He will be missed by political friends and foes alike.

NY Times:

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port,” the statement said. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”

CNN:

Under a 2004 Massachusetts law, a special election must be held 145 to 160 days after a Senate seat becomes vacant. The winner of the election would serve the remainder of a senator’s unexpired term.

Kennedy asked Gov. Deval Patrick and state leaders to “amend the law through the normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial appointment until the special election occurs,” according to the letter, dated July 2.

Mr. Kennedy had been in precarious health since he suffered a seizure in May 2008 at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass. His doctors determined the cause had been a malignant glioma, a brain tumor that often carries a grim prognosis.

How long do you think you could last?

Indeed, these days America is looking like the Bernie Madoff of economies: for many years it was held in respect, even awe, but it turns out to have been a fraud all along.

It’s painful now to read a lecture that Mr. Summers gave in early 2000, as the economic crisis of the 1990s was winding down. Discussing the causes of that crisis, Mr. Summers pointed to things that the crisis countries lacked — and that, by implication, the United States had. These things included “well-capitalized and supervised banks” and reliable, transparent corporate accounting.

Jon Stewart made a big scene over CNBC’s lack of reporting on critical economic issues, a refusal to bring important questions that affect every day Americans to the forefront. Instead, he charged that our media acted irresponsibly for so many years and because of their failure to address the issues, our economy may collapse. There is no question that the media could be used for a medium to serve as a watch dog against corrupt individuals, ideas, and “fraudulent economies”.

That said, can’t media irresponsibility go the other way too? What if over-analysis as well as scathing reports on government officials and powerful individuals were the norm? What if harsh media language continues to describe our economy as a fraud. Capitalism is the source of America’s prosperity and to call it a fraud because of mistakes made along the way is counter-productive.

America isn’t a child that we have to “correct” by wagging our fingers at her. I’m a firm believer that the market will correct itself, regardless of our desire to save great American industries from imploding. Yes, it is important to find the sources of corruption that have shamed our country and yes, we should obliterate them. Instead of breaking down the idea of America that has been tainted and corrupted, how about we go after the terrorists that ran her into the ground for personal gain?

Finally, while I disagree with Paul Krugman’s definition of America as being an economic fraud, his article did name names and is attempting to raise awareness about lax regulation, wasteful spending, our international decline, and the banking crisis that has us running for the trenches. Is American capitalism on trial? Not for Americans, we’ll go down with this ship if we have to.

If we have the opportunity to right the ship, shouldn’t we at least try before resigning ourselves to failure?

Here’s a frightening story about black sites run by the CIA and sponsored by the U.S. government. There will always be a fine line between maximizing national security efforts and trampling on civil liberties and human rights. The question is, where do you draw the line?

From October 2003 until May 2005, I was illegally detained by the U.S. government and held in CIA-run “black sites” with no contact with the outside world. On May 5, 2005, without explanation, my American captors removed me from my cell and cuffed, hooded, and bundled me onto a plane that delivered me to Sana’a, Yemen. I was transferred into the custody of my own government, which held me — apparently at the behest of the United States — until March 27, 2006, when I was finally released, never once having faced any terrorism-related charges. Since my release, the U.S. government has never explained why I was detained and has blocked all attempts to find out more about my detention.

If you’d like to read more about this story, you can catch it here: “I was illegally detained by the U.S. government and held in CIA-run black sites”
We’ve heard plenty about these special prison camps outside U.S. borders, but what about those that exist within American borders?

The world has been turned on its head, even Wal-Mart is fighting for the little people right now!

The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), more than ever is closely monitoring costs and prices.

“We work with them to understand their costs,” Wal-Mart CFO Tom Schoewe said. “So as they’re going up, we’ll do the right thing and we can pass their prices on.”

At the same time “we can go back and say — oh look, those petroleum-based costs are now down 20 percent,” he said. “We need to act as the advocate or the purchasing agent for our customer, so what we need to do is say it’s only fair we took it up, and now it’s time to take it back down.”

I am sure somewhere in the corporate world there are advocates who are hoping to help consumers get back on their feet. On the other hand, this is a case of ‘who benefits’ from economic decline. The lower the costs for Wal-mart, the higher their profits will be! So it’s natural that Wal-mart would want more control over the pricing than they are afforded during recessionary environments.

China scolds U.S. on devaluing currency, political talking points:

We  have leaders of a communist China who publicly admit hate for American idiots that devalue currencies and damage the world-wide economy.  Additionally,  American politicians have used Chinese anger as talking points against any Obama / democratic agenda that is attached to stimulating the economy.   It isn’t wrong for politicians to consider the voices of leaders and nations around the world, but when a Republican tries to use China in support of conservative policies, you know times are getting desperate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I found it amusing to hear the Senator struggling to put that statement together.  He probably had such a hard time because of how ridiculous it sounded as he was reading it!

There have been numerous threats on Barack Obama’s life since he decided to run for President.  Today, a man was stopped outside the White House after a weapon was found in his vehicle.  He said he had a delivery for President Obama.

According to CNN:  Police arrested a man near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday after he drove up to one of the building’s barricades with a rifle in his vehicle and told officers that he had a delivery for President Obama, a Senate spokesman said.   The man was arrested and transported to Capitol Hill police headquarters for further processing. Charges against him are pending.  Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said the man did not specifically threaten Obama, but confirmed the man said he was making a delivery.

In times like these, it is of he utmost important to protect our President.  Not only are we facing dire circumstances at home due to economic turmoil, but we continue to wage a war in the middle east that is draining our resources.  If ever our nation was in danger of economic collapse, it is now.   With that in mind, let’s keep the crazy people away from the President and protect the sanctity of American democratic ideals as we endure these tough times as one nation.

To many Christians that I know, that can be a frightening prospect!   Then again, you reap what you sow.

Barack Obama snowballs cat in the face, what a bully!

Watch out Republicans, this guy shows no mercy!

Today, another shoe was launched at a world leader, this time it was the Premier of China who was passing through Cambridge .  The human rights protester was taken into custody for questioning.  According to CNN, the event continued without a hitch.

“Fortunately the incident did not spoil the event. The auditorium was full, with nearly 500 people present, of whom just one misbehaved,” a the spokesman said. “At no stage was there any serious threat to the Premier, or anyone else.”

Protester throws shoe at China’s premier

If this keeps up, it won’t be long before people will be required to remove their shoes prior to participating in public appearances by world leaders!

A decade ago, after what many scholars called a highly successful Clinton Presidency, Republicans were scrambling to destroy this “obvious fluke,” and destroy Clinton they did. Granted, Clinton is solely to blame for his Monica Lewinsky affair, but Republicans were able to exploit his infidelity to ensure the Clinton legacy would be questioned and desecrated much the same way Monica and her dress were in 1998.

Obviously, a lot has happened since Bill Clinton uttered the words, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”   In short, our economy has gone from a position of strength and prosperity to one in shambles and disarray with no end in sight.

Below is a brief and cynical overview of what happened since our economy last flourished under,  gasp, a Democrat:

1. Al Gore was defeated by the State of Florida, liberals called foul
2. The 2000 election was decided by the Supreme Court
3. President Bush Sworn In
4. NSA Strengthens Under Bush
5. ATT, Verizon, Major Corps Spy On American Citizens
6. 9-11
7. Patriot Act Signed Into Law 10/26/2001
8. An Illegal War in Iraq is waged
9. Saddam Hussein is Captured 12/13/2003
10. Bipartisan Resolution Supporting Iraq War’s Legitimacy
11. Experts Predict Economic Disasters As A Result Of American Foreign Policy
12. Real Estate Experts Ride “The Bubble”, Dismiss Warnings
13. 2004 Declaration of Mission Accomplished In Iraq
14. American Policies Inadvertently Spark Civil War
15. Iraqi Independence Becomes Primary Objective Of  “War On Terror”
16. John Kerry Becomes Poster Child For “un-American”
17. President Bush Re-Elected
18. Hurricane Katrina Strikes, FEMA Fails
19. Water-boarding Becomes An Academic Subject
20. Photos Of Tortured Foreigners By American Soldiers
21. 2006 Republicans Replaced By Anti-War Democratic Agenda
22. Democrats Fail To End War
23. Stock Market Begins To Plummet – 12/2007
24. Failing Housing Market Becomes A Major Concern
25. Economy Spirals Out of Control
26. Banks Fail Left And Right
27. Economic Stimulus #1 Rebate Checks
28. More Banks Fail
29. Experts: Deep Recession Or Depression?
30. Major Bank Mergers And Acquisitions
31. Millions Of Americans Lose Homes
32. Stock Market Continues To Plummet
33. Barack Obama Elected
34. Major Foreign And Domestic “Signing Orders” Overturned
35. Obama Castigates Wall Street For Greed / Corruption
36. Stocks Continue Free-fall

There were many more major historical markers that occurred, but the above is just an overlook of some of the events that helped propel President Bush into the “worst president in American history” category years before he left office.

The last decade brought us a lot of pain and heartache, not entirely the doing of the Republican party.  For example, September 11th was a traumatic event that will either haunt or bless American history forever.   While it can be argued that it was Republican policies during the Reagan years that inflamed hatred towards the West, there is far too much history to wade through to make any fair and accurate conclusions about the origin of foreign hatred towards the United States.  Additionally, the Katrina response by FEMA is a favorite cited failure of the left, but it is impossible to know how many lives would have been saved under a different administration.  There were many failures that can be attributed to Bush’s administration, but many could also be attributed to general right-wing policy decisions, inconsistency and failed transitions between liberal and conservative administrations, the events that occurred on 9-11, polarization of American politics and the media war that now exists as a result, gridlock and American voters shifting directions on American policy like the wind.

In the end, many factors played a role in the failures that occurred under the watch of the Bush Administration.  The major problem we must face now is more dangerous than any we’ve seen in recent history.  Our government has been converted into a tool for the powerful.  We have created a monster, a form of American socialism that is manipulated to meet the needs and interests of whatever power finds itself in charge.  Republicans often liken Liberals to Socialists or even Communists.  The idea of tax-payer sponsored health plans, government assistant programs and other liberal ideas are often branded as an American form of socialism, but now we’re seeing how Republican Socialism can obliterate the promise of the great American idea.

