Palin was purely political pick

I think Sarah Palin was a smart, politically-motivated choice for John McCain. But it is funny that the anti-affirmative action party chose a vice presidential candidate not based on qualification or experience, but based on "minority" status.

Out of the little we do know of Palin is that she shares the same conservative economic vision of McCain. Unfortunately, if elected, they will continue the same "trickle-down" economic policies that eventually never work and whose proverbial chickens are coming home to roost.

The problem is simple but complicated in scope. Across the entire economic spectrum, wages have to keep up with inflation of basic goods and other costs, such as health care and fuel. If members of society cannot purchase the products it produces, or in our case, imports, it cannot sustain itself.

A similar meltdown for the same reasons occurred in the Pacific Rim in the early 2000s. Yet Washington, since Reagan, going through Bush I, then Clinton, now Bush II, has maintained the same policies of "trickle-down" economics, free trade, deregulation, lower wages and high CEO pay, known as the "Washington consensus," that eventually always fails and was the same in vogue economic philosophy that led to the Great Depression.

In the past few months, we've had food riots in 30 countries and experts wonder why there haven't been more.

Obviously, picking Palin was a lure to conservative backers of Hillary Clinton.

What's curious, though, is if McCain and Palin lose in November, will Republicans turn to her again in 2012? I predict they won't. They didn't even have a woman running in this election. Or is the conservative message, "Women are only good as support"?

Scott Tyner

Hattiesburg

 hattiesburgamerican.com | Hattiesburg American

The real state of things.

I've forgiven Jane Fonda a long time ago.  She was young and dumb, but passionately involved in a peace movement, not equating war and profit like the Bush gang. Given the magnitude of the crime, I will never forgive George W. Bush et al, the ones who are damaging the U.S. far more than the Jane Fondas throughout the world ever could!  I'm talking of people like Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzales, and others like Abramoff and Libby, and a thousand other profligates and corporate (oil and construction) profiteers who were his puppets and yes men, foreign and domestic.

 

What is ironic to me is Bush's war cry of 9/11, invoked every time Bush needed to escalate the war and bless the troops, usually with uniformed military in the background....remember, neither Iraq nor its leader (no matter how vile or corrupt) had anything to do with it.  There was no Al Qaida in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's rule.  The war was one of aggression, not of necessity.

 

I'll bet you that George W. Bush (why is the International Committee of the Red Cross discussing him?) will not just be found a traitor to our Constitution, our Armed Forces, to all Americans and most of the world for crimes against humanity...I think the 4160 dead (so far) in Iraq are his monument to his failed warmongering and enrichment of the 'favored few' policies (don't blame Congress for your high gas prices and recession--Bush's use of 'signing statements' left little power in their hands after November 2006; that in itself should be enough to get your dander up!).  So I think that instead of vilifying one woman, the entire Bush regime should be labeled traitors to America.

 

I think Bush  should be indicted for war crimes...but he'll probably move to his 100,000 acre ranch in Paraguay to escape the noose--and, like some Nazi war criminals, live happily ever after.

 

So you active forwarders of internet junk, look around you.  Do you like what you see?  A bailout for the Freddie Mac and Fannie Maes, bailout for airlines (whose money do you think is used to pay for them?) a housing collapse, gasoline and food prices speculated through the roof...and don't forget that endless, stupid war in Iraq that is wasting our military and our money.

 

I say it's time to stop the war!  Now!  Let's get some responsibility and accountability where it belongs.  Get the Bushes out of office (that means no McCain/Palins)...and get some young blood in there to return us to a transparent government, not one based upon propaganda and deception, not one using torture against international law, not one spreading death and destruction, misery and strife, but one which works for a peaceful people and a peaceful world. 

 

Jim Pankey, USN (Ret.)

Oh, yes...I'm a Vietnam Veteran, too.

Even as Obama Nation author Corsi claimed Obama campaign didn't "prove a single falsehood," he corrected several of them

Summary: Obama Nation author Jerome Corsi asserted that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign "failed to prove a single falsehood contained in pages of the book." Corsi then went on to provide a list of 11 "corrections to the next printing of The Obama Nation" -- many of which correct falsehoods documented by the Obama campaign or Media Matters.

In a September 8 "WorldNetDaily Exclusive," author Jerome Corsi wrote of "Unfit For Publication," a document produced by Sen. Barack Obama's campaign debunking numerous falsehoods in Corsi's book, The Obama Nation: "[T]he 40-page rebuttal plus cover has failed to prove a single falsehood contained in pages of the book." Yet Corsi went on to provide a list of 11 "corrections to the next printing of The Obama Nation" -- many of which correct falsehoods documented by the Obama campaign, Media Matters for America, or both.

Corsi's list of corrections -- which is by no means an exhaustive compilation of his book's falsehoods -- includes the following falsehoods identified by the Obama campaign or Media Matters:

3. Page 25 now reads: "Nowhere in the autobiography does Obama disclose that his wife-to-be accompanied him to Africa on the 1992 trip." It will be corrected to read: "Only in the epilogue to the autobiography does Obama disclose that his wife-to-be accompanied him to Africa on the 1992 trip."

4. Page 48 now reads: "Obama devotes the entire second chapter of his autobiography to his time in Indonesia, but remarkably, he makes no reference to Maya's birth." It will be corrected to read: "Obama devotes the entire second chapