Honor the Dead - Make More

I Did Not Compromise My Principles: George Bush says "'I listened to a lot of voices, but ultimately, I listened to this voice: I'm not going to let your son die in vain,' he said. 'I believe we can win. I'm going to do what it takes to win in Iraq.'"

Letting others get killed in order to improve the lot of a dead person is the mental setup of people I am always against.

Not a Universal Soldier

We Were On The Right Side: "'The content of the Vietnam protest is that there were despicable acts going on, but the despicable acts were being done by our government. ... I never hurt or killed anyone.'"

The whole idea is to keep names off the black wall.

"What you call the violent past, that was a time when thousands of people were being murdered every month by our own government. ... We were on the right side."

We Most Certainly Should Have Done More.

"The Children Are Watching" - Noonan

But They're Not Watching Republicans: The Republicans "lost the vote of two-thirds of those aged 18 to 29. They lost a generation! If that continues in coming years, it will be a rolling wave of doom."

"The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace" - says Rightie Mouthbreather

The Wall Street Journal's "Bring An Infant To Work Day" Winner Announced: "Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House."

Thud !!

George Bush did not stand by us. He forever stands by 4000 caskets filled with the remains of those you love.

Those people are not coming back, and the Wall Street Journal is screaming mad to publish writer Jeffrey Scott Shapiro's words.

Loyalty, the least admirable quality in existence, lived in high esteem within Shapiros everywhere, even as "Captain A" plowed full speed through an ice field at night with no binoculars.

Once and yet again, WSJ types shake the "invisible hand-job of capitalism" and pretend it's the grip of god.

Walking Into The Light

"Bittersweet": "Detroit, MI here...I have been tossing and turning all night long and finally gave up and got up, put the kids things together in case I didn't get back in time, made a cup a sweet chai and packed a book in my purse. The parking lot was packed, the trees full of color and the air full of hope. All this and it was only 6:30 am.

Everyone there was joyful, hopeful and polite to one another. One Love. We all talked about this lady, Barack's grandmother, and how she already knew and died with the peace of having raised to adulthood one good and exceptional man/human being. May we all know this feeling.

I took in every moment and after casting my ballot I walked outside and felt like I was looking at the sun for the first time in 8 years."

Over The Parapet - Life, Romance !

If the election lasts longer than 4 hours, call the nurse: "This is beginning to look like a five-state election. Those states are Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada. Essentially all relevant electoral scenarios involve some combination of these five states."

I should caution that by far the most likely scenario is that Obama wins some relatively decisive victory of anywhere from 3-12 points in the popular vote. If Obama wins the popular vote by anything in this range, he will find plenty of blue territory, accumulating somewhere between 300-400 electoral votes. The electoral math will matter very little.

We can probably assume, however, that IF the national polls tighten significantly (and to reiterate, the likelihood is that they will NOT), McCain will edge out a victory in North Carolina, Florida, Indiana, North Dakota, Montana, Georgia, and Missouri; put those states in the McCain column for the time being. Likewise, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa all appear safe for Obama, even in the case of significant tightening. Put those in the Obama column.

That leaves our five states in play. The victory conditions for Obama involving these five states proceed something as follows:

1. Win Pennsylvania and ANY ONE of Colorado, Virginia, Ohio, or Nevada*
2. Win Ohio and EITHER Colorado OR Virginia.
3. Win Colorado AND Virginia AND Nevada.

(* Nevada produces a 269-269 tie, which would probably be resolved for Obama in the House of Represenatives.)

Now, suppose you think that Colorado is already in the bag for Obama because of his large edge in early voting there. We can then simplify the victory conditions as follows:

1. Win Pennsylvania
2. Win Ohio
3. Win Virginia AND Nevada"

Ah gee, it all sounds as easy as pie on a third date.

"So long, suckers..."

"Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.": "37 year old Andrew "Lahde became one of the biggest names in the investment industry when one of his funds produced a return of 866% last year, largely by forecasting the US home loans industry would collapse.

In his farewell letter, which concluded with an appeal for the legalisation of marijuana, Lahde said he was happy with his rewards and did not envy those who had made even more money.

"I will let others try to amass nine, 10 or 11 figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck," he wrote, citing a life of back-to-back business appointments relieved only by a two-week annual holiday in which financiers are still "glued to their Blackberries..."

"...His final words of advice? "Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life."

"Come and get me, copper" - Peggy Noonan

"A mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism": "In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism.

I gather this week from conservative publications that those whose thoughts lead them to criticism in this area are to be shunned, and accused of the lowest motives. In one now-famous case, Christopher Buckley was shooed from the great magazine his father invented. In all this, the conservative intelligentsia are doing what they have done for five years. They bitterly attacked those who came to stand against the Bush administration. This was destructive. If they had stood for conservative principle and the full expression of views, instead of attempting to silence those who opposed mere party, their movement, and the party, would be in a better, and healthier, position.

