with their Congress and their congressmen, their congresswomen, to plug into the federal budget along with every other state a share of the federal budget for infrastructure.
CHARLES GIBSON: Right. LinkHere


Todd Palin Subpoenaed

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to subpoena the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in a move that transformed a messy state personnel issue into a national campaign controversy.
The lawmakers acted at the request of Stephen Branchflower, who is in the midst of an investigation into the governor's dismissal of the state's director of public safety.
Branchflower said he also wants to interview the governor, but omitted her from the 13-person list of subpoena targets he presented to the lawmakers overseeing his investigation.
Branchflower said Todd Palin is "such a central figure. ... I think one should be issued for him."
Thomas Van Flein, a private attorney hired to represent the governor, did not immediately return calls for comment. LinkHere
WASHINGTON — Before Sarah Palin spoke at a ceremony Thursday for her son's Army brigade, bound for Iraq, the Pentagon sent a message of its own to the Republican vice presidential candidate: Watch your language.
During campaign season, the Defense Department is quick to remind those running for office about its long-standing rule barring them from using U.S. military bases and personnel as election-year props. That means no political talk while they're on military property.
"What we're trying to avoid is our troops being used as political pawns in a campaign and our bases being used as stages for electioneering," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. "The military has to stay out of the fray of politics; it has to remain apolitical. We go to great lengths to ensure that."
Palin, Alaska's Republican governor, was invited to speak at the Sept. 11 ceremony at Fort Wainwright, a large Army installation near Fairbanks, long before Sen. John McCain selected her as his running mate.
The deployment ceremony honored Fort Wainwright's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The brigade, a 4,000-soldier unit that includes Private First Class Track Palin, is heading to northern Iraq for a yearlong assignment. Track, 19, is Palin's oldest son. LinkHere

Obama Ad Calls Out McCain For Employing Lobbyists

In an ad that hasn't officially been released to reporters, the Obama campaign goes hard after John McCain for employing big-time lobbyists in high ranking positions.
The spot, entitled "Special Interest," leaked out on Friday despite what Democratic officials say was Obama's design of waiting until the weekend. The ad is indicative of the continued battle between the two candidates over who can best carry the mantle of reform.
"John McCain's chief adviser lobbies for oil companies, even from Russia and China. His campaign manager lobbies for corporations outsourcing American jobs. The campaign chairman he picked last year -- a bank lobbyist. If seven of McCain's top advisers are lobbyists, who do you think will run his White House? John McCain. We just can't afford more of the same."
The McCain campaign was out with a response immediately, claiming Obama was the one ineffectual when it came to taking on special interests.

LinkHere

Obama Camp: "McCain Would Rather Lose His Integrity Than Lose An Election"

For some Democratic observers, it's been one of the most intensely debated questions of the general election campaign. Can you campaign against the honor of a former POW?
Increasingly, it looks as though Barack Obama's campaign feels as though they have little choice. In response to last week's ad accusing the Illinois Democrat of supporting explicit sex-ed for kindergarten students, an Obama spokesperson called McCain's campaign "perverse."
Now, after McCain himself defended the ad on "The View" Friday morning, the Obama camp is raising the honor question again.
"Today on "The View," John McCain defended his campaign's latest ad campaign, which has been debunked repeatedly as both false and sleazy. In running the sleaziest campaign since South Carolina in 2000 and standing by completely debunked lies on national television, it's clear that John McCain would rather lose his integrity than lose an election."

Hannity said that claiming the U.S. has seen a “dire” economy is “all based on a lie.”

Hannity Has A Bullyboy Meltdown Arguing Economy Is Great

McCain Camp Lies Discussed On MSNBC (VIDEO)

On MSNBC yesterday, The Nation's Ari Melber tried to get former George W. Bush aide Brad Blakeman to admit that John McCain's ad accusing Barack Obama of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex contained lies. Watch: +
This Is How You Stick It To Lying Republican Hacks

"But boy ... he can be hard to work with."



an interview with the Huffington Post, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota called Sarah Palin "not ready" to be vice president, referencing her recent statements on Russia and Iraq and her "laughable" experience arguments.
One enters Johnson's private hideaway office in the U.S. Capitol to find the Democrat sitting next to a stack of newspapers. While his staff is undergoing a wholesale office move this week, the Senator is working here, only a couple paces from the footpath of tourists, who stream steadily through the hallway just outside the small office's door.
Up for reelection this year in a deep-red state, the Senator was eager to talk politics. Declaring himself unimpressed with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's first interview with Charles Gibson Thursday night, Johnson called her "not ready" to lead the country as vice president. "And this idea that she has national security experience because of the Alaska National Guard, it's just laughable," he added. On the topic of Russia, Johnson said he would have been comforted if her statements in support of a possible war with the nuclear power had been joined "with some discussion of diplomacy."