Republican Socialism

This isn’t the first time that Republican socialism has crept into and taken over our system of governance. Recall President Reagan and the cries of Americans over the divide between the rich and poor.  Few times in history did we hear more arguments concerning “Welfare for the rich”, than we did during the Reagan and Bush Sr. years.  Since then, Reagan’s image has been rehabilitated by the Heritage foundation and other conservative voices, but it is funny how quickly Americans forget the cries of the poor and middle class when Republicans wind up in power and control the direction of tax distributions.

That said, if we’re classifying liberal policy as welfare for the poor and undeserving, then it is easy to argue that Republican policy ends up favoring welfare for the rich and greedy.   As recently posted in the liberal newspaper, the New York Times, plans for American socialism are already in place and we’re dangerously close to executing them.

Paul Krugman asks the following question in his article, “Bailouts for Bunglers”

Question: what happens if you lose vast amounts of other people’s money?
Answer: you get a big gift from the federal government — but the president says some very harsh things about you before forking over the cash.

If you didn’t catch that reference, Obama castigated  Wall Street for what he believes is irresponsible and corrupt behavior by Wall Street execs.  Obama successfully discouraged wasteful spending on a $50 billion dollar jet and called other executives on Wall Street out for being greedy, corrupt, and irresponsible.

“they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don’t provide help, that the entire system could come down on top of our heads, that is the height of responsibility,” the president said. “It is shameful.”

“And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street, who are asking for help, to show some restraint, and show some disciple, and show some sense of responsibility,” he continued. “The American people understand that we’ve got a big hole that we’ve got to dig ourselves out of, but they don’t like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they’re bing asked to fill it up.”

Back to the Krugman article!

“…plans that are shaping up as a classic exercise in “lemon socialism”: taxpayers bear the cost if things go wrong, but stockholders and executives get the benefits if things go right.”

Now, if you’re as concerned about American government as I am, you already know that this form of socialism has been used and abused by President Bush during his time in power.  Not since 1928, during the great depression, have the rich been in a better relative position to America’s poor. The majority of America’s income has always come from the top 1%, but the gains and profits are much higher than anything we’ve ever seen. So now that we’ve adequately propagandized the “socialism” issue, how are we going to keep it in check?  Whether you are liberal, libertarian, a conservative, or “moderate”, there is no arguing against the arrival of big government.  Nothing in the works seems to suggest a diminishing of our federal government and everything on paper seems to suggest that capitalism is about to fail us due to the corrupted form of socialism that has crept into our government.

Wave Goodbye to Pure Capitalism And The Free Market

Free markets have become nothing more than an idea, not unlike the idea of change that Barack Obama promoted on his way to the oval office.

Can ideas of great men ever be realized or are we in for a world of evolving socialism that favors different income brackets depending on which major American party wins the war of propaganda during elections?  Republicans opened the door to socialism under President Bush.   We have a Democrat in the White House now, good luck stopping the Democratic agenda already in motion.  After all, Democrats obliterated Republicans in 2006 and 2008 and there is no indication that the trend will change in 2010.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bill Maher’s  “Religulous” words are intended to stir emotions, “Grow up, or die.”

Former British Secretary Robin Cook had this to say and found its way on a Pakistani News site:

“The truth is, there is no Islamic army or terrorist group called Al Qaida. And any informed intelligence officer knows this. But there is a propaganda campaign to make the public believe in the presence of an identified entity representing the ‘devil’ only in order to drive the TV watcher to accept a unified international leadership for a war against terrorism. The country behind this propaganda is the US. “Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

The American media must have missed this golden gem from former secretary Robin Cook. You have to wonder how this stuff doesn’t crop up in our news circles, you’d think it would help papers sell like hotcakes!

Richard Dawkins speech at Berkeley, promoting his book: “The Good Delusion”.

’tis the season

This isn’t an easy discussion to engage in, but it must be done.

The media is raging over greed, corruption and failures of capitalism. The biggest problem is that we have a bastardized form of capitalism. We reward business failure with tax payer dollars, there reward with no risk for the fat cats. Socialism for the rich, what a wonderful world… for the top 2% of Americans and major corporations.

CNBC: “US May Lose Its AAA Rating”

“In the United States there is already a funding crisis, and they will have to sell a lot more bonds next year to fund the bailout packages that have already been signed off,” Hennecke told CNBC.

Next, consider our sworn enemy, Osama Bin Laden. Americans know very well that Osama Bin Laden set out to bankrupt the United States. To every American, Osama Bin Laden is an enemy. He is not only responsible for destroying American commercial property and historical monuments, but he led the massacre of thousands of innocent civilians. Our failure to remain vigilant and capture this man has served to stretch American resources and truly test our military over seas.

Did Osama Bin Laden Succeed?

On many levels, Osama Bin Laden has served as a catalyst for an economic collapse in the United States. Since his emergence on the national stage, we’ve participated in an unjust war, borrowed trillions of dollars from China, Japan and Mexico, and our allies around the world have lost faith in American government.

What are Americans to do? Well, the fact is that America is resilient and will stand up. This difficult time is perfect to show the naysayers what the United States is all about. As we thrust ourselves back into the global economy and regain our strength, we can show by example why democratic societies work. So what happens next? How can America avoid the ultimate pitfall of bankruptcy?

In order to solve or stem the economic slowdown, Hennecke suggested the US would have to radically reduce spending across all sectors and recall all its troops from around the world.

Brave New Films recently set up a website that demands “Lieberman must go!”

Click here to view the embedded video.

I have to admit, as an anti-War advocate, I’ve never liked Lieberman much. If the left wants to paint him as a “traitor”, though, they may make it much more difficult on themselves as they try and 1) set a Democratic agenda, and 2) engage in bipartisanship to get stuff done under Barack Obama.

Does anyone really believes that (2) above can be achieved? Will hanging Lieberman solve anything?

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told CNN today that she would be honored to help President-elect Barack Obama in his new administration if asked, even if he did once hang around with an “unrepentant domestic terrorist.”

That is quite an about face for Sarah Palin. Does she really want to pal around with a President who ‘pal’d around with terrorists? Remember this statement from only a few months ago?

We see America as the greatest force for good in this world,” Palin said at a fund-raising event in Colorado, adding, “Our opponent though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country.” Video

Sarah Palin video: Obama Pals Around With Terrorists

Click here to view the embedded video.

This just goes to show how disingenuous people can be when they take an offensive and Rovian path to the top. Sarah Palin seems like a decent human being, I’m not so sure that she can get very far without improving her knowledge of global issues and finding a way to rely on substantive arguments rather than unsubstantiated attacks on her opponents.

The New York Times, for instance, has had a standing request to interview President Bush since well before I came on this beat in May 2006. So far, no interview — and the reason why is hardly a secret. White House officials are quite open about the fact that we have not gotten an interview because they don’t like our coverage.

Think Progress emphasized the fact that the Bush Administration simply doesn’t like the NY Times coverage. More favorable coverage might be a good start, but from what I understand it is the NY Times Opinion pieces (editorials) that are political in nature. The layout may lean towards the sensational, but what news paper doesn’t?

In fairness, all presidential administrations probably play favorites with the media and will always be more inclined to include sources that are reputable and “not out to get you”. Maybe I haven’t been paying attention, but it seems that this problem is getting worse. Is Fox News in line to get “censored”, as some right-wing pundits claim, or will it simply receive the same kind of treatment that the NY Times did for 9 years?

Recently, a family subscribed to the Church of Scientology, was slaughtered by their mentally ill daughter.

“She had a history of being diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006 at Bankstown Hospital, but follow-up from the mental health team was apparently declined by her parents because of their alleged Scientology beliefs,” Dr Cross said.

Maybe it is time for everyone to start embracing and respecting Science as a tool to help mankind along its path. To those people that deny science in favor of religious and personal beliefs, you do so at your own peril.

Is America really a Christian Nation?

“And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors.” –Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823

Should it be?

Many pundits are predicting that Sarah Palin’s ambition combined with a favorable rating among the GOP base will lead to her candidacy in 2012. It should come as no surprise that lefty bloggers are scratching their heads, wondering how a “dummy” like Sarah Palin can make it onto the national stage. Right-wing columnists are concerned over lacking respect and rampant “sexism” that has clearly driven the left’s distaste for Sarah Palin. I could write very lengthy pieces on so-called sexism and Palin’s IQ, but instead this article will focus on why this may not be the end of the road for Sarah Palin.

Is Sarah Palin the GOP’s only viable option for president in 2012?

Newsweek’s Karen Breslau tackled the subject of Palin’s chances of returning to the national stage as a presidential candidate. Breslau isn’t convinced that 2012 is the year of Palin given the other “stars” that are shining in the Republican party.

Despite Palin’s newfound national profile, she is anything but a sure shot to become the frontrunner for a wounded GOP in 2012. Other young, charismatic Republican governors are waiting in the wings: Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal and South Carolina’s Mark Sanford are already both well known in the conservative movement and are sure to give Palin tough competition. And former Arkansas governor and 2008 dark horse Mike Huckabee (though he’s now detoured from politics with his talk show on the FOX News Channel) is also a potential contender.

Now, getting away from the purely academic side of politics, Sarah Palin is in a position to run for President in 2012 because she’s the only Republican that can draw a crowd a this point. Granted, Mike Huckabee has a strong following among social conservatives and he’s charming, Christian and engaging. Unfortunately for Mike Huckabee and his fans, he can’t fill stadiums the way Obama and Palin can. What we’ve learned about Barack Obama is that his appeal is broad and the only way to have a fighting shot against him in 2012 is by choosing a candidate that can draw similar crowds and inspire excitement within the GOP base.