At any rate, come and get me, copper."

Who Cares That Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right As Long As Three Lefts Do?

Conservative Talk Radio Host Michael Smerconish Endorses Obama: "For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I'm voting for a Democrat for president."

"...the Chicago Tribune, a newspaper that has not endorsed a Democrat for president since it was founded in 1847, followed suit. From their editorial:

Many Americans say they're uneasy about Obama. He's pretty new to them.

We can provide some assurance. We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready.
...

It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States."

Brown Shirts On Sale in the Lobby !!

A Personal Experience of McCain:

Mary-Kay Gamel is a literature and classics professor at UCSC. She is asking people to send the letter she wrote far and wide.

It was just before John McCain's last run at the presidential nomination in 2000 that my husband and I vacationed on Turtle Island in Fiji with John McCain, Cindy, and their children, including Bridget (their adopted Bangladeshi child).

It was not our intention, but it was our misfortune to be in close quarters with John McCain for almost a week, since Turtle Island has a small number of bungalows and their focus on communal meals force all vacationers who are there at the same time to get to know each other intimately. He arrived at our first group meal and started reading quotes from a pile of William Faulkner books with a forest of Post-Its sticking out of them. As an English Literature major myself, my first thought was, "if he likes this so much, why hasn't he memorized any of this yet?" I soon realized that McCain actually thought we had come on vacation to be a volunteer audience for his "readings" which then became a regular part of each meal. Out of politeness, none of the vacationers initially protested at this intrusion into their blissful holiday, but people's buttons definitely got pushed as the readings continued day after day. Unfortunately this was not his only contribution to our mealtime entertainment. He waxed on during one meal about how Indo-Chine women had the best figures and that our American corn-fed women just couldn't meet up to this standard. He also made it a point that all of us should stop Cindy from having dessert as her weight was too high and made a few comments to Amy, the 25 year old wife of the honeymooning couple from Nebraska, that she should eat less as she needed to lose weight.

McCain's appreciation of the beauty of Asian women was so great that David the American economist had to move his Thai wife to the other side of the table from McCain as McCain kept aggressively flirting with and touching her. Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: "Oh, that was Cindy's idea - I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona. No, it wasn't my idea at all."

I actively avoided McCain after that, but unfortunately one day he engaged me in a political discussion which soon got us on the topic of the active US bombing of Iraq at that time. I was shocked when he said, "If I was in charge, I would nuke Iraq to teach them a lesson." Given McCain's personal experience with the horrors of war, I had expected a more balanced point of view. I commented on the tragic consequences of the nuclear attacks on Japan during WWII - but no, he was not to be dissuaded. He went on to say that if it was up to him he would have dropped many more nuclear bombs on Japan. I rapidly extricated myself from this conversation. I could tell that his experience being tortured as a POW didn't seem to have mellowed out his perspective, but rather had made him more aggressive and vengeful towards the world.

My final encounter with McCain was on the morning that he was leaving Turtle Island. Amy and I were happily eating pancakes when McCain arrived and told Amy that she shouldn't be having pancakes because she needed to lose weight. Amy burst into tears at this abusive comment. I felt fiercely protective of Amy and immediately turned to McCain and told him to leave her alone. He became very angry and abusive towards me, and said, "Don't you know who I am?"

I looked him in the face and said, "Yes, you are the biggest I have ever met" and headed back to my cabin. I am happy to say that later that day when I arrived at lunch I was given a standing ovation by all the guests for having stood up to McCain's bullying.

Although I have shared my McCain story informally with friends, this is the first time I am making this public. I almost did so in 2000, when McCain first announced his bid for the Republican nomination, but it soon became apparent that George Bush was the shoo-in candidate and so I did not act then. However, now that there is a very real possibility that McCain could be elected as our next president, I feel it is my duty as an American citizen to share this story.

I can't imagine a more scary outcome for America than that this abusive, aggressive man should lead our nation. I have observed him in intimate surroundings as he really is, not how the media portrays him to be. If his attitudes toward women and his treatment of his own family are even a small indicator of his real personality, then I shudder to think what will happen to America were he to be elected as our President.

-- Mary-Kay Gamel, Professor of Classics, Comparative Literature, and Theater Arts, Cowell College, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064
Telephone: (office) 831-459-2381; (home) 831-429-8803
mkgamel@ucsc.edu

Bush - "Your Ass Is Mine"

Dirty Secret Of The Bailout: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

It's called dictatorial power and as practiced by Sulla, Stalin, and godzillion other tyrants, leads to greed monkees fucking impoverished boys, and to mega yachts.

They Kill Us For Their Sport

Washington, "where the very few wealthy and powerful have a seat at the table and the rest of us are on the menu."