Planned Parenthood Defends Obama, Attacks McCain On Sex Ed (VIDEO)

Planned Parenthood Action Fund - Sexual Abuse
Planned Parenthood defends Barack Obama's record on sex education after a nasty John McCain ad suggesting the Democrat supports teaching kindergartners about sex. In an ad, they say that Obama was helping children protect themselves from sex offenders, while McCain seemingly doesn't care.
"Every eight minutes a child is sexually abused," the narrator says. "That's why Barack Obama supported legislation to teach children how to protect themselves. Now John McCain is twisting the facts and attacking Senator Obama. Doesn't McCain want our children to protect ourselves from sex offenders? Or after 26 years in Washington, is he just another politician who will say anything to get elected?"
Watch:

McCain Grilled On "The View": Sarah Palin, His Abortion Stance, His Obama Attack Ads, And More

The ladies of "The View" confronted John McCain today for lying in recent attack ads. In arguably his toughest interview yet, View co-host Joy Behar asked McCain:
"There are ads running from your campaign... Now we know that those two ads are untrue, they are lies. And yet, you at the end of it say you approve these messages. Do you really approve these? Barbara then threw in her condemnation, by telling McCain: "You, yourself said the same thing about putting lipstick on a pig..."
Watch McCain try and explain the lies:









Blizzard of Lies



If the way John McCain and Sarah Palin are campaigning is any indication, it would be much, much worse., than Bush-Cheney


By PAUL KRUGMAN
Did you hear about how Barack Obama wants to have sex education in kindergarten, and called Sarah Palin a pig? Did you hear about how Ms. Palin told Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks” when it wanted to buy Alaska a Bridge to Nowhere?
These stories have two things in common: they’re all claims recently made by the McCain campaign — and they’re all out-and-out lies.
Dishonesty is nothing new in politics. I spent much of 2000 — my first year at The Times — trying to alert readers to the blatant dishonesty of the Bush campaign’s claims about taxes, spending and Social Security.
But I can’t think of any precedent, at least in America, for the blizzard of lies since the Republican convention. The Bush campaign’s lies in 2000 were artful — you needed some grasp of arithmetic to realize that you were being conned. This year, however, the McCain campaign keeps making assertions that anyone with an Internet connection can disprove in a minute, and repeating these assertions over and over again.
Take the case of the Bridge to Nowhere, which supposedly gives Ms. Palin credentials as a reformer. Well, when campaigning for governor, Ms. Palin didn’t say “no thanks” — she was all for the bridge, even though it had already become a national scandal, insisting that she would “not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative.”
Oh, and when she finally did decide to cancel the project, she didn’t righteously reject a handout from Washington: she accepted the handout, but spent it on something else. You see, long before she decided to cancel the bridge, Congress had told Alaska that it could keep the federal money originally earmarked for that project and use it elsewhere.
So the whole story of Ms. Palin’s alleged heroic stand against wasteful spending is fiction.
Or take the story of Mr. Obama’s alleged advocacy of kindergarten sex-ed. In reality, he supported legislation calling for “age and developmentally appropriate education”; in the case of young children, that would have meant guidance to help them avoid sexual predators.
And then there’s the claim that Mr. Obama’s use of the ordinary metaphor “putting lipstick on a pig” was a sexist smear, and on and on.
Why do the McCain people think they can get away with this stuff? Well, they’re probably counting on the common practice in the news media of being “balanced” at all costs. You know how it goes: If a politician says that black is white, the news report doesn’t say that he’s wrong, it reports that “some Democrats say” that he’s wrong. Or a grotesque lie from one side is paired with a trivial misstatement from the other, conveying the impression that both sides are equally dirty.
They’re probably also counting on the prevalence of horse-race reporting, so that instead of the story being “McCain campaign lies,” it becomes “Obama on defensive in face of attacks.”
Still, how upset should we be about the McCain campaign’s lies? I mean, politics ain’t beanbag, and all that.
One answer is that the muck being hurled by the McCain campaign is preventing a debate on real issues — on whether the country really wants, for example, to continue the economic policies of the last eight years.
But there’s another answer, which may be even more important: how a politician campaigns tells you a lot about how he or she would govern. LinkHere
If there’s a common theme today, it’s the press taking McCain’s campaign to task for running a series of ads distorting Obama’s record and positions.
AP's Babington writes, "Even in a political culture accustomed to truth-stretching, McCain's skirting of facts has stood out this week. It has infuriated and flustered Obama's campaign, and campaign pros are watching to see how much voters disregard news reports noting factual holes in the claims. McCain's persistence in pushing dubious claims is all the more notable because many political insiders consider him one of the greatest living victims of underhanded campaigning. Locked in a tight race with George W. Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, McCain was rocked in South Carolina by a whisper campaign claiming he had fathered an illegitimate black child and was mentally unstable."
The Los Angeles Times’ Rainey: "News organizations and these admirable truth-squadding outfits, including PolitiFact.com, do not collaborate. But in independent news reports and commentaries this week, they seemed to reach a consensus to say ‘enough’ to the McCain camp's efforts to demonize Barack Obama. I'm not saying that Obama hasn't told a few whoppers -- like suggesting McCain's proposed corporate tax breaks are tailored specifically for oil companies or that his opponent seriously believes anyone making under $5 million is middle-class. But it's McCain and his foot soldiers who have really fouled the election airwaves in recent days, provoking the first flickerings of a backlash from the media."