Major Headaches For Republicans

Republicans are facing internal squabbling and serious ideological conflicts between the religious right, fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and constitutionalists. I’m a bigger fan of the latter two factions, because at least them I can understand and relate to. On the other hand, a large portion of Americans feel enamored with fiscal and religious conservative thought (e.g. values voters) and that conflict will only serve to sink Republicans as they struggle to find a message that resonates with main stream America. This isn’t about ideas, per se. The struggle within the party is about power and who is best equipped to counter the force that is Barack Obama.

The biggest problem that plagues the Republican party is that the ideas taken as a whole cannot realistically co-exist without one major faction of the party dominating and drowning out the voice of the others. One thing is clear, Palin will benefit from ideological conflicts that exists. Despite embarrassing rumors and drama, Sarah Palin is the only card the GOP has to play in the short term. Before you throw your hands up in the air, remember that John McCain was the ‘ideal’ Republican candidate in the end. He was the maverick, the war hero, John McCain was a reasonable man who ultimately wanted “victory” in Iraq. His battle cry, “I’d rather lose an election than lose a war!”

What conservatives will soon realize is that Palin’s appeal with the base and the media’s fascination with her will make it impossible to pull her out of the limelight. For Bobby Jindal and other rising stars in the Republican party, they’ll simply have to wait until Palin abdicates the throne she seized this election cycle. It will not be pretty for Republicans any time soon. It’s hard to imagine 2012 or even 2016 will be any better after the underwhelming and shameful performance by the GOP under the leadership of President Bush and his highly partisan administration.

Preachers in black and white churches today asked God to give President-elect Obama the wisdom to lead. There was recognition of hard times ahead, but also much celebrating. “God has vindicated the black folk,” Pastor Shirley Caesar-Williams said in North Carolina. “Too long we’ve been at the bottom of the totem pole, but he has vindicated us, hallelujah.”

There is no doubt that Obama’s presidency is a great source of pride for African Americans and all Americans for that matter. That said, should the media publicize such religious statements that are so easily taken out of context and manipulated for political means? Is the media doing America a service by engaging in an “open dialog” or is it feeding the propagandists that like to pit one religious sect or race against another?

In all of the excitement, a leading liberal movement took a step backward.

The fight for equality for all Americans suffered defeat. Leading up to our historic election, it is true that there was a strong anti-gay agenda promoted by Christian and Mormon groups. Further, this agenda was supported by another large group of people (African Americans) that have struggled with civil rights in the U.S.

Some observers call it ironic, other more harsh critics might call it hypocritical, and others might understand how religion and race sometimes class and blind people on issues of Justice, fairness, and reality. No matter what side of the issue you stand on, we all realize that gay Americans are human and have the right to be infuriated by Proposition 8 in California and other similar measures across the country.

This morning, I stumbled upon an article that raised a very interesting question. Should gay people pay taxes if they aren’t able to enjoy the rights that all American citizens enjoy? I’ve always argued that this is an issue that the State and federal government should stay away from. Marriage is a very private matter, if a religion or church opens its doors to gay people, what business does the State have intervening in that affair?

When marriage is defined and in the realm of government business, it is used for the purpose of determining taxes, family relief and other initiatives. To deny gays the rights afforded to other Americans is akin to defining gays as a special (2nd class) citizen that is undeserving of rights afforded all people under our Constitution. The problem for policy makers is that religion has become entangled with our government in such a way that blurs our ability to be objective and fair. Justice requires both!

Melissa Etheridge made a sort of rambling comment on this matter, but it is a good one:

“So Prop. 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second-class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate?… Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen,” Etheridge blogged on The Daily Beast. “I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.”

I know it is difficult, if not impossible, to really persuade anyone on this matter. Chances are you’ve made up your mind if you care enough to read an article of this nature. The question remains, should gays pay State (or federal) taxes if the government denies them a right that one could argue is similar to “life and liberty”.

The bad blood became obvious when a McCain Aide referred to the Palin Family as, drum-roll please..

Wasilla Hillbillies

The angry aide described the Palin family shopping spree to Newsweek as “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.”

Wow, I don’t know what to say. The McCain camp did an outstanding job of keeping the lid on all of the drama. In hindsight, I think John McCain did an outstanding job given the cards he was dealt. Had any of the news been broken by reporters prior to the election, the results would have been much worse.

History
Rahm Emmanuel is a former top aide to the Clinton administration. He served as a Wall Street investment banker after he served under President Clinton and in 2002 he was elected a congressional representative in Illinois. (Chicago)

Criticism
GOP officials are calling this “ironic”, suggesting that they see Emmanuel as a polarizing figure in American politics and this fact makes it much more difficult to unite our country. Rahm’s “killer instinct” may be enough to strong-arm a weak Republican Party on issues that are highly divisive or legislation that is close and requires tough negotiations.

To be fair, few candidates outside of the Republican party would be considered a “bi-partisan” selection, so for now we can take the criticism with a grain of salt. I won’t call this a case of sour grapes just yet, but after a bitter second term under President Bush, Republicans aren’t looking to make nice with Democrats anytime soon.

The President’s Chief of Staff is an important job and if President-elect Obama has a vision and believes Emmanuel is the best candidate to help him carry out that vision, then there is little that anyone can do. In fact, all of this noise only serves to remind us of how partisan politics can never truly be done away with. There will always be partisan loyalists that have an agenda and nothing that Obama does will ever be good enough.

Regardless, it’s too early to start whining. The Republican Party really needs to engage in some analysis of what went wrong and how they played a role in the Bush Administration’s political failures. Until that occurs, the GOP can’t really be trusted when it attempts to paint the opposition as partisan, divisive and hypocritical. Here’s an interesting article from Esquire Online, “Rahm Emmanuel, meet Obama’s new chief of staff.“

Pro-Gay / equality advocates see this as a grave injustice, while their adversaries believe this movement was necessary to protect the sanctity of marriage (a union between a man and a woman).

Among the most surprising defeats for pro-Gay / equality advocates happened in California with the passage of proposition 8. If you scan through the list of ballot measures, you’ll see that the GOP and particularly the religious right-wing of the party enjoyed victories across the board despite Democrats seizing the White House and a stronger majority in both the House and Senate.

“And it also strengthens my faith because I know at the end of the day putting this in God’s hands, the right thing for America will be done, at the end of the day on Nov. 4.”

Hey, if you want to look at it that way, you are entitled.

Congratulations Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership, God is clearly on your side. Hopefully Obama can resist the urge to eat babies while he serves as our next President. I’m pretty sure God would frown upon that!

Throughout President Bush’s administration, he’s been called all sorts of nasty things by partisans, loyalists, foreigners and average Joe’s who know little about politics but know enough to understand Bush’s failures as a president.   The ride  has been so turbulent that even scholars are comfortable discussing his place among the worst president of all time.

Now, some may feel compelled to defend our President, but is there really a point anymore?

Partisans are especially distraught over what they witnessed last night and have little understanding of what the heck just happened to them on election day.   Here’s an example opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal that I believe illustrates just how out of touch and blind some partisans have been under the Bush Administration’s leadership.

“The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace”

The admonition

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

“Facts” and self-pity

According to recent Gallup polls, the president’s average approval rating is below 30% — down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr.  Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans.

Finally, the Denial

During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, “Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust.”

The key to a lot of the division, anger and rebuking of this presidential administration’s efforts lies within the above statement. (bold)

Trust and Loyalty

If you truly believe that the president did everything in his power to reach out to ‘the other side’, then perhaps you are best equipped to sell this tragic tale of defeat, but I assure you that few will be looking to buy the horse manure you are peddling.

That President Bush worked hard to earn the trust of Americans during tough economic times is laughable, so let’s not go there.   Even if we can forget about the economy for a second and consider other issues, many Americans would call our venture into Iraq when Osama Bin laden was still at large (in Afghanistan) – a huge mistake.   Our world image is tainted and our standing in the world diminished by the shenanigans of this administration.   Bush supporters like to think they are national security and “foreign policy voters”, yet the fact is that this administration did so much harm to our foreign policy and international standing that it the argument just doesn’t hold water.

Furthermore, I could rattle off a list of areas where the administration has broken that trust — starting with the justice department, mishandling of Katrina, blowing the federal surplus to give fat cats a down payment on an extra  yacht, and that’s just the beginning.

This opinion seems to go on and it is evident that this is a Rush Limbaugh soldier who feels burned by the nation for electing a socialist and turning our backs on our protectors.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies.

That last statement was his most poignant, but let me offer an alternative perspective on this matter.

It may be difficult if not impossible for one of the 10% of remaining Bush supporters to comprehend, but as a voter I have a loyalty and love for my country that cannot be compromised by any man or set of so-called “American values.”

I personally have a very complicated ideological background, but I’d never stand by a President who is a greater threat to my liberty, security and freedom than the very terrorists he seeks to protect me from.   Don’t get me wrong, I love my property and life is very precious, but I’d rather be killed by a suicidal bomber than live my life in a country that forsakes privacy and liberty while promoting fear-driven domestic policies.

What gets lost in the partisan hackery that drives our system of governance is that anger and hate are a reflection of his failures as a “Uniter.”  It’s one thing to say you are interested in bringing people together and earning the trust of all American citizens, it is quite another to actually get the job done.  When all is said and done, the national and worldwide disgust with our President Bush reflects something even more symbolic in our nation’s history.  That is, the GOP brand that thrived on division, hate, resentment and ultimately caused angst and frustration world-wide, has failed.  If President Bush isn’t entirely to blame for many of his mistakes, he is at least partially responsible for the rise of neo-conservatism and religious zealots that have invaded the GOP.

For that reason alone, Democrats and Republicans have good reason to keep their distance from what is now the epitome of failure in American politics.

“Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job”

WASHINGTON—African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America. In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation’s broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it. Said scholar and activist Mark L. Denton, “It just goes to show you that, in this country, a black man still can’t catch a break.”

We’re all proud that history was made in our country, but it’s a damned shame that the guy serving before him was such a political failure.   Good luck cleaning up Bush’s mess, Obama, you’re going to need it.

