Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Third Party

The fear-mongering of this article aside, there's an important consideration for all progressives: to make sure that Barack Obama not only wins the Presidency, but that his coattails are long and enveloping:

Although two seats on this court are vacant, Bush nominee Peter Keisler has been denied even a committee vote for two years. If Barack Obama wins the presidency, he will almost certainly fill those two vacant seats, the seats of two older Clinton appointees who will retire, and most likely the seats of four older Reagan and George H.W. Bush appointees who may retire as well.

The net result is that the legal left will once again have a majority on the nation's most important regulatory court of appeals.

The balance will shift as well on almost all of the 12 other federal appeals courts. Nine of the 13 will probably swing to the left if Mr. Obama is elected (not counting the Ninth Circuit, which the left solidly controls today). Circuit majorities are likely at stake in this presidential election for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal. That includes the federal appeals courts for New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and virtually every other major center of finance in the country.

On the Supreme Court, six of the current nine justices will be 70 years old or older on January 20, 2009. There is a widespread expectation that the next president could make four appointments in just his first term, with maybe two more in a second term. Here too we are poised for heavy change.

Now, there's a movement afoot amongst progressives who have become frustrated with Obama's drift to the center to register their disapproval by voting for a third party candidate (likely, Ralph Nader) in "safe" states. The operating theory is, "to hold him accountable on issues of social, economic and environmental justice issues from the Left," as a friend has put it to me.

Bollocks.

First, it is a dangerous game to play, trying to determine which is a swing state and which is a "safe" state. While Obama *should* be safe in many states, remember that if Al Gore had won his home Congressional district, Ralph Nader wouldn't be the hated man he is right now. Safe is in retrospect. We can't afford to gamble with the long term future of this nation.

Second, let's assume that the "safe" scenario is, well, safe. Who is Obama going to listen to more: the people who stood by him loyally, or the folks who turned tail at the first opportunity to showboat and grandstand?

Loyalty begets loyalty in politics. If you truly want to sway opinion, the best place to do that is from within the party. Look at how the Christian Coalition has tied up the Republican party for nearly thirty years now. They didn't do it by walking, even after Ronald Reagan abandoned their cherished anti-abortion plank. Or Bush the elder. Or Bush the younger. Or the twelve year Republican-led Congress.

Say what you will about how fools suffer for their foolishness, the simple fact is, any candidate who runs as a Republican has to take into consideration the concerns and programs of that wing of the party. Period.

It's no different for Democrats. Just ask MoveOn.org.

What progressives really need to do is to fire up the same money machine that the Religious Right has. In politics more than in nearly any other field, money talks, and bullshit walks, and to abandon your vote to make a point is bullshit.

You want a progressive court? You want an end to this invasion? You want national health care? You want an alternative energy program?

Five words: put up or shut up.

When I first had to choose between Obama and Clinton, I had a difficult choice to make: as an old-style Liberal, I knew both candidates had solid progressive...dare I say it? Liberal?...credentials. In my mind, I questioned Obama's commitment to his principles. I didn't have that question with Clinton.

I have no doubt that Obama is sincere when he says he will commit ten billion dollars to developing alternative energy, that he wants the troops home from Iraq within 16 months, that a redeployment in Afghanistan is the only way to find and bring Osama bin Laden to justice. I support him on all of these. I don't think his nuancing the middle is out of character with what he's committed to.

You see, over the past few months, I've listened to what he has said, and came away convinced that he'll make a great President. Not a good one. Not an adequate one. A great one.

And given the uproar from the right wing of this nation, I suspect they know it too.

We cannot do anything less than make sure of a victory for Barack Obama next Tuesday. We cannot afford to make a mockery of this nation like we did eight years ago in allowing George W Bush to slip into the White House.

We cannot afford to let friends vote third party.

Turn The Page

Closing arguments in the 2008 Presidential election are being made this week. Most notable is Barack Obama's call for an end to the failed Republican policies of the past eight years (I'd say the past fourteen).

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama on Monday called on voters to "turn the page" on the policies of the Bush administration as he emphasized his message of change in a closing argument for the presidential campaign.

With eight days left before Election Day, the Illinois senator laid blame for the deepening financial crisis on U.S. President George W. Bush and said Republican presidential candidate John McCain's approach on the economy would mirror Bush's.

"Sen. McCain has served this country honorably. And he can point to a few moments over the past eight years where he has broken from George Bush -- on torture, for example," Obama said in excerpts from a speech he is to deliver later in Canton, Ohio.

"He deserves credit for that. But when it comes to the economy -- when it comes to the central issue of this election -- the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this president every step of the way," Obama said.

McCain does brag about voting with Bush 90% of the time and has flip-flopped on the Bush tax cuts, initially opposing them but now embracing them.

 

As this blog has taken great pains to point out in the past, "tax cuts" is the only tool left in the Republican toolbox and as the old saw (sorry) goes, "If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail". I've made the argument that, indeed, taxes are too low right now.

 

There's a subtext to this speech that should not be lost on you, however. This is my closing argument.

Obama held steady with a 5-point lead over McCain among likely U.S. voters nationally in a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby national tracking poll released on Monday.

Exit polls on election day 2004 showed Senator John Kerry with a three point lead nationally over President George W. Bush. When the dust settled, those results were exactly flipped in the actual vote.

