Sooner Blue

Mostly politics, a few current events, a squirt of seltzer down yer pants .. a little blog for my rambles and rants.

2008/1/31

Dammit dammit dammit!

@ 08:22 AM (65 months, 15 days ago)

And then there were two...cue Candidate A and Candidate A...on with the horse race!
 
AP-1/30/08-NEW ORLEANS - Democrat John Edwards bowed out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday, saying it was time to step aside "so that history can blaze its path" in a campaign now left to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
 
....Four in 10 Edwards supporters said their second choice in the race is Clinton, while a quarter prefer Obama, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo poll conducted late this month. [..]"
 
 
We are losing a fierce and committed voice for change and justice in this presidential race...but I am certain that he'll still be a force within the Democratic party. I think he would be a terrific Attorney General ...and Justice Edwards has a very nice ring to it.
 
Yes, I hate to see him go, but I feel it's not the end, but the beginning of his strength and influence in the Democratic party for years to come. I see him playing a very prominent role in any Democratic administration. And maybe President Edwards just comes a little further down the road...
 
I like his progressive ideas about health care, inequality, education...his compassion for the underdog. He showed tremendous strength and grace as he campaigned against better-funded, media darling rivals who stole the spotlight from day one. He was bulldozed by skin pigment and gender.
 
...all the while grappling with a terrible family hardship.
 
I can't stand it when people say he used his wife's cancer to rouse voter sympathy for his campaign. Elizabeth was the one who insisted that he go ahead and run, he was going to drop out when they received the news that her cancer was terminal. Besides, I imagine it gave them something to focus on and fight for together, other than her cancer. You know she wanted to see him president before she died.
 
I hate how the Republicans kept berating him for his wealth in order to portray him as a hypocrite sleazy lawyer in championing the lower classes. I guess most of these 'compassionate conservatives' can't understand why someone who worked himself out of poverty would care about helping others to do the same.
 
John's candidacy has been a daily reminder for us to speak out for the poor and the neglected in our society....to speak up against those injustices that get shoved to the side by the money changers and more powerful interests.
 
Edwards’ candidacy made me feel proud to be a Democrat again.
 
In his farewell speech he said: "Do not turn away from these great struggles before us. Do not give up on the causes that we have fought for. Do not walk away from what's possible, because it's time for all of us, all of us together, to make the two Americas one."
 
And how sad that his farewell garnered about the best press John has ever received since he started his campaign.
 
So now will he endorse Hillary or Obama? I tend to think Obama, but I have been wrong before. He said in an interview that he told both candidates that he looked forward to talking to them both about their plans to incorporate poverty into their platforms. I believe he means it and will wait to hear what they have to say.
 
Whatever his decision, nothing will alter the respect I have for him.
 
I guess at this point I’ll just sit back and watch the show....and hope that I'm wrong wrong wrong about the chances of a woman or a black man being elected President of the United States in this day and age.
 
Tsunami Tuesday is really going to be interesting.
Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

2008/1/30

So...did Hillary win Florida or what?

@ 08:26 AM (65 months, 16 days ago)

According to CNN and MSNBC "Hillary didn't win anything"...because there are no delegates awarded. Forget that Democrats turned out in droves to vote and clearly Hillary won their support. She beat Obama by nearly 300K votes. Even if Edwards hadn't been on the ballot she still would have beaten Obama.
 
Today people are calling this a win, a big win. No Democrat campaigned in Florida, but Clinton got the most votes by a mile. Democrats turned out in droves even thought they were told their vote wouldn't count.
 
Yep, the media kept calling it an outlaw Dem primary and a meaningless beauty contest... that the delegates won't count.
 
Or will they count?
 
See, the DNC voted in '06 to give special permission to certain small states to hold early caucuses and primaries, because small states require personal campaigning rather than airport rallies...which prevents politics from becoming just a contest of who has the most money for TV ads. People get to meet the candidates face to face and look them in the eye.
 
And the early states did their job well ...they gave us a close look at the Democratic field before narrowing it down to Clinton, Obama and Edwards.
 
Under DNC rules no other state could hold a primary or caucus before Feb 5. But Florida and Michigan went ahead and scheduled their 2008 primaries in January. This riled the DNC, it not only undermined the special status of the four small states, but it also meant that Florida and Michigan were unfairly squeezing ahead of the 22 states and Super Tuesday, Feb 5.
 
So the DNC penalized both Michigan and Florida for 'going early' and stripped them of all their convention delegates.
 
But party leaders in Michigan and Florida point out that such penalties have always been lifted in the past.
 
If a squabble ensues, the dispute will go first to the Convention Credentials Committee...then if it came to a shoot-out the floor of the convention itself would have a test vote that could decide the nomination.
 
Lord, if that happens there will be blood ...and you know the losing side will squawk that they got screwed.
 
But, it ain't gonna happen. Of course the Florida and Michigan delegates will be seated. This is the Democratic Party not the Authoritarian Party...otherwise some 2 million voters would be disenfranchised. Why in the world would Dems be crazy enough to risk alienating all those voters and give those states to the Republicans?
 
People kept saying Florida doesn't matter. Believe me, after 2000, Florida matters.
 
Hillary has done her homework... Florida, and Michigan, matter very much.
 
And I can finally breathe a little easier. Rudy Giuliani will never be President! Thank you Florida!
 

2008/1/29

Look Ma, no legacy!

@ 08:58 AM (65 months, 17 days ago)

George W. Bush gave his final State of the Union speech last night...he is going to end the war, bring peace to the Middle East, kill bin Laden, resurrect the economy, and restore our reputation in the world before he leaves office.
 
....but first, we just need to bend over a little farther.
 
Yes, the FINAL State of the Union speech to be delivered by this worst ever president. I wanted so much to hear Porky Pig saying, "That's all, Folks!"
 
I don't usually watch GWB give prepared speeches...he's a lot more fun at press conferences when he tries to answer off the top of his head.
 
....but it was his final SOTU, so I tuned in to sort of celebrate the beginning of the end. I had it on mute most of the time and enjoyed watching their body language. Cheney looked like he was angry enough to shoot somebody. Pelosi was probably reading a copy of the speech, but I like to think it was "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes."
 
Did Bush really say "Hispanish students?"
 
Notice that when Bush got applause, he'd get a big grin...all surprised like he didn't know why they were clapping?
 
Why on earth did the Democrats line up early to be in the front row applauding when he walked past?
 
Surely they didn't forget how he has screwed this country into the ground. He has broken laws, lost two wars, sneered at the Geneva Conventions, told a pack of lies (935 at last count) so he could invade Iraq, caused the deaths of thousands of American men and women, thousands more maimed and injured, thousands with PTSD, thousands who will come home and commit suicide...not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians dead, millions of Iraqi civilians displaced ... opening a Pandora's box of endless death and destruction in the Middle East.
 
He has disrespected/destroyed every department of our government, hired inept friends, religious zealots more suited to working in a carnival, destroyed the city of New Orleans...there's more, but I can't go on.
 
Maybe the Dems managed to get through the obligatory clapping by telling themselves that this is the last time they have to listen to this fool?
 
BTW, the stock market crash has been delayed by the Federal Reserve until after Bush's SOTU address. Sorry for any inconvenience.
 
