Liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, black, brown, or white, when you read the words of the Declaration of Independence, you have to know that days like today are the days that make America the greatest country on Earth.

Being alive today is as revolutionary as being alive the day that shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord in 1775; or when Francis Scott Key looked through the smoke to see our flag still waving; or the day when Abraham Lincoln stood at Gettysburg to address the nation over what was at once our greatest tragedy and greatest feat as a country; or the day that Martin Luther King Jr. took a bullet in the hopes that some day his sons and daughters would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

These are the days that make American special.

Today is not about the impending election of Barack Obama, or even about Barack Obama himself.  Today is about the ideas that Barack Obama represents, the ideas that our founding fathers put forward for future generations to ponder and achieve.  Today is about bringing a decades old cynicism about our American government to a screeching halt, even if for only one evening.

Regardless of what happens over the next four to eight years, today is the proudest day I have ever spent as an American.  Days like today are the ones that children for generations will read about in their classrooms, studying what it means to be an American, and what it means to be a success in the greatest country ever devised by mankind.

Barack Obama brings to light the meaning of the old saying, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose, and real success is not what you achieve, but what you overcome.”  A life of purpose, a life of liberty, and a life in pursuit of happiness….for all.

Today is the day that these words have been the clearest for me:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Proud to be an American,

Karl

For just a moment, forget party loyalties.  Forget that you have always voted Republican.  Forget that you have always voted Democrat.  Take a step back and look at your positions from the outside.  Take note that not any one party has been in possession of the greatest ideas of their time all throughout history.  What has happened instead is that one party capitalizes on whatever is moving our society forward, (or backwards) and if the movement is considered a worthy one by a majority of the population, that is the party that rules until the next great idea comes along.  The fact of the matter is that over the last fifteen to twenty years, both parties have changed, just as they have changed throughout history, and right now, only one party, the Democratic Party, is in possession of the greatest ideas of our time.

How have they changed throughout history?  One example is how the Democratic Party has handled African Americans.  Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence and James Madison, who is widely considered the father of the Constitution, both formed what would become the Democratic Party.  Both were slave owners.  James Buchanan, a Democrat, was the last President leading up to the Civil War and presided over the country throughout the Dred Scott case.  Along came the creation of the Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln.  They came to free the slaves and a war ensued.  Not just over slavery, but over state rights and federal power.  Of course, the Republican’s won and changed the course of American history forever.

Skipping forward a bit, throughout the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the Democratic Party was the party of the South, the party of White Supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan.  The Republican Party, similar to how it was later, was about business, and banking, and national security.  In 1929, it came to a head.  The Republican Party had control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency under Herbert Hoover.  What happened in 1929?  Due to failures in banking and Wall Street, the stock market crashed, forcing the long running Great Depression.  As a result, groups like the KKK lost its stranglehold on the Democratic Party and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the one party control Democrats took the reins of the country and implemented new and innovative programs to put people back to work and to raise the country out of its financial ashes. 

The irony was that everyone did better; everyone from homeowners, to businesses, to banks.  FDR lead us in to WWII and after passing away during his fourth term in office, passed the torch to Missouri Democrat Harry S. Truman to finish the job.  Then came the baby boom, the civil rights movement, and the anti-war movement, intertwined with the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy and Republican President Nixon’s Watergate scandal.  All altered the course of American history forever.  During that time, the Democrats became the party of civil rights, and equal rights for all, but also the party of hippie peaceniks, an outdated moniker that it still struggles to shake off to this day.

From 1865 to 1965, the parties traded major aspects of their party platforms and their ideas.  What was once Democratic was now Republican, and vice-versa.  A Lincoln Republican in 1865 would not have recognized his party in 1965.

Skipping forward to today, some of what took place in the sixties still leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths, especially those who identify with the Democratic and Republican parties of 40+ years ago.  However, while many of us believe we haven’t changed, the fact of the matter is, the parties have.  While the Democratic Party is still the party of civil rights and equal rights, it is also the party in possession of the best ideas for our new 21^st century global economy.  The Republican Party is still trying to hang on to the outdated economic and national security ideas of the 1980’s, the party of Reagan, the party of 20^th century economics.

My support of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2008 is not about anything that happened before September 11^th, 2001.  My support for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2008 is about the contrast of the two platforms and the ideas of the parties since September 11, 2001.  Not only is this not the world of our grandparents, these are not the parties of our grandparents.  The world and the times have changed and the challenges that face America in the 21^st century global economy cannot afford the Republican platform and policies of the sixties and eighties. 

I understand that some people just cannot bring themselves to vote for Barack Obama, not just because of the color of his skin and the letters that make up his name, but also because of the myths that make up their beliefs about the Democratic Party.  I am asking you to set those things aside for a moment and to look at the bigger picture.  The bigger picture being that this is a new day that calls for new solutions, and the only party offering new solutions for our economy, our country, and our world is the Democratic Party, the 21^st century Democratic Party.

Don’t just be a part of history, be a part of our future.  Vote Barack Obama on Tuesday, November 4^th.

Wow.  I have never seen Drudge and FoxNews so obviously in the tank.

However, don’t fret.  Obama’s Civilian National Security Force is not some type of facist military force.

It is the Brainchild of the current administration’s Secretary of Defence Robert Gates.

Last fall Gates began giving a series of speeches about the need to create a more modern State Department and a “civilian national security force” that could “deploy teams that combine agricultural specialists and engineers and linguists and cultural specialists who are prepared to go into some of the most dangerous areas alongside the military.”

“If we’ve got a State Department or personnel that have been trained just to be behind walls, and they have not been equipped to get out there alongside our military and engage, then we don’t have the kind of national security apparatus that is needed. That has to be planned for; it has to be paid for. Those personnel have to be trained. And they all have to be integrated.”

So relax everyone.  Drudge has just lost a wheel and is trying to scare everyone with misinformation.

STLtoday - Voting Yes on Prop Iis voting yes on the futurefor St. Louis County kids
What $150K buys

I am not sure if I live in a pro-America or anti-America part of the country here in the heart of Oakville, but I do know that when we bought our three-bedroom house in 2000, it cost $15,000 less than the Republican National Committee spent on clothing for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, over the last two months.

Does Ms. Palin have to pay income taxes on the clothing she received? At my last job, employees were provided lunch, but we had to pay taxes on the lunches received as income (similar to how Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain’s health plan is supposed to work).

And, with the salary I received at that job, it would have taken me more than seven years after taxes to buy a wardrobe similar to Ms. Palin’s.

Of course, my husband, our four children and I would have starved and lost the house in the process.