 

Since 1996, the incidents of vote discrepancies between actual vote tabulations and exit polls, and even predicting polls taken in the days immediately preceding an election, have exploded exponentially. In 2006, for example, exit polling suggested that Democrats should pick up 40-50 seats in the House of Representatives, while they were able to capture only 28 seats.

 

Polling data are accurate, they have been for decades now. Even the US Census in 2004 suggested that 125 million votes would be cast in the 2004 elections, and lo and behold, when the final tally was added up, 122 million votes were counted...with an additional 3 million votes either uncounted or challenged!

 

Polling data is supremely accurate in statistical analysis like this.

 

That's a warning shot, folks. Errors that favor one party over the other should be an alarm to anyone, regardless of whether you believe there has been deliberate vote fraud or not, and the discrepancies that have arisen over the past twelve years have skewed Republican by a 12 to 1 margin. That made even partisan Republicans sit up and take notice, including former Reagan Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts.

 

If, indeed, there has been a deliberate attempt to steal elections, something that can be inferred but not proven, based on the fact there is no way to audit the votes in many districts, then there is also no reason to believe that any vote, any district, any state, is safe.

 

"Turn the page," indeed. It would not be impossible for the vote-thieves to go to the well one more time in a grand way. After all, until someone is caught and the crime exposed, criminals continue to commit crimes and the more desperate and confident a criminal becomes, the grander his crimes become.

 

And if it is merely a systemic error, then it is a systemic error that has grown over time, not contracted, and we must be ever vigilant against its unchecked growth.

 

In other words, it's time to get behind Barack Obama and make sure that not only you vote, but that you get your friends and family to vote as well. We can't afford a close election, not this time, not with the forces of nature and man working against us.

You're Probably An Elitist If...

Virgin Ben Shapiro, the godawful scion of two Ivy League educated Reaganauts and himself an Ivy League graduate, has pontificated on how Barack Obama and his liberal minions are elitists.

Indeed, he's even written a list of qualities to assist in identifying elitists!

In true FReeper fashion, he's ignored a few. I'd like to flesh out his list for him:

If you know a polo player, you're probably an elitist.

If you went to an Ivy League school without an affirmative action scholarship, you're probably an elitist.

If you drink martinis wearing a suit and a tie, you're probably an elitist.

If you've ever smoked a Cuban cigar, you're probably an elitist.

If you know anyone who has a chauffeur, you're probably an elitist.

If you went to a prep school, you're probably an elitist.

If you live in a gated community, or were raised in one, you're probably an elitist.

If your dad (or mom, to be politically correct) made most of her income last year from stock options that the board of directors voted him, you're probably an elitist.

If you ride in the corporate jet, you're probably an elitist.

If you have a golden parachute, you're probably an elitist.

If you have a portfolio that includes more than a Charles Schwab account and a few CDs, you're probably an elitist.

If you own an original Rembrandt, you're probably an elitist.

If your idea of a "drink after work with the guys" includes a stop at Harry's Bar on Hanover Square, or any Morton's restaurant, you're probably an elitist.

If you've ever played croquet or lawn bowling and HAD TO WEAR WHITE, you're probably an elitist.

If you've ever been to a cotillion, a debutante ball, or a "coming out party" for a girl of teenage years (not the "out of the closet" kind), you're probably an elitist.

If you have ANY friend who is proudly called Muffy, Biff, or Dexter, you're probably an elitist.

If your friends include more than one person who uses two initials in addition to a first and last name ("C. Russell M. Taibi"), you're probably an elitist.

If your household help...well, you're probably an elitist right there, but...if your household help addresses you by your professional title, you're probably an elitist.

If you've voted Republican for the last four Presidential cycles because, goshdarn, Barry Goldwater said you should always vote Republican, you're probably an elitist.

If you've never set foot in a store in Harlem, despite the fact that your commuter train stops there daily, you're probably an elitist.

If you can discuss the finer distinctions between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, you're probably an elitist.

If your make of car has two names (e.g. Rolls Royce), you're probably an elitist.

If your house has more bathrooms than there are residents, you're probably an elitist.

If you can name the last three squash world champions or have attended the world championship at least once, you're probably an elitist.

If you can tie your own bowtie, you're probably an elitist.

Finally, if you're in your twenties, are male, attended an Ivy League college and proudly claim you never got laid, even by a townie, YOU'RE AN ELITIST!

Friday Music Blogging

NIN - Closer

Everyone thinks this song's title is "Fuck You Like An Animal," but it's not! This video always creeps me out and in keeping with the kind of Halloween scary spirit of the blog today...

Nobody Asked Me, But...

1) BREAKING: Election prediction: McCain wins by one vote; porn star Peak Anger blamed! (h/t Miss Cellania)

2) Election Prediction #1: Actor212 will easily win his bid to be elected NotPresident. In a strong show of cross-party voting, Democrats, Republicans and Independents gave him such an huge mandate, he even won some votes in the general Presidential election!

3) Election Prediction #2: Despite Actor212's strong showing, Barack Obama won the election for US President with over 300 electoral votes.

