Jinky The Cat

Unelectable

2008-11-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

Transcript (with video)

John McCain concedes...

Vote!

2008-11-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

Still undecided?

Thomas Friedman has some advice:

[...]Please do not vote for the candidate you most want to have a beer with (unless it’s to get stone cold drunk so you don’t have to think about this mess we’re in). Vote for the person you’d most like at your side when you ask your bank manager for an extension on your mortgage.

Vote for the candidate you think has the smarts, temperament and inspirational capacity to unify the country and steer our ship through what could be the rockiest shoals our generation has ever known. Your kids will thank you [...]

Though he can't "formally" endorse one candidate over the other, it appears he just has.

Here's to the end of a very ugly and divisive election season, and to change, under, hopefully, a Barack Obama administration that will prove those who've been highly critical of the former Senator wrong.

When endorsements actually matter

2008-11-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

With or without Cheney's endorsement of McCain, I've decided to cast my vote for Obama. However, I do appreciate Cheney's help in making that decision far more palatable.

Troubling Trend

2008-10-25T23:45:00.001-07:00

First it was Governor Palin's email account. Now, its "Joe the Plumber's" DMV records. There was a time when I never thought dissent against a Democrat would provoke an invasion of one's privacy. How times have changed.

The Columbus Dispatch : Government computers used to find information on Joe the Plumber

State and local officials are investigating if state and law-enforcement computer systems were illegally accessed when they were tapped for personal information about "Joe the Plumber."

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher became part of the national political lexicon Oct. 15 when Republican presidential candidate John McCain mentioned him frequently during his final debate with Democrat Barack Obama.

The 34-year-old from the Toledo suburb of Holland is held out by McCain as an example of an American who would be harmed by Obama's tax proposals.

Public records requested by The Dispatch disclose that information on Wurzelbacher's driver's license or his sport-utility vehicle was pulled from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database three times shortly after the debate.

Taxes & Health Care

2008-10-25T23:10:00.001-07:00

The Wall Street Journal has its take on both candidates' plans.

The Election Choice: Taxes - WSJ.com

The Election Choice: Health Care - WSJ.com

On the latter, those pushing for universal health care may be a step closer under an Obama administration so long as the Democrats keep their control of Congress. Nice.

What message is Terry Tate sending?

2008-10-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

What's more appalling, this video or that those who should know better find this funny?

So Powell endorsed Obama today...

2008-10-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

And this is a good thing? How soon so many on the left forget.

The VP Debates

2008-10-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

Who won? Depends on which side of the political aisle you're on. I think Palin gave an impressive performance and not just because her answers failed to make me cringe this time. Biden? Had he been more convincing, I'd have an Obama bumper sticker on my car, Obama signs on my windows, the Obama logo on this site, and spreading his message. Not quite there (at least not yet).

Who misrepresented the truth? Ask Factcheck.org.

Yes. The other one (SNL's). Frankly, I think Palin is smarter than they give her credit for, but this is funny.

Red State Update's Palin Reaction

2008-09-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

What her critics were saying about her then

2008-08-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ben Smith asks "Sound Familiar?"

Palin won, BTW.

McCain chose an Anti-Woman Woman as his VP

2008-08-31T13:37:00.001-07:00

If Obama missed an opportunity to get Hillary's supporters by not choosing her as his V.P., John McCain missed the same opportunity by choosing someone who does not support women's interests as his. At least McCain's still got the support of those who refuse to vote for his opponent no matter who he placed on his ticket.

McCain's Sexist VP Pick | The American Prospect

[...]It's clear that Republicans believe that what made Hillary Clintonsuch a good candidate was her gender, not her political experience orpositions on the issues. And McCain's decision to pick Palin shows hetook this message to heart and chose to add her to the ticket primarilybecause of her gender. In so doing, McCain has turned the idea of thefirst woman in the White House from a true moment of change to an emptypander.
Why is this a pander? Because Palin is not a woman who has a recordof representing women's interests. She is beloved by extremelyright-wing conservatives for her anti-choice record (fittingly, she's amember of the faux-feminist anti-choice group Feminists for Life).Palin supports federal anti-gay marriage legislation. She believesschools should teach creationism. Alaska is currently consideringspending more on abstinence-only sex education. And when it comes to aslew of other issues of importance to women, such as equal pay, she'snot on the record.
Of course, I'm of the belief that more women in politics -- acrossthe ideological spectrum -- is always a good thing. On a superficiallevel, nominating a woman to the Republican presidential ticket isindeed a milestone. But the real reason many women were excited aboutHillary Clinton's candidacy is that she was the whole package -- apolitician with a solid record on issues like choice and fair pay, andwith a lot of experience, who was also a woman. Even feministsI disagreed with during the primary made the compelling point that itwasn't just about Hillary's gender. It was about her record, too. [more]

Second that.