Below is the musical composition that helped introduce Senator Obama to the world in a very novel, hopeful and heartfelt way.

Yes we can

If you had asked me a year ago whether a black man would be elected president in my life time, I would have said absolutely not. Impossible in a nation so divided by racial tension! Does anyone remember the “he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell” comment from Rush Limbaugh?

Well, I don’t want to ruin the moment with a long, thought provoking piece, so I’ll leave you with this word in honor of Barack Obama’s victory.

Hope has endured,
change has arrived,
the only question left is,
“Where do we go from here?’

We’re living history, enjoy the moment and may the next four years be better than the last eight. For the record, CNN has projected Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

With Pennsylvania remaining blue in 2008, a state that McCain desperately sought to turn red, this election is all but over.

Expect a concession speech from John McCain within the next couple of hours.

Pennsylvania
The McCain camp has been saying all along that in order for it to have a chance to win this election, it must take Pennsylvania. Well, the bad news for John McCain is in, Barack Obama has taken Pennsylvania. It is unbelievable, given what we’ve seen in the last two elections, but this fight may be over very early tonight. Congratulations to Obama on the big Pennsylvania victory.

New Hampshire
New Hampshire also selected Barack Obama, a state that tends towards independent thinking and many thought would favor the “maverick”.

Again, kudos to the Obama campaign and although I was pretty certain that Obama would take the night, the fact that it is over and done with this early is a tribute to a powerful Obama campaign.

South Carolina called for John McCain at 1%

Despite the fact that CNN called South Carolina early based on exit polls, they claim they know the outcome of Pennsylvania but will not report on it like their competitors! I guess in a matter of minutes, they decided they should stick to core journalistic principles rather than project a state so that people will keep watching.

Regardless of the reasons, I am just disgusted by this sort of behavior and I know CNN isn’t the only media outlet doing this.. it just happens to be the one I noticed at the time. I wonder if there is any way around it? This seems to happen every election year and we continue to engage in the same unfortunate and I’d even call ’shady’ practices.

“Without a doubt, Obama is more intelligent, cultured and level-headed than his Republican adversary,” Mr Castro wrote in state-controlled newspapers. “McCain is old, bellicose, uncultured, of little intelligence and not healthy.”

With that said, Castro refused to endorse a presidential candidate because he didn’t want his endorsement to be abused for political reasons.   The timing is perfect, though, since 527s don’t have time to wrap Castro’s positive words for Obama into a smear on the terrorist sympathizer we all know and love!

Today marks the end of one of the most dishonest, relentlessly one-sided campaigns of bias and distortion by the mainstream media in American history.

The latest tactic in this elite media campaign has been to declare the presidential race over in an effort to discourage some voters from going to the polls. After all, if Barack Obama has already won, why should supporters of John McCain even bother to vote?

But this election won’t be decided by Keith Olbermann, or CNN, or the New York Times.

It will be decided by you.

So annoy the mainstream media. Remember 2000. Remember how close it was. Remember how every single vote counted.

It’s a bit more classy than my “Get out and vote” message, but it seems like an attempt to start pointing fingers before Republicans have received their proper beating at the polls.

Lately, there has been an onslaught of nasty voter suppression tactics via voter purging and misinformation.  People affected will never get the chance that so many Americans take for granted.

Just in case you’re one of the few who received misinformation, Today, November 4, is the only day you can vote! There aren’t special elections held on November 5th for Democrats.  I feel dumb saying it, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows it, the deception is unreal.

GO VOTE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT!

I don’t care what your ideology is, just get up off your chair and vote!

Lately, pundits have discussed the possibility of a sixty seat majority for Democrats.  Below are some of the facts and findings from the mainstream media.

Of the 35 Senate seats on the line this year, 23 are held by Republicans. Five Republican senators are retiring: Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Wayne Allard of Colorado, John Warner of Virginia, Larry Craig of Idaho and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

If Democrats are looking for 60 seats to derail the filibuster attempts that have made Republicans famous under Bush, Democrats will need to pick up 9 seats to add to their 51 seat majority.  To be safe, Democrats will need to pick up at least 10 seats because Joe Lieberman may as well be Republican at this point and it is difficult to have faith in a man who is pro-war and adept at regurgitating right-wing talking points of late.

In the article referenced above, Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, suggests that Democrats have a good shot at reaching the 60-seat majority.

“The fundamentals of this election year could not be more Democratic,” Sabato said. “You’ve got a terrible economy, a deeply unpopular president and an unpopular war. You put those elements together and it’s going to produce a Democratic victory. … The only question is, what size?”

Why are Democrats in a position to landslide the 2008 election?

Flashback to the 1990s – President Bill Clinton’s slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid!”

Since the declaration of a “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq that went terribly wrong, I’ve written many articles on how 2006 and 2008 would serve as a referendum on the Iraq War.  I won’t subject you to old material, but in summary, I was right about 2006 and partially wrong about 2008.  Who would have imagined that 2008 would provide the final nail in the coffin for Republicans on an issue other than war, and certainly not the economy?!

Some analysts, (especially right-leaning ones)  however, have strongly resisted the argument that 2008 would be a continued referendum on the War. I’ve argued that 2008 would be far worse than 2006, but not everyone agreed.  Many pundits and bloggers have pointed out Democratic failures since they swooped into office in 2006.  Democrats have been impotent in their roles as anti-war advocates and Congress now enjoys a historically low approval rating as a result.

It’s true that the issue that riles me up most, the war, has become less of an issue for Americans as a whole.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that Iraq policy no longer favors the anti-war position.  But for the economic meltdown, I am confident that the Iraq War would be the focus of the 2008 election and Democrats would be similarly riding that wave into the White House.

As for Democratic impotence, I’d like to point out the obvious that seems to escape many talking heads.

1. Democrats lacked the votes to push an agenda in Congress and instead of shooting themselves in the foot, they decided to play politics and hold the fort until 2008.
2. The looming veto threats from the White House were enough to derail any efforts at changing the landscape in Washington.

If Americans are cognizant of the above facts, that could easily explain why Republicans are in the unenviable position that they’re in.

The end of a Republican era?

Sure,  the data and polls seem to indicate that Republicans are on the way out, but it isn’t permanent by any means.   I predict that Republicans are going to play an important role in molding a new American era.  That said, It is very difficult to predict the role that politics and current events will play throughout a fresh and ambitious Democratic administration.

Can Democrats learn anything from the Republican collapse?

In 2006, Democrats ousted Republicans convincingly over what I believe is a poor international policy record.  Recall that it took a severe thrashing at the polls for Republicans to find a modicum of humility in their politics.  Perhaps Democrats could learn from Republicans and remain humble, listen to the opposition and resist the urge to humiliate the opposition because what goes around comes around.

Reshaping the political atmosphere should be a top priority.  It would be great to see more elections and financial regulations put in place so that our Presidency doesn’t feel like it is being purchased by corporations and lobbyists.  Also, the 527 groups really need to be destroyed.  They are easily the single largest source of misinformation and slander that helps  tilt elections for all the wrong reasons.

In the end, few could have predicted just how nasty the economic situation would become!  Ron Paul and his revolutionaries would disagree, but really, few saw it coming.  Now that their time has come, Democrats need to get it right if they are given the sixty seat majority they’ve so desperately sought.

Traditionally, the town has voted Republican, but this year they’ve bucked that trend in what I believe will be a theme throughout the rest of the day.  What makes the town special is not necessarily its historical value in predicting elections, but the fact that it is the first American town to lock in its votes due to the tiny population that yields only 21 registered voters.

According to CNN, Barack Obama picked up 15 votes which is pretty interesting considering that five voters were registered as Democrats, four Republicans and the rest remain undeclared.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama emerged victorious in the first election returns of the 2008 presidential race, winning 15 of 21 votes cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

Once again, this has no real significant value other than being the “first” county to register and count all votes on election day, but if anything can be drawn into the overall narrative of this historical election, it is that even in small town America, Republicans may lose in a very big way.

Forget about Joe the Plumber for a minute, that dog and pony show will continue well beyond election day.  I’d like to just share a personal story that reminded me why my political articles have been slowly decreasing in number over time.  The fact is that most of the garbage published on the Internet is just not newsworthy and almost entirely manufactured by one spin machine or another.  Let’s face it, blogs, closely followed by the media are nothing more than entertainment.

Two nights ago, a good friend of mine from law school was going on about how bad things have gotten on the political trail.  He’s very conservative and was ranting about two incidents that made him more irritated than usual with the liberal movement and Barack Obama.   I wondered how he could possibly dislike liberals any more than he did, so I took the bait.

First, he mentioned Michelle Obama and how her wine and dine escapades at the Waldorf were very telling of the kind of character she brought to the table, and to think, we might have her sitting in the White House!  The only thought that came to my mind was “why would anyone be so hellbent on smearing Michelle Obama?”  If I hadn’t already read about the story, I would have been busy googling  the nonsense charge or simply turn on Fox News to hear the latest political buzz headling conservative blogs.

Since I didn’t want to argue with my friend about politics, I explained that he should stop while he was ahead because the story was false.  The propaganda was spread by the NY Post and Fox News among others and the rumors about Michelle Obama were proven untrue.  Of course, by then, the damage was done so on the political front — Mission Accomplished.

The source of the media bomb was none other than the NY Post, a news source I wouldn’t turn to unless I needed my fill of tabloid trash. Even then, the NY Post put out a statement well after they created the media frenzy with this “breaking news.”

THE source who told us last week about Michelle Obama getting lobster and caviar delivered to her room at the Waldorf-Astoria must have been under the influence of a mind-altering drug. She was not even staying at the Waldorf. We regret the mistake, and our former source is going to regret it, too. Bread and water would be too good for such disinformation.

