If you're from Ohio...
Call me a suck up, just don't call me. I hate your phone calls. [/sarcasm]
Seriously, if your in Ohio and can vote on this ballot, do it. I've met the man, he is a solid choice that isn't out to be an activist. He sees things impartially and with sound, constitutional logic. I, from my miniature and somewhat unimportant soap box, am personally endorsing John Fickes for Judge. We need more judges like him.
Someone, explain this shit?
Apparently, Facebook has found this blog to be "malicious," and is advising users to navigate away from my site. I have contacted them concerning this but have yet to receive a return message. Assholes.
So, let me state this right now: I have not, nor will I ever host malicious content on this webpage. This is a venue for me to discuss issues that intrigue me and for you to reply back. Just so you know, I'm looking out for ya'!
While I normally don't pursue this type of "speculative journalism," an idea popped into my mind that I just can't let go of. The more I think about it, the more fitting the nuances of the whole idea become: That Sarah Palin was not only picked as a last-chance, hail-mary candidate, but also as the one who the GOP could intentionally scapegoat for the failure of the McCain campaign should (read: when) Obama take(s) the general election.
In light of the recent unethical and unlawful violations Palin was found to have committed, a lot of us are simply piling the report onto the mound of evidence that Palin was never capable of being the Vice President. The interesting part is that we already knew this when she was nominated, we knew it when the McCain camp insisted that she had been properly vetted, and we sure as hell know it now after those infamous Katie Couric dialogs. There is no way that the GOP really thought she was a valid running mate. While they may be out of touch, they're not insane. Well, maybe they are insane -- but they're certainly not trying to lose.
So why pick a fringe, hyper-conservative loose canon like Palin to back McCain's run? Answer: to see if she could rattle the base and steal enough Clinton supporters to win the election... and because they knew that if the stunt didn't pay off they could simple say "she couldn't handle the pressure of national politics as she led us to believe she could." Sarah Palin means nothing to McCain or the GOP if she doesn't get McCain the election. They are treating her like an expendable commodity when they refuse to let her speak to non-friendly media alone or reduce her canned speeches to circular talking points.
This alone is enough to make me feel bad for Palin. It's clear she doesn't have the poise to perform on the national stage, but it isn't because she won't try, it's because she isn't at the same level of competition. She is a small town, low-profile governor asked to play the role of big city politician. Frankly, it was never fair, but I digress.
If you'll remember, the Palin pick was announced the day after Obama rocked his DNC speech and put a surge of electricity into the Democrat's battle wagon. Palin obviously shocked the country too, but not for the same reasons. Would we have seen the same response had McCain chosen any of the other names that were thrown around? Certainly Elizabeth Dole, Joe Lieberman, or Tim Pawlenty would have all been solid picks for the ticket. So again, why Palin? Because names like Dole, Pawlenty, Huckabe, Romney, and Thomspon are already established GOPers with something to lose. The country sensed a Dem win in 2008 and so did the Republican strategists. I don't think they wanted to risk tanking the career of another one of their already successful, tenured party members. Palin offered a way out.
She, the great gamble, just might have turned the numbers and picked up the Hillary vote, but if she didn't her failure would be peanuts to the big red elephants. After a loss, she would likely slip back into obscurity in Alaska. While it might end her career, it wouldn't hurt the party elite. So, knowing that she wasn't ready to be on the national level, knowing that she had all kinds skeletons in her closet, but also knowing she was a woman that could draw the conservatives in by the tens of thousands and pull off the miracle of the century, they picked her. Very Bush doctrine, preemptive scapegoating, don't you think?
For the sake of decency, let's hope I'm wrong.
Four and a half minutes of pure WTF?!!
I am not an expert on all of this, nor do I think one has to be to have a reasonable and educated opinion. On the other side, I do think you need to have a brain. So, enjoy this troll pointing out just how stupid some McPalinites actually are and how little effort they put into understanding just what the GOP is teaching them to shit out of their mouths.
A good friend of mine wrote this up today. I think it's a fantastic image of what Bush, Reagan, and Dubyah have done with the budget in the last 20 some years. You should note that the only president since Carter to lower the national debt (as a percent of GDP) was Clinton. Anyway, here is that post:
As of early this morning, the national debt is $10,028,587,281,302. That is such a disgustingly horrible amount of money that it really is impossible to even think about. So, I thought it would be interesting to put something like this into a different perspective.Well spoken, Joshua. You're smarter than McCain would give you credit for.