ABC investigates Sarah Palin's trooper scandal, and finds women's groups in Alaska are rallying against the governor:

ABC investigates Sarah Palin's Troopergate problem

Friking Wanker

DUMB AND DUMBER

Seth Colter Wall McCain Interview On Palin Riddled With Errors

As if to quash the emerging news narrative that John McCain is afraid of the press after going a full month without holding a press conference, the Republican nominee's campaign made the candidate available last night to a local television station in Maine.
If they thought McCain would come under less intensive fire than he would from the national press, however, the campaign was mistaken. Rob Caldwell, a dogged reporter for WCHS, pressed McCain repeatedly on Gov. Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice presidency. And while answering, McCain made a number of factual misstatements.First, the reporter asked McCain to explain Sarah Palin's foreign policy credentials:
Q: Let 's move on to what you say is the number one issue facing the United States in our time. And that is the challenge of addressing Islamist extremism. What credentials does Gov. Palin have -- in national security, diplomacy, foreign policy -- that qualify her to be your partner in that, on that issue: the fight against Islamic extremism?
McCain: Well, obviously the economy is also a major challenge facing America.
Q: No, I'm using your words, Senator McCain, you have said, this summer...
McCain: No, I said...
Q: That the number one challenge of our time is Islamic extremism... LinkHere

Palin Links Iraq To 9/11 In Speech To Troops

By Anne E. KornblutWashington Post Staff Writer Friday, September 12, 2008;

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Sept. 11 -- Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."

The idea that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself. But it is widely agreed that militants allied with al-Qaeda have taken root in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion LinkHere

The most damning indictment against her is that she considered herself a good choice to be a heartbeat away. That shows bad judgment.



Five different schools in six years. What was that about?
Venerable film critic Roger Ebert waded into politics Thursday to review Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
The verdict? Thumbs Down.
Palin is "the American Idol candidate," Ebert wrote in a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed.
What defines an "American Idol" finalist? They're good-looking, work well on television, have a sunny personality, are fierce competitors, and so talented, why, they're darned near the real thing. There's a reason "American Idol" gets such high ratings.
Ebert, however, says that's not enough of a qualification.
I want a vice president who is better, wiser, well-traveled, has met world leaders, who three months ago had an opinion on Iraq. Someone who doesn't repeat bald- faced lies about earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere.
Ebert takes a series of shots at Palin's bashing of "elites" and her lack of international travel and experience before concluding:
I trust the American people will see through Palin, and save the Republic in November.
Read the entire article here.

Sarah Palin's Charlie Gibson ABC Interview: Video And Transcript

You dumb broad, Georgia attacked South Ossetia first.