Next, my buddy said, “Well I don’t know, that’s just what I heard.”  Before I could tell him it was no big deal, he started with another REAL story that he read about.  It had to do with liberals who abused and attacked some woman for being a McCain supporter.  I let it slide, woke up this morning and found the following headline on CNN:

Woman Faked Political Assault Charge

McCain backer made up attack, cops say

Here’s an exceprt, but just to make clear, this wasn’t just some woman telling stories.  The fact that CNN is using language like “made up” instead of LIED, really disturbs me.  At some point, the media should stop trying so hard not to irritate politicos and simply state the truth.  I know in politics it is difficult to be objective and even more so to objectively report the news, however, this woman lied and filed a false police report in some misguided attempt to smear liberals, rile up conservatives and help get John McCain into office.

It’s pathetic, it’s disturbing and this is a trend that I’d blame entirely on party and campaign leaders who insist on dodging difficult issues while focusing on negative attacks.

Pittsburgh police said a 20-year-old woman who originally said she was robbed and assaulted at knifepoint in Bloomfield because of her political views made the story up.

Ashley Todd — who has a backward letter “B” scratched into her right cheek — confessed to faking the story and will be charged with filing a false report, Assistant Police Chief Maurita Bryant said at a news conference Friday.Todd, of College Station, Texas, admitted there was no robbery or attacker and said she had prior mental health problems, according to Bryant.

In my view, the Republican Party will eventually recover from the Bush years.  However, if the GOP hopes to make a recovery sooner rather than later, it’s going to require strong leadership and letting go of the petty partisan propaganda that has divided and poisoned this country’s citizens against one another.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Just days after the 6th court of appeals sided with the GOP on the matter, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court sided Friday with Ohio’s top elections official in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registrations.

The justices overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio’s top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, faced a deadline of Friday to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly registered voters whose driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers on voter registration forms don’t match records in other government databases.

Ohio Republicans contended the information for counties would help prevent fraud. Brunner said the GOP is trying to disenfranchise voters.

In a brief unsigned opinion, the justices said they were not commenting on whether Ohio is complying with a provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 that lays out requirements for verifying voter eligibility.

Instead, they said they were granting Brunner’s request because it appears that the law does not allow private entities, like the Ohio GOP, to file suit to enforce the provision of the law at issue.

“They didn’t deal with the merits of the case,” said Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett. “What they dealt with was a technicality on whether we had standing or not to bring the action.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Senator McCain started the evening strong and went on the attack early, but by the end of the debate he trailed off and Obama did what he does best.  Obama’s strong closing and knowledge of issues that matter to independents might be the difference maker come November.

A CNN Poll taken just after the debate indicated that Obama’s message resonated more with Americans who watched the debate.

Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll said Democratic candidate Obama did the best job in the debate, with 31 percent saying Republican Sen. John McCain performed best.

The poll also suggests that debate watchers’ favorable opinion of Obama rose slightly during the debate, from 63 percent at the start to 66 percent at the end. The poll indicates that McCain’s favorables dropped slightly, from 51 percent to 49 percent.

The economy was the dominant issue of the debate, and 59 percent of debate watchers polled said Obama would do a better job handling the economy, 24 points ahead of McCain.

To McCain’s credit, he did make a powerful statement that should have been made months ago:

“Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush,” McCain said to Obama after the Democratic nominee again linked McCain to Bush on the issue of the economy. “If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I’m going to give a new direction to this economy in this country.”

Stolen Obama Sign

I thought this sign was clever, related journal entry can be found here: “Pathetic McCain Pranks“

John McCain is on the wrong side of the war issue if you ask 75% of Americans.  Due to the economic crisis, another issue that has him scrambling, John McCain hasn’t had to speak much about the Iraq War and his history with it.  In fact, the only John McCain references to Iraq come when he brags about “the success of the surge” without going into the nitty gritty of what is really happening in the big picture.

Below is a video about this subject, at first I thought “wow, the propaganda is going to be off the charts” – but even as a contrarian, I can’t think of many arguments I could make in John McCain’s defense.   Check it out for yourself, the last thing we need is another ambitious politician who desires strongly to be a war president.

Assuming there is more to “cyber security” than protecting us from Al Qaeda, and there is, a recent report suggests that Homeland Security is failing to take up the cause of security. In 2002, Bush signed myriad laws that would increase funding and refocus our efforts on cyber terrorism.  It looks like the job was a bit too large for the Department of Homeland Security to handle, however.

“While DHS has improved, oversight for cybersecurity must move elsewhere,” James Lewis, a director and senior fellow at the hawkish Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Tuesday. “The conclusion we reached is only the White House has the authority and oversight for cybersecurity. This is now a serious national security problem and should be treated as such.”

Putting blame aside, if true, we have some serious vulnerabilities at home and as technology becomes more sophisticated, so will internet threats.

Should we trust a national criminal task force to handle such a broad spectrum of terrorism?  I wonder if our government can even be remotely effective in combatting major criminal threats?  Finally, How can we assure Americans that privacy rights will be respected and their information won’t be vulnerable to U.S. security firms?  I’m still pretty fired up about the patriot act, FISA, and our government scoffing about privacy and our constitutional rights.  The fact that our Homeland Security appears to be faltering is infuriating, considering what we’ve given up for this so-called protection.

Reuters:

The war on terror declared by U.S. President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks has caused more terrorism than it prevented, Syria’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

Before you continue, you have to consider the source.  I do think the argument is legitimate, but it seems like bad timing to release this statement on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks on our nation’s soil.

On the seventh anniversary of the attacks on the United States, Walid al-Moualem said Washington had ignored Syria’s advice not to rely on force to stop terrorism.

“As we said to President Bush shortly after the tragic events on September 11, the fight against terrorism must begin at the roots, at the cause of terrorism,” al-Moualem told a news conference in Rome, where he was meeting Italy’s foreign minister.

As if the “I told you so” wasn’t enough,…

“The last thing we should use if that fails is the use of force, as a last resort. Unfortunately they have made the use of force the beginning and the end of the fight against terrorism and thus terrorism is much more widespread today than before.”

Syria is viewed with suspicion and hostility by Washington for its closeness to Iran and its support of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States.

“Hezbollah and (Palestinian group) Hamas are not terrorists, they are national resistance movements against occupation,” al-Moualem said. “Whilst there is occupation there will be national resistance movements.”

I guess it’s all about perspective, but what in the world would possess Syria to chime in on the 9/11 terrorist attacks.. on September 11th, no less.

U.S. policy makers have been uncharacteristically quiet about war and the state of Iraq of late.  Even more suspicious is our media’s silence on the matter as they’ve ignored world events that aren’t directly referenced by the Bush Administration or one of the presidential candidates.

From our incompetent government’s perspective, it must be a relief not to have to answer for all of the mistakes that have been made over the years.   Our Congress doesn’t seem interested in making officials accountable for their actions.  This suggests to me that our political leadership is struggling with a dirty hands problem on both sides of the isle.  In place of accountability and media coverage, we’ve been blessed with the word of our most famous general.

Americans have been conditioned to ‘wait’ until General Petraeus makes a statement that pundits can pick apart or praise. The next big statement will likely come just prior to the November election and I can assure you that it will be highly scrutinized by new and old media alike.

The question we all should be asking, “Is it enough?” Are we covering Iraq to the extent that it should be covered and if not, why?

Is War Coverage Lacking Due To Business Decisions?

You probably noticed the minimal coverage allotted to the Iraq War over the last year.  Not since the short-lived and highly explosive “surge” was announced, have we really heard anything about the war.  Sure, there is an occasional article about how billions of dollars have been mishandled here and there, but that sort of news doesn’t go very far during an election season.

From an academic and business perspective, you have to wonder if there are logical reasons for the ’silence’ on issues related to Iraq.  Has the war become so politicized that it is impossible to discuss the subject without alienating a large amount of readers in the process?  Is this about money? This theory might be plausible, but surely journalists could write about Iraq objectively without injecting opinion that could lose subscribers!

The fact is, many media outlets deliberately target niche audiences, so I highly doubt it’s about offending readers.  Fox News, the Walll Street Journal, The Nation, National Review, The Spectator, NY Times Op-ed, and maybe MSNBC are all highly read and viewed media that have no issues discussing sensitive and highly political issues.   Meanwhile, few corporations attempt to provide objective news, but those that do (CNN / BBC) also cater to idiots whom enjoy reading trash news about Britney Spears teen sister’s pregnancy and other pointless news that is more appropriate for tabloids.

So if the lack of media coverage with respect to Iraq is not motivated by business, profit, or objectivity, what the heck is going on?

Consider that our news is spread almost entirely by large media conglomerates.  These companies are in the business of making money and for the most part will do whatever it takes to sell papers.  War sells news papers and war wins elections. It’s September 9th, does anyone care to wager against a war or terrorist scenario between now and November?

War, Terrorism, and the 2008 U.S. Elections

My guess is that something big is in the works and what ever it is, it’ll be delivered  in such a way that could turn the tide of the 2008 election.  Is there a conspiracy within our government to manipulate public opinion? Vladimir Putin, the latest villain in this part of the world, has suggested that he believes the conflict between Russia and Georgia has been manufactured to turn the tide of the U.S. election.

If the charge had come from a more credible and highly influential source, I still wonder if the media would have given the statement a fair shake?  The charge is quite electric and the implication is that our leaders are engaged in a treasonous plot to undermine our Republic.

If you have even the slightest distrust of government, Putin’s words might matter to you.  Like me,  you’re wondering where the latest viral Bin Laden video is and curious about how the conflict in Georgia is going to play out in the media.  Don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt that a serious conflict exists, but I wonder to what extent American interests are involved?

Would the United States even be in a position to “help” a democratic Georgia considering our military is currently busy ’stabilizing’ the middle east.   I’ve received numerous e-mails from journalists over the years and I can’t help but wonder what they would have to say about the war, the silence and how our media might be abused to advance political interests in 2008?

After begging Barack Obama shamelessly for months, Obama finally appears on his show.

I wonder if Obama regrets showing up and somewhat legitimizing this terrible excuse for a journalist.

There is a lot of tension building over Sarah Palin’s daughter and whether her personal problems are a debatable topic this political season. GOP insistence on privacy and respect for the Palin family is an about face from their position several months ago with respect to the Obama family.