Washington economist Charles McMillion said that seven years of Bush has seen the federal debt increase by two-thirds while US household debt doubled.
 
The only people not clapping for Bush are the 75 percent of this country who say that everything he touched turned to shit.
 
Meanwhile, Clinton and Obama came within a foot of each other just before Bush's speech and managed not to acknowledge each other, and certainly not touch.
 
Clinton crossed the aisle between their seats on the House floor to shake hands with Ted Kennedy, who had endorsed Obama earlier in the day.
 
As they shook, Obama had turned away.
 
Talk about who the grown ups are...while Clinton smiles and shakes the hand of a pol who just dissed her campaign, Obama turns away, can't even look at her, let alone shake her hand. And this is the guy who says he is going to bring everyone together?
 
The media have already jumped on this snub, and Obama acting in a petty manner towards Hillary could bring him some trouble with women voters. For sure the Clinton campaign will play it up. How could they pass up the chance to shine some negative press on Obama?
 
In other handshaking news, Bush shook Obama's hand after the speech but not Clinton's.
 
The only Republican senator still running, John McCain, wasn't there to shake any hands. He was busy shaking hands in Florida, which holds its primary today.
 
It still kills me how Republicans, who have been so absolutely wrong on so many things this past seven years, think they have the judgment to tell the rest of us, who have critical thinking skills and have been RIGHT, what to think.
 

2008/1/28

Thoughts on Obama's win in SC

@ 06:04 AM (65 months, 18 days ago)

Obama had an amazing victory in South Carolina Saturday night...he won by a two-to-one margin. Very impressive, and his victory speech was quite impressive too. Both the Obamas looked radiant.
 
The blue wave is building. It was a MASSIVE Democratic voter turnout--532,000--easily the largest number to ever vote in a Democratic primary in South Carolina. Waaaaay more than the 100,000 votes cast in the SC GOP primary on Jan. 19...and in a red state too.
 
Remember that-->the GOP staying home will be crucial to November's election.
 
Hillary's drop in the national polls indicates that many people are turned off by the way Bill has put Hillary in his shadow again... just when she was emerging with her own voice in New Hampshire.
 
Michelle Obama kicked Bill Clinton's ass.
 
Have you ever seen that silly show, 'Wife Swap?' Now I'm not one to perpetuate stereotypes, but did you ever notice that when the "new wife" is black the men seem to end up crying before the swap is over?
 
Look at Michelle's fundraising email to supporters:
 
https://donate.barackobama.com/relyingonyou
 
She works effectively behind the scenes. She doesn't wag her finger angrily in reporters' faces, but she does gets her licks in. Like the time she said she travels with her husband in part to model what it means to have family values...that "if you can't run your own house, you can't run the White House." A little dig at Hillary, eh?
 
I'm so tired of the media short-changing us with too many reports on the horse race and not enough on the candidates' plans to pull us out of this Republican-made muck.
 
We don't like to think of this race along black/white/gender lines...but we still watch the trends as a key to how the rest of the country might vote. Obama won the majority of the black vote in SC, Hillary won the majority of the white female vote, and John Edwards won the majority of the white male vote. Edwards won 39 percent of ALL the white voters in SC.
 
So it's realistic to think that Edwards could carry other states where black voters do not make up almost 50 percent of the voting population. Many more whites vote than blacks, simply because blacks only make up about 12 percent or so of the overall population.
 
While he netted four-fifths of the black vote in South Carolina, Obama won the backing of only one-fourth of the white voters. And it's going to stay that way...I don't care how many Kennedys anoint him the heir to JFK's legacy.
 
I would give anything to be wrong. I, too, grew up with the dream of equality for blacks and women. But I'm realistic. We're not there yet.
 
I like both Hillary (sans Bill) and Obama, but I'm telling you folks, neither one of them stands a snowball's chance in hell of winning the national election. And if we nominate Hillary, forget about disheartened Republicans staying home on election day. She riles them up like no other, and the Hillary-haters will swarm en masse to the voting booth. Enough of them to give the GOP a narrow edge ... just like the evangelicals did in 2004.
 
Independents and fed-up Republicans will more likely vote for John Edwards. It's so damned sad that he has to struggle so hard to make himself heard in the face of his rivals' celebrity.
 
If John Edwards does not win the Democratic nomination, then the people of this country deserve whatever Republican they get in the White House.
 
Remember--there is a reason the global elite in both parties, and all of corporate America, want to shut Edwards up. Think about it.
 

2008/1/26

Swiftboaters Call Hillary a 'C**t'

@ 08:11 AM (65 months, 20 days ago)

A new 527 group, Citizens United Not Timid, has been formed with the single purpose of attacking Hillary Clinton. "It's one-word education," said the group's organizer Roger Stone, a longtime Republican player. He's selling C.U.N.T. T-shirts with Hillary's name on them.
 
http://www.citizensunitednottimid.org/
 
This is misogyny in its rankest and purest form. And it is only the beginning.
 
Ah well, anyone who uses that word isn't going to vote for a woman president, anyway.
 
And it's good to know not all Republicans are crooks...some are just a**holes.
 
The dirty tricks have already descended to this scuzzy level and it's only January. I predict this election going to make the last one (attacking Viet Nam vets) look like the Nobel Committee ran it.
 
Every redneck rightie on the Gulf Coast will be wearing those tank tops by summer...if the $25 doesn't cut into their beer money.
 
No one can deny the misogyny in this election. From Hillary doll nut-crackers to this. I don't see the same attacks on McCain, Romney, Obama or Edwards in a way that calls out their gender.
 
Hmm...I think this is the same Roger Stone in those tabloid photos a few years back, posing with his wife in swinger ads, soliciting sexual partners and specifying "no smokers or fat couples please." Yeah...the same guy who wrote 'family-values' campaign speeches for both Reagan and Dole.
 
http://www.nndb.com/people/844/000047703/
 
The Weekly Standard rabid righties say that Stone is "trying to tap into deep-seated sentiments about Clinton that pundits and rival candidates can't articulate." So their 'deep-seated sentiments' really do have something to do with her genitals. We women would rather Hillary be attacked because of her ideas, not her gender.
 
Boy, It's a good thing for Roger Stone that women don't vote.
 
Oh, wait...
 
Next thing they'll say is that this was planned by Hillary to actually help drum up support from women.
 
Because that's what's going to happen. It will backfire. Every time a decent woman sees something about one of those C.U.N.T. acronym T-shirts, Hillary Clinton is going to get a huge amount of sympathy and redoubled support from angry women...who make up 54+percent of the voters.
 
And they ain't gonna like the logo either---too much like a "stylized" vagina.
 
In fact, anyone with a grandmother, mother, sister or daughter ought to be rightly offended by this stunt.
 
If the Clinton campaign has any sense at all, they'll publicize the hell out of this T-shirt.
 
Women, regardless of political affiliation, DESPISE that word.
 
But remember now -- there's a method to this Republican sophomoric madness--they want Hillary to emerge from the pack. They think they can beat her. She mobilizes their base like no other. She's their biggest fundraiser. They are praying that she is the nominee...because Hillary would be a much better swiftboat target than Barrack.
 
Except in Texas where they'll try to drag him behind a truck.
 