Below are excerpts from Sarah Palin's interview tonight with ABC's Charlie Gibson. Palin's comments on national security, the Bush Doctrine and considering war with Russia are included. Click here for more excerpts.Palin on what it would take to invade Russia:
When Gibson said if under the NATO treaty, the United States would have to go to war if Russia again invaded Georgia, Palin responded: "Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help.
"And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," she told Gibson. Palin asked about the Bush Doctrine... She doesn't know:
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine? PALIN: In what respect, Charlie? GIBSON: The Bush -- well, what do you -- what do you interpret it to be? PALIN: His world view. GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war. PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that's the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better. GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?
PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend.
Watch the video here:

LinkHere

Palin's Dangerous Saber Rattling on Russia

Sarah Palin said something very very dangerous today during her interview with Charlie Gibson.
PALIN: Well, you know, the Rose Revolution, the Orange Revolution, those actions have showed us that those democratic nations, I believe, deserve to be in NATO. Putin thinks otherwise. Obviously, he thinks otherwise, but...
GIBSON: And under the NATO treaty, wouldn't we then have to go to war if Russia went into Georgia?
PALIN: Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help.
There are numerous problems with this statement. The most important element is that it sends a very dangerous and extreme signal to the world -- especially other nuclear powers. This type of dangerous talk reinforces the militaristic saber-rattling of the McCain campaign. From joking about bombing Iran, to talking about invading Iraq, Iran and Syria weeks after 9/11 to the misguided "we are all Georgians now," the McCain campaign is sending all kinds of horrifying signals to the world about the types of wars it would fight. Leaders in other capitals are paying attention and words matter.
Technically, if Georgia and Ukraine were to become part of NATO under Article Five, we would be obligated to protect them and even Obama-Biden support bringing them into NATO. But here's the thing...

Gina Gershon Parodies Sarah Palin (VIDEO)

Thursday, September 11, 2008




Dumb and Dumber

Just Like Bush: Palin Claims Executive Privilege On Secret Emails

The Washington Post reports that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) is “being asked by a local Republican activist to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public records request, including 40 that were copied to her husband, Todd.” Invoking a favored practice of the Bush administration, Palin has claimed executive privilege to keep the e-mails secret — despite the fact many of them were sent to Todd, who is not an elected official.
What’s more, Palin and her staff intentionally use her personal Yahoo e-mail account, perhaps to avoid document release requests:
Palin also routinely does government business from a Yahoo address, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, rather than from her secure official state e-mail address, according to documents already made public.
“Whoops!” Palin aide Frank Bailey wrote, after addressing an e-mail to the governor’s official state address.
“Frank, This is not the Governor’s personal account,” a secretary reminded him.
The lawyer filing the request pointed out that the point of government e-mail is to ensure “security and encryption.” “She’s running state business out of Yahoo?” he asked. Mother Jones reports that Palin’s refusal to hand over e-mails stands in violation of the Alaska Public Records Act.

9/11 The falling man [pr0x] (new DL links!!)



Another 4 more years of Georgie, you have got to be kidding.





Is John McCain a doddering old man who can't remember his next line, or Sarah Palin a fundamentalist Governor of Wasilla population 7000-9000, going to keep you safe?

Alaska Drop Out Rate WASILLA WORST

http://www.ktuu.com/global/story.asp?s=7289165


If they do make it to college they don’t graduate

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/052808/sta_283751088.shtml


ALASKA STATS ON RAPE AND INCEST GRAPH

http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/16914870?limit_modifier=all&graph


Stats from the Alaska Department of Health

http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/ipems/injury_prevention/akfvpp/bkgnd.htm


Palin, Her Police Chief, Charged Wasilla area Rape VictimsAnd Santorum says we should look upon her as a 'feminist'. Mayor Palin's hand picked cop insisted charges for 'rape kits' were the victim's responsibility

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/52266.html

Listen to Alaska Radio Ads on the subject

http://www.hss.state.ak.us/ocs/

LinkHere

Wouldn't it be ironic if the McCain/Palin appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court thrust us back in time to the dark days when women had no choice.