Obama’s wife was nailed by criticism regarding her attitude and anti-American sentiments that she seemed to express in the past. By anti-American sentiment, I’m referring to her sadness over what has happened to our government and political process. She expressed her concern for country and may have expressed feelings of shame in what America has become under George W. Bush. In my view, what good American wouldn’t question government when the world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket?

That said, the comments over the Sarah Palin selection and her daughter’s pregnancy have nothing to do with patriotism. It isn’t a bogus issue as some Republicans have called it. Think about what the party has stood for over the years!

FAMILY VALUES
The GOP’s entire platform revolves around family values and just about every attack made on Democrats is also based on morals and values. When family values is at the heart of your platform and campaign, then issues like teenage pregnancy and failure to promote abstinence and safe sex becomes a topic that is “fair game”.

If Chelsea Clinton had to deal with pregnancy during Bill Clinton’s campaign or presidency, would she have been left alone? I guarantee you that Rush Limbaugh would be all over the story and that alone is enough to get the media talking about it. If Obama’s daughter were pregnant, how would the GOP have reacted to the story? The narrative would be entirely about family values, liberalism and how Democrats lack the capacity to manage their families, much less the United States government.

To be fair, I agree with Barack Obama that Palin’s family problems are not relevant to American politics. Joe Biden echoed those sentiments this morning in a town hall meeting. He essentially said, “Children are off limits.” It’s great to see the campaign take the moral high ground, but at the same time it doesn’t take the issue of teenage pregnancy and abstinence off the table. Nor should the need for privacy be a free pass for Sarah Palin to ignore American concerns about moral issues they care about. Seriously, why can’t this debate happen without Palin’s daughter being perceived as a victim of personal attacks?

Finally, I’m concerned about how John McCain and his campaign are handling the matter. It seems that any time the McCain camp has to answer difficult questions, they throw a smoke screen and vanish before a thoughtful response is shared with the public. John McCain’s first failed marriage was countered with references to his PoW status and the psychological effects that must have temporarily disabled John McCain and shattered his judgment. Now that Sarah Palin’s qualifications and candidacy have been put into question, 1) the campaign contends that women are being demeaned because no man would ever be the center of family-based questions and 2) family issues are a private matter.

This didn’t seem to be the case when Bill Clinton’s family was suffering from a private matter, but so be it. At some point, the campaign has to address the issues without resorting to playing the victim or pretending to be enraged over “offensive and demeaning” questions.

John McCain is already making Barack Obama’s point for him, that he lacks judgment to recognize the big picture and make critical decisions of our time. From a political standpoint, the Sarah Palin selection is good and bad, but carries baggage that I’m not sure his campaign recognizes.

John McCain’s Secret Weapon

Let’s start off with this from a strategic standpoint.

After the Democratic National Convention and Barack Obama’s fascinating speech last night, every Democrat had to wonder what John McCain could possibly do to upstage Obama.  As a political blogger, I spent the night thinking about a post I was considering writing, regarding the timing of John McCain’s selection.  Obama hit one out of the park last night and only a Sarah Palin selection could slow that momentum.   In my view, a Mitt Romney or Pawlenty selection would have been the “safer choice” and I still think still the superior choice over the long haul.

The biggest problem has to do with the “experience versus change” narrative.  John McCain spent the entire Republican primary and last couple of months explaining to the American people that he is a strong experienced leader.  John McCain argues that America is facing the greatest issue of our time, the global war on terror.  How does she fit into this narrative?

“People don’t vote for Vice Presidents”

The Sarah Palin selection makes it difficult to put National Security at the center of American politics.  Given the stress of the position and the fact that John McCain is 72 years old, John McCain’s vice presidential selection becomes critical.

John McCain wants the narrative to change, this much is obvious.  Many analysts believe the 2006 election was a referendum on the war, myself included.  I predict that 2008 will be the year that Republicans are run out of Washington because of the mishandling of the Iraq War, the failure of our economy and our lowered standing in the world.  If this prediction is being borne out and McCain recognizes it, then John McCain must change the ball game in a significant way and that is exactly what he has done.

Consider how strongly America reacted to the Democratic party as it followed “history in the making”.  Democrats had to ultimately decide whether they’d select the first African American or female as their nominee and potentially place them in the White House.   John McCain has put that question back on the table.  We can either have the first black president or the first female vice president.  Remember, she is just a heartbeat away from the oval office and again, John McCain is 72 years old.

Now for the bad news…

Change we can believe in

First, she’s not Hillary Clinton, not by a long shot. Hillary Clinton was a fighter, a champion and experienced to boot.  Her flaws were most related to political baggage and division among the Republican base over the direction of the party.  In fact, many Democrats still believe Hillary Clinton is the best choice!

Second, I believe the greatest miscalculation that John McCain made with this choice is that change doesn’t mean gender or race, it doesn’t mean a fresh face or “regular Jane”. The campaign is gambling that Americans aren’t as intrigued by the politics of the left as they are with making history.

Obama’s campaign will argue that the kind of change that Obama will bring has to do with policy and changing how we do business in Washington. Whether that is true will be left to the voters this November.  The big question left is whether Americans will equate change with gender, and if they do, John McCain might be able to stay in this race.  Otherwise, I think this is the beginning of the end and a nice historical footnote to a most fascinating 2008 primary season.

Finally, listening to Sarah Palin’s speech, I can’t help but compare her to Hillary Clinton.  I can’t feel but let down by this selection.  As I said before, she’s no Hillary Clinton.

Greatest Political Orators Of Our Time

Obama and Bill Clinton are often in the spotlight for their great speeches and one-liners, yet Hillary Clinton provided a taste of things to come in a powerful message not unlike those we’ve heard from beloved Democratic champion Ted Kennedy.   In one fell swoop, she managed to bring her supporters to tears, earn the respect of Obama supporters (whom may have even experienced a small amount of buyer’s remorse or guilt) and scorch John McCain by cementing his relationship with George W. Bush using a “Twin Cities” reference that will not be soon forgotten. 

I have a habit of listening to the pundits after such events and even Fox News “analysts” struggled to criticize Hillary Clinton after her phenomenal speech.  One thing is certain, for Republicans hoping that the DNC would go up in flames due to an Obama/Clinton rift, they’ll have to move on and cling to another issue. Clinton didn’t only put out the fire, she went a step further and won the hearts of Obama’s supporters in the process.  The more cynical among us might call this a “political calculation”, but if you watched the speech you could just tell that it was sincere.   If you want to get really political, you could argue that Barack Obama really owes Hillary Clinton now. 

Aftermath of the Democratic National Convention and Hillary Clinton’s speech

Like 2006, any true Democrat or anti-war advocate will not even consider John McCain in November. 

As I’ve said before, 2006 was just the beginning and if you thought that Democratic party was loud.. just wait and see how 2008 and 2012 turns out.  With the manufactured noise fading into the background, Democrats could conceivably rule the White House for 16 years and that will be especially true if Obama’s presidency is viewed as a success the way Bill Clinton’s presidency was. 

Partisans will either strongly agree or disagree with my assessment, but I truly believe last night was a turning point in American politics.  Clinton delivered the presidency to Obama and the foundation will only be further strengthened after Bill Clinton speaks and Obama closes out the convention.

Everyone and their mother is blogging about day one of the Democratic convention and the verdict is typical.  Liberals conclude that Day one was specifically drawn up to illustrate the Great American story and pay tribute to Ted Kennedy and urge critics to lighten up, kick back and enjoy the show.  Conservatives found one petty issue after another to complain about and the pundits among them kept pondering the question, “but is he ready to lead?”

The day ended with the GOP agreeing with their harshest critic, James Carville, who rightly argued there was little substance on Day one.  Although, I’d disagree with him that it was a wasted day until we’ve had time to see the entire picture.

So, where’s the beef?

Look, it’s a legitimate complaint for Democrats to want more, to expect fireworks out of the gates.  People like James Carville want to go out fighting and expect Democrats to stick it to Republicans every minute of every day, it’s his life, it is what he does.  Republicans who used slingshot text messages to spread Carville quotes tickled my funny bone because if it were up to Carville, Day one would have been better spent going after John McCain, tying him to busy and railing on their precious Iraq War.

The reality of DNC day one is that it was more of an introduction to Obama, his family and the idealism that he brings to the table.   This is a build up to something that will inevitably be great for the party and we all have to remember that Obama’s campaign has not made many mistakes to this point, I don’t think they’ll start at the convention.

Does Music Matter?

Now for the real question, did anyone notice how mellow and depressing the music was?

For the first few hours, I was snoozing with Carville not because the content was unsuitable for a DNC convention, but because the music was terrible. I picked up my remote numerous times wanting to shift off CSPAN because the music was putting me to sleep.   I explained to a friend how annoyed I was via text message and the best way to share this pain was by comparing the experience to what you’d expect sitting in an elevator with a bunch of really uninteresting people.

The fact that the first few hours of DNC “partying” were so uninspiring was well complimented by the light jazz, soul, and classic love songs that were played in the background.  It really was depressing and my only consolation is that it may have been intentional, part of a grand build up to day four.  Regardless of the strategy, I am sure I am not alone on this and I hope the creative director does more to liven up the party.

Overall, I think everyone agrees that If not for Michelle Obama and Ted Kennedy, Day one would have been a bust.  For me personally, the music really was a drag and I hope they do something to improve the elevator music feel of the Democratic National Convention.

“A verb, a noun and 9/11″ – Biden on Rudy Giuliani

One of the greatest lines coming out of the Democratic primary was made by Joe Biden, so I expected the gloves to come off immediately.  Joe’s biggest contribution to this young presidential campaign came this afternoon when he alluded to his friend John McCain – whom he respects, but strongly disagrees with politically.

Biden made a point of tying John McCain to George W. Bush.   He repeated a common Democratic talking point, “95% voting record with George W. Bush’s policies” and mentioned how out of touch John McCain is when his biggest problem has been figuring out which of his seven tables he wants to sit at.