2008/1/24

There will be blood...

@ 08:47 AM (65 months, 22 days ago)

Yep, the Dem fight is just heating up.
 
From washingtonpost.com/fact-checker:
"While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at WalMart."
--Barack Obama, Democratic debate on CNN, Myrtle Beach, S.C., January 22, 2008.
 
"I was fighting against [Republican] ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."
--Hillary Clinton, Myrtle Beach debate.
 
This mean-spirited exchange between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Monday night's CNN debate provides two excellent examples of the rhetorical device of false comparison. Compare my record on (insert something positive you have done) with (insert something negative about your opponent.) Even if the underlying facts are more or less accurate, it is still a dishonest form of argument because it contrasts your best points with your opponent's worst ones. [..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/2fumqk
 
Looks like Hillary and Obama are going to destroy each other, or die trying. She hits Obama with a radio ad implying he's a fan of Ronald Reagan, and he's hitting back with a radio ad saying she's a liar and it's her fault we're in Iraq. Absolutely fascinating how nasty it's gotten. And equally fascinating will be how the voters react to either or both of them.
 
The Righties are positively gleeful...and I would be too if it were a couple of theirs.
 
Nietzsche wrote (Beyond Good and Evil)--"In fighting monsters, one can become a monster. Stare long enough into the abyss, and the abyss begins to stare into you."
 
Some people say that the Clintons have been so relentlessly hammered by lies and distortions, shamelessly repeated over and over and over again, that they think this is the only way to win in politics.
 
There are also signs of a backlash in the Democratic party, especially among African-Americans, at the way Hillary and Bill have taken on Obama. Especially Bill, who is acting like a Little League parent on steroids.
 
Some people say that we Democrats just haven't seen a successful Presidential campaign since 1996, and we forgot what one looks like...that all the Clinton muscle-flexing should give us confidence that they will do what it takes to beat the GOP in the fall. Something that both Gore and Kerry failed to do. And were called wishy-washy because they didn't fight back nasty enough.
 
Maureen Dowd's column yesterday was really snarky -- "It’s odd that the first woman with a shot at becoming president is so openly dependent on her husband to drag her over the finish line."
 
I would like Hillary to muzzle Bill and see if she can win on her own...just like I said recently about wanting her to lose on her own, not just because the press bashes her more than anybody else, causing women to rush to her in sympathy.
 
Obama is treated with kid gloves by the media. And maybe his "golden boy" image went to his head. He certainly gets into trouble with his easy willingness to straddle all lines in order to be all things to all people.
 
Hillary's attacks were effective in that last debate...even though he had a good comeback or two, she had him stammering and stuttering. It's plain to see that Obama needs to learn how to defend himself better. That’s hard for me to ignore when thinking of him as a general election candidate.
 
If he's showing himself kind of rattled by both Clinton's as well as Edwards's criticisms, how is he going to hold up when the real swiftboaters slice into him?
 
For all of his likeable and inspirational qualities, I'm beginning to worry that Obama is still a little green at this stage. A debate is a verbal fight and you don't have the luxury of avoiding attacks. So, one can't "rise above it all" and stick to one's own uplifting speech. Instead, you have to parry and thrust  quickly...get back to your positive message. Hillary is very good at that.
 
Well, if Hillary and Obama shoot each other down in flames, maybe they'll make a path for Edwards...no one could go wrong with him. Edwards will also pull over some moderate Republican voters who don't like any of their candidates. Not so with either Hillary or Obama. Edwards is the only consistent winner in polls pitting him against McCain.
 
Anyway, after the last 7 years who could possibly complain about any of these Democratic candidates -- it's mind boggling how apathetic most of our country has been to the most screwed up administration we've ever had.
 

2008/1/22

Stone the Adulterers First!

@ 07:39 AM (65 months, 24 days ago)

This clip from the Bill Maher Show is awesome.
 
The proudly gay Dan Savage was sent out by Bill Maher's "Real Time" producers to gauge the queer views of Mike Huckabee's South Carolinian supporters:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiz2XKjThEQ
 
Why -- in a nation filled with war, a tanking economy, an epidemic of displaced working people who have no health insurance, cruelty, laziness, obesity, and a whole slew of solvable problems -- is gay rights the one passionate issue that will get these people off the couch and into the voting booth?
 
It's so funny when that one lady says, '..it's not you.' Yeah, right...it's not you... it's all of you gays. Don't take it personally, but you are an abomination and should roast in hell forever...
 
I live among some of these same people and I'm constantly amazed at the things they believe. They need to be carefully studied by cultural anthropologists to see if they can't break the mold and grow into the larger world that surrounds them. It's as if they were a primitive tribe lost in the headwaters of the Amazon. Poor things.
 
And ain't it funny that the most inbred, lowest class, fewest teeth and lowest IQ white people are the ones in "white supremacy" organizations?
 
My favorite line in the clip, and one that sums it all up is:
 
"Let them stone all the sinners, but start with the adulterers and by the time they get to the gays, they will be out of rocks."
 

2008/1/21

Remembering Dr. King

@ 10:16 AM (65 months, 25 days ago)

Today we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He was truly a great man and a great American...he was our Mahatma Gandhi. We must never forget that era of our nation's history when Dr. King made his call to awaken the moral authority within each of us...or the way he energized those even he himself could not have imagined needed to be inspired to stand up, to march, to decry, to demand equal rights.
 
We owe him an enormous debt of gratitude, and I will always stand with him.
 
I wonder how different our world would be today had he not been killed. I wonder the same about Robert Kennedy, another of my heroes. What they had in common was a commitment to civil rights and a commitment to end the Viet Nam war. I don't think we would have had a Nixon or Reagan and maybe not even a Carter...
 
How I wish Dr. King could have lived to see Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton run as viable presidential candidates today. Yes, Hillary too...because racism and sexism are different sides of the same coin.
 
I also can't forget something else about this honorable National Holiday--how hard it was fought for, and how hard others fought against it, how long they fought to defeat it...even a sitting president.
 
Ronald Reagan opposed the bill that would make this day a National Holiday. Reagan relented in his opposition only after Congress passed the King Day bill with an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate).
 
Unfortunately for many, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is simply a day off. Let's not forget how this day celebrates one of the most important men in American history... as we stop and think of him and recognize his achievements.
 

2008/1/20

Fox News did what?!

@ 01:51 PM (65 months, 26 days ago)

"Poll reveals overall declining trust in news media...
 
Jan 18, 2008 Fox News has surpassed CNN in the minds of Americans as the most trusted TV news organization, but the public’s overall perception about the believability of media news reports, including those by Fox, has plummeted.
 
Findings from a new Sacred Heart University poll show the most trusted national TV news organizations in terms of accurate reporting were: Fox News, 27 percent; CNN, 14.6 percent; and NBC News, 10.9 percent. They were followed by ABC News, 7 percent; local news, 6.9 percent; CBS News, 6.8 percent; MSNBC, 4 percent; PBS News, 3 percent; CNBC, 0.6 percent; and CBN, 0.5 percent. In a 2003 Sacred Heart University poll, CNN led Fox News in being trusted most for accurate reporting, 23.8 percent to 14.6 percent.
 