Obama: "Let Us Remember That The Terrorists Responsible For 9/11 Are Still At Large"

The Hunt For The Murderer - In Their Own Words

2001

President Bush's Post 9/11 Speech

2002

George W. Bush on Osama Bin Laden

2004
Bush's response to not acting on bin Laden

2006
Why is Osama at large?


2008
John McCain "Gates of Hell"

8 MORE YEARS ANYONE?

Olbermann does his Dana Perino imitation

Perino on 9/11 7th anniversary

By Satyam
In a press conference, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Dana Perino about the administration’s ongoing efforts to find Osama bin Laden, calling him the “mastermind” of 9/11. Perino interrupted the reporter, claiming bin Laden was not the true “mastermind” of the attacks:

By backing the $5.2 trillion in Fannie/Freddie indebtedness, the United States has essentially doubled its public debt load.

By William Patalon III
For anyone who still doubted the growing global influence of such emerging powerhouses as China, consider this: The U.S. government’s decision to take control of foundering mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) was driven not by worries about the fading U.S. housing market, but by concerns that foreign central banks in China, Japan, Europe, the Middle East and Russia might stop buying our bonds.
Continue
When Integrated Device Technology, a telecom known more commonly as IDT, was slapped with a $1.3 million fine by the FCC this July for failing to disclose a foreign contract, John McCain's campaign was quick to scrub its fundraising roster of anyone associated with the embattled company.
But now, one of the formerly untouchable IDT officials has resumed a new, more prominent, role on McCain's team -- specifically, overseeing Sarah Palin's travel, schedule and communications operations.
Iraq Cancels Six No-Bid Oil Contracts
By ANDREW E. KRAMER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: September 10, 2008
An Iraqi plan to award six no-bid contracts to Western oil companies, which came under sharp criticism from several United States senators this summer, has been withdrawn, participants in the negotiations said on Wednesday.
Iraq’s oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, told reporters at an OPEC summit meeting in Vienna on Tuesday that talks with Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Total, BP and several smaller companies for one-year deals, which were announced in June and subsequently delayed, had dragged on for so long that the companies could not now fulfill the work within that time frame. The companies confirmed on Wednesday that the deals had been canceled.
While not particularly lucrative by industry standards, the contracts were valued for providing a foothold in Iraq at a time when oil companies are being shut out of energy-rich countries around the world. The companies will still be eligible to compete in open bidding in Iraq.

Sen. Feingold to hold hearing on 'Restoring the Rule of Law'


Published: Wednesday September 10, 2008
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution Subcommittee, has announced a hearing on how to best prepare the next president to foster an environment of accountability and responsible use of power seen lacking in the years President Bush and Vice President Cheney have been in office.Next week the Subcommittee will hear testimony from legal and historical experts on what actions the next president and Congress need to take in order to "repair the damage done by the Bush Administration to the rule of law." The purpose of the hearing is to give the next president the "full range" of proper guidance in restoring and maintaining checks and balances in areas such as wiretapping, interrogations, government secrecy, violations of privacy, detention policy, proper use of executive power and efforts to not mislead Congress.In addition to witnesses at the hearing, Sen. Feingold has called on various experts, law professors, historians and advocates to provide their input as to what actions the next president and Congress need to take.The hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 16, in room 216 at the Hart Senate Office Building. Witnesses scheduled to testify are:
nationalenquirer.com —
The NATIONAL ENQUIRER ’S exclusive ongoing investigation of GOP VP Nom Sarah “Barracuda” Palin’s goes far beyond a mere teen pregnancy crisis this week!
LinkHere

McCain is the selected pig.

Olbermann Slams Republicans For Exploiting 9/11 In Special Comment

On the eve of the seventh anniversary of 9/11, Keith Olbermann delivered a special comment slamming Republicans for their exploitation of 9/11 for political purposes.

Jewish religious leaders join forces in support of Democratic candidate

300+ rabbis sign on to back Obama
‘With his tough but pragmatic approach to Iran, Senator Obama is in best position to restore faith in America,' they say
WASHINGTON – More than 300 rabbis from all streams of Judaism signed a document expressing their support for Democratic candidate Barack Obama for president of the United States.
The initiative was launched in Senator Obama's home state of Illinois, with hundreds of rabbis adding their names to the proclamation of support.