The $1 bill is 0.51 feet in length. If you lined up $10,028,587,281,302 in a single row of $1 bills and aimed it toward the sky, it would reach 968,670,362 miles into space. The planet Saturn is about 820,000,000 miles away from Earth. So, the current national debt in $1 bills would extend 148,670,632 miles PAST Saturn.
Also, as of this morning, the national debt is increasing at about $2.76 billion a day. Using $1 bills again, that translates into an additional 266,591 miles of extended debt into the depths of our solar system per day. This is the best part: That number can be converted into 11,108 miles of $1 bills per hour. The speed of sound is 767 mph. If our nation's debt was being shot into space, it would be traveling 14.5 times the speed of sound. Mach 14.5!
One more little piece of trivia. The (dwarf) planet Pluto has a minimum distance of 2.7 billion miles away from Earth. Given the distance already traveled, the debt has 1,731,329,638 more miles to go to reach Pluto (which is about $18 trillion). At the CURRENT $2.76 billion increase per day, the national debt will reach Pluto and approach the edge of the solar system in the summer of 2026.
Oh!, these numbers DO NOT include the additional $700 billion that may or may not be added to the national debt as a part of the bailout plan.
A New Low: 27%
73% of America disapproves of Bush. John McCain voted with Bush's policies 90% of the time. I know this is a little bit of a cloudy figure given that the President's approval rating wasn't always so low, but considering Bush's approval has been dropping for seven years, it means McCain disagrees with America 65.7% of the time. A stat like that can only mean one thing: Time to pull out the Asinine tag!!!
Have a great Tuesday.
During the "suspension" of McCain's campaign and hours before the (then uncertain) debate actually was to take place, this was already up on the internet. Then Obama won the debate. Read a little more here.
Alright, alright, I'm a little late on this one but after coming (it keeps getting better!) up with a title like "Premature Adjaculation," I just had to get this up (again!) here. Must be my liberal bias to humor. However, being the good man that I am, I'll add a little more to this post so you don't feel like I'm only good for old news.
Remember when McCain went back to Washington to oversee the bailout? Regardless of the evidence that it was just another political stunt, one good thing did come out of it (if you support the bailout). He was going to secure the needed GOP votes to pass the bill. This hope was so bright for some Republicans that they started claiming victory for McCain a little early (see, I can stay with the theme!).
“Earlier in the week, when Senator McCain came back to Washington, there had been no deal reached. … What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans.” — Senior adviser Steve Schmidt, 9/28/08
Well, the bailout didn't pass today because of Republican opposition so McCain clearly didn't help anything out. The point being when you are willing to be the one to claim victory, you have to be willing to accept the blame. You can't have it both ways.
It's really that simple.
Update: I didn't want to make a separate post for just this, so I'm adding it here. Consider it a bonus. Americas Facebook NewsFeed
Maybe there's a reason...
Frankly, McCain is being an asshole. Judging by the mistruths and spinning he constantly uses for political gain, it is clear to me now that he thinks the vast majority of Americans are incapable of researching, reading, and/or thinking on their own. Maybe he just doesn't know how the internet works... or what youtube is.
So, Obama is clearly for defeat because he didn't use the word "victory" to describe the state of our two wars that are costing American lives and money every day and leading us closer daily to a confrontation with Iran. I mean, he did say that the surge has been a good thing and everything, but not a victory. I wonder what other kinds of yellow forfeiters wouldn't use the specific word "victory" when they talk about the war?"McCain: By the way, on Friday night, did you ever hear the word victory from Senator Obama?
Crowd: No!
McCain: My friends, if we continue this surge under this great general, we will come home – and our troops will come home – with victory and honor. And not in defeat."
Damnit, fact checkers... quit having a liberal bias and pointing out the facts about McCain's blatant disregard of the accuracy one would expect a major candidate for U.S. President to have.
Joe Quint (thingsyoungerthanmccain.com) has a pretty awesome blog going that puts John McCain's age into perspective. He also happens to be a funny, funny man. Check this video out.
What to think of this?