4) You guys outside of New York (and Pittsburgh and a pale imitation in Green Bay...New York's was the original) never got Chiller Theatre, but it's BACK! For one night only, CW11 (formerly independent station WPIX, channel 11) will broadcast the groundbreaking horror film series "Chiller Theatre" with original host, Zacherle! Once you've seen this intro...

...you'll understand why kids all around the tri-state area were glued to their sets.

5) In other scary news...total consumer credit card debt in the third quarter of 2008 stood at $2.6 trillion dollars. Now that the mortgage industry is going thru it's workout phase, there's another monster in the grass: there's still ONE TRILLION DOLLARS in available, high risk unsecured credit card debt out there, just waiting to be used. This ain't over by a long shot.

6) Welcome to the party, Al!

7) This story smells funny. When even Michelle Malkin won't touch it with a ten foot pole, you know there's something weird going on. Personally, I believe she had a confrontation and probably, um, embellished the story a little, but I'll wait for the ATM camera evidence.

UPDATE: Like I said...I hate being right all the time...

8) Unusually cautiously, the Times has jumped on the Obama bandwagon.

9) Yet another smear by the right wing. This time, Gateway Pundit, who really ought to try the decaf brands, tries to paint Obama as a "whitey hater" by lifting a quote entirely (and clearly) out of context.

10) McCain family values, indeed!

11) When you lose the Goldwater family, the conservative icons from your own home state, you've fucked up royally!

12) If you had any money left in the stock markets this morning, kiss it bye bye!

13) They don't have the evidence, yet(i)!

(showing Memeorandum the luvvvvvvvvvvvv)

A New Beginning

Barack Obama has taken a couple of days from campaigning to attend to family matters. We here at Simply Left Behind, including ThumbPer, offer our prayers and hopes for Granny Obama's swift recovery.

As I stood in the shower with little to do except rinse, I pondered American history, and it occured to me that we have reached yet another crossroads for our nation.

It seems to happen every three generations or so, roughly every hundred years, and I'm not sure that it's a coincidence that it happens near the turn of a century.

Events in this decade will echo until the next century, in other words. The pattern is pretty immistakable: an attack on the American economy, followed by a blunderous decision to go to war, followed by a mad scramble to rectify the troubles we've created, followed by a mid-century conflagration the likes of which we hope never to see again.

A brief look back: In 1807, the American frigate Chesapeake was boarded with nary a fight by sailors from the British warship Leopard, on the pretext of searching for deserters. Four were found, only one of which was actually British: three Americans, two black and one white, were also seized.

Ironically, the event itself turned out fairly well for the Americans: only the British sailor was actually tried and hung, while the Americans were eventually returned to America, and Britain offered to pay reparations for damages to Chesapeake

However, this incident did force the passage of the Embargo Actof 1807, which led directly to the War of 1812. The Embargo Act was a pretty dumb idea (conceived by arguably one of the smartest men in history, Thomas Jefferson). America had tried to remain neutral in the French-English conflicts then brewing, and had this act not been passed, likely could have avoided the War of 1812 altogether.

That war saw Americans attacked directly in their own homeland, something that would not happen again until September 11, 2001.

The war begat the era of expansionism, the Monroe Doctrine (buhbye Native Americans), manifest destiny, and an overall sense of hubris and domination on the part of all American citizens, which culminated of course in the Civil War, one of the most humbling experiences any nation can confront.

Skip ahead a few decades to the 1900s, and the Great Panic of 1907. This is an interesting crossroads in history, because some much of what we know today of the Federal Government-- The Federal Reserve, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal income tax-- finds its roots in this crisis.

In a nutshell, the United States nearly went bankrupt because of the greed of two men: Otto Heinze and Charles Morse, who cornered the market first in ice, and then attempted to corner the market in copper by forcing his brother Augustus to abandon his company.

The mechanics of the scheme are complex (altho it does involve short selling, which is an underpinning of the current crisis), and suffice it to say, Otto failed. Miserably. Instead of driving the price of Auggie's company up, it dropped precipitously.

Otto Heinze's brokerage collapsed under the weight of its debts, money borrowed to finance this sceheme using shares of the copper company as collateral.

Worse, many banks that owned stock in the copper company as collateral also collapsed, the flip side of these transactions, as the price dropped.

Banks affiliated with those banks, so-called correspondent banks, like Mercantile Bank of New York, began to suffer under the weight of the outstanding loans they had made to the banks that held these worthless shares as collateral.

Sounding familiar? Like banks that owned the derivatives of worthless mortgages that weighed on the books of the banks that lent the money to shareholders today?

There was a run on Mercantile, which led to a run on all the money center banks, and banks were running out of money. Banks were reluctant to lend to other banks so that those banks could lend to customers, and as a result, the stock markets collapsed.

Boy, this really DOES sound familiar!

And so on. In 1912, as a result of this crisis, President Woodrow Wilson established the Federal Reserve, thus ceding the printing and issuance of American currency to a quasi-private enterprise composed of many of the large money center bankers (the precise list of board members is unknown).

Wilson's trade policies were at the center of America's entry into World War I. He was a free trader, lowering tariffs wherever possible and trying to remain strictly neutral in the European conflict, using the central bank to keep money flowing freely.

Both Germany, by attacking American shipping including the Lusitania, and England, by embargoing Germany, tested American neutrality. Wilson managed to avoid going to war on either side, of course, until his second term when Germany tried to recruit Mexico as an ally.