Elaine “The Working Mom” Frank | Oakville

McCain’s Last Hope and the end of Chris Rock’s ‘Head of State.’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhPzAbOFhFc

According to most respected scientists, and philosophers throughout history, we all have an animal nature in one form or another. It is common knowledge that we are creatures of our world. Yet, because of our cognitive superiority (or spiritual superiority, as some would say) to the rest of the beasts of the world, we have developed a set of societal norms that allow us to function towards a higher calling. In a sense, what is good for most is good for one. Those societal norms change through time and the balance of “most” and “one” is in a constant state of flux.

Of course, there have been many examples or experiments by various cultures along the way. Cultures and countries come and go based on many factors. Some of those factors may be natural disasters or climate change, economic ruin, systemic superiority, pure evil, and the triumph of good over evil, to name a few. Human history, in terms of culture, rarely, if ever, stays stagnant. It is always changing. It either progresses or regresses, the definition of those two terms being subjective, and relative to who decides what is and is not progress.

The natural, animalistic side of human beings serves us well on a daily basis. We flinch for a reason, our stomachs growl for a reason, we get angry for a reason, and we love our children for a reason. The reasons are often debated, but survival is the generally accepted reason. As a result of this natural tendency to survive, we feel fear. Many times that fear can overwhelm us. And that brings us to our current situation. The anger and the hatred coming from Republican rallies, as seen here, here, and here, and as I walk door to door in my canvassing efforts for Obama, is very real. I am not making excuses for their regressive behavior, but their fear is genuine.

Each and every one of us has a way that we look at the world. We hear it expressed often as our “world-view.” And for one reason or another, certain things scare us and threaten us. They threaten our physical safety as well as our world-view. You would think the latter was insignificant, but when a person’s brain has been conditioned to believe a certain way, either through nature or nurture, many times they will shift in to a survival mode sparked by their fear. What results, in many cases, is anger and hatred.

I, as do many readers of this Huffington Post, have family members, friends, and neighbors who have outright told me that they will not vote for Barack Obama because he is black. they do not arrive at that position lightly. They genuinely are afraid of what it means to have a black man as their leader. Many of them, who feel superior to the black race for one misguided reason or another, are having their very purpose and role in life called in to question. A man with the name of Barack Obama, with a skin color such as his, is a threat to their very existence, or so they believe.

While canvassing for Obama, I knocked on a man’s door who I have known for years. He was in utter shock that I would be out working for an “Arab.” Yes. He said, “Arab.” From what I gather, he heard that from Rush Limbaugh, and that is what makes this all the worse. In a grab for power, there are leaders and celebrities in this country, who know better, who allow this behavior to take place, and some gleefully stoke the fire. I don’t know if Rush Limbaugh really knows any better, but I can tell you with relative confidence that John McCain does, and that is despicable. John McCain is a better man; at least I used to believe so, than to let such baseless accusations of Obama’s links to terrorists, and the conclusions drawn from them, go unanswered.

World-renowned psychologist, Philip Zimbardo, mentions in one of his latest books, The Lucifer Effect, that there are many types of evil. He says that there is natural evil; there is systemic evil; there is the “doing” of evil; and there is the evil of doing nothing. I believe the latter to maybe be the worse evil of all, the evil of inaction. While those who do not know any better hunker down in to their animalistic nature of survival when no real threat is apparent or at the very least, exaggerated, those who do know better need to stand up and say so. Power at the expense of good and righteousness is vile and despicable and contrary to everything this country stands for.

Rupert Murdoch, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and company have done more to bring America down and hold this country back than any one person on Wall Street can ever dream of doing, and John McCain’s deference to it is appalling. Senator McCain’s base is erupting into nasty pot of hatred which, if we are not careful, could be very dangerous, not to mention, criminal. A real culture war is not one that we want to fight. The people at the Republican rallies are totally out of their minds and have become slaves to their fears.

It is time for John McCain to call it to a halt before it gets out of hand. It is time to invoke the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who stood up at a podium in 1941 and let the American people know that the world has four basic freedoms. Those freedoms are the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the freedom of want, and freedom from fear. The regressives of the Republican Party have not only refused to free us from fear, they have purposely invoked it.

I know that Barack Obama carries the spirit of FDR, but it is time for John McCain to step up to the plate and be the leader that he portends to be. It is time to remind John McCain of what he was fighting for when his jet crashed in Vietnam, so he can then remind his followers of what makes America, America. Or, he can continue on his current path as a guilty participant in the greatest evil of all, the evil of inaction.

YouTube - Who is the real Barack Obama?

This is a fantastic article.  If you never read another Hogwash post, read this one…

A Conservative for Obama | D Magazine - Dallas Fort Worth’s Resource for City Guides, Daily Blogs, D Bests, and Restaurants
Barack Obama is not my ideal candidate for president. (In fact, I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses.) But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history. I disagree with him on many issues. But those don’t matter as much as what Obama offers, which is a deeply conservative view of the world. Nobody can read Obama’s books (which, it is worth noting, he wrote himself) or listen to him speak without realizing that this is a thoughtful, pragmatic, and prudent man. It gives me comfort just to think that after eight years of George W. Bush we will have a president who has actually read the Federalist Papers.

YouTube - “Fundamentals” Ad

Obama Camp Memo on The Straight Talk Express

OBAMA CAMPAIGN MEMO: Unraveling the myth of the Straight Talk Express

To:                   Press Corps

From:               Obama Campaign

Re:                   Unraveling the myth of the Straight Talk Express

Since naming Governor Palin as their Vice Presidential nominee, the McCain campaign has distorted, distracted, and outright lied to the American people about her record in a desperate attempt to hide the fact that a McCain/Palin Administration would be nothing more than a continuation of the failed Bush policies of the last eight years.

Indeed, today alone we learned that the McCain campaign’s claim that Governor Palin traveled to Iraq is a lie. In fact, she didn’t cross the Kuwait border. We learned that the McCain campaign is desperate enough to tell the press phony crowd numbers, which they falsely attributed to local elected officials and the United States Secret Service.  And we learned that despite Senator McCain’s claim that Governor Palin is a fiscal conservative, spending actually increased during her brief tenure as Governor.

Here are the facts. Governor Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere, requested hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks, never visited Iraq, increased spending as governor, increased taxes as governor, and was about as successful selling that luxury jet on eBay as the McCain campaign has been selling her reputation as a reformer. Oh yeah, and the gas pipeline she touts won’t be usable for at least a decade, if it’s completed at all.

While the media is slowly starting to call the McCain campaign on their dishonest tactics, McCain’s staff boasts that they don’t care. As a McCain spokesman told the Politico, “We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.”

To help you cut through their lies and spin, below are the facts you need to set the record straight.