The poll also showed a significantly declining percentage of Americans say they believe all or most media news reporting ....[..]"
 
 
Welp...at least this poll seems accurate in one sense--for the most part we do not trust what the main stream media sez anymore.
 
I'm betting most of Fox's 27 percent still believe there are WMD in Iraq and that Saddam bought the airline tickets for the 9/11 terrorists.
 
Here's some examples of Fox's fine reporting:
 
1--Paul Begala had a surrealistic day last January 8--Fox News reported that he was joining Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. It was a big story, repeated several times...at least until the stunning election returns. The only problem was, it wasn't true. Begala said he told Fox it wasn't true -- and they kept reporting it anyway.
 
 
2--They reported a parody as real news. Last April, a prank involving a slab of ham at the Lewiston Middle School swelled from local news to a national fiasco after Fox aired a bogus report about the incident.
 
Fox & Friends reported parody quotes and details as actual news. The hosts asked whether ham was “a hate crime…or lunch?”...and showed screen shots of ham sandwiches, starving Somalians, belching, animal noises, and mock “reenactments” of the incident. The hosts kept saying, “We’re not making this up!”
 
"A school administrator who says he was ridiculed and harassed based on a bogus news story is suing."
 
 
3--Then there was the time Fox News (and other Rupert Murdoch outlets) ran crazy with a false right-wing report alleging that Sen. Barack Obama had attended an Islamic "madrassa" school as a 6-year-old child. They were going for a double with this one, which suggested that associates of Sen. Hillary Clinton had unearthed the information.
 
That "story" really frothed up Fox viewers, one caller wondered whether Obama's schooling means that "he doesn't consider terrorists the enemy." Fox anchor Brian Kilmeade replied, "Well, we'll see about that."
 
CNN investigated and rode to the rescue...
 
"CNN debunks false report about Obama....[..] The Insight article was cited several times Friday on Fox News and was also referenced by the New York Post, The Glenn Beck program on CNN Headline News and a number of political blogs...."
 
 
4--A while back Fox News Channel repeatedly -- and falsely -- reported that an elementary school in Cupertino, California, banned the Declaration of Independence because it mentioned God.
 
"Between November 24 and December 7, the Cupertino case has been falsely reported on seven occasions on FOX News primetime programs, numerous times during FOX News daytime programming, as well as on FOX Broadcasting Network's FOX News Sunday. Hannity & Colmes planned a December 8 live broadcast from Cupertino....
 
... In fact, Stevens Creek Elementary School in Cupertino did not ban the Declaration of Independence. [..]"
 
 
That's just four quick ones off the top of my head....
 
It really made me laugh when, just a few days ago on Jan. 17, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes had a little dust up about the economy. Hannity told Colmes the economy is "phenomenal"...and asked him "Where have you been living?" I guess nobody told him the stock market was tanking, or that even Bush was finally admitting we were in trouble.
 
"Poll: Public's Trust in Media Drops"
 
I don't know why...they are doing such a bang up job covering Britney Spears and her pregnant little sister...you know, all those important topics that are so relevant to the future of our country.
 
We have NO media anymore -- only corporate shills.
 
Bloggers might be the last frontier for true investigative reporting.
 

2008/1/19

Now THAT'S funny

@ 07:21 AM (65 months, 27 days ago)
 
Those wacky Canadians....

"Church strips saucy sign
 
A Brampton church has removed a sexually suggestive message from a sign in front of its building after a complaint from the public.
 
The sign in front of Heart Lake United Church on Sandalwood Parkway East usually has inspirational messages on it, according to resident Nicole Cedrone.
 
So as she drove home from the doctor's office this week, she did a double take when she saw the most recent message: "Lying in bed shouting Oh God doesn't constitute going to church."[..]"
 
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/295250
 
So, by being such a prude, Nicole Cedrone has ensured that the sign will be viewed by millions and not just a small number of people driving along Sandlewood Parkway. Thanks for the giggle, Nicole.
 

2008/1/18

It's the economy stupid! Part deux

@ 08:06 AM (65 months, 28 days ago)

Bush is back in the country and yesterday announced he's ready to "guide" the economy. Meanwhile, the stock market had a huge drop yesterday. Just huge:
 
From reuters.com: "Stocks dropped sharply on Thursday as a plunge in regional factory activity and a hefty loss at Merrill Lynch further clouded an increasingly dire view of the economy.
 
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 307.03 points, or 2.46 percent, to end unofficially at 12,159.13."
 
http://tinyurl.com/2h4cwg
 
Also, we learned that food prices had their largest rise since 1990 (back when the other Bush was President):
 
From stltoday.com: "Inflation truly hit home in 2007 with food prices rising 4.9 percent, the most since 1990, as energy costs for farmers surged and the production of crops, livestock and dairy products failed to keep pace with increased global demand."
 
http://tinyurl.com/yvkuo9
 
In Oklahoma a gallon of milk is almost $4...a loaf of bread $3, and a dang carton of eggs, $2! Never even mind about a gallon of gas...
 
This happened on Bush's watch. He'll try, but he can't blame anyone else.
 
Not only is it going to be a recession, we are probably going to see more bank failures and the continual downhill slide of the dollar...and when all is said and done, our entire US banking system might be in the hands of non-US money holders. Buckle up... it’s going to be a bumpy ride...
 
And now for a few words from the Britney Spears Guide to Global Economy:
 
"Trickle Down Economics" my left foot. Economies are stimulated by consumers, not producers. From the bottom up, NOT from the top down...very little of the money generated by tax cuts for the rich EVER trickles down to make higher earnings and thus, more spending by consumers.
 
Say, what if we did a tiny thing like cut the payroll tax for the working class? It would immediately put more money in the hands of people who are already having trouble making ends meet. Consumers would spend most or all that extra money in each paycheck. They'd buy more goods and services...which spurs companies to provide more goods and services...and to hire more workers to produce the increased demand for these goods and services.
 
This would create a self-sustaining happy cycle...resulting in those additional workers getting the benefit of the payroll tax cut, and they'll spend their extra money on goods and services, etc...etc. Everyone up and down the food chain benefits.
 
It would take a little time, but as companies make more profits due to increased consumer buying power, tax revenues will begin to refill federal coffers gutted by the Bush tax cuts.
 
But noooo...just look at some of the numbskull proposals being touted.
 
The Republicans are using economic gloom to scare us into agreeing to make the Bush tax cuts of 2001 permanent. Sooo predictable from the party that fear-mongered us into other disasters like wiretaps and torture. Now they're trying to scare us into setting those tax cuts for the rich into stone before the GOP gets kicked out of town next January.
 
Democrats are just as predictable. They want to just start handing out cash--$300 to $600 one-time handouts to every taxpayer. That's not going to solve anything. It will pay one month's heating bill for a working family in Detroit. Then what?
 
Democrats learned this little trick from Bush. Back in 2001 he handed out the same kind of "feel-good" money to make us think we were getting a piece of his $1.4 trillion tax cuts. That was our piece...a one-time $300 to $600 check, more a crumb than a piece. Suckers. We all know that the biggest beneficiaries of Bush's tax cuts have been the top 1 percent of the nation's earners.
 