The Experience Debate: Dems Bit

2008-08-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

and they're LOSING.

Had they taken their own advice and nominated someone who had experience, maybe they wouldn't look so silly.

And their other argument? "McSame" only met her once. Is that the best they can do?

Unfortunately, McCain's VP pick has re-awakened the sexism that grew rampant among the so-called progressive and liberal blogs and has emerged in the blogs that previously supported Senator Clinton.

Obama: "Eight is enough"

2008-08-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

transcript

For someone who's been spending a majority of her blog-time criticizing him, I think he made an excellent case. Of course, at the end of the day, the reality of it all is that politcians are just telling us what they think we want to hear. It's like a drug that kicks in everytime, for instance, the Democratic nominee utters his support for universal healthcare, a living wage, defending a woman's right to choose, equal pay in the work place, etc., etc., etc. I'd prefer to save my euphoria for his re-election speech (as difficult as it is at the moment).

A Class Act

2008-08-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Read her speech here.

As an unapologetic Hillary supporter, I can go on and on about the Democratic party's missed opportunity to come, but I won't.

On the speech, a great one as usual which I'm sure has turned a number in the NoBama population around, a task that should lie on the shoulders of the soon to be nominee alone.

Frankly, I would love to cast a more than tepid vote for the Illinois Senator in Nov.

Skin deep

2008-08-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

The resemblance between Obama and MLK, according to the Black Agenda Report...

As the Democratic wing of America's permanent ruling party convenes in Denver, Democrats have dominated the Congress for almost two years. There are more US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan than in 2006 but no Democratic deadline to end these useless, predatory wars. 1.1 million African Americans languish behind bars while the dispossession and exile of hundreds of thousands of blacks from the Gulf Coast begins its fourth year. The convention will be a media circus and will culminate with the co-branding of Barack Obama with Dr. King's 1963 "I Have
A Dream" speech is intended to establish deep symbolic references between the two in the minds of voters, despite their diametrically opposed politics.

Hope is a powerful drug indeed.[...]

Even though Dr. King died supporting a black union in the midst of a militant citywide strike, the media-endorsed versions of his life, of the Freedom Movement, and of “the Dream” (probably trademarked) which the election of Barack Obama will supposedly “fulfill” are never about collective action, or democracy in workplaces. They never mention the right – won and held by people in most other nations around the world --- to organize and strike without being fired or penalized. Despite Dr. King's prescient warnings that if we did not swiftly end the war in Vietnam and turn our energies to peace abroad and justice at home we would be marching against US wars here, there and everywhere, we will be told in Denver, on the 45th anniversary of “I Have A Dream” that his legacy is being satisfied by the elevation of a black candidate who celebrates empire, who endorses the so-called worldwide “war on terror”, who has assured us he will not end the war in Iraq while he, co-signs the Bush threats to Iran and escalates the conflict in Afghanistan, perhaps extending it to nuclear-armed Pakistan. [more]

Frankly, I don't like the use of the deceased to promote a product whether it be a vacuum cleaner or politician. I mean, what if MLK would have actually been a McKinney supporter?

It's possible. And if we self-proclaimed liberals, leftists and progressives truly voted our convictions this November, we might actually put a real candidate for the change we've wanted all these years in the W.H. or at least weaken the two party political stranglehold. But, of course, John McCain is just too scary.

More Biden: "You either talk or you go to war or you maintain the status quo."

2008-08-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Those attacking Obama for believing we should talk to our enemies should be aware that this administration already has and continues to do so. I'm sure McCain already knew that. Unfortunately, most Americans don't which is why the "straight talk express" has gotten away with the Obama is an appeaser meme among other things.

Biden on Torture

2008-08-24T11:45:00.001-07:00

"Change" to look forward to - an anti-torture administration.

I'd rather be playing bingo...