...that even blind party loyalty can be uprooted by, well..., thinking about things.
Conservative writer, mother, and former Palin supporter Kathleen Parker has finally spoken up and addressed what I think a lot of Republicans already knew: Palin is not so great, and the GOP has to face the fact that it was a gamble and it didn't work (unless you consider rallying the conservative base winning the election.) Tough luck.
You can read the entire article here, on the NRO website. Just don't read it during the debate tonight!
Demand the Debate!
There has to be something said about this complete nonsense that passes as the McCain campaign. Being the President is a very serious and difficult job. How you conduct yourself in the race for the White House is how you show what kind of President you would be. The debates are how you explain your platform to the people you want to vote for you. You can not just stop your campaign!
Old John is denying voters knowledge about himself. How can he seriously run for President and not participate in the debate on Friday? Especially when it's under the guise of running back to Washington to personally oversee the (three page) economic plan which he hasn't read, on a subject he doesn't understand.
This is a political stunt, pure and simple -- and it's because John McCain thinks independent voters are stupid. He's slipping in the polls, Palin is starting to tank, and going back to D.C. has nothing to do with the economy. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say this is about the VP debate as much as (if not more than) the Presidential. Palin has yet to pass GOP class and would do more harm than good. In fact, Biden would crush her. The McCain campaign simply can not let that happen.
McCain, if I'm wrong and this really is no time for politics, pull your ads from TV, stop appearing on the news, and completely divorce yourself from a serious political campaign. Otherwise, you're full of shit.
DEMAND THE DEBATE!
Just what the hell is going on here?
First things first, let me say that I am a lucky, lucky boy. I have the completely unearned privilege of being able to constantly pique the near infinite knowledge of four people who have more intelligence than most other people you or I will ever meet... combined. They are really the only reason I can understand the mess that is going on in our country. Naturally, these people are Dr. Marieta Velikova (applied economics), Dr. John Gonas (finance), Dr. Regine Schwarzmeier (German, English, & American Studies), and my father (NY Regional Senior Information Technology Examiner, FDIC).
What's that? You don't recognize the names? That's why I made them links!!!
...Regardless (and all shameless, starry-eyed name dropping aside), they're the only reason somebody like me can have a clue as to what is going on in our economy right now. Unfortunately, you might not have access to said people, so I found you a link which explains everything fairly simple and very well:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/24/10221/0265/105/589765
It's a long read because it's a big subject but I think you can make it through. Please do so.
Not that I think being a celebrity gives you any extra insight into politics, but I enjoyed this comment by Matt Damon: "I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here four thousand years ago. That's an important... I wanna know that, I really do. Because she's going to have the nuclear codes."
Sigh.
Michael Reagan Speaks Out
Michael Reagan, the adopted son of Ronald Reagan and hate-filled murder inciter(!) recently released an article titled "Welcome Back, Dad," in which he praises Sarah Palin as the (figurative) reincarnation of his late father. You can read the article online and when you're finished come back here to see it picked apart with as much sarcasm as I could stomach.
...Back yet? Here we go:
This, of course, is not the same thing as the emotional sensationalism that the GOP would have everyone believe the Obama fans are caught up in. That would be foolish, as you should remember. Palin's speech was saturated with political substance, an actual plan for America, and solid examples that clearly demonstrated her qualifications for the VP spot... I'm just kidding. It was about keywords, catch phrases, and some good old fashioned Republican mistruths.
"In one blockbuster of a speech, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin resurrected my Dad's indomitable spirit and sent it soaring above the convention center, shooting shock waves through the cynical media's assigned spaces and electrifying the huge audience with the kind of inspiring rhetoric we haven't heard since my Dad left the scene."
Really, her speech was the fiery sensationalism that sparked Palin-mania. It wasn't anything special. Furthermore, I'de argue that Obama has been pretty inspiring since Reagan left office. For that matter, so was Rudy Guilliani back in 2001.
Because the Government would never spend billions of dollars bailing out banks and private non-banks which are bankrupting due a piss-poor-policy induced financial disaster in the country because it's people couldn't pay back their loans (let alone purchase enough bread to put on the table) because of a failing job market as well as a lack of restrictions on how far banks could float interest rates on said people under Republican watch. The fact is that Americans are already at the feet of a Republican government looking for help from inflation, loan default, and home foreclosure.
