OK, Sports Fans - Its Obama Approaching The McCain End Zone..!

Hey, all you sports fans out there! Check out this analogy of the current state of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Land Of The Free For Blocking The Vote? Who Is In Control?

What an amazing country we live in. We have freedom of expression, freedom of religion, etc. We have inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Some rights are granted by law. Among them is the right to vote and elect our own president.

Yet there are those that work to eliminate or deny access to certain rights for specific groups. Sometimes people are afraid of the power of underrepresented groups which tend to vote Democrat. They can be blatant and eliminate rights by amending the constitution, or find systematic ways to deny access such as keeping people from voting. All this makes me wonder who is really in control, considering McCain didn't seem to have much of a choice in his VP pick.

Land of the free indeed!

Check out:

"They didn't let John McCain pick the person he wanted to pick as VP," (Bush strategist) Dowd declared during the Time Warner Summit panel. "When Sarah Palin got picked instead of Joe Lieberman, which I fundamentally believed would have given John McCain the best opportunity in this race... as soon as he picked Palin, that whole ready versus not ready argument was not credible."

Bush Strategist: McCain Knows He Put Country At Risk With Palin Pick at the Huffington Post



Rolling Stone's Block The Vote article

Obama vs. McCain Roast At Albert E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner

Check it out. A lighter moment between the two presidential candidates. This is the final face-to-face meeting that Obama and McCain will have before the election. In this video, the two get to roast each other and they get some nice jabs in. It seems all in good fun, and quite human dare I say..

Outbursts At Obama & McCain Rallies

During the debate, McCain appeared to equate Obama's criticism of specific points about his plan with the negative tone spewed from his own campaign. He blames the tone of the campaign on Obama turning down invitations to hold town hall meetings together. Then, McCain hinted at things he did not like happening at the Obama rallies and either had no time to talk specifics, or chose not to speak further.

Try running a couple Google searches to see what is being said about the rallies. Searching on "outbursts at McCain rallies" yields a different set than searching on "outbursts at Obama rallies."

See for yourself here:

Outbursts at McCain rallies
Outbursts at Obama rallies

Obama & McCain, Show Us The Money!

I found out about a great little table, which paints a great picture of how much we'll pay in taxes under the candidates' plans. Obama vows the middle class will benefit from his tax cuts. McCain promises the same - mainly for the rich.

See for yourself here.

McCain: So Much For Respect!

Wouldn't you know.. McCain isn't doing what he set out to do. My, what a surprise. Today he was caught saying, "I don't need lessons on telling the truth to the American people, and were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek it from a Chicago politician."

So much for carrying out a respectful campaign.

For some reason this reminded me of Palin comparing herself to a pitbull. Wait a minute: isn't that particular breed of dog one that municipalities across the land are trying to ban? Don't some people relate the breed to urban dysfunction?

I suppose if she can get away with comparing herself to such an animal, anything goes at this point.

Are Political Satire & Sarcasm The Same As Freely Expressed Death Threats?

David Frum is a former speechwriter to President Bush and appeared on today's Rachel Maddow show. Below is a segment from today's show. To summarize, the interview went in a direction that Rachel Maddow had not planned to take.

That is putting the conversation mildly.

A large portion of it was taken up by discussing the verbal attacks shouted against Obama that people have been making at McCain and Palin rallies. And, that satire and sarcasm about McCain-Palin has pretty much the same ugly tone as shouts from the Joe Six-Packs out there saying, "kill him" when referring to Obama. (??)

Mr. Frum says he doesn't know what exactly the people have said at these rallies because he was not there. I guess he hasn't been watching video shown on TV lately. Nor does he seem to have the time to learn how to respectfully interrupt his host by saying, "excuse me" before doing so.

So Its Come Down To.. McCain Defending Obama After Stoking Hate & Fear?

It is just getting more and more amazing. McCain is starting to defend Obama. He's doing this after his campaign has "taken off the gloves" and begun making brutal personal attacks. Meanwhile, Palin has been found to be unethical during the Troopergate investigation.

A McCain's spokesperson had the gall to blame Obama himself for the personal attacks.

NSA Spying On Americans.. And Sharing Phone Sex?

Speaking of disrepect.. allegedly the NSA is spying on Americans living abroad. The Bush Administration is quick to remind us that "there is a constant check to make sure our civil liberties were treated with respect." Meanwhile, the NSA seems to be getting off on sharing intimate calls between Americans living abroad and their loved ones. Americans such as those soldiers giving their lives (for oil and United States interests) in Iraq.

Financial Crisis Suspended For Politics As Usual

I think these videos speak for themselves, given that the candidates' attacks are getting more and more personal. Who cares if we're in the midst of a financial crisis now turned global? Someday we'll all look back at the day our government handed us and our children a shitload of debt to pay, and lament the budget surplus and world respect we lost.. No matter: the candidates and their followers are giving us lessons in how to be (dis)respectful!

Two Weeks In The Life Of A Capitalist Country

I'd actually like to try to recap a rather interesting couple weeks in politics:

• The economy nosedives.


• The president and one of his appointments request unregulated control over $700,000,000,000 to bail out the economy via a three page draft bill.


• The finger pointing begins, while the people and the government debate that horrible bill.


• McCain decides to suspend his campaign, stands up David Letterman and chats with Katie Couric, suggests canceling the Presidential Debate, talks surge instead of economy, races in a tizzy to Washington, and solicits bailout support from his Republican peers by phone.


• In the meantime, the House works over the weekend to introduce the 109-page Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 into HR 3997. It improves the bill from horrible to just plain bad.


• Republicans publicly and pre-emptively proclaim the bill will pass.