McCain Myth: Palin Visited Troops In Iraq

FACT: Palin Did Not Venture Further Into Iraq Than It’s Border With Kuwait

“In The Second Official Revision Of Her Only Trip Outside North America,” Palin Aides Concede That Her 2007 Visit To Iraq “Consisted Of A Brief Stop At A Border Crossing.” “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.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.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/palin_camp_clarifies_extent_of_iraq_trip?mode=PF> ]

McCain Myth: McCain’s Appearance Drew Crowd of 23,000 to Event

FACT: Crowd-Size Estimates Provided By Campaign Aides Not Backed By Officials.

Bloomberg: “McCain-Plain Crowd-Size Estimates Not Backed By Officials.” “Senator John McCain has drawn some of the biggest crowds of his presidential campaign since adding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to his ticket on Aug. 29. Now officials say they can’t substantiate the figures McCain’s aides are claiming. McCain aide Kimmie Lipscomb told reporters on Sept. 10 that an outdoor rally in Fairfax City, Virginia, drew 23,000 people, attributing the crowd estimate to a fire marshal. Fairfax City Fire Marshal Andrew Wilson said his office did not supply that number to the campaign and could not confirm it. Wilson, in an interview, said the fire department does not monitor attendance at outdoor events. . The McCain campaign said 10,000 people showed up at the Consol Energy Arena in Washington, Pennsylvania, home of the Washington Wild Things baseball team. The campaign attributed that estimate, and several that followed, to U.S. Secret Service figures, based on the number of people who passed through magnetometers. ‘We didn’t provide any numbers to the campaign,’ said Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service. Wiley said he would not ‘confirm or dispute’ the numbers the McCain campaign has given to reporters.” [Bloomberg, 9/13/08 <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070=a1J0tfV3XJYs=politics <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a1J0tfV3XJYs&refer=politics> > ]

McCain Myth: Palin Is a Fiscal Conservative

FACT: Palin Has Grown Government in Her Time as Executive of Both Alaska And Wasilla

Boston Globe: “Fueled by Oil Taxes, Alaska Spending Soared Under Palin.” “Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has also presided over a dramatic increase in state spending in the last two years. Still, she can accurately claim that her state is in good fiscal health, thanks to an explosion of revenues from state taxes on oil industry profits. Indeed, in her 20 months in office, Palin’s toughest financial decisions involved dickering with the Legislature on creative ways to spend and salt away the billions of dollars in oil revenues pouring into the state treasury.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/fueled_by_oil_taxes_alaska_spending_soared_under_palin?mode=PF> ]

·         In Two Budget Cycles, Palin Only Vetoed $2.6 Million In Spending Requests For Alaska’s $8.1 Billion Operating Budget - Which Has Increased 30 Percent In Two Years. “.in two budget cycles, Palin has vetoed a total of only $2.6 million in spending requests for the state’s now $8.1 billion annual operating budget, which, according to an analysis by the legislative finance office, has increased about 30 percent in two years. The increase figure includes the one-time energy rebate checks but no increases in reserve accounts or any capital expenditures. It also doesn’t include a supplemental appropriation for additional expenditures, which is routine. Last year, the supplemental budget was more than $4 billion, mostly deposits in reserve accounts when revenues continued to pour in at high levels.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/fueled_by_oil_taxes_alaska_spending_soared_under_palin?mode=PF> ]

Wasilla’s Total Government Expenditures Increased 63 Percent Under Palin. In fiscal 2003-the last fiscal year Palin approved the budget-the total government expenditures of Wasilla, excluding capital outlays, were $7,046,325. In fiscal 1996-the year before Palin took control of the budget-the expenditures were $4,317,947. The increase was 63 percent. [Wasilla Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2003, Table 1]

McCain Myth: Palin Has Succeeded in Signing a Deal to Build Alaska’s Long-Stalled Gas Pipeline

FACTS: High Gas Prices Have Given Alaska a Huge Windfall, Passed on to Alaskans Like Sarah Palin in Huge Dividend Checks - And Palin Has Backed Shipping Alaskan Natural Gas to Asia

Palin Touts Her Pipeline Deal, But It Has Not been Started, Would Take Years to Complete and Could Never Happen, Costing Taxpayers $500 Million for Nothing. “When Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska took center stage at the Republican convention last week, she sought to burnish her executive credentials by telling how she had engineered the deal that jump-started a long-delayed gas pipeline project. But an examination of the pipeline project also found that Ms. Palin has overstated both the progress that has been made and the certainty of success. The pipeline exists only on paper. The first section has yet to be laid, federal approvals are years away and the pipeline will not be completed for at least a decade. In fact, although it is the centerpiece of Ms. Palin’s relatively brief record as governor, the pipeline might never be built, and under a worst-case scenario, the state could lose up to $500 million it committed to defray regulatory and other costs.” [New York Times, 9/13/08 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/us/politics/11pipeline.html?ref=politics> ]

·         Republican Lawmaker Worried Alaska Bargained Away Too Much Leverage, Has No Agreement to “Lift One Shovel of Dirt or Lay Down One Inch of Steel.” “As Ms. Palin takes to the road to campaign with Mr. McCain, invoking the pipeline as a major victory, some Alaska lawmakers who initially endorsed her plan now believe it was a mistake. State Senator Bert Stedman, a Republican who is co-chairman of the finance committee, said that in its contract with the chosen developer, TransCanada, the state bargained away too much leverage with little guarantee of success. ‘There is no requirement to lift one shovel of dirt or lay down one inch of steel,’ he said.” [New York Times, 9/13/08 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/us/politics/11pipeline.html?ref=politics> ]

McCain Myth: Palin’s Energy Experience Will Lower Gas Prices and Reduce Our Dependence on Foreign Oil

FACTS: High Gas Prices Have Given Alaska a Huge Windfall, Passed on to Alaskans Like Sarah Palin in Huge Dividend Checks - And Palin Has Backed Shipping Alaskan Natural Gas to Asia

Thanks To “Soaring Oil Prices And A Higher Windfall Oil Profits Tax,” Alaska’s State Coffers Are “Overflowing With Petrodollars.” “Soaring oil prices and a higher windfall oil profits tax - an increase pushed through by Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee - have state coffers overflowing with petrodollars. The Alaska oil industry calculates that its annual payments to the state doubled in a single year to $10.2 billion.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/fueled_by_oil_taxes_alaska_spending_soared_under_palin?mode=PF> ]