Don't miss the Moose-Ball Mousse, Sarah Palin's homemade dessert that's a snap to make - lightly-killed moose cojones, rolled in ice, then served with a rich gumbo of lies.

McCain's Mooseketeer

Whatever Palin's Been Inhalin' is now the drug of choice for Republicans everywhere. McCain's Mooseketeer has issued her clarion call to the clueless to come and watch the Grand Old Soap Opera of her life - see Track Palin ready himself to set off for Iraq to fight for the "surge", watch the new baby stare off into the distance, wonder at the sex life of the pregnant Bristol, drool for a chance to hang with the gallant and handsome First Dude, and thrill to the precocious cuteness of Piper Palin as she licks things.

I regret to say that McCain's choice to add Palin to the ticket is by any measure bold, risky and brilliant. With this move - and the apparent success of "his" surge, McCain lays out a claim to leadership and evidence of superior canniness.

Palin By Comparison

At Least God Is On Her Side: "'Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers out on a task that is from God.

That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan.'"

"Just prior to discussing Iraq, Alaska's governor asked the audience to pray for another matter -- a $30 billion national gas pipeline project that she wanted built in the state. 'I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that,' she said."

Somebody like Palin surely must have a preacher lurking in the dim background and - walla!!!, there he is, Pastor Kalnins:

"Pastor Kalnins has also preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war "contending for your faith;" and said that Jesus "operated from that position of war mode."

Thank heaven for little girls. They grow up in the most unusual ways.

I just can't fathom how much fun we're about to have.

John McCain's Heart

President Palin: "'She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?' said Lyda Green, the president of the State Senate, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. 'Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?'"

An Anchorage Daily News editorial states that, "It's stunning that someone with so little national and international experience might be a heartbeat away from the presidency."

Uhhh... What Am I Supposed To Do Everyday?

Get Her Done, America !!: "'As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"

Damn straight, girly ! - you should demand that information on your first day in office.

Leighton Woodhouse, Communications Director at Brave New Films, writing in HuffPo, says that "the McCain campaign is doing what the GOP always does when it has to fight for working class voters in a debate that Republicans can't win on its merits: they are reverting to symbolic politics, a role for which Palin is tailor-made."

To use Sarah's wonderfully vapid, Hiltonesque new phrase, "absolutely, yup, yup."

Woodhouse's evolved prediction is that "The McCain campaign is going to trot Palin out whenever they need to make the case that they feel America's pain. They're going to contrast her story to Obama's, and even to Biden's (not the part about being a scrappy kid from Scranton, but the part about being in the Senate for a million years)."

"They're going to turn any question about Palin's 'experience,' whether from a Dem or from a journalist, into another elitist attack on working class culture, another example of snooty, brainiac liberals condescending to ordinary Americans. And to boot, a bunch of good old boys picking on Mrs. Mom."

...it's eerily like that scene from the cable series Mad Men, where they discuss the affect of the "Official Evidence of Cancer" on cigarette advertising and how the entire health issue is now moot - everyone's fucked, so no cigarette can be healthier than another. Checkmate.

Back in the U.S. We Are

The Obama sensation is different than anything in American politics. Here we have “candidate as vessel”, filling up with the dreams of legions of citizens. Here is a guy whose growing gravitas is being secured by raw hope for a way out of the Great American Failure that we are living through. We are as refugees, slogging endlessly through waist-deep water toward a frightfully distant dry purchase.

If some people don't recognize any of this then perhaps their fate is to never make it to the crest of the hill to see what is beyond the shining city.

If they could see Novamerica, they'd grab some booze and join us – but perhaps their eyes do not see.

The Anatomy of a McCain Deception

"As only Mother Teresa can, she prevailed upon me to take this baby and another baby to the United States for medical care.'':

"As was pointed out yesterday by the Christian Science Monitor, the McCain campaign was called out for lying about the purported urging of Cindy McCain by Mother Teresa herself to adopt two children at her orphanage back in 1991. Turns out, McCain never met or even spoke with Mother Teresa on that trip.

Once confronted by the Monitor about the deception, the campaign quickly erased such claims from the website, as it did with Cindy's family recipes, which were proved to be lifted from the Food Network."

"Seems that Rick Warren told Larry King on Monday night that the Mother Teresa story was one of three times during Saturday's forum that McCain teared-up. They're liars and actors."

Lost and Found

Righties Pissed That Obama's Brain Works As It Should: "'Expanded access to prenatal education and heath care facilities will far more likely serve the very real state interest in preventing increasing numbers of children from being born into lives of pain and despair.'"

Right Wingers Ruin Bank, Blame Schumer

Nice Try By Swift-Boat Kill Squad : "Copies of the employee letter were distributed to the press by CRC Public Relations whose clients include the National Republican Congressional Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee."

Seems like the Republicans are all over this one.