"In a few words she managed to rip the mask from the faces of her Democratic rivals and reveal them for what they are -- a pair of old-fashioned liberals making promises that cannot be kept without bankrupting the nation and reducing most Americans to the status of mendicants begging for their daily bread at the feet of an all-powerful government."
As far as old fashioned goes, see www.thingsyoungerthanmccain.com.
A stunning and highly questionable record of achievements including, but not limited to: Never actually selling that luxury jet on eBay, Using a never-ending bag of oil money to balance Alaska's budget, Not knowing what the VP does, Hiding the truth about her (alleged) misconduct, Raising millions in earmarks, and hiring unqualified friends to run the Alaskan Government. And all this while wearing lipstick. What a gal.
"Most important, by comparing her own stunning record of achievement with his, she showed Barack Obama for the sham that he is, a man without any solid accomplishments beyond conspicuous self-aggrandizement."
"Sarah Palin didn't go to Harvard, or fiddle around in urban neighborhood leftist activism while engaging in opportunism..."Yeah, because going to Harvard Law is such a shitty thing to do if you want into public service. Now for a fact check: Then 24 year old Obama worked with churches almost exclusively as a community organizer in Chicago. There was very little political influence at the time as he had yet to attend Harvard. He was a young man doing good. He had no political power or influence at the time. In all reality, he was doing the exact same things churches around this nation do every day. Here is a decent article concerning his CO work.
I've been saying this for a while:
They Got the Wrong Palin
The only thing worse than an idiot is one that knows how to copy and paste
Obama is the Anti-Christ. This is the evidence:
1.- He will come as a man of Peace (Obama promises peace in Iraq, defeat for the US)
2.- He will come mounted on a white Female horse(Obama mother is white who had 6 African husbands)
3.- He will come to deceive( Obama says he's a Christian but in fact he was born a Muslim, practices the Islamic religion, prays Friday’s facing Mecca)
4.- He will make himself the most powerful man on earth, if elected
5.- He will try to destroy the Jewish People and Israel( Obama has said he loves the Arabs specially the Palestinians, hates Israel and Jews. Admires Hitler, Osama etc)
6.- He will present himself as good and righteous but in fact he's Satan himself. Violence is in his heart
7.- Obama will help Al Qaida in its evil projects.
8.- Barack Hussein Obama is the “King of the South” predicted in the Bible.(Daniel .11, Kenya is south of Jerusalem)
9.- Obama comes to implant muslim Sharia Law upon America.
Obama is the Anti-Christ, beware of him.
Watch him and don't let you be deceived by Him.
Supporters of Obama: 1.5 billion Muslims, Oprah, Louis Farrakanh, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and all American Muslims.
OBAMA’S GAME IS DECEPTION AND VIOLENCE
A VOTE FOR OBAMA IS A VOTE FOR OSAMA AND KILLER ISLAM!!
IF OBAMA WAS NOT MUSLIM, HE WOULD BE CONSIDERED AS VP BUT A MUSLIM IS TOO DANGEROUS FOR OUR FREEDOMS TO CONSIDER.
This is Just Sick
I'll admit that The Rev. Jeremiah Wright was a bad nut, but what might have been worse was the way that the self-opposing Republican party attacked the situation. Can't really blame then though, they smelled the oil blood and found every way to make sure the subject came up. That's why it stings so much when this shit comes back to haunt them.
As if McCain supporter Rev. John Hagee's opinion that Hurricane Katrina was sent by God Himself to punish the homosexuals in New Orleans wasn't soulless enough, we now have the Ohio Mega-Reverend Rod Parsley. Parsley is yet another bigoted McCain supporter whose nod was actively sought by the Republican candidate who has, for your records, yet to refuse Rev. Parsley's endorsement.
Evidently, 100 years isn't how long the war could last, it's how long it should last... or at least until all those demon-led, lesser human Muslims are gone.
"No right no wrong, selling a song"
So the GOP was using Heart's song "Barracuda" to, as I can only assume, keep people awake at their events. Once the members of Heart caught wind of this, they contacted the McCain/Palin camp and asked them to quit using the song. This seems fair enough to me, but the McCain/Palin team has the one up on Heart because the song is licensed and the GOP has paid the blanket royalties to use the song however they see fit. This is where it gets awesome.