And World War I begat American global influence with the Fourteen Points, the League Of Nations and our participation in the Treaty of Versailles, which begat World War II and so on...

And then there was September 11. Which begat the Bush attacks on American governance and oversight, filling the Federal government with the hubris that the markets could police themselves while we attempted to engage in a dual homeland security/ego-driven war policy overseas.

Which begat our current financial pickle.

History comforts us with the knowledge that somehow, things work out for the short term better, and that it doesn't particularly matter whether the President in office is particularly intelligent, like Jefferson, or particularly principled, like Wilson. Somehow, things work out.

That's not the most comforting thought imaginable, but what's past is prologue and it is a new hope for us all.

I Am A Real American

I was born in this great nation. I was born to two people, one of whom was born here, and moved abroad as a young girl, the other born abroad and moved here after the war to find his opportunity, to two people who loved this nation.

My father was awarded one of the most prestigious civilian awards for his service to both this nation and his homeland, a value he made certain to instill in all of us from a young age.

I won't get into the myriad of accolades I've received as a citizen of the United States, but they started as a young child, and have continued into adulthood. I shouldn't have to wear my various medals and post my various certificates on the wall of my house.

But according to some in this nation, I am not a real American. Indeed, according to some, I am anti-American.

Sarah Palin:

Speaking at a fund-raiser in North Carolina, the Alaska governor said: "We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation."

Michelle Bachmann:

“Absolutely. I’m very concerned that he [Obama] may have anti-American views,” she said.

It seems to me that some small-time hoodlum Congresscritter from a flyover state once ran this scam on America. Lemme think...Joe...McDonald? McCasey? McCain?

I can't recall.

In Palin's defense, she offers up an apology:

Democrats and others immediately criticized Palin, alleging she was saying that some part of the country are more patriotic than others.

Palin denied that was her intention in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

"I don't want that misunderstood," Palin said. "If that's the way it came across, I apologize."

To put this weak-kneed response in perspective, say Sarah Palin ran over your dog:

If indeed it was my car, it was not my intent to run over your dog and if I did happen to squash Fluffy under the wheels of my Hummer, and there's no proof of that despite the word "Hummer" tattooed on his ass, if that's the case, I apologize for your misperception

What is it with Republicans and responsibility that they simply can't take any?

If this meme was limited to these two rather desperately moronic Republicans, then I'd be tempted to say "justice will be served on November 4," and ignore it.

But it's pretty clear that the Republicans have decided to declare class warfare on America:

On MSNBC this morning, McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer asserted that “real Virginia” does not include Northern Virginia:

I certainly agree that Northern Virginia has gone more Democratic. … But the rest of the state — real Virginia if you will — I think will be very responsive to Senator McCain’s message.

MSNBC host Kevin Corke gave Pfotenhauer a chance to revise her answer, telling her: “Nancy, I’m going to give you a chance to climb back off that ledge — Did you say ‘real Virginia’?”

But Pfotenhauer didn’t budge, and instead dug a deeper hole.

Real Virginia, I take to be, this part of the state that’s more Southern in nature, if you will.

Corke ended the segment noting that Pfotenhauer was appearing via satellite from Northern Virginia. “Nancy Pfotenhauer, senior policy adviser for the McCain campaign, joining us from Arlington, not really Virginia.” “Alright, I’m just gonna let ya– you’ll wear that one,” Corke responded. Watch it:

So this was not a slip of the tongue. This was not a tossed off insult in the heat of the moment, when one might get worked up and exaggerate one's point.

No, all three of these have been a coordinated attack on anyone who is Democratic or lives in a blue state, which means this is a campaign tactic. I'd say "strategy" but it's clear McCain has none.

You know what? After six years of "real Americans" running the Congress, the Presidency and the courts, and after eight years of "real Americans" running two thirds of this government, maybe "real America" just ought to take a hint from Jon Stewart's reaction and shut the fuck up already.

Real Americans, you know, the ones who built and shaped this nation into the greatest economic power that the world has ever known, into the most innovative and progressive knowledge base in the history of the frikkin' universe, who created and destroyed and rebuilt this nation over and over again, are getting a little tired of listening to people decide who is American and who is not.

Real Americans, who own your gas stations, and teach your kids, yes, right through college, who fight your wars, who do your plumbing, who hope for that one shot at the brass ring that is the American Dream, are tired of being pitted one against the other to determine who is a patriot and who is not, as if America was some horribly tragic reality show, "Survivor America".

Real Americans live in cities and suburbs and small towns, and on farms and in mansions.

Real Americans drive jalopies and bicycles and ride in limos.

Real Americans don't criticize their fellow Americans because real Americans understand that as great as this nation is, we each of us still have to survive day to day, all the time watching our money get stolen and off-shored by the cronies of the Palins and Pfotenhauers and Bachmanns, who let it go without protest, because their money is safely invested with those folks who take our money and deposit it on Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.

Real Americans are us. Not you, Sarah Palin, not you, Michelle Bachmann, and not you, Nancy Pfotenhauer.

And me. I am a real American.

UPDATE: Seriously, Republicans, shut the fuck up!

Can I Get An "AMEN", Brothers and Sisters????