·         Every Alaskan Receiving $1,200 From The State, Along With Annual Check From The Permanent Fund, Which Is A Record $2,069 Per Resident This Year - Palin Family Eligible For $19,000. “And Alaska residents are getting their cut. Starting this week, every Alaskan who has lived in the state more than a year will receive $1,200 from the state, a total of about $756 million in rebates to offset high energy costs in the 49th state. That’s on top of the perennial check each will receive from the state’s oil revenue-endowed Permanent Fund, this year a record $2,069 per resident. The large Palin family is eligible to receive more than $19,000 from the combined payments.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/13/fueled_by_oil_taxes_alaska_spending_soared_under_palin?mode=PF> ]

Palin Backed A Two-Year Extension Of The Export License To Export Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) To Japan And Other Asian Countries-Criticized Because Alaska’s Gas Reserves Are Declining. “Alaska producers can continue shipping gas to Asia after DOE last week approved an extension of the export license for the Kenai liquefied natural gas plant owned by ConocoPhillips and Marathon. The companies will be allowed to export up to 98.1 Bcf to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries over a two-year period through March 31, 2011. [.] The application came under fire from local end-users, including gas distribution companies Enstar and the Chugach Electric Association, as well as fertilizer maker Agrium, all of which claimed the exports would exacerbate the problem of declining gas reserves in south-central Alaska.  Agrium permanently closed its plant near Kenai due to an inability to find enough local supply for the facility that used 53 Bcf/year. In January, ConocoPhillips and Marathon reached a deal in which they agreed to step up development in the Cook Inlet region in return for the state’s support of the export license extension. The producers also agreed to divert gas from the LNG plant as needed to meet the peak winter supply needs of the local utilities. [.] Alaska Governor Sarah Palin welcomed the DOE approval. “In these times of economic uncertainty, this is great news for the state and its residents. This extension will secure a future for the LNG operation and is another step toward ensuring energy supplies and energy security for Alaska,” the Republican governor said. [Platts Inside FERC, 6/9/08]

McCain Palin Myth: Sarah Palin Told Congress “Thanks But No Thanks” On That Bridge to Nowhere

FACT: Palin Was Before It Before She Was Against It - Kept the Money for Other Projects

Politifact: Palin’s Stance On “The Bridge To Nowhere” Is “A Full Flop.” Politfact, a service of CQ and the St. Petersburg Times wrote, “McCain said Palin has ’stopped government from wasting taxpayers’ money on things they don’t want or need. And when we in Congress decided to build a bridge in Alaska to nowhere for $233-million of yours, she said, we don’t want it. If we need it, we’ll build our own in Alaska. She’s the one that stood up to them.’ Nevermind that Alaska didn’t give the money back. It spent the money on other transportation projects. The context of Palin’s and McCain’s recent statements suggest Palin flagged the so-called Bridge to Nowhere project as wasteful spending. But that’s not the tune she was singing when she was running for governor, particularly not when she was standing before the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce asking for their vote. And so, we rate Palin’s position a Full Flop.” [Politifact <http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/680/> ]

McCain Myth: Sarah Palin NEVER Sought Earmarks As Governor.

FACT: Palin Sought Nearly $200 Million Earmarks For The Coming Year.

AP Fact Check: McCain “Erroneously” Asserted That, As Governor, Palin Never Sought Earmarks. “John McCain continued to laud his running mate, Sarah Palin, as a budget cutter on Friday, this time erroneously asserting that as governor of Alaska she had not sought congressional earmarks for her state. In fact, while Palin has significantly reduced the state’s earmark requests, she asked for nearly $200 million in targeted spending for the 2009 fiscal year. And in an interview with ABC News aired Friday, she defended her earmark requests, emphasizing that she opposed ‘earmark abuse.’ . Appearing on the ABC television show ‘The View,’ McCain was pressed on her record of seeking such targeted money for Alaska. ‘Not as governor she didn’t,’ McCain said. McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said that McCain’s remark came ‘in the middle of a conversation, the middle of a back and forth,’ and the reference was to her record of cutting spending.” [AP, 9/12/08 <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gtx_hOhOBrAMbgsXYxQAu3f_QvBwD935EU2G0> ]

McCain Myth: Sarah Palin Has Taken a Tough Stance Against Earmarks

FACT: As Mayor, Palin Hired a Lobbyist Tied to Ted Stevens Who Got Wasilla $27 Million in Earmarks and as Governor, Alaska Has Sought and Received More Earmarked Spending Per Person than Any Other State

Lobbyist Hired By Palin Secured $27 Million In Federal Earmarks for 6,700-Person Town. “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.” [Washington Post <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090103148_pf.html> , 9/2/08]

In 2008, Alaska Got More Earmarked Federal Funding Per Person Than Any Other State. “Arizona, the second fastest growing state in the nation, will receive just $18.70 per capita in federal earmarks this fiscal year. By comparison, Alaska - with roughly a tenth of Arizona’s population - is set to receive $506.34 per capita, the highest in the nation, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group which tracks earmarks. The state of Alaska receives about three times as much as Arizona receives in actual dollars, $346 million to $119 million.” [USA Today, 3/22/08 <http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-03-22-earmarks_N.htm> ]

Palin’s Requests - More Per Person Than Any Other State. “Just this year, she sent to Sen. Ted. Stevens, R-Alaska, a proposal for 31 earmarks totaling $197 million - more, per person, than any other state.” [Seattle Times, 9/2/08 <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008154532_webpalin02m.html> ]

McCain Myth: Palin Cut Taxes

FACT: Palin Raised Wasilla’s Sales Tax

Palin Supported First-Ever Wasilla Sales Tax to Pay for Police Department. In 1992 “Palin, a political newcomer, was one of two supporters of the police-sales tax plan elected to the city council in Wasilla, Alaska.” [Anchorage Daily News (AK), 10/8/92]

Palin Supported Increasing Wasilla Sales Tax From 2 to 2.5 Percent to Build $14.7 Million  Sports Center. “Wasilla residents have given the go ahead to building a new multiuse sports center in town and to raising the city sales tax to pay for it. With the final votes counted Friday, residents voted 306 to 286 in favor of a measure to raise the city sales tax from 2 percent to 2.5 percent to pay the estimated $14.7 million cost of building the center.Mayor Sarah Palin, who supported the measure, said the tight vote will motivate city officials to keep a close eye on the budget for the center.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/9/02]

McCain Myth: Palin Is a Reformer Who Brought Ethics Back to Alaskan Politics

FACT: Palin Is Under Investigation, Faces a Separate Ethics Complaint and Signed a Weak Ethics Law

Joint Legislative Council of the Legislature Voted Unanimously to Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate Palin Abuse of Power Claim.  The Alaska State Legislature’s Legislative Council voted 12-0 to approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin an investigation into claims Palin fired a former state official because he would not fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Palin’s sister. [KTVA 11, 07/28/08 <http://www.ktva.com/ci_10026165?source=most_emailed> ]