Well, he'll be out later today...to present an emergency fiscal stimulus bill. Aren't you comforted to know that Bush has finally admitted the economy is in trouble -- and that he's going to fix it?
 
We are so screwed.
 

2008/1/16

Time for some blues

@ 07:29 AM (66 months, 14 hours ago)
 
Yeah, the Democrats had a debate and made nice...yeah, the Republicans had a primary in Michigan and Romney finally won something....maybe I'll write about that later.
 
But for right now I'm primaried out. It's time to clean the palate with a little blues...hah! a LOT of blues...somehow coming out of a teenage kid (when he recorded this)  "Lie to Me"... Jonny Lang.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DayCrQWJXuI
 
PS--I think the dark haired girl on the floor ought to record her own album...
 

2008/1/15

Enough with the press-driven Dem-olition!

@ 08:10 AM (66 months, 1 day ago)

Gah...is there no way to oppose Obama without being racist?
 
Or oppose Hillary without being sexist?
 
Is there any way that Edwards can stand at the sidelines of this and then rise from the ashes of their flame war?
 
Just wondering.
 
Barak Obama: "I think that I may disagree with Senator Clinton or Senator Edwards on how to get there, but we share the same goals. We're all Democrats. We all believe in civil rights. We all believe in equal rights. We all believe that regardless of race or gender that people should have equal opportunities....I think that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically and consistently been on the right side of civil rights issues. I think they care about the African-American community and that they care about all Americans and they want to see equal rights and justice in this country."
 
http://tinyurl.com/38kq64
 
Hillary Clinton: "Our party has been on the front line of every civil rights movement, women's rights movement, workers' rights movement, and other movements for justice in America. We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes — President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King — Senator Obama and I are on the same side."
 
http://tinyurl.com/3c94jk
 
Good. Maybe this will put a stop to the ugliness. But they need to refuse to let the media egg them on. We'll see if it's all talk or if their actions back it up.
 
Because, one thing for sure, the media have been fanning the flames of this wildfire. This issue was driven by press gossip. They love an easy story that writes itself, where they can be cynical and not research anything, or write about boring policy.
 
Will they even allow Democrats to close a wound that is so much fun for them to poke and prod? They want so much to reduce the Democratic primaries to a gender/race focus.
 
Last night on TV a commentator from Rolling Stone made a very interesting remark--that the journalist/pundit class are a bunch of spoiled whiners who want to “fix” the election to suit their narrative.
 
I liked it better when we Democrats were the grownups at the party...with the Republicans squabbling in the playroom while we discussed grownup things like the issues. By issues I don't mean race and gender...but war, economy, health care, you know, stuff that matters.
 
Some people think that if no decisive victor emerges before convention time, the super-delegates could force Clinton and Obama onto a ticket...that it may be the best thing for the party, an unbeatable and historic combination.
 
I personally think a Clinton/Obama ticket would be a disaster -- there are too many people who will never vote for Hillary, combined with the cracker backlash against Obama, it would be the worst of all possible tickets.
 
And Obama/Clinton? Hillary as VP? The Clintons taking a backseat to anyone? Dream on . . .
 

2008/1/12

And you thought Rush was a Hillary hater...

@ 08:23 AM (66 months, 4 days ago)

But he may be no match for this other bloated ego with a mean streak -- MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
 
Honestly, the longer this race goes on, the crazier and more misogynistic Chris Matthews gets.
 
"Using overtly sexist language, he has referred to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) as a "she devil" and compared her to a "strip-teaser." He has called her "witchy" and likened her voice to "fingernails on a blackboard." He has referred to men who support her as "castratos in the eunuch chorus." He has suggested Clinton is not "a convincing mom" and said "modern women" like Clinton are unacceptable to "Midwest guys." He has called her "Madame Defarge" and "Nurse Ratched."[..]"
 
http://mediamatters.org/items/200801110002
 
The biggest laugh I got from TV on New Hampshire primary night was how stunned Matthews was at Clinton's victory, and how he had to reverse himself after prematurely writing her political obituary. When Rachel Maddow suggested that Hillary won because of a revolt of women voters, sick and tired of media misogynists like Chris Matthews, that he had actually helped Clinton win...well, it was just hilarious.
 
Then he went on 'The View' and dug the hole a little deeper ...delivered a lengthy, condescending tirade repeating that Hillary Clinton's political career came about because of her husband's infidelity, belittling those who suggested otherwise...and claiming to know more about history than any of the View women.
 
Chris Matthews knows more about history than Barbara Walters? She was making history when he was still in diapers…like first prime-time woman news co-anchor with Harry Reasoner (who threw a hissy fit about it)...
 
Besides, they were calling him out on misogyny and his lack of journalistic standards, not on his knowledge of political history.
 
But let us not forget--he's not a real journalist, he's just a TV commentator.
 
Hilary has always had designs on political office...long before her husband's philandering became a tool of the GOP. I don't think anyone who pays attention to politics thinks she wouldn't have run for office if there had been no scandal. Hey, she might've had an easier time winning without that scandal.
 
His claim that Hillary has no qualities that would lead her to be elected to the Senate, TWICE...that Bill's behavior was the only instrumental factor, is plain bullcrap.
 
She is an earnest political wonk (like me) and is genuine when she engages people. She spent months traveling upstate NY, which has been in severe economic distress forever, AND heavily Republican, she showed up in their worlds and bothered to ask them what they care about and actually listened and made her game plan out of their answers.
 
That's what got her elected senator from NY.
 
Hillary is a lawyer and was on of one of the committees investigating Watergate. She put her career on hold for her husband's, and was his closest advisor for their 8 years in the White House. Yeah sure, part of her appeal might be Bill, not because he fooled around but because he is still a rock star. But let's not discount her own credentials and her own hard work.
 
I'm still no big Hillary supporter, Edwards would be more electable...but I WILL vote for her if she is the nominee.
 
Sad to say, all this is just a prelude to the hate Clinton will face should she be the nominee. She will be vilified daily by Fox News and all the rightwing radio hate mongers. Even Maureen Dowd and Arianna Huffington will have a go at her.
 
It will not be pretty, folks. But, of all the candidates, I think she is tough enough to take it when the right starts with the hard sucker punches.
 
She's had waaaay more practice.
 

2008/1/11

Shock and Awe -- Part ?

@ 08:07 AM (66 months, 5 days ago)
 
While we're all caught up handicapping the presidential horse race, our soldiers are fighting fierce battles and dying in Iraq. The media have mentioned it only in passing.
 
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Bush's surge speech. The Bushies have been bragging about how well it worked.
 
Yep, they say 'the surge' has restored order and things are calm. John McCain said so on TV, didn't mention that we were dropping bombs. All the Republicans on the debates think the Iraq War is doing just fine. Except for Ron Paul.
 
But we've been dropping 40,000 pounds of bombs, clearing areas so our troops can play 'Whack a Mole' again...pushing insurgents out of one area so they can pop up in another. Fighting an enemy who has infiltrated Iraqi security so they know dang well what's going to happen.
 
Too bad we can't bomb the Pakistan Government because it's bursting at the seams with al Qaeda.
 
From The Associated Press, Jan 10, 2008 --"U.S. bombers and jet fighters unleashed 40,000 pounds of explosives during a 10-minute airstrike Thursday, flattening what the military called al-Qaida in Iraq safe havens on the southern outskirts of the capital.
 