One could only hope for this:

SHOULD Barack Obama win the presidency and Democrats take full control of Congress, next year will see a real legislative attempt to bring back the Fairness Doctrine - and to diminish conservatives' influence on broadcast radio, the one medium they dominate.

Yes, the Obama campaign said some months back that the candidate doesn't seek to re-impose this regulation, which, until Ronald Reagan's FCC phased it out in the 1980s, required TV and radio broadcasters to give balanced airtime to opposing viewpoints or face steep fines or even loss of license. But most Democrats - including party elders Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and Al Gore - strongly support the idea of mandating "fairness."

It's funny. I never really noticed how much I missed the disclaimer that my local television stations had to broadcast.

See, when some moron, say, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, would wrangle a moment of air time from the local television outlet, a) he was forced to keep his comments factual and polite, and b) the station was forced to "provide free air time for responsible spokespeople of opposing views."

In 1980, sensing an opening, the broadcast media, owned and operated in many instances by stridently right wing corporatists with an agenda (think Richard Mellon Scaife) prevailed upon Ronald Reagan's FCC to do away with the Fairness Doctrine, thus eliminating reasoned discourse presented for the public enlightenment.

The Fairness Doctrine was introduced in 1949 by the FCC, but until 1969 was usually applied on a case-by-case basis.

In 1969, journalist Fred Cook was torn to shreds on the radio program of the Rev. Billy James Hargis. Attacked personally for writing a book about Barry Goldwater, Cook argued before the Supreme Court that the FCC doctrine implied the right to free and equal time to respond to the scandalous (and nearly slanderous) charges levelled.

At first blush, it may seem that this was not a matter for the Courts to decide, free enterprise, First Amendment and all, but the SCOTUS took note of the fact that the airwaves were a public trust overseen by the Congress and therefore were actually public domain. As a public trust, there was no reason the government couldn't require such a doctrine and upheld Cook's complaint.

(The other thing the Fairness Doctrine required was programming "in the public interest" which is why your rock or hip-hop station broadcasts those bizarre programs really early on Sunday morning, like herbal medicine shows or community affairs programming.)

When the Reagan administration effectively eviscerated the Fairness Doctrine, it created Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Monica Crowley, Michael Savage and any number of right wing knuckleheads whose only claim to fame is being potty-mouthed and willing to be paid for it.

It also created Stephanie Miller, Air America Radio, Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann.

I apply the Fairness Doctrine to my columns, you see... ;-)

This deregulation of the broadcast market, along with the consolidation of power amongst five mammoth content distributors, created the hugely right wing media goliath that we have today.

It is no secret the agenda that General Electric, Disney, and the others have established: entertain at the expense of informing. Don't tell the truth, tell a masking of truth. Put lipstick on a pig and trot it out as a beauty queen. Tout "American Idol" rather than America's failures in Iraq.

In short, cry havoc and unleash the dogs of war on the people of the United States. Beat us into submission until we no longer care, and never EVER let a responsible spokesperson with an opposing point of view have any air time whatsoever, except in a context where he can be edited and mocked into submission.

Mr. Anderson's article, as panicked as it is (after all, he works for Rupert Murdoch, who made his life's fortune on being a strident partisan and suppressing rational discussion), points out the enormous success lying on the radio has had.

It's about time it stopped. He cites the First Amendment, but as anyone with a speck of understanding can see, the First Amendment is under more savage attacks without the Fairness Doctrine than with.

What Anderson is more concerned with (and his article amply demonstrates) is comfort. The comfort of not having one's views challenged substantively. The comfort of being truly elitist because one is truly ignorant. The comfort of being, in short, an idiot.

So "amen" to the Fairness Doctrine, and long may she oversee the dialogue of this great nation.

What Part Of "Comedy" Do You NOT Understand?

Here is the Jon Stewart piece from Boston.

Here is the reaction of Mary Katharine Ham at The Weekly Standard (click at your own risk)

The media has devoted hundreds of stories of late to the tenor of audience comments at McCain-Palin rallies, fretting about "rage" and "incitement" by the campaign, but the only account of Stewart's appearance is a one-sentence mention in the Boston Globe, and his abusive Palin comments are not included.

Now, admittedly, this is not Stewart's funniest bit. I think the network censors force his comedic stylings to focus on delivery, more than content.

But to equate a stand-up comedian to these folks:

Or these folks:

Hammie, that kinda smacks of desperation, dontcha think? I would like to believe that the "wing" that has both Rush Limbaugh AND Glenn Beck, two avowed "comedians", would understand that sometimes humour gets angry, humour gets ugly, and humour makes a point.

Sorry your skirts are ruffled, Hammie, but Stewart's points are spot on: the cities and suburbs ARE where most of the people in America live and you know what? Maybe those folks in small town America have some wisdom that we SOphisticated city folk don't, but I'd like to see one walk from Wall Street to Harlem, just once, without a frikkin' map and GPS system.

And understand that running a country is a LOT HARDER than negotiating a simple grid formation (north is higher street numbers, east is lower avenue numbers, etc.)

Perhaps your fainting couch is in dire need of a visit, Hammie?

(show Memeorandum the love, gang!)