Ethics Complaint Filed Against Gov. Palin Over Alleged Involvement in Hiring a Campaign Contributor. In August 2008, former state House member Andree McLeod” filed against Gov. Sarah Palin and her staff today with the Attorney General’s Office. It accuses the governor’s office of using its pull to get a Palin supporter hired to a [Department of Transportation] job in Fairbanks.” McLeod said ” ‘Executive branch employee shouldn’t be getting involved in the recruitment process unless it’s based on merit,’ said Andree McLeod, who wrote the complaint based on a series of e-mails between members of Palin’s team.The complaint accuses Palin, her acting chief of staff and others of breaking executive ethics branch and hiring rules. It centers on the hiring of surveyor Tom Lamal, who once co-hosted a Palin fundraiser, for a state right-of-way agent job in Fairbanks.” The complaint <http://community.adn.com/sites/community.adn.com/files/McLeod%20Ethics%20Complaint1.pdf>  is available online. [Anchorage Daily News <http://community.adn.com/adn/node/128527> , 8/6/08; Anchorage Daily News <http://www.adn.com/front/story/486163.html> , 8/7/08]

McCain Myth: Palin Traveled Abroad to Ireland

FACT: Palin Stopped In Ireland To Refuel Plane.

Palin’s Ireland Trip Was A Refueling Stop. Politico’s Ben Smith reported, “I wrote the other day that a Palin spokeswoman said trips to Germany, Kuwait and Ireland made up her foreign travel. Two details worth clarifying: The Ireland trip was a refueling stop on her trip to military installations in Germany and Kuwait, spokeswoman Maria Comella said. And she’s also visited Canada, another spokesman, Ben Porritt, says.” [Politico <http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Palins_stopover.html?showall> , 9/2/08]

McCain Myth: Palin Has Experience in Foreign Affairs Because She Was Commander-in-Chief of the Alaska National Guard

FACT: Palin Has No Role in National Guard’s National Defense Responsibilities or Overseas Deployments and Never Issued Any Orders to the Guard Since She Took Office

Adjutant General of Alaska National Guard Said Palin Plays No Role in National Defense Activities, Even When They Involve Alaska National Guard. “Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin ‘extremely responsive and smart’ and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder. But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.” [AP, 8/31/08 <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hpxv9PHwtrYyiK-btXIRE8AepmiwD92TGCQ01> ]

·         Palin Has Not Issued Any Orders for Guard Activity Since Becoming Their Commander in Chief.  “Occasions in which Palin retains command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard are whenever the Guard responds to in-state natural disasters and civic emergencies, said Campbell, who also serves as the commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.Some examples? ‘We’ve deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah Palin,’ he said. ‘We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount) Marathon run doing security. ‘Out west and northwest we had erosion problems, and the National Guard was involved in some of the protection out there. About three days ago, the Army National Guard picked up a lady from Little Diomede (Island) . . . at the request of state troopers.’ Did Palin directly approve each of those activities? No, Campbell said. The governor has granted him the authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies - when a quick response is required - and minor day-to-day operations.” [McClatchy, 9/3/08 <http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/51665.html> ]

McCain Myth: Palin Sold the State’s Jet on eBay

FACT: Palin Sold the Jet to Campaign Contributor at a Loss of $600,000 for the State

Palin Did Not Sell Murkowski’s Plane on eBay - Sold it to an Alaskan Entrepreneur at a Loss of $600,000. “One of the compelling anecdotes about Sarah Palin is that she auctioned off the Alaska governor’s jet on eBay after taking office - a swift move made by a reformer hoping to clean up the excesses of her predecessor. But in fact, the jet did not sell on eBay. It was sold to a businessman from Valdez named Larry Reynolds, who paid $2.1 million for the jet, shy of the original $2.7 million purchase price, according to contemporaneous news reports, including a story in the New York Times. What happened? It appears that, as promised during her bid for governor in 2006, Palin did try to sell the plane on eBay, but that doing so was not as easy as it might have sounded. After putting it up to auction, there was one serious bid, in December of 2006, and it fell through. Still, the Westwind II was sold about eight months later, achieving Palin’s goal of ridding the state of a luxury item.” [Washington Post Blog, 9/5/08 <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/05/plane_not_sold_on_ebay.html> ]

·         Larry Reynolds Made Campaign Contributions To Palin And State Rep. John Harris, Who Is Credited With Brokering The Sale, In 2006 And 2007.  “Dan Spencer, the director of administrative services for Alaska’s Public Safety Department, said that the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, John L. Harris, brokered the deal. Reynolds made campaign contributions to both Palin and Harris in 2006 and 2007.”  [Washington Post Blog, 9/5/08] <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/05/plane_not_sold_on_ebay.html>

McCain Myth: Palin Fired the Governor’s Chef

FACT: Palin Did Not Fire the Chef, Just Reassigned Her to a Different Job - She Now Cooks for the Legislature

Contrary to Palin’s Claim, Governor’s Chef Wasn’t Fired, She Was Just Reassigned. “Remember the long-time executive chef who lost her job at the Mansion when Sarah decided to live mostly in Wasilla instead of Juneau? Stefani Marnon was first reassigned as a ‘constituent relations assistant’ in the governor’s office and later to the state museum. Earwigs report she’s finally landed where they really appreciate a good chef: the Legislative Lounge. Lawmakers were smacking their lips in anticipation, according to Sen. Kim Elton’s newsletter.” [Anchorage Daily News, 9/9/08 <http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/288561.html> ]

###

McCain really has nowhere to go but down from here.  The Palin Bump is over and now that independents are coming back to their senses, they are realizing that what they need to do is decide who has the best chance of leading America in to the 21st century starting on November 4th.  Clearly, Independents and Democrats are tired of Regressive politics and policies.

One thing I noticed is that McCain never matched Obama’s high during the “Palin Bump,” and Obama never matched McCain’s low.

From the Daily Gallup Tracker polled September 10-12…(without the tragic hurricane, I think the slope would be even deeper, but that is purely speculative.)

Not only has Obama’s Vice Presidential running mate Joe Biden actually met with foreign heads of state, he has looked one of the worst in modern history in the eyes and called him a “Damn war criminal.”  The video below was taken with my wife’s cell phone when Biden was in town last week.  We just caught the end of the story.  The excerpt of the Time Magazine story below also outlines the story.

Of course, General Wesley Clark, as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces subsequently dismantled Milosevic and Yugoslavia, bringing him up on charges as a war criminal.  The only thing that got in the way was Milo’s heart, which gave out for good on him before he could be found guilty.