2008-08-23T18:06:00.001-07:00

...if I were among Denver's homeless, that is. Actually, probably not, but, I'm sure that's what the DNC would rather I be doing.

I know. There she goes railing against the Democrats again. Has dissent become unpatriotic once you know who became the presumptive nominee? Or is it patriotic only when executed against the other party? Just wondering.

BTW, in case you didn't hear, we lost a great fighter this week. Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

Pelosi: Bush "a total failure"

2008-07-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Takes one to know one, as they say. If the Speaker hasn't heard, Congress' approval rating is at 9%.

Bush and Pelosi: Both are failures:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Thursday called the Presidency of George W. Bush 'a total failure.'
True. Bush will go down in history as one of the most corrupt and incompetent Presidents. His seven-and-a-half years in office have been a disaster. Everything he's touched - from his ill-conceived Iraq war to his administration's bungling of the economy to its shredding of the
Constitution - are textbook cases of disaster.
But history will not be kind to Ms. Pelosi either. As the first woman speaker of the House she has been an equal disaster, a mixture of bumbling inefficiency and corruption that failed to deliver on the promises that swept her and her equally-corrupt party into power in the 2006 mid-term elections. [more]

I don't totally agree with Doug Thompson's assessment that both parties are "equally-corrupt." Then again, maybe the Democrats are just better at hiding such indiscretions. I do agree that the Democratic party sold us a bill of goods on which they failed to deliver. Continueing our occupation in Iraq, their spineless attempts to counter this administration's "failed" policies, taking impeachment off the table, on which, by the way, Madame Speaker is NOW willing to hold a "hearing" - literally speaking, that is. Impeachment is still off the table, but the House Judiciary Committee is willing to hear Rep. Kucinich vent on how this president abused his power (just blog, Dennis). Bush is leaving office in 4 months. At this point, even I don't see the point in persueing this. Such a waste of time on something that should have been persued a long time ago. I guess a few PR points won't hurt.

The Puff of all Pieces

2008-07-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

'Time' Publishes Definitive Obama Puff Piece

It's from The Onion, the self-proclaimed America's Finest News Source (I think they're right).

Its funny and our MSM couldn't get any worse (one would think).

Obama voted against our civil liberties today. Are we disappointed yet?

2008-07-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

Does anyone still believe he would've had the political courage to vote against Bush's Iraq War Resolution had he been in the Senate at the time?

There's absolutely no defense for any member of Congress who took the oath to defend the Constitution and voted YEA today, even if one happens to be the Democrat running for President. Scoring political points at the expense of the Fourth Amendment - heckuva job, Senator!

BTW, Hillary voted NO. She said she wouldn't and she didn't.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON ON THE FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008
July 9, 2008

One of the great challenges before us as a nation is remaining steadfast in our fight against terrorism while preserving our commitment to the rule of law and individual liberty. As a senator from New York on September 11, I understand the importance of taking any and all necessary steps to protect our nation from those who would do us harm. I believe strongly that we must modernize our surveillance laws in order to provide intelligence professionals the tools needed to fight terrorism and make our country more secure. However, any surveillance program must contain safeguards to protect the rights of Americans against abuse, and to preserve clear lines of oversight and accountability over this administration. I applaud the efforts of my colleagues who negotiated this legislation, and I respect my colleagues who reached a different conclusion on today's vote. I do so because this is a difficult issue. Nonetheless, I could not vote for the legislation in its current form.

The legislation would overhaul the law that governs the administration's surveillance activities. Some of the legislation's provisions place guidelines and restrictions on the operational details of the surveillance activities, others increase judicial and legislative oversight of those activities, and still others relate to immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the administration's surveillance activities.

While this legislation does strengthen oversight of the administration's surveillance activities over previous drafts, in many respects, the oversight in the bill continues to come up short. For instance, while the bill nominally calls for increased oversight by the FISA Court, its ability to serve as a meaningful check on the President's power is debatable. The clearest example of this is the limited power given to the FISA Court to review the government's targeting and minimization procedures.

But the legislation has other significant shortcomings. The legislation also makes no meaningful change to the immunity provisions. There is little disagreement that the legislation effectively grants retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies. In my judgment, immunity under these circumstances has the practical effect of shutting down a critical avenue for holding the administration accountable for its conduct. It is precisely why I have supported efforts in the Senate to strip the bill of these provisions, both today and during previous debates on this subject. Unfortunately, these efforts have been unsuccessful.