Former Heart Guitarist and Co-Writer of "Barracuda," Roger Fisher, has publicly stated that he is endorsing the Democratic Ticket and donating some of the Royalties he gets from the playing of the song to the Obama campaign. That is simply awesome. The Republicans are paying for Obama to run against them. Though it isn't really all that much in the grand sceeme of things, I wonder how long until they sit down and realize it.
I feel guilty for passing this story on already.
It's become pretty apparent that Republicans are more than happy with Palin (regardless of the fact that they met her for the first time at the RNC.) To bad she used a blatant lie of omission to rally the troops. We all remember the eBay jet comment, right? McCain certainly did:
"You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay -- made a profit."
Well, turns out that she did indeed put the jet on eBay. It also turns out that it never sold. It just sat around for months before being handed off to Turbo North Aviation. TNA (I love that acronym) then sold the $2.7 million dollar plane to some Alaskan businessman for $2.1 million. That's a loss, not a profit, McCain. Very, very basic.
In an attempt to discredit Barack Obama during the Republican National Convention, the GOP went on a calculated attack against community organizers. I am really beginning to believe these idiots will say anything and everything to get elected. As an example, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani had this to say:
“On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. What? [Laughter]…I said, OK, OK, maybe this is the first problem on the resume.”How is it possible that someone with so much "executive experience" as himself doesn't think being a CO is a good thing? Oh, because he's a naïve prick and a liar. By the way, you can still donate towards his 2008 Presidential Bid on his website, regardless of the fact that donating is the only thing you can do on his site now. And he's already lost his bid.
Fact is, COs are incredible people. They work to help the people who are facing poverty, illness, unemployment, and house foreclosure. Hell, you could safely classify the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Food Kitchens, and United Way as COs. Funny thing is, if the good people that chose to be COs were elected they'd be just like most politicians -- only they'd actually help people. We should all be helping people in need and our government should fucking thank people for doing their part, not play it off like it's childish.
Now, most of us should be able to see through the bullshit the GOP is vomiting all over America so it's not so much the attacks that bother me. It's their inability to deem what they're doing as alienating themselves from the Americans whose votes they've lost in the last eight years. Hopefully the Church that has typically assumed God is a Republican will notice what's really being said. Churches are COs, no? Food drives, missions, shelter... The GOP thinks you don't have a real job... or at least don't know what you do and why it might be a great thing.
Get out there and do something.
Here's what's on my mind right now. Interestingly enough, this gem of clarity was dropped on me by the clerk at my local Cirlcle K. Funny thing is, after some research it checks out. How has this not made it online yet?
According to the (non-profit) Tax Foundation, Alaska continued it's 17 year run as the most tax friendly state in America. In fact, it sounds damn near like a free ride. No income tax, no state sales tax, no state tax at all really. Of all Alaska, only a mere 25 of 161 municipalities/boroughs have property taxes. Incredibly, Alaska seems to have enough extra money in their state sitting around they find it in themselves to give about $2000 each year to everyone in Alaska. Where the hell are they getting all this money?
Oil.
Through investment and reciprocals in the oil companies in Alaska, the state makes enough money to have no need for taxes. As far as paying for what the state needs, Palin sits down at a table, pulls out the books and shoots a couple ideas around with her advisors and then reaches under the desk to pull out however much she needs. We're talking billions just there at Alaska's disposal. There is no fine balance, no hard work coming up with funds. The oil companies pay for Alaska already. It should be no surprise that she wants to drill more.
How is this VP worthy experience "working a budget?" How do these people sleep at night claiming these things? If a third grade class could count that high, they could do the job. On the honest side though, we can't really blame Palin for this. If the minimal cost of operating in Alaska is enough to pay for Alaska, imagine how much the oil companies must be making. To say the problem here is Palin's fault is about as uncouth as blaming a rape victim. Even a supposedly "qualified" rape victim.
Alright, you guys got me. This is new. So, to get the ball rolling I'll borrow something from what is quickly becoming my favorite blog around: www.thingsyoungerthanmccain.com
Edit: The video was removed (assumedly by Viacom) so I found another copy of it, thanks to The Daily Show Online. What have we learned?
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