A Bit Of Comic Relief

Offered without further comment:

I can't prove it, but I suspect that the DOJ is as "tainted" as the FEC. Various FEC auditors have reported that they received orders that they are NOT to investigate anything to do with Obama's campaign financing, or campaign irregularities - only McCain's. Rumors have it DOJ has gone the same way. Paulson and Soros now own Bush - it's an inside takeover that's already done.

It's also fairly common knowledge that that agencies like the NSA and CIA are also full of democratic sympathizers, and it's quite likely that this is the also the case at the DOJ. There IS a reason such a big deal was made out of Bush removing a Federal Attorney, while nothing at all was mentioned about Clinton removing 240. It was to prevent Bush from taking action against any other Clinton appointees anywhere else. Better take a look at how many of these guys are either Clinton appointees or Democratic "sympathizers". There won't be any action from the DOJ on this, and anything that makes it to court will be delayed until after the election and swearing in ceremony.

Also, there is a reason Obama has already planned his victory party, and the headlines announcing his victory have already been written, just awaiting November 5th publication. Telcoms are under control like the media, just hasn't come out yet. Whole freaking infrastructure has been conquered without a single shot fired - all 5th column stuff.

Consider this - what happens when the networks - ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN - ignore actual voting numbers and simply make up their own, provided by Obama central command? They put on a show that has Obama winning by a landslide in all 50 states as they sweep across the country during election night. Next morning the NY Times and LA Times headlines announce the "Obama Landslide".

What % of the population would know better? What would the consequences be, and what % would just fall for it? Better give this some thought - because something like this appears to be in the works. I don't dare say any more than this, but let me assure you that there are PLENTY of dirty tricks yet to come - nearly EVERYTHING that has taken place up until this point has just been a disctraction, a red herring, including the obvious media bias. Better wake up and look around - the NY and LA Times certainly isn't going to report on anything, and start looking PAST the obvious things that are going on...

Listen everyone - this rabbit hole runs MUCH, MUCH deeper here than anyone has even BEGUN to realize yet. This whole thing has been in "the works" for 10+ years now - funded by tens of billions of dollars worth of George Soros' and his associates money - so much so that the Dems are completely blatant about things now - they don't even care about holding an election at this point - things are rigged so they CAN'T LOSE. They don't care about being called on fraud, or anything else - they won't be called on it, and even if some do-good State AJ happened to bring something up, well, they have enough judges in the right places to take care of things if anything does happen to "come up".

Bottom line - They already know they have this completely sewn up and have no need to worry about anything as inconvenient as an "actual vote". This is a coup d’état in progress, not an election - if you think any different, then try to get someone in the FEC to examine how much money BHO has and where it came from. Won't happen. Try to get someone in DOJ to find out why the FEC isn't investigating. Won't happen. GET THIS THROUGH YOUR THICK HEADS - THERE WILL BE UN "PEACEKEEPERS" on AMERICAN SOIL after this election to "DEAL WITH THE VIOLENCE" - no small number of them KENYAN. THIS IS A FREAKING COUP D'ETAT IN PROGRESS, NOT AN ELECTION, and IT'S damn near a FAIT ACCOMPLI at this point. I DON'T THINK IT CAN BE STOPPED. UNDERSTAND???

Somebody had better start digging into Obama's mysterious and hidden background - birth, school transcripts, etc. - because there's more hidden there than anyone realizes, and there is still something that they are deathly afraid of coming to light until after the election. Berg Versus Obama and the DNC might be a good place to start. There are less than 3 weeks left to do something about this. November 5th will be too late. Forget the DOJ and FEC - they aren't going to be helpful. I'm getting the hell out while travel still hasn't been restricted by martial law...

OK, one comment: Life During Wartime.
Talking Heads

I Love This Election!

I love this election so much I think I want to have sex with it...

If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.

Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven't since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s. If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media

I've railed ever since the Reagan administration about the pendulum, and how it swings in both directions and liberals would get their turn again at behind the wheel.

The nation is not a unitary monolith of ignorance or intellectualism. Instead, it is a living, breathing being, as capable of changing its mind and its heart as anyone of us, and now we're seeing the realization that progress happens, that liberalism, for whatever perceived flaws were magnified and exaggerated by the right, has its benefits to everyone.

And once we've persuaded the majority that we will not hurt them, that we are not the scary monsters we've been made out to be, oh what a glorious day awaits America and the world!

Get ready for it, folks. Please leave in comments the one thing you'd like to see a liberal super-majority accomplish.

(feeling da love from Memeorandum)

Nobody Asked Me, But....

1) Who knew? I would have thought it smelled just like chicken!

2) Well, clearly, here's a functional family.*polite cough*

3) W.W.O.D.?

4) If John McCain had been as funny on the hustings as he was at the Al Smith Dinner last night, this might actually be a race.

5) And Obama, who has shown flashes of witty sarcasm on the trail, could use a little of this loosening up himself.

6) (If you are video-impaired, here's a pretty good recap)

7) First, Russia bailed out Iceland. Now, China is bailing out Pakistan. You young-uns may not recall, but there was a time when the United States could bail out other nations...

8) I'd lay good money Sarah Palin has something to do with this story.

9) Reviews indicate that this movie will actually paint a sympathetic portrait of Dumbya, a man who is overwhelmed by events, genetics, and his own bad decisions. And here I was expecting a comedy!