The strikes, carried out above approaching troops, was part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a nationwide campaign launched Tuesday against al-Qaida in Iraq.
 
....The attack came a day after the U.S. military reported that nine American soldiers were killed north of the capital in the first two days of a new offensive.
 
....Six soldiers were killed and four were wounded Wednesday in a booby-trapped house in Diyala, the U.S. command said. It also announced that three U.S. soldiers were killed and two wounded in an attack Tuesday in Salahuddin province, north of Diyala.
 
The toll marked some of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in Iraq since last fall. In all of December, 23 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq.[..]"
 
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_airstrikes_080110/
 
War is such an ugly, dirty, bloody business and it’s a damned shame that this one lingers on and on ticking out the clock of the Bush/Cheney administration because they desperately seek to establish a presidential legacy…or hand the mess over to the next president...whichever comes first.
 
And now I return you to Bush's fabulous peacekeeping mission in Jerusalem...
 

2008/1/10

Ah, the Larry Craig School of Law

@ 06:19 AM (66 months, 6 days ago)
 
...sez restroom stall hand-swiping is free speech.
 
Yep, Sen. Larry Craig's lawyers are arguing that "hand-signals" are constitutionally protected speech.
 
Next he'll say his stance was so wide because the stall was too narrow...
 
Poor Larry...not even the NH primary could knock this completely off the media's radar.
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Seeking to have his guilty plea in a bathroom sex sting erased, the attorneys for Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho argue in a new court filing that the underlying act wasn't criminal because it didn't involve multiple victims.
 
....Craig's legal team argues that the hand signal allegedly used to communicate a desire to engage in sexual conduct would be constitutionally protected speech."[..]
 
http://tinyurl.com/2gtcqe
 
Gah...this guy is the Energizer Bunny of public humiliation...the more he fights this the more it will be the only thing for which he'll be remembered. Because, after all, this is about an elected official engaging in unlawful and lewd behavior in a public washroom stall. A busy airport washroom stall visited by children.
 
As much as I dislike Craig’s, uh, positions, I can't help but wonder how much the need to be closeted has influenced his politics. Fear is a powerful motivator, especially for those who don't fit the prescribed mold.
 
In a perfect world it won't matter what genitalia plays with which...as long as it's of legal age and in private.
 
But until then, it sure gives the rest of us a good giggle.
 
And hey, a ruling that hand signals are protected under the Constitution could  lead to an increase in the use of the middle finger salute to politicians, cops, bosses, etc. etc. etc.
 

2008/1/9

One word for you, baby--WOMEN. Iron THAT!

@ 06:56 AM (66 months, 7 days ago)

They said it couldn't be done....Obama's momentum was just too strong. He was the second coming. He was "the one." Obama believed it too, looking a little smug at times...never mind that less than 1 percent of the US population had voted. The people of New Hampshire had other ideas.
 
Hillary Clinton did what the pollsters, the pundits, her own staff, probably Bill Clinton, not to mention everyone else, didn't believe would happen. She somehow turned a much written about and fawned over double digit Obamarama into a victory for herself that left all the TV pundits sucking their own breath back into their pie holes.
 
They said she was through ...but it looks like she hasn't even begun to fight. It was shrewd that she was alone up there giving her victory speech...no Madeline Albright, no Bill Clinton, no remnants from her husband's presidency. Smart move Hillary, it should be only about you. I hope you've learned this much.
 
Hillary Clinton rose above the fray...despite their sexist, vicious, biased, good old boy bullcrap day after day, night after night, week after week for what seems like an eternity.
 
Last night, Hillary Clinton led Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson all night long. The numbers never switched. She never gave up the lead.
 
Even with neo-con Fox News trying to make judgments before the polls closed, maybe subtly trying to stampede the herd in another direction. Their Major Garrett actually made reference to 'Hillary's emotional outburst'...yes, he used the word 'outburst'...now, we all have seen that teary moment and it certainly wasn't an outburst.
 
I was one who didn't think Hillary Clinton would win New Hampshire. I didn't like it the night before when her husband gave a hoarse speech bashing Obama, calling him "a kid" and saying he had been untruthful about his stance on Iraq. I thought it gave her even more negatives. The speeches should be about what Hillary stands for, not slanging matches. But then...she won didn't she? So maybe I shouldn't question the Master Politician.
 
This all puts me in a quandary because I'm still hoping that John Edwards gets a toehold somewhere. I really do think he's the most 'electable.' But the feminist in me celebrates the progress Hillary has made. And if things keep going her way and she gets the nomination...well, even though I think she's too Republican Lite, I might be working to get her elected.
 
She's waaaay better than any of those guys in the Republican Clown Car. Except maybe John McCain....another come-back kid. But he's too old and war-hawkish and not pro-choice.
 
And there *was* something so real, so human, about her little emotional moment....which showed a side of her, her love of country, that we hadn't seen before.
 
It IS tougher for a woman. Like Ginger Rogers said about dancing with Fred Astaire--"I have to do everything he does, except I do it backwards and in high heels."
 

2008/1/8

"Iron my shirt!"

@ 05:37 AM (66 months, 8 days ago)

January 08, 2008, From Sky News: "The former first lady was giving one of her last speeches in the primary when two men jumped up from the crowd and began screaming "Iron my shirt!"[..]"

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1299766,00.html

This sort of sexist crap makes me feel more sympathetic towards Hillary Clinton, even though I don't agree with her politics.

Way back in the day when Rush Limbaugh had a television show, he tried to do a stand up act one night and told a Hillary joke. It involved him and Hillary in an elevator and she starts to come on to him, saying "Rush, I want you to make me feel like a woman." He goes on and on about how he's disrobing there in the elevator, and guess what the punchline is?

"Iron my shirt."

Now it's unlikely that these rightwing hecklers in that audience would remember that, but I'll bet ol' Rush has repeated that joke more than once since the campaign started. It's his kind of humor, and it appeals to the misogynists who make up his audience.

It's also a perfect example of the kind of misogynist crap Clinton has to deal with. It's still not going to get me to vote for her, but it certainly will make me defend her when necessary.

 

2008/1/7

And the Obamarama continues...

@ 04:55 PM (66 months, 9 days ago)

Yes, yes...Obama is on a roll, New Hampshire seems to have caught Iowa's fever. Last time I looked he was double digits ahead of Hillary in the latest polls. But, let's not read too much into what it all means for presidential campaigns and race relations.
 
Yes, Obama's win was impressive...even historic, and it caught many people by surprise. For the first time in our history, people are hopeful that America might be ready to elect a Black president. We want so much to believe that Americans are moving beyond rigid thinking about race.
 
And the press knows how to promote a good story...
 
But, beware the fawning media. Their coverage of Obama has been over-the-top, almost acting like he already won the nomination. Ever since he gave that speech at the 2004 Democratic national convention, the national news media have treated him as if he were the Second Coming. An articulate black man NOT playing the race card!
 
The press really ran with it when Joe Biden stuck his big foot in his mouth and said Obama was "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean..."
 