I do not know about you, but I am very comfortable with Joe Biden being one heartbeat away from the presidency.

The Page - by Mark Halperin - TIME
Year after year, he has been at the forefront of the fight for judges who respect the fundamental rights and liberties of the American people; college tuition that is affordable for all; equal pay for women and a rising minimum wage for all; and family leave policies that value work and family. Those are the priorities of a man whose work reflects his life and his values.

That same strength of character is at the core of his rise to become one of America’s leading voices on national security.

He looked Slobodan Milosevic in the eye and called him a war criminal, and then helped shape policies that would end the killing in the Balkans and bring him to justice. He passed laws to lock down chemical weapons, and led the push to bring Europe’s newest democracies into NATO. Over the last eight years, he has been a powerful critic of the catastrophic Bush-McCain foreign policy, and a voice for a new direction that takes the fight to the terrorists and ends the war in Iraq responsibly. He recently went to Georgia, where he met quietly with the President and came back with a call for aid and a tough message for Russia.

Joe Biden is what so many others pretend to be – a statesman with sound judgment who doesn’t have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong.

Sarah Palin has been thoroughly exposed for the gimmick and fraud (in relation to the persona presented by the McCain campaign) that she is.  Whether 54 days is enough time for the average American voter to pick up on it is another story.  If the percentage of people who still believe that Iraq had a hand in 9/11 is any indication, the truth about Sarah Palin may never take hold.

So here is the deal, there probably is not much more that I can contribute to the Sarah Palin conversation that is not being exposed somewhere else.  Unless she makes some newsworthy blunder, or does something else to contradict or embarrass John McCain and his obviously poor judgment and critical thinking skills, I am not going to go out of my way to post it here.

What I am interested in right now is how the Bush administration has slowly begun to follow the Barack Obama foreign policy doctrine (maybe that is why Sarah Palin was confused – damn, what was that…like 15 seconds without mentioning Palin?)

All of the  things that John McCain and the Republican party used to call Obama naïve for, like an Iraq withdrawal time table…check.  Talks with Iran…check.  Ground forces in Pakistan without Pakistani permission…check.

This is like something out of the twilight zone.  If Barack Obama is so ignorant, naïve, and liberal, why have the Regressives adopted his foreign policy?

(Picture the penguin and the audio fade, “Do, be, do, be, dooooooooooo.”)

Update:  Apparently, Andrew Sullivan from the Atlantic concurs:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/a-first.html

“The Bush administration - when guided by the saner forces within it such as Gates and Rice - eventually follows Obama’s advice. In that sense, Obama has been president for quite a while already. And proving he could be a shrewd, pragmatic and prescient one.”

I have to admit, after spending three and half days watching the Republican convention, I do fell a little dumber.

Obama: Republicans must think you’re stupid
Posted: 03:30 PM ET CNN.com

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana (CNN) – Since leaving their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, John McCain and Sarah Palin have tried to cast themselves as mavericks, Washington outsiders, the real agents of change.

Barack Obama isn’t buying it and wants the label for himself.

“Everywhere I go we’ve been talking about change, that’s been the theme of this campaign,” Obama told supporters in a show barn in Indiana. “And we must be on to something, because I notice now everyone’s talking about change now.”

“Suddenly [McCain’s] the change agent!” Obama laughed. “He says, “I’m going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.” Who’s 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? Is he going to tell all the folks who are running his campaign who are the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?”

“Who is it that he’s going to tell that change is coming?” he added, “I mean come on, they must think you’re stupid!”

Obama said Thursday that he’ll focus on McCain because he’s running against McCain and not his running mate Sarah Palin. But Saturday Obama singled out Palin for the first time for flip-flopping on earmarks while governor of Alaska.

“She is a skillful politician,” said Obama, “but when you’ve been taking all these earmarks when it is convenient and then suddenly you’re the champion anti-earmark person, that is not change, come on. I mean, words mean something. You can’t just make stuff up. You can’t just make stuff up.”

The McCain campaign shot back saying that Obama is all talk.

“Barack Obama has requested the equivalent of one million dollars in new pork barrel spending for every working day he’s been in the U.S Senate,” wrote McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds in an e-mail to reporters. “While John McCain has never once asked for an earmark, and Governor Palin has vetoed hundreds of millions in government spending including killing the infamous ‘bridge to nowhere’.

When a former Republican asked the Illinois senator if he would welcome ‘converts’ like him, Obama took the opportunity to accuse McCain of hypocrisy.

“I have to say, when John McCain says in his [acceptance] speech that he wants to reduce the rancor in Washington and I’m thinking, did you pay attention to the last two days of your convention?” Obama chuckled, “were you not watching? Did they not get the memo?”

“When it starts getting personal, when you start just focusing exclusively on trying to tear the other person down instead of what you are going to do on behalf of the American people to deal with this economy, then that’s not serving Democrats, that’s not serving Republicans, that’s not serving anybody.”

The Sarah Palin Trojan Horse – with lipstick

The Trojan Horse metaaphor may have a new name after the 2008 election season, as the McCain campaign has set Sarah Palin outside of the American peoples’ doorsteps.  The Sarah Palin Trojan Horse is a perfect example of regressive deception politics, where a political machine will construct an imaginary “perfect” being for a given election and then set out to try and find the right person to fill that role.

The McCain campaign did not find Sarah Palin first and then bring her in to the campaign, they first devised their imaginary creature and then found Sarah Palin.  What is becoming apparent to me is that for several reasons, it did not matter to them that she was not thoroughly vetted.

First, there is only two months to the election.  Even though the religious idea of Sarah Palin being a real creature in the minds of regressive Republicans is only a shell for the contents of the real Sarah Palin biography, the McCain campaign is betting on the idea that it will take longer than two months for most American’s to ascertain the truth.  (Think Al-Qaeda/Iraq connection and Obama/Muslim falsehoods)  As a matter of fact, large percentages of Americans still believe those falsehoods to be true and this election will be over before the insides of the Palin Horse are discovered, or so the McCain campaign is hoping.

Basically, in politics, it doesn’t matter if it is true, all that matters is what Americans believe to be true.

Second, as the specs were developing for the Sarah Palin Trojan Horse, the McCain campaign most likely took his historically favorable relationship with the press, as well as their reaction to Hillary’s playing of the gender card in to consideration.  As soon as McCain unveiled his strategically placed Palin Horse to the American people, the press entered a state of confusion.  They did not really appear to know what to do.

Comments ranged from, “What a strategically brilliant move,” (William Kristol – Fox News) to Juan Williams, also of Fox News saying, “From this point on, I don’t ever want to hear conservatives complain about affirmative action.”  But for a couple of days, the press really dug in to do their jobs.  They began to investigate Sarah Palin’s biography, to find out what makes her tick and what her policy history is.