10) Speaking of comedy and politics (seems to be today's theme), I wonder how An American Carol will fare at the box office this weekend?

Even McCain Knows It's Over

 

Debate number three is in the books now. This picture pretty much sums up the state of affairs. Senator Obama is walking away from Senator McCain, who will now be forced to kiss the ass of his opponent in order to get anything done in the Senate.

 

Unintentional, this photo may be (McCain tripped slightly as he pivoted to leave the stage), but in our unintentional moments, we reveal more about ourselves than when we try to mean something.

 

I purposely missed the debates this year after the early ones that the Democrats had (once I made up my mind, I saw no reason to make comparisons any longer). I was more interested in the reactions others had, and I wanted to be a clean slate, having no opinion of my own.

 

The Christian Science Monitor has been following the campaign with a "Patchwork Nation" theme: carefully selecting communities across the country that represent different sectors of voting Americans (some surprisingly sophisticated and nuanced choices there), they've contact representatives of each community at critical points along the way.

 

Last night was no different:

Down in Clermont, Fla. (our aging "Emptying Nest" community), Ann Dupee, a retiree, wrote, "For the first time he came out feisty. Too bad he hasn't been showing emotion all these months."

And in Baton Rouge, La. (our heavily African-American "Minority Central" community), Ed Pratt, a media-relations representative for Southern University, wrote that he didn't think McCain won but that he "was stronger tonight than at the other debates." Mr. Pratt added, "He was aggressive and tough."

But another correspondent in Clermont, who asked not to be named due to local sensitivities, was less taken with McCain's approach. "Senator McCain was often agitated and seemed at times that he was coming unglued," he wrote.

Out in Lincoln City, Ore. (our lower-income "Service Worker Center"), Patchwork Nation blogger Kip Ward, owner of the local Historic Anchor Inn, wrote that McCain's approach turned people off. He watched the debate with a half-dozen people at the hotel.

"All felt Obama won hands down," he wrote in an e-mail. "It doesn't really matter what either said. Most people will forget most of that by tomorrow. What matters again is that Barack looked cool, and presidential. McCain's head looked like it was going to pop, his eyes were bulging, and his face was contorting."

So the consensus seems to be, "Too little, too late". Obama's strong emphasis on policy over attacks seems to have won the day for him, and McCain has neither the intellectual forebearance nor the intestintal fortitude to deviate from the boilerplate Republican strategy: attack, smear, and attack some more.

 

"Fear is the mind-killer". Someone should really tape that up on the RNC headquarters wall. Abraham Lincoln is famously quoted as saying, "You can fool some of the people all of the time (ed. note: you listening, evangelicals?) and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

 

Unfortunately for true political dialogue and the good and welfare of this nation, the GOP has run a campaign based on what amounts to a flea circus, trotting out the next distraction before you realize there was nothing in the first distraction but some wires and a motor.

 

Yes, I just called Sarah Palin a Stepford Wife!

 

This "Joe The Plumber" trope was an interesting debate point: neither side seemed to have real answers for him:

<iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/27212617#27212617" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Based on those comments he's made to NBC news since the debate, one has to think that he's not crazy about either candidate, but is leaning towards McCain. Even then, it sounds like he's holding his nose to vote.

 

It's a pity that someone hasn't made clear to Joe that his business is not likely to make a whole lot more than $250,000 a year for a while if ever and that, you know something? If it does, God bless him and now it's time to give a little bit back to the folks who make it possible to own a business and run it, and to help pave the same path he's just chopped out of the forest of opportunity.

 

It's the Christian thing to do!

 

So, Johnny, pucker up! Because it's going to be a long cold lonely winter for you.

 

 

A Personal Note

Happy birthday, Dad. You would have turned 90 today. I figure you're either looking down or up at this.

Doods, Dis Es Juss So RONG!

WTF?

The terrible Peruvian cat-eating spree has a name: La Festival Gastronomico del Gato. Or for those of you who don't speak Spanish—the Gastronomic Festival of the Cat.[...]

"They eat cat for tradition, but according to the townspeople, these are cats that come from special nurseries, they are not the cats that you'd frequently encounter in the streets. There exists a diversity of preparations: Cat Stew, Milanese of Cat, fried cat strips, grilled cat with Huacatay, among others. The most common is the cat stew. This year, they featured the dish Grilled Cat with Huacatay, but every year they present a different dish.

"The flavor is like the meat of a rabbit, and they say it's very delicious. I particularly have not had the opportunity to sample these plates, but I hope that next year I can try them. Perhaps you could visit us and have it in the next festival. That promises to be a grand gastronomic festival. It is a pleasure to chat with you. Kindest regards, Nilda [Nilda Pariona, who works for the regional government]."

DIS MUSS STOP OR WE GO SCARTCH DEY IZE OUT!

Who's wiff me????

I Wash My Hands Of You All!

I bet you didn't know today was Global Handwashing Day...

In India, cricket star Sachin Tendulkar will be leading the campaign that will see children across South Asia simultaneously washing their hands.

The UN says it wants to get over the message that this simple routine is one of the most effective ways of preventing killer diseases.

Nearly half the world's population do not have access to adequate sanitation.