• The Speaker of the House makes what some consider to be a partisan speech, reminding the Representatives that Bush inherited a budget surplus and led the nation to a huge-ass deficit.


• The House votes against the bill.


• Lo and behold, human nature dictates that the finger pointing must resume. Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly engages in verbal warfare with Barney Frank.


• The Senate debates, mutates, and corrupts HR 3997 into 451-page HR 1424 -- their version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. It adds tax breaks for rum, auto racing tracks, etc. Click here and then scroll down for the full list that makes the just plain bad bill even worse.


• Obama and McCain vote Yes on the bill.


• McCain suggests Bush should veto the bill.


• Bush signs HR 1424 into law, which is basically a collection of bills -- some which were originally proposed in Congress back in March, 2007.


• Meanwhile..
  
  Obama seems to be monitoring from the sidelines and only chiming in when necessary,
  
  Palin exceeds expectations in the one and only Vice Presidential debate and the McCain-Palin campaign releases their control over the media's access to Palin,
  
  Bush and Congress approval ratings go way, way low,
  
  Obama gains points in the polls, and
  
  Coincidentally gas prices begin to drop while Western oil companies quietly increase their presence in Iraq, contributing to their economy.
  

Everybody get all that?


O'Reilly vs. Frank

Together We Represent A Perfect Ideal (??)

Soon after I woke up, I started replaying parts of the debate in my mind. I remembered Sarah Palin's statement, "together we represent a perfect ideal." Then I pulled a Bill O'Reilly and unfortunately became fixated on that. It doesn't sit well in the context of the conservative tendency to work towards eliminating rights from gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

Here's the full statement, from the Commission On Presidential Debates web site, with emphasis added:

My experience as an executive will be put to good use as a mayor and business owner and oil and gas regulator and then as governor of a huge state, a huge energy producing state that is accounting for much progress towards getting our nation energy independence and that's extremely important.

But it wasn't just that experience tapped into, it was my connection to the heartland of America. Being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child, about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills? About times and Todd and our marriage in our past where we didn't have health insurance and we know what other Americans are going through as they sit around the kitchen table and try to figure out how are they going to pay out-of-pocket for health care? We've been there also so that connection was important.

But even more important is that world view that I share with John McCain. That world view that says that America is a nation of exceptionalism. And we are to be that shining city on a hill, as President Reagan so beautifully said, that we are a beacon of hope and that we are unapologetic here. We are not perfect as a nation. But together, we represent a perfect ideal. And that is democracy and tolerance and freedom and equal rights. Those things that we stand for that can be put to good use as a force for good in this world.

John McCain and I share that. You combine all that with being a team with the only track record of making a really, a difference in where we've been and reforming, that's a good team, it's a good ticket.

Click here for the full transcript.

The VP Debate: Do Gays Fit In "A Perfect Ideal?"

Together, we represent a perfect ideal. And that is democracy and tolerance and freedom and equal rights. Those things that we stand for that can be put to good use as a force for good in this world.

John McCain and I share that.

--Governor Sarah Palin, 2008 Vice Presidential Debate

Here are my quick thoughts on tonight's debate. It exceeded expectations. I appreciated hearing that both Biden and Palin agree on their stance on gay marriage. On a side note, it was neat to watch the Biden and Palin families interact on the stage after the debate.

I'm feeling surprisingly good about the two vice presidential candidates after tonight. It was a relief to actually hear an attempt to explain, in a public forum, that the purpose of the Constitution is to grant rights and privileges and not to eliminate them.

Amazing the power of one word, no? This word, marriage, conjures up thoughts of two very intertwined concepts: religious ceremonies and civil contracts. It intertwines church (religious ceremonies) and state (civil contracts).

Not all religions are the same. Some religions are more tolerant than others. Some embrace and value their gay followers. Some allow their gay followers to become high ranking leaders in their organization. Some recognize the union of two loving people regardless of sexual orientation.

Due to the separation between church and state I will never understand why the church is able to waive a pen on the civil contract that is part of marriage.

Thank you for your tolerance Governor Palin. I think we want a little more than that:

• We want the same access to that civil contract as heterosexuals do.
• We want the legal protections and privileges that both church and state are able to grant at the stroke of a pen.
• We want a Constitution that does not exclude and eliminate.

We want equal rights. We hope to be included in that perfect ideal.

Barney Frank Vs. Bill O'Reilly: Priceless!

Oh, the power of context. And selectively excluding someone's quote:

Take the following, spoken by Barney Frank in July of 2008, and shown on The O'Reilly Factor this October 2, 2008 about 22 minutes into the show.

..they are not the best investment these days, from a long term standpoint going back. I think they're in good shape going forward.

Then take Bill O'Reilly, quoting Barney Frank and placing blame on him. He ignores the first part and fixates on:

I think they're in good shape going forward.

..and so on. To make a long story short, a rather unprofessional display unfolds. O'Reilly starts by claiming everybody should be angry at him. Barney Frank defends his record. Before Barney Frank can finish, O'Reilly begins to interrupt and then raises his voice. Eventually all you hear is both speaking on top of each other.

What are they talking about, you ask? Fannie and Freddie. It goes pretty much downhill from here. He accuses Barney Frank for being the reason people decided to purchase stock in Fannie and Freddie back in July of this year.

Amazing that Barney Frank is able to keep his cool, remind him about the first part of the quote, and chime in: "the joke is that I could have a rational discussion with you" during O'Reilly's unprofessional ranting and raving.

Break to commercial. After the break O'Reilly says, "did I raise my voice.. its the Irish.."

Wow. What a show indeed.