What is more, even as we considered this legislation, the administration refused to allow the overwhelming majority of Senators to examine the warrantless wiretapping program. This made it exceedingly difficult for those Senators who are not on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees to assess the need for the operational details of the legislation, and whether greater protections are necessary. The same can be said for an assessment of the telecom immunity provisions. On an issue of such tremendous importance to our citizens - and in particular to New Yorkers - all Senators should have been entitled to receive briefings that would have enabled them to make an informed decision about the merits of this legislation. I cannot support this legislation when we know neither the nature of the surveillance activities authorized nor the role played by telecommunications companies granted immunity.

Congress must vigorously check and balance the president even in the face of dangerous enemies and at a time of war. That is what sets us apart. And that is what is vital to ensuring that any tool designed to protect us is used - and used within the law - for that purpose and that purpose alone. I believe my responsibility requires that I vote against this compromise, and I will continue to pursue reforms that will improve our ability to collect intelligence in our efforts to combat terror and to oversee that authority in Congress.

What could have been. Then again, the superdelegates could change their minds, though I highly doubt they would.

Patriotism

2008-07-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

I don't remember when I last posted this article (another July 4th, perhaps?) It's an excellent piece and well worth the reading or re-reading.

Patriotism asks that we embrace a unified America, yet no simple vision of America can accommodate its diversity. Few of us are able to call ourselves native; most of us trace our family lineages to nations great distances from these shores. With pasing generations we are "assimilated," yet our former cultures are never fully relinquished. The heritage we retain and the characteristics of the one we adopt intermingle; we are defining and becoming American.

The acceptance of a common historical view may be considered the cornerstone of nationalism, yet when I consider the most broadly accepted view of history I realize that my America is quite different. In my America Columbus was not a benevolent explorer who happened upon an earthly paradise that yielded itself bloodlessly to his will. In my America the native peoples of this continent were not hostile savages, unprovoked to violence against the benign European colonialists. In my America the tobacco exports of the newborn Virginia settlement addicted a world to a powerful drug to secure a market and survival. In my America the capture, tortune and enslavement of a race is unforgivable. In my America the blood and sweat of millions created an industrial power, and fortunes for relatively few.

In my America there is a hope that democracy is not forever destined to be corrupted by wealth influencing power. In my America women will no longer need to fight to possess themselves. In my America the basic rights of all its citizens must be respected, and this respect extends beyond borders. And in my America the burden of world power will be accepted more gracefully, with the people of the United States learning to recognize their brothers and sisters worldwide.

There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our first freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability to dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I disagree." We must feel at liberty to speak those words to our neighbors, our clergy, our educators, our news media, our lawmakers and, above all, to the one among us we elect President.

-Natalie Merchant, The Nation - July 15, 1991, 125th Anniversary Issue: Patriotism

Here's to a safe and sane one

2008-07-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Jinky will be indoors this evening like he has since the move, but I'm sure he'll appreciate being cooped up at home tonight.

Remember when John McCain said he wasn't an expert on the economy?

2008-07-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

John McCain doesn't.

Obama to expand Bush's faith-based programs

2008-07-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press: Obama to expand Bush's faith-based programs:

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans that would expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support their ability to hire and fire based on faith. [more]

Is he serious? If not, I don't think I'm too comfortable voting for a candidate who'll deceive voters to get elected. If he is, I don't think I'm too comfortable about voting for a candidate who intends to give my tax dollars to organizations that reserve the right to fire someone because they're gay, atheist, etc. - and with the blessing of this Constitutional scholar. Will he come out in support of pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions they morally object to next in order to get a vote? And I thought the violation of the Separation of Church and State was a Republican thing.

Tactically, this is probably the right thing to do given the Democratic Party's history of failing to connect with "values" voters. Hopefully, Obama doesn't end up angering his base to the point that they just can't vote for a centrist. Disillusionment can be brutal.

UPDATE: Obama clarifies:

"Now, make no mistake, as someone who used to teach constitutional law, I believe deeply in the separation of church and state, but I don't believe this partnership will endanger that idea – so long as we follow a few basic principles. First, if you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion. Second, federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on secular programs. And we'll also ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to those programs that actually work." [more]

I guess he won't be supporting the conscientious objectors at the drug store.