“You can’t change America” when you agree with everything that has hurt America over the last eight years, Biden argued.  Finally, he reminded supporters that you not only need a good soldier, but a wise leader and that’s something we’ve been lacking for eight years.

Overall, it was an excellent introduction to Joe Biden and a great hint of things to come over the next nine weeks to potentially eight years if political trends continue.

It looks like the censors are off some CNN reporters of late.  I’ve seen a lot of strong political statements both on CNN cable news shows and on their website.  Today, Jack Cafferty made some brilliant remarks about anti-intellectualism and the problem of electing another dumb president.

One after another, McCain’s answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has — virtually none.

Where are John McCain’s writings exploring the vexing moral issues of our time? Where are his position papers setting forth his careful consideration of foreign policy, the welfare state, education, America’s moral responsibility in the world, etc., etc., etc.?

John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet.

He no longer allows reporters unfettered access to him aboard the “Straight Talk Express” for a reason. He simply makes too many mistakes. Unless he’s reciting talking points or reading from notes or a TelePrompTer, John McCain is lost. He can drop bon mots at a bowling alley or diner — short glib responses that get a chuckle, but beyond that McCain gets in over his head very quickly.

I think the following statement sums it up well for most thinking Americans.

I am sick and tired of the president of the United States embarrassing me.

I’m sorry John McCain, but the era of dumb presidents is over.  You may be a leader, but you’re most certaintly not a thinker and that makes you unfit to be my President.

“It’s just a chapter in my life that I’d rather remember the good parts than the bad parts,” McCain said. “I don’t know what the point is of going through all that.”

There is an interesting story on CNN, however, by a prison cell mate of his that was able to talk politics with John McCain.

It was while in the cell next to McCain that Brace said he first got a sense of his neighbor’s politics — communicated through taps on the wall using an alphabet code developed by the prisoners. Watch Brace talk about their secret code »

According to Brace, when Richard Nixon was elected president in 1968, McCain was “elated.”

You have to love the irony of politics and war.  John McCain was sitting in a cell waiting to be rescued and had faith that a Republican would swoop into the White House and put an end to the awful Vietnam War.

“He said, ‘Nixon will get us home. Nixon won’t sit there. He’ll listen to the generals and get, you know, no more running this war from the basement of the White House.’ ”

“Well, it didn’t happen,” Brace recalled recently. “We thought we’d be home for Christmas of ‘69 and there we were. And there we were for three more Christmases — ‘70, ‘71, and ‘72.”

If there is anything to learn about this story, it is that politics and partisan loyalty are designed to give people hope and faith in government and the people that run it.  It may very well have been hope that helped John McCain get through tough times in Vietnam.  Now, maybe it was just an idea of “success” and rescue or the simple thought of reuniting with his family, but John McCain once had dreams of a an end to a terribly managed war, what has changed?

Could John McCain have changed so much due to repressed negative memories or is he being consistent with his past?  There is evidence that his war advocacy now is consistent with his anti-war advocacy then and it begins with his faith in the General leading the war.  In both situations, McCain expected his General to save our American soldiers from a messy war situation.  He wanted the White House to mind its own business and deal with domestic issues at home while the experts took care of the bad guys overseas.

“He was a conservative. He was an archconservative,” said Brace. “And his theory on the war at that time was ‘Do it. Do it right, and get it over with.’

If John McCain reaches the White House, will he continue to view the White House as an unnecessary political branch in times of war?  With respect to Iraq, it would make sense for this decorated war veteran to want to be commander-in-chief so that he could do what President Bush failed to do — “succeed” in Iraq.  Is this really what the American people want?

The ideological “balance” that helps mold our perception of justice, is very delicate and gridlock has held it in place since the time of our Fathers.

That is, until now.

The spotlight may be off America’s buffet of hot button issues, but now we have bigger fish to fry.  Indeed, the table is set and there is plenty of room to argue over the direction of our country, the merits of our continued efforts in Iraq and whether Afghanistan will consume our remaining military and financial resources.

What’s Wrong With Our Current Iraq Debate?

If you have serious concerns about justice, lives, security, debt and wasteful government spending, then read on and get real about Iraq.

The typical liberal argument goes something like this:

• “George W. Bush lied about 9/11 and exploited the lives of murdered Americans in order to push a political agenda.  Since the inception of the war, Bush and his administration share involvement in a multitude of alleged war crimes and they are responsible for unnecessary deaths overseas.  In addition to recklessly and clumsily pushing the United States into war, Bush’s  policies squandered our inherited surplus in order to appease the rich, while neglecting to care for the needs of Americans — see Katrina, rich / poor gap, etc.  Barack Obama will keep us from hitting rock bottom if we’re not already there and help restore our credibility in the world.”

Next, the typical conservative loyalist argument:

• “Our nation is safer because we elected George W. Bush, liberal allegations of impropriety in the White House amount to propaganda that has inspired paranoia and fear over non-issues.  see FISA, Kucinich Impeachment, water-boarding.  Our efforts in Iraq must continue or we’ll have to fight the terrorists at home or worse, head back to Iraq to finish the job.  Further, if we do not ‘get the job done’, all credibility will be lost.  John McCain is the only candidate with the courage and experience to get the job done.”

Libertarians and true conservatives sound more like this:

• “George W. Bush is a bum who couldn’t find Iraq on a map, much less understand the dire financial consequences of war that are threatening to destroy our economy.   The war is costly and our children are indebted to China, Mexico and others thanks to our lack of foresight.  Obama will make matters worse, he’s already advocating a larger war in Afghanistan and intends to raise taxes to pay for another senseless war and increased social spending.  John McCain is set to continue along Bush’s path, we may as well stay home on election day — unless of course, more Americans take seriously the candidacy of [insert favorite independent or libertarian candidate here].”

Now, if you see the merits of all three of the above arguments and understand why they are so passionately advocated by various individuals and organizations, then you may be intelligent enough to understand why it is impossible to withdraw from Iraq any time soon.  Admittedly, I’m smitten with the libertarian way of thinking.  “Screw it, let’s leave just as quickly as we got ourselves into this mess.. cut our losses and move on.”

In theory, the “screw it” strategy might actually be the least painful and expensive of the many alternatives that our leadership must consider.  However, realistically, the United States will never simply abandon perceived principles in order to save a buck or a few lives in the future.  We’re simply not ‘there’ when it comes to understanding the consequences of our actions and even the psychology of war and our slumping economy will not be enough for main stream politics to change positions so drastically.

Pride, Arrogance, and “Credibility” – that’s the American way.

The pride that all Americans share is part of what got us into this mess in the first place.  It is hard not to love this country for all of the opportunity and potential she has to offer, but it is becoming increasingly simple to hate our government.

Our over-inflated sense of self helped push us into the middle east during a time when the nation was vulnerable and outraged by the 9/11 attacks spearheaded by Osama Bin Laden and a bunch of other guys whose names escape us, but we know they are brown and look like the people we’re fighting for and against in Iraq!  Arrogance and pride are unfortunate precursors to ill-conceived ideas that inevitably force us into a “police the world” mentality.  If we all concede for the moment that exploiting 9/11 rage and building a fraudulent case to invade Iraq was a bad idea (it was) and policing the world alone is also a bad idea (it is), then you’d have to concede that the position we are in now is equally bad.  It is!

The problem is that we’ve already made more poor decisions than this nation can handle and we must carefully consider our next steps with respect to Iraq and our place in the world’s pecking order.  If we make another major error in judgment, you can forget about the sense of credibility that Americans cling to.

The next big move must appeal to the world for support

The U.S. isn’t in a position to create peace in a region that has been forever in conflict.  Corporations (especially big oil) have already exploited the war to its fullest so what is left?  Oh, that’s right.. beneath the puppet governments that we’ve helped install, destroy and resurrect, there are human beings that are being massacred in the highly unstable war zone.

The fact is that the most unpopular reality is the most likely to take hold — an extended stayover in Iraq.  It isn’t my first choice, but I’m not necessarily thinking about humanity, war and peace in the middle east.  I’m an idealist, but my first instincts are to consider the interests of my country and fellow Americans and that leads me to an anti-War position.  Just the same, when a new leader steps into the very large shoes of the American presidency,  America’s economy and the future of Iraq that we’ve already played a large role in, will probably guide our policy.

Why do I speak in such a seemingly cynical tone you might?

Well, let’s face it, the liberal dream of prosecuting George W. Bush for war crimes and ending the rise of corporatism in Washington is not going to happen over night — if at all.  Republican “thinkers” that talk about “the surge” and winning an unwinnable war in Iraq whom appeal to nationalism and patriotism to win elections cannot hold power indefinitely.  With policies lacking vision and continually providing a “wait and see” approach to governing, the American ship will sink to catastrophic levels.

Our path is clear if we’d like to get out of the mess we’ve created in the middle east.  We need help from our allies, and we need it now.

The National Enquirer just boosted its journalism credentials with their early reporting of John Edward’s extra-marital affair.  It took a bit of time and an ABC News admission, but John Edwards has now been exposed as guilty of infidelity and sadly, it happened while his wife was struggling with Cancer.

For John Edwards, this should mark the end of his political career in any major capacity.  Even more importantly, if John was on Barack Obama’s short list for Vice President, there is no doubt he will be kicked off.

Will This Democratic Scandal Hurt Obama?

The political spin hasn’t caught up to the story yet, but at least on Fox News, Neil Cavuto suggested that, “maybe it’s just my perception, but it seems that Democrats are involved in scandals more often than Republicans.”  (paraphrase)  Bill Kristol didn’t agree and explained that in 2006, Republicans had Democrats beat on scandals and they paid for it.  His overall assessment is that there are numerous scandals that have arisen on both sides and neither side has an edge in that regard.