At the outset, the goal of the McCain campaign was to define Sarah Palin before anyone else could, and in doing so, Palin was presented to the American people, and the press, as your everyday Hockey mom, government reformer, who had rejected the bridge to nowhere, sold the governor’s private jet on eBay, and wants to open Alaska for drilling.  But, when the press began to dig, they started to find numerous inconsistencies in the McCain presentation of their Palin Horse.

Palin did not reject the “Bridge to nowhere” until it garnered national attention, and even campaigned for it as part of her platform to be elected governor, yet still kept the $200+ million.  Sarah Palin did not sell Alaska’s private jet on eBay, she tried, but after months and months on the site, she turned it over to a private aviation company to sell it.  Palin did not refuse federal earmarks as an elected official in Alaska, as a matter of fact, she hired a law firm to help her lobby the federal government for even more pork barrel monies, ending up on John McCain’s own “pork” list, and eventually leaving her town of less than 9,000 people more than $20,000,000 in debt.

And here is the kicker, at this moment, the McCain campaign is presenting the Palin Horse as real change, but at the same time, at this very moment, the Troopergate investigation is taking place in Alaska.  It is an investigation in to whether or not Sarah Palin abused her power in trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired.  And now, the police union has filed a complaint that Palin and/or her aids may have illegally accessed his employment files.  That charge is not a slap your wrist kind of charge.  If true, it has the consequence of being an actual criminal act.  The investigator expects to be done by the end of October, but the McCain campaign is doing all it can to delay the results.  That is not reform and change, it is the epitome of everything that has been wrong about the last eight years in Washington.  It is straight out of the book of the Bush Administration.  Abuse of power.  How is that change?

But what has the press done with this readily available information?  Nothing, and the reason why is because the McCain campaign has played the same gender card that worked so effectively towards the end of Hillary Clinton’s run at the Democratic nomination.  The reason why it worked, and this is mostly a topic for another time, is because the press is full of personalities instead of hard-hitting reporters.  They are totally ratings and advertising driven, and quite frankly, when you insult them, they don’t have thick enough skin to deal with it, no matter how right they might be.  CNN’s Anderson Cooper appeared to be on the verge of tears during the analysis of the John McCain speech.  His self-consciousness manifested itself over and over with his self-effacing, sarcastic jokes about how he and Wolf Blitzer are apparently part of the “elite” media.

McCain gambled on his relationship with the press, as well as their thin skin, to see if he could insert his Palin Horse right in to the middle of this presidential race, and as of right now, he is winning.  There is little to no coverage from the mainstream media right now on Sarah Palin’s biography, nor the McCain campaign’s unwillingness to allow Palin to “Face the Nation” or “Meet the Press.”  It is exactly the same kind of press-release, mouthpiece, hands off coverage of American government that allowed the Iraq War wool to be pulled over the unsuspecting and politically naive eyes of the everyday American, the lie that made the so-called “surge” necessary in the first place.

It is one thing to win an election based on merit and policy; it is another thing completely to win an election based on a regressive deception.  The press, as the only institution specifically mentioned in the Constitution, has a duty to get to the bottom of the story and present the truth to the American people.  The success and long-term health of the great American Democracy depends on it, and the American people need to know what kinds of possible dangers are lurking inside of McCain’s Sarah Palin Trojan Horse.

Wow.  What a difference 24 hours makes.  From Sarah Palin’s bullying pontification that got the regressives all excited, to the yawn of a reminder that the person they have to vote for as President is John McCain.  The last couple of days have allowed the regressive Republican party to have their moment in the sun, their last hurrah, if you will, but it will do no more than temporarily pull them even with the Barack Obama campaign.

While the excitement for Sarah Palin was genuine last night, the hooping and hollaring that took place tonight looked like it really took a lot of effort, almost like the state party heads reminded their delegations to try and keep a party-like atmosphere.  It felt manufactured.  Like one Fox commentator just said, “The crowd was really trying hard tonight to like John McCain.”  I think that statement needs to be picked apart because that is exactly what it felt like, like manufactured effort.

I am a political junkie, and I watch everything, even Fox News.  I actually changed channels during McCain’s speech.  I never do that.  I always watch what the regressives have to say.  But tonight, I just couldn’t.  Not out of anger or irritation, but out of complete boredom.

Granted, it is not a good idea to pick a President based on whether or not they bore you, but inspiration and change is what the 2008 election is about.

Several reasons why Barack Obama has this election in the bag are the things readers of Hogwash already know.  He inspires the average every day American that both as an individual, as well as collectively as a country, we can do better than what we are doing now, much better.  Anybody can say those things, but Barack Obama has proven time and time again over his life and his career that he has made people’s lives better.

His intellectual curiousity is unmatched in this campaign; his critical thinking skills are unmatched in this campaign; his judgement is unmatched in this campaign; and he is the epitome of Presidential temperament.

Barack Obama reminds me of FDR and his election on November 4th will bring the kind of pride back to this country that has not been experienced in my lifetime and probably not since FDR released his four essential freedoms of everyone in the world:

1. Freedom of speech and expression
2. Freedom of religion
3. Freedom from want
4. Freedom from fear

Regressives, welcome back to the Earth.  I guess that it is good for Sarah Palin that this is her party now, unfortunately for regressives (and fortunately for America) John McCain is the name at the top of the ballot.

He also questioned rhetorically, “Do you think I am surprised that the Republicans are attacking me?  I fully anticipated their attacks in my acceptance speech last Thursday.”

According to CNN.com, the Obama campaign is reporting that it has raised over $8 million dollars from 130,000 different donors just since Sarah Palin stopped her bullying pontification.  They plan to have raised over $10 million dollars by the time that John McCain steps to the mike tonight to de-energize the Republican base. 

Hello!  Regressive racists!  Can you hear me?  Remember McCain and his stance on immigration that you hate so much?  Remember how he voted against the Bush tax gifts to the wealthy?  Remember how he actually (oh the gall!) believes that humankind does contribute to global warming?  Is he not the guy you have to vote for President? 

Maybe you should just conservative up a little bit and write in Sarah Palin on September 4th!

Sarah Palin — Words versus Actions

It was Rethuglican theater at its finest. Fangs bared, red-meat flying, the crowds delirious with joy, the culture warriors in full battle mode. Of course, the media loved it. 

“And children with special needs inspire a special love.

“To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.”

Except, as governor, Sarah Palin slashed state funding for special education by 62%.

“I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.”

Too bad, the law Governor Palin signed has been criticized for being weak and ineffective.