But Obama's personal story and charisma have charmed the media into doing almost no critical analysis of his political positions. CNN interviewed people coming from from one of his rallies. They were 'enraptured'...but couldn't answer when asked which of his policies they liked.
 
His chief rival, Hilary Clinton, on the other hand, has been bashed by the media consistently ever since she hit the scene in 1992. If Clinton’s coverage were half as positive as Obama’s since her rise to national prominence ...she might even have the nomination locked up by now.
 
I prefer Edwards, but if Hillary loses I want it to be fair and square...not because the press loves to bash her. And now that she got a little teary today in New Hampshire, they will trash that too. Their attacks have little to do with her policies, it's mostly sexist. Seems any time a woman raises her voice to make a debate point, she instantly becomes shrill. The men can holler as loud as they want and they're just considered 'passionate'...well, except for Howard Dean.
 
Hillary Clinton has put up with more crap than probably any of the candidates, but it has only made her tough. Still, she is a good woman who has always been a champion for children and the disadvantaged.
 
So...if Hillary loses, she loses. But I don't want her to lose because millions of right-wingers have carried on a 15-year vendetta of sick-minded smears and hatred...from her face printed on toilet paper to Hillary Nutcrackers. "Ditch the Bitch!" is the Righty rebel yell. Enough is enough.
 
Neo-con Bill Bennett sneered on TV about Hillary getting emotional today. Big surprise. But then he's also been saying that Obama's popularity means that racism is no longer a problem in America. Give me a break. Racism may not be a problem for millionaire white men like Bennett, but there are a lot of jobless, homeless black and brown people who would beg to differ.
 
Yes, Obama won 38 percent of Iowa caucus-goers. That means, of course, that 62 percent of them did not want him to be their party’s nominee...significant when you think of the incredible Democratic turnout.
 
Obama seems to be a good guy, his speeches have become more electrifying...he lets us feel better about ourselves. I like his wife too. But hope and inspiration is not a replacement for experience.
 
It all comes down to: Is he electable? Will more than 50 percent of America vote for him? We'd like to believe America has changed. And it IS changing. But has it changed enough? I call your attention to all the noose-hanging stunts that have cropped up across this country.
 
I fear that Obama is mostly symbolic. People want to say they made history by voting for the first black President.
 
But what if not enough of them do?
 
Another Republican will move into the White House.
 

Screw bipartisanship!

@ 07:02 AM (66 months, 9 days ago)
 
Who knew JFK was such a badass?
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAGyT-z9SlA
 
This video is making the rounds ...after you watch it you'll understand why. Sounds kind of angry doesn't he? It's called passion.
 

2008/1/5

The American Eagle has two wings

@ 06:22 AM (66 months, 11 days ago)

Over on Fox News (which I keep a close eye on) I happened to see Sean Hannity interviewing Dennis Kucinich. Hannity asked him why Hillary Clinton is such a "divisive figure"? Kucinich didn't take the bait...he answered--"I know you want me to go after her... but I'm not going to do it, because what if I need her help to win the election?" Big dreamer, that Kucinich.
 
Then Hannity says--"I appreciate the fact that of all the Democratic candidates you've been one of the few that have been willing to come on this program, answer any question we've ever thrown at you, and your Democratic rivals, they're tough enough to take on Osama Bin Laden, supposedly, they're tough enough to take on the war on terror, but they can't answer questions from colleagues like Brit Hume and Chris Wallace, don't you think that's a little cowardly?"
 
And Kucinich replied--"Well I look at it this way. If you're a Democrat running, you can't pass the Fox News test, you know, how can you handle these other problems? .... I respect Sean Hannity, and I respect Bill O'Reilly, and the people over at Fox, because look. I don't agree with you on things, but at least by participating I'm able to get out what I have to say about the way I think America should go, and you get out your positions too, and after all isn't that what America's about? The American Eagle has two wings, a left wing and a right wing, and needs both to fly."
 
I liked that answer, and agree with Dennis...except for the part about respecting Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly.
 

Swarming in the land of snow and donuts

@ 06:02 AM (66 months, 11 days ago)

Hooray! Dave Barry is coming out of semi-retirement (he woke up) to take a look at the political happenings in America's favorite winter vacation spot, New Hampshire.

[...]
"The big story here right now is the Iowa caucuses, in which Iowans from both parties surprised the experts and sent a clear message to the candidates: ''Please get the hell out of Iowa.'' The political landscape has been severely shaken up. To help you understand what is going on, here's a summary of the situation, with key names and concepts in capital letters:
 
On the Democratic side, HILLARY CLINTON, who was the FRONT RUNNER based on her EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE being married to her HUSBAND, BILL CLINTON, totally got pulverized in Iowa by BARACK OBAMA, who has been a U.S. SENATOR for like FIFTEEN MINUTES during which he acquired many NEW IDEAS such as CHANGE. Also he has a supporter named DICK HARPOOTLIAN, which has to be one of the best supporter names ever. JOHN EDWARDS, a MULTIMILLIONAIRE LAWYER who stands for POPULISM, faltered despite having the best HAIR. Both JOE BIDEN and CHRIS DODD dropped out of the race because they had, between them, a total of maybe one SUPPORTER, and he was no DICK HARPOOTLIAN. Remaining in the race because they are still HOPEFUL, meaning DELUSIONAL, are BILL RICHARDSON, MIKE GRAVEL (yes, ''MIKE GRAVEL'') and of course DENNIS KUCINICH, who will keep running until he is felled by a TRANQULIZER DART.
 
On the Republican side, the big Iowa winner was MIKE HUCKABEE, who believes in MORAL VALUES and lost 100 POUNDS and plays the BASS and has the support of CHUCK NORRIS, who has a HOT WIFE and can break down your FRONT DOOR using only his FOREHEAD. The big loser was MITT ROMNEY, who finished second despite having MONEY and ORGANIZATION and the second-best HAIR and an estimated FOUR HUNDRED ATTRACTIVE CLONE SONS. Finishing third was FRED THOMPSON, who has been on TELEVISION and also has a HOT WIFE, although political observers agree she is not as hot as CHUCK NORRIS' WIFE. (It is not known at this time whether DICK HARPOOTLIAN has a wife, and, if so, how hot she is.) Other names we should mention here in capital letters are JOHN McCAIN, RUDY GIULIANI, RON PAUL, DUNCAN HUNTER (yes, ''DUNCAN HUNTER'') and DICK HARPOOTLIAN. [...]"

http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/367327.html
 

2008/1/4

Okay, okay...Iowa is way better than Kenya

@ 08:58 AM (66 months, 12 days ago)

Huckabee and Obama ...who woulda thunk?
 
What happened to Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul?
 
Iowa sent the country a message last night--We want change!...new faces...new voices...a new approach to politics. The voters' message was clear in both parties, but boldest in the Democratic Party.
 
Judging by the entrance polls, Barack Obama's victory is quite impressive. Not only did he win by a pretty solid margin over both Clinton and Edwards, but he won among both men and women, among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, among every income group, and he won among people most concerned with the war, the economy and healthcare.
 
It's a great story that Obama won last night, but the biggest story is the overwhelming statewide turnout for ALL the Democratic candidates collectively.
 
Over 236,000 Iowans turned out in bitter cold to participate in the Democratic caucuses, nearly 90 percent more than 2004, and as Howard Dean said on CNN, over twice as many as the 114,000 people who participated in the Republican caucus.
 