Leave it to the Beeb to understate the case, a little.

According to the United Nations' "Water For Life Decade" campaign, upwards of four billion people live with water scarcity every day, as defined by demand exceeding local supply. Note that this figure includes several portions of the United States, most notably the Southwest.

Included in this percentage is about 1.1 billion people who simply have no access to safe drinking water, period. That's three times the size of the United States population. Imagine if every man, woman, and child in the US had to drink sewer water to survive.

Some of these people may have access to a gallon of water a day or less! Imagine being given a gallon jug every day, and told that you can have only that, for drinking, bathing, and cooking, each day, every day. And there's no guarantee it's clean!

Water scarcity is particularly a woman's issue, as well. In many societies, it is the woman who is tasked with obtaining clean fresh water for drinking, washing and cooking (images of African tribeswomen with jars on their heads should immediately confirm this intuitively).

We in America, with our broad swaths of temperate rain forests, forget how hard some countries, some people, have it with even the most basic subsistence materiel.

So go wash your hands, and then go online, spread the word, and donate. Skip one bottle of Poland Spring or Dasani or Aquafina (and if you're still drinking bottled water after all the talk about landfills and plastic bottles, then this is one more reason you should give it up), and give that $1 or two to WaterAid.

Then go wash your hands once again. You don't know where that keyboard's been!

(much love to Memeorandum for showing me the love and featuring this post)

Stick A Fork In Him

You Ask, "How Desperate?"

I answer "This desperate":

1) OBAMA SEX PERV SCANDAL - Apparently, the right wing, not content with the reaction that Bill Ayres got from the general public, has now decided to paint Obama as the ally of child molesters. Mark Foley, anyone?

2) A New Wrinkle (or Unwrinkle) in the Campaign: The Biden Brow - GASP! A politician who has had Botox treatments! Wow, who could imagine a politician could be so vain?

3) Fighting Words - Drunk right wing blogger sets up straw man, dukes it out with him in his imagination and somehow ekes out a split decision.

4) Ugly Misogyny at the Official Obama Blog Site - Wow! Random advertising unauthorized by the Obama campaign (who subsequently removed the offending ad after being notified!) proves that Obama beats his wife!

5) McCain Claims Obama Rally Crowds Call Him Terrorist, Traitor - TRANSLATION: "Look, my supporters get to make shit up, why can't I????"

6) Worst Case Scenario - To arms! To arms! THE LIBERALS ARE COMING! THE LIBERALS ARE COMING!

7) My God is Bigger Than Your God- A vote for McCain is a vote for Jesus.

8) AN OBAMA PANIC? MARKETS FEAR HIS POLICIES - SCARY BLACK MAN! WE'LL ALL BE ON THE WELFARE! Nevermind that the market ALWAYS does better under Democratic presidents than Republicans, and that's even after you factor out the two major stock market crashes of 1929 and 2008!

9) TIP: RICO ACTION TO BE FILED AGAINST ACORN TOMORROW MORNING - US Attorney will file charges against Obama-led organ-- what? No? Oh. Nevermind! NOTE MAJOR WALK-BACK OF ORIGINAL STORY

Kinda sad, when you come right down to it...

Way To Go, Paul!

A Nobel Prize in Economics?:

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — The American economist Paul R. Krugman won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.

Mr. Krugman, 55, a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey and a columnist for The New York Times, formulated a new theory to answer questions about free trade, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

“What are the effects of free trade and globalization? What are the driving forces behind worldwide urbanization? Paul Krugman has formulated a new theory to answer these questions,” the academy said in its citation.

“He has thereby integrated the previously disparate research fields of international trade and economic geography,” it said.

Gee...I can't imagine how the right wing is flopping about, gasping for air on that announcement. Go congratulate him.

She Can't Even Fool Hockey Fans

I happened to watch the Flyers-Rangers game from Philadelphia last night, being the Rangers fan that I am. The special guest to drop the ceremonial first puck (think throw out the first ball at a baseball game) was Sarah Palin, perhaps the best known hockey mom in America right now.

I thought I had heard boos, but then the mic pick up switched to the PA system, which was playing some really bad song about hockey moms or something, and even tho I could still hear a smattering of boos, I figured the crowd, which is usually pretty polite to politicians and women, overpowered the few who jumped ugly early.

But I forgot: these were Philadelphia fans, who once booed Santa Claus....

When Sarah Palin dropped the ceremonial first puck at the Flyers’ opener on Saturday night at the Wachovia Center, she was greeted by resounding (almost deafening) boos. Ed Snider, owner of the Flyers, had her introduced to the crowd more as a hockey mom than as the Republican candidate for vice president. She was flanked by Scott Gomez (ed. note: also Alaskan. They actually kissed.), the Rangers center, and Mike Richards, the Flyers center.

While Philadelphia fans are known for not being shy about voicing disapproval, the question has been raised — including by me in an earlier version of this post — whether the appearance was appropriate at a sports event like this.

Note the word "deafening"...hockey fans know a fraud when they see one!

Oh...that Santa booing? It was at a football game:

Philadelphians did boo Santa Claus -- well, what was a sad excuse for one, anyway. The original Claus (not Kris Kringle) failed to report, and the replacement was a skinny, drunken fan from the crowd at an Eagles game.