“I told the Congress “thanks, but no thanks,” for that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we’d build it ourselves.”

Another piece of fiction. She supported the quarter billion dollar plus pork project and only said “no thanks” when the feds said she could keep the money for other projects. As governor, Palin asked for $750 billion in earmarks last year.

“I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.”

But former Alaskan governors and business leaders are incensed because the pipeline ships that natural gas and most of the jobs to Canada.

“To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies … or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia … or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries … we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. 

“And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we’ve got lots of both.”

The U.S. imports 65% of the oil it uses. By Department of Energy estimates, the North Slope can only provide about 1% of the oil we use — in 10 to 20 years. She may know the North Slope, but she obviously has a problem with math.

“Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more nuclear plants … create jobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.”

But wait a minute, John McCain has never voted in favor of alternative energy — only more tax breaks for oil companies.

“The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes … raise payroll taxes … raise investment income taxes … raise the death tax … raise business taxes … and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that’s now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses. 

“How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up?”

This oft-repeated whopper is typical Republican propaganda that has been disproved multiple times by independent analysis, yet the desperate spin-masters of God’s Only Party continue to repeat it any time they spy a microphone and camera. And it completely side-stepped the fact, that as mayor and governor, Sarah Palin has raised taxes.

“Senator McCain’s record of actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests, lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency - from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.”

Oh, please. John McCain has more than 160 Washington corporate lobbyists working on his campaign. He has reversed positions and back-tracked on more issues to secure this nomination than any candidate in modern times.

Leadership requires much more than sarcasm and mockery. It requires an understanding of the problems that face this country and a plan to move us forward. Sarah Palin has shown she is no more than an opportunistic, right-wing ideologue.

I thought about going through Sarah Palin’s 40 minute pontification and picking it apart point by point, but then I found the following link who had already done a fabulous job of it.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I posted it here for the readers of Hogwash.

The Reality-Based Community: Palin v. Reality

More from Patriot John:In her acceptance speech, Sarah Palin said: “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities.” So it seems most appropriate that her record as mayor is important in judging her qualifications. Let’s see, she left her town with a $22 million dollar debt in spite of receiving $27 million in federal pork funding.

This from Anne Kilkenny of Wasilla, Alaska: “What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.”

She fired most of the administrators in city hall, including the police chief, because she felt they weren’t supportive of her campaign. She threatened to fire the city librarian in an attempt to ban books that she (Palin) didn’t like. It is obvious to this observer that Sarah Palin models her leadership style after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. So once again, we have More of McSame.

Much more detail of Sarah Palin’s record and leadership style is posted here: http://www.andrys.com/palin-kilkenny.html

Sarah Palin’s performance tonight was strong, very strong.  It reminded me of eighth grade when I was in the lunch room with this bully hovering over me, pushing me down every time I got up, kicking over my books, and calling me every name in the book.

She was condescending, mean, and ignorant.  She clearly lied about about her opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere.

The last thing the struggling lower and middle class of this country need is someone to get up on stage and mock them and make them feel worse about themselves.  I hope this speech made her and John McCain feel good and sleep well tonight because there are a lot of people going to bed right now feeling like crap.

However, tomorrow they will wake up, drink their coffee, put on their boots and go to work just like they do every day; if they have been lucky enough to keep a job in this economy; if they have been lucky enough to keep a car in this economy; if they have been lucky enough to keep their house in this economy.  They will work their butts off all day twice as hard as they did eight years ago just to buy the same gallon of milk that cost them half as much in the year 2000.  A year that seems so distant.  The year that the regressive Republicans took this country from the land of Hope, to the fear and desolation of George W. Bush.

They will hope the babysitter is at the bus stop for their kids when they get off the bus; and that they can come up with some way to pay for the surgery they need for their heart, because their insurance won’t cover the deal because of a pre-existing condition.  That is even if they can get health insurance to begin with.

And the capital gains tax?  Who cares, when he worked for Enron, his entire life savings went down the drain.  A 20% tax on nothing is still nothing.

Sarah Palin overdid it tonight.  She (and the McCain campaign speechwriters) overcompensated for what she/they perceived to be her weaknesses.  She opened herself and her party for a major letdown.

And I will leave you with this, Palin certainly did not come across as a Christian to me.  The Christian Right needs to be reminded of the actual teachings of Jesus Christ, take the Sermon on the mount for example:

“‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’”

If I was part of the Christian right, I would be wondering if maybe Sarah Palin didn’t have a little bit of the devil working in her tonight.  But since since the Devil is nothing more than a metaphor for the bad choices that people make, I guess Sarah Palin is just going to have to take all of the credit.  Jesus would be sooooo proud of her.  :)~

The next few days will be interesting.

Well, it has taken the British to report it, but here it is…

Joe Biden says Barack Obama might pursue criminal charges against Bush administration if elected | World news | guardian.co.uk
Obama might pursue criminal charges against Bush
· Biden says criminal violations will be pursued
· Democrats have issued subpoenas to Bush aides
· 3 staffers have been held in contempt of Congress

* Elana Schor in Washington
* guardian.co.uk,
* Wednesday September 03 2008 19:32 BST
* Article history

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.

Biden’s comments, first reported by ABC news, attracted little notice on a day dominated by the drama surrounding his Republican counterpart, Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

But his statements represent the Democrats’ strongest vow so far this year to investigate alleged misdeeds committed during the Bush years.

“If there has been a basis upon which you can pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued,” Biden said during a campaign event in Deerfield Beach, Florida, according to ABC.

So the crowd at the Republican Convention is wildly enthusiastic about Sarah Palin. These are the same people who chose George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. What does this say about THEIR judgement? Those folks are responsible for ALL of this country’s ills.

The McCain campaign is threatening a lawsuit over the National Enquirer’s upcomming issue alledging that Sarah Palin had an affair with her husbands business associate, amoung other things.  They are very angry with what they claim is a baseless allegation, meant solely to smear her.

After the John Edwards revelations, it is hard to tell any more.  I, however, will require three credible sources before I will believe it.

The Drudge Report has the following response from the Enquirer.

ENQURIER RESPONDS TO MCCAIN/PALIN
Wed Sep 03 2008 18:19:21 ET

“The National Enquirer’s coverage of a vicious war within Sarah Palin’s extended family includes several newsworthy revelations, including the resulting incredible charge of an affair plus details of family strife when the Governor’s daughter revealed her pregnancy. Following our John Edwards’ exclusives, our political reporting has obviously proven to be more detail-oriented than the McCain campaign’s vetting process. Despite the McCain camp’s attempts to control press coverage they find unfavorable, The Enquirer will continue to pursue news on both sides of the political spectrum.”