Chris Wallace was asked whether Obama would see some fallout over this affair and he was quick to argue that it wouldn’t have any effect on Barack Obama.  “Just like Senator Ted Steven’s scandal will not affect John McCain,…” this scandal won’t phase Obama’s campaign and I’d have to agree.  He further said that Democrats aren’t going to suffer because of John Edward’s mistake, it’ll be John Edwards (unsuccessful) political career that pays the price.  This is also true, John Edwards pretty much said goodbye to the world of politics with this admission on national news.

John Edwards: What to expect moving forward

His “moral authority” will be questioned by political analysts and for very good reason.  John’s entire political career has been predicated on a heavily moral and forceful message that permitted him to wag his finger at the masses.   I mean, really, is there really anyone out there that is against helping the less fortunate members of society?

Regardless of the politics, because of the nature of his good deeds, it is hard to see him losing on that front.  If he would like to continue building houses in New Orleans and helping the homeless or working on Veteran’s issues, then he should be able to do that unhindered.  The real damage to his cause will be that he won’t have the luxury of speaking on national television about his personal crusade against the evils of corrupted government.

Last week it was ‘Barack Obama is a celebrity’ but can’t be trusted to lead our country.  This week, McCain continued his attacks including his new “Tire Gauge” energy plan that he is attributing to Barack Obama.  So much for straight talk and honor.   The speech that Obama made when taken in context is pretty fascinating.  He stopped in the middle of a question at a townhall meeting to discuss his long-term energy solution to explain that we are all accountable and can do little things to help out.  One idea that he learned along the way was to make sure tires were properly pressurized and he decided to share it with the individual and crowd that he was talking with.

Of course, most of the partisan idiots and fools that fell for the swift boat propaganda are very susceptible to this kind of attack and McCain’s camp is well aware of it.  Well, all humor and political sparring aside, it looks like Barack Obama gets the last laugh.  Time Magazine reported on the tire gauge solution to and confirmed Barack Obama’s “Tire Gauge” advice does in fact yield more saved oil than the oil drilling that McCain and company are demanding.

On Republicanism:

Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled “Barack Obama’s Energy Plan” to Washington reporters.

Time asks, But who’s really out of touch?

The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

In fact, Obama’s actual energy plan is much more than a tire gauge. But that’s not what’s so pernicious about the tire-gauge attacks. Politics ain’t beanbag, and Obama has defended himself against worse smears. The real problem with the attacks on his tire-gauge plan is that efforts to improve conservation and efficiency happen to be the best approaches to dealing with the energy crisis — the cheapest, cleanest, quickest and easiest ways to ease our addiction to oil, reduce our pain at the pump and address global warming. It’s a pretty simple concept: if our use of fossil fuels is increasing our reliance on Middle Eastern dictators while destroying the planet, maybe we ought to use less.

The RNC is trying to make the tire gauge a symbol of unseriousness, as if only the fatuous believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil without doing the bidding of Big Oil. But the tire gauge is really a symbol of a very serious piece of good news: we can use significantly less energy without significantly changing our lifestyle.

As you can see, the reporting and addressing of this situation is as good as it gets on energy and efficiency.  Why can’t Republicans simply accept that better efficiency standards would help us save rather than laugh and snear at the latest “liberal propaganda.”   This shouldn’t even be characterized as being a ‘liberal’ idea, it’s just plain smart and  you don’t have to be a tree hugging hippy to do your part to keep our planet clean and our energy costs as low as possible.

Consider eight long years of President Bush and if you have an objective bone left in your body you know that it has been quite a political disaster.  First, we should understand how we got here and whether the religious right has the power to keep us along this catastrophic path.

Morals, Values and Christian Influence

Evangelical Christians were instrumental in putting George W. Bush in the White House in 2000, but their decline in political power has been apparent since Bush took office. Over the years, I know from personal and academic experience that the evangelical community is not happy with President Bush’s failure to keep promises made during his initial presidential campaign.

Can you believe it? A politician failed to live up to campaign promises, oh the horror!

In addition to feelings of betrayal, various rumors of anti-Evangelical sentiments have created a wall between the Christian faithful and Bush.  If you know the origin of the term “useful idiots”, you’re aware of the tension that has been brewing over the last decade.  And if you have the privilege of being friends or a relative of evangelical Christians, then you know that they are bitter enough to characterize George W. Bush as the anti-Christ.  If you are keeping up with current events and the latest Barack Obama craze, that statement should raise an eyebrow.

Christians justified the anti-Christ label for George W. Bush not because they believe him responsible for the killings of millions of Iraqi civilians.  The disappointment has little to do with the war that yielded more deaths and casualties than the 9/11 attack itself.  Instead, it is George W. Bush’s strong desire to “bring peace to the middle east” that raised suspicions.  After all, if anyone was capable of doing it, surely it was ole dubya.   The White House insults and abandoning of the evangelical cause only further supported the theory that George W. Bush is the anti-Christ.

Fast forward through another term of partisan bickering and political unrest in the United States and enter Barack Obama, a black democrat with a name in politics more ethnic we’re used to.  If you’ve seen the latest John McCain attack ads, you can already see the narrative building.  First, we have the “celebrity” ad that ticked off the Hilton family but made a point about Obama’s media attention and celebrity-like appeal.  Next, the “Moses moment” that was perfectly characterized by the late Charleton Heston, the champion of the NRA and a beloved conservative hero.   It is displayed as Barack Obama is making a speech about bringing people together and doing what many believe is impossible — uniting our country.  I mean, if President Bush can’t do it, what makes us think Barack Obama will bring us together?

Barack Obama the Anti-Christ

Now, for the best part.

The latest viral buzz revolves around Barack Obama.  Buzz might not be the right word, it is more of a political smear.  The question posed and spreading through Christian circles is whether Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.  Bitterness against Bush aside, Barack Obama makes an even more perfect “anti-Christ” figure that evangelicals can use to help spread the message of Christ.

Many on the left envision Obama as the next JFK, a title that Clinton failed to capitalize on when his affair with Monica was exposed.  The more politically minded wing of evangelical Christians might see the Barack Obama craze as an opportunity to thrust themselves back into the limelight and here is why:

1. Barack Hussein Obama with “questionable origins” and his self-proclaimed Christian faith goes along with the story of the anti-Christ that suggests a man will woo the world, bring peace to the middle east and everyone will love the guy (deception, trickery, false prophet stuff) until his true colors are revealed.  Then the rapture comes along and destroys the sinners as the good Christians make their way to heaven.
2. Some Christians believe that the best way to make America a more Christian nation is to deliver the political power to Republicans and what better way to do it than teaching the people a biblical lesson and denying evil the opportunity to creep into our society!

Only one problem for Evangelical Christians.  At least as far as the apolitical Christians go, it could be problematic to attack another Christian without strong evidence of the apocalypse.  Given that we just got through the year 2000 scare that was supposed to see the world end and the fact that Christians delivered George W. Bush to the world, they have to be very careful as a collective when it comes to pushing ideas as outlandish as “Barack Obama is the anti-Christ”.

Will the religious right risk dividing the Christian faith in order to potentially seat another Republican president that will ignore them like the previous one?  Only time will tell, but if you haven’t already done so, please grab your popcorn and take a seat because the upcoming general election is sure to provide some great entertainment.

Take a look at this video and tell me Barack Obama’s view of the McCain strategy isn’t valid.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We’ve seen the various attacks that revolve around being “un-American”, but perhaps this so-called strategy is more of the same rhetoric, just a bit more subtle?

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine that is living in northern California.  A decade ago, she was just like any overachieving American.  she earned a degree at the University of Southern California and pushed her way into an engineering setting not very friendly towards female employees.  Despite the difficulties, she decided it would be best to go back to school and further educate herself so she could move up the ladder more quickly.

What was once a dream became a reality after she graduated from Berkeley.  With money in the bank to buy that first home and continue living the American dream, she’s now in an unfortunate predicament.  Despite her multiple degrees, high IQ and excellent salary, she is now just a victim of the corruption in the home mortgage industry.  Some Republican Bush loyalists will always blame the individual who ‘knew what they were getting themselves into’, but the fact is that millions of Americans have been screwed by corporate greed and corruption and now we’re starting to see the fallout of these predatory practices that Bush loyalists have defended over the years.

From ‘America’s leading liberal paper’ NY Times:

The first wave of Americans to default on their home mortgages appears to be cresting, but a second, far larger one is quickly building.  Homeowners with good credit are falling behind on their payments in growing numbers, even as the problems with mortgages made to people with weak, or subprime, credit are showing their first, tentative signs of leveling off after two years of spiraling defaults.  The percentage of mortgages in arrears in the category of loans one rung above subprime, so-called alternative-A mortgages, quadrupled to 12 percent in April from a year earlier. Delinquencies among prime loans, which account for most of the $12 trillion market, doubled to 2.7 percent in that time.

The mortgage troubles have been exacerbated by an economy that is still struggling. Reports last week showed another drop in home prices, slower-than-expected economic growth and a huge loss at General Motors. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in July climbed to a four-year high.

Housing Lenders Fear Bigger Wave of Loan Defaults – NYTimes.com.

The messy situation is probably going to get worse before it gets better and for many Americans like my friend in Cali, they’ll have to do a bit of praying and hoping that economy recovers fast or they may lose more than their homes.

Chicago Sun-Times political columnist Robert Novak has announced his immediate retirement following the diagnosis of a brain tumor, the newspaper reported on its Web site Monday.

The paper responded briefly, calling the situation “dire”.

As we all know, Karl Rove is in contempt of Congress.

To make matters worse for Karl Rove, a federal court recently ruled that Rove — or any White House officials for that matter — can not ignore congressional subpoenas and may not be excused from sitting before a judiciary committee by simply asserting executive privilege.

The argument that the White House and its agents may avoid all accountability by asserting a claim of executive privilege is beyond absurd.  Now, the drama has reached unprecedented levels as Americans have attempted to arrest Karl Rove under obscure State laws that allow for it.  The fact that Americans feel the need to resort to such tactics is very telling of the times.  Political unrest has reached a boiling point and something has to give.

Of course, the political activists can’t get enough of this story and here’s a cute Photoshop job that illustrates the frustration of Americans nationwide.