It's a good sign that Dems can win the marginal states they lost last time... like Iowa, NM, and Ohio. So the big winner is the DNC!
 
I feel a little guilty for thinking Iowa is mostly populated by a bunch of yokels...because I'm proud of what they did there last night. Democrats turned out in huge, huge numbers, and took their responsibilities seriously.
 
I still think Edwards is our most ELECTABLE Democrat, I’m really enthusiastic about his progressive views. I like his single-payer universal health care plan. And he won't take money from the corporate PACs...he's the only one of the top three candidates who wants to limit his spending and be publicly funded. He said loud and clear that he's going after the insurance companies, the drug companies and anyone else who tries to screw with the American worker.
 
So look for Big Murdoch Media to squelch John Edwards and rarely mention him. They will, however, give a lot of air time to H. Clinton because she's the one they think they can beat.
 
Don't get me wrong, I like Obama well enough, and he’s going to be a great statesman...someday. But first I’d like to see him get a little more experience...say, starting as VP.
 
How about Edwards/Obama and 16 years of Democratic presidents? I could go for that... and really, it'll take that long to get out of the hole the Republicans have dug us into.
 
The war in Iraq ranks as the top issue for Democrats ...while immigration, gay marriage and abortion are the top issues for Republicans. How silly is that?
 
Yes, Huckabee did good...and left Romney in the dirt. Maybe evangelicals don't cotton to Mitt's magic underwear, Angel Moroni and the Gold Plate Special. Or it's Iowa's revenge for all those door knockers and interrupted dinners.
 
In my dreams Huckabee heads the GOP ticket ...because he’s the real deal evangelical. A hamster would beat him in the general election. Hopefully this country has learned its lesson and wouldn't put Southern Baptists in the White House.
 
Anyway Huck won't be able to keep this up ...Iowa's Republican turnout was 60 percent evangelical, and I don't see him going gangbusters in less God-soaked states.
 
If that evangelicals-only trend continues throughout the primaries across the country, the Republicans will soon find themselves in a pickle.
 

2008/1/3

Is this any way to elect a president?

@ 08:40 AM (66 months, 13 days ago)

It's kind of fun not knowing what's going to happen today in Iowa....might be the most fun I've had during this excruciatingly long campaign ordeal. Except for the YouTube debates. Now that was fun, seeing candidates hit with off the wall questions from snowmen and guys in Viking helmets...made it so much harder for politicians to give a robot-answer.

All three leading Democratic candidates have qualities that I appreciate...but I still say Hillary and Barak can't win the national election, no matter how well they do today.

Of course, I REALLY appreciate the bizarre qualities of the GOP candidates ... they've been sooo entertaining and almost daily delivered something to make me snigger.

And not to be sarcastic or anything, but I hope the good people of Iowa bask in the warmth of all this media attention as much as they can...because after tomorrow, America is going to forget them again for the next four years.

Now I ask you...is this any way to select a president, the most powerful person in the world?

We need to rethink all aspects of the presidential campaign...from how the money is raised and spent...to the Iowa Primary to the Electoral College. Times and electronics have changed.

First of all, I don't like that Iowa and New Hampshire have such a disproportionate effect on our national elections. Their populations--Iowa is 94.9 percent white, New Hampshire is 96.1 percent white--and lack of teeming big cities ringed with suburbs, just don't make them the perfect place to sort through the presidential chaff for the rest of America.

If the DNC and the RNC were smart (I know, I know)...they'd fix the primary calendar mess and four years from now neither Iowa nor New Hampshire will be basking in the media spotlight.

The Michigan Democratic Party recently proposed to break the country up into a number of regional primaries, and hold a lottery to see which region goes first each cycle. Seems reasonable and sensible to me.

Which means the idea is totally doomed….

Or, bring back the old days, when the Presidential race didn't start 2 years out. Candidates announced early in the election year, maybe ran in a couple of primaries--separated by weeks or even months--or maybe didn't even enter a primary at all.

These long campaigns seem so artificial...candidates have more time to manipulate reporters who in turn have more time to write more articles to manipulate more people. We get controlled pseudo-events, sound bites and photo-ops instead of old-fashioned rallies, speeches, and issues.

No wonder the United States has just about the lowest percentage of voter turnout among the world's democracies. By election day we are sick to death of it all...every time we turn on the TV or read a newspaper....

Anyway, my friend says the road to the White House has always been through the media...starting seriously with JFK. No media attention means no support means no money means no voters means defeat.

Anyone ever heard of Tom Vilsack?

2008/1/2

Who would Jesus slander?

@ 07:04 AM (66 months, 14 days ago)

"Huckabee Kills Ad, Then Shows It"
 
Huckabee's Iowa scream?
 
Smells like Karl Rove to me...you know, bordering on shrewd AND stupid.
 
I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the political campaigns because I'm sick and tired of it all, but I couldn't ignore that most bizarre TV moment.
 
Mike Huckabee actually held a press conference to renounce negative campaigning by unveiling his hard-hitting attack ad against Mitt Romney to a ballroom full of reporters and dozens of TV cameras.
 
Standing in front of five large charts attacking Romney's record, and a big banner reading "Enough is Enough", a haggard-looking Huckabee said that the fight to win the Republican caucus had gotten "out of hand" and "out of control" and that he wouldn't do any more negative campaigning.
 
Huckabee said he had already sent the attack ad to local TV stations, but then he had an epiphany. "From now we will run only ads that say why I should be president not why Mitt Romney shouldn't be president," he said.
 
Ah...but first he wanted to show the ad to the media...the ad that he told the TV stations not to show. You can understand why all the reporters broke into laughter.
 
From The Associated Press: "CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee insisted he wasn't trying to pull a fast one when he played a negative TV commercial for the media even as he promised not to air it for voters.[..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/28sefq
 
Huckabee might have been hoping that gullible news people would run the ad for free. Of course, given all the snorting laughter in the room, that didn't seem likely.
 
I heard that Huckabee's press conference is already up on YouTube...maybe the attack ad won't be far behind.
 
Boy, I've seen some cheap stunts in my time, but rarely *this* cheap or *this* transparent. Reporters can be lazy and mediocre...but they aren't idiots.
 
...although that would explain a lot of things.
 
See, the national press corps will let you lie, browbeat, cheat, and manipulate ... but woe be to anyone who insults their intelligence. Besides, newspapers and the rest of the media exist to make money, not to inform the public.
 
Where's Hunter S. Thompson when we need him most?
 
Of course Huckabee's decision not to run the ad gave him the chance to say--"What shall it profit a man, if he should win all the world and lose his own soul." Over and over and over again.
 
He'd better hope a whole passel of evangelicals turn up at the caucus.
 
And which is worse--a calculating politician pretending to be a devout Christian, or a genuine heartland preacher who didn't come from no monkey?
 
Seriously folks, this is a horrible way to pick the most powerful person in the world for the next 4 to 8 years.
 
Ah well...anybody named "Huckabee" probably couldn't get elected anyway. Sounds too backwoods and snake-oily. After all, we Americans are trained to select our leaders the way we do our toothpaste...by the prettiest package.