The struggle for the Jewish voice is crucial to the Obama campaign, as it is to Republican rival John McCain - particularly in swing states like Pennsylvania and Florida, which both have large Jewish communities.
Despite the early Obama backlash, 80% of the Jews who intend on keeping with their traditional voting pattern (i.e. - staunchly Democrat), now say they back Obama.
However, the Democratic candidate has been suffering in southern Florida, where the older Jewish community tends to lean to the right in regards to their support for Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Thus, the Obama headquarters decided to send Senator Hillary Clinton to the problem state in order to redirect support to her previous rival.

The letter signed by the rabbis displays their stance on Obama’s pro-Israel inclinations.
Moreover, “we fear that the attempts by some to use Israel as a wedge issue against him, unjustifiably is dangerous in that it politicizes the pro-Israel position.”
The rabbis wrote that these “continuing efforts to defame him and distort his record help perpetuate a deeply disturbing political process in our country.”

'Tough but pragmatic'

Apology Not Accepted

Back in 2000, after John McCain lost his mostly honorable campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, he went about apologizing to journalists--including me--for his most obvious mis-step: his support for keeping the confederate flag on the state house.
Now he is responsible for one of the sleaziest ads I've ever seen in presidential politics, so sleazy that I won't abet its spread by linking to it, but here's the McClatchy fact check.
I just can't wait for the moment when John McCain--contrite and suddenly honorable again in victory or defeat--talks about how things got a little out of control in the passion of the moment. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.
LinkHere

Former GOP Senator: Palin A "Cocky Whacko"

Six Minutes with Lincoln Chafee on Bush/Cheney Experiences, The Decline of Bipartisanship, Sarah Palin
Steve Clemons and Lincoln Chafee

Former Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) is now a political Independent and helped spearhead with former Bush 2000 campaign New York co-chair Rita Hauser and former Congressman Jim Leach "Republicans for Obama."
I think that there is a very good chance that Chafee could end up as a senior member of an Obama administration -- or even more interestingly, he may be preparing himself for a bid as an Independent to run for the governorship of Rhode Island.
I spent a few minutes with him yesterday talking about the current policy and political terrain as well as his recently released book, Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President.
A more full version of Lincoln Chafee's talk at the New America Foundation yesterday titled "What Patriotism Looks LIke" can be viewed here. His comments about Sarah Palin in the Q&A were 'colorful'. (the Palin comments come about 53:08. He calls Sarah Palin a "cocky whacko.")
But in the interview above, Chafee said this about Sarah Palin:
I do think she is dangerous for the future of the country having such limited experience and sharing that aggressive, belligerent approach to the world.
That's not in our long term best interests. It's a dangerous planet -- nuclear weapons -- atremendous capacity of destruction exists.
It's going to take some wisdom and ability to see gray sometimes, and lessons of the Cold War are that sometimes containment can work.
New generations come along, the Gorbachevs come along -- and we haven't fired missiles at each other and killed each other.
That's the lesson of the Cold War we seem to have ignored, Lessons that worked. LinkHere

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Lose your house, lose your vote


Michigan GOP Using Foreclosures To Block Black Voters
Michigan Republicans plan to foreclose African American voters
The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.
“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.
State election rules allow parties to assign “election challengers” to polls to monitor the election. In addition to observing the poll workers, these volunteers can challenge the eligibility of any voter provided they “have a good reason to believe” that the person is not eligible to vote. One allowable reason is that the person is not a “true resident of the city or township.”
The Michigan Republicans’ planned use of foreclosure lists is apparently an attempt to challenge ineligible voters as not being “true residents.”
One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.
“You can’t challenge people without a factual basis for doing so,” said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. “I don’t think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.”
As for the practice of challenging the right to vote of foreclosed property owners, Hebert called it, “mean-spirited.”
GOP ties to state’s largest foreclosure law firm
The Macomb GOP’s plans are another indication of how John McCain’s campaign stands to benefit from the burgeoning number of foreclosures in the state. McCain’s regional headquarters are housed in the office building of foreclosure specialists Trott & Trott. The firm’s founder, David A. Trott, has raised between $100,000 and $250,000 for the Republican nominee.
The Macomb County party’s plans to challenge voters who have defaulted on their house payments is likely to disproportionately affect African-Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters. More than 60 percent of all sub-prime loans — the most likely kind of loan to go into default — were made to African-Americans in Michigan, according to a report issued last year by the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
Challenges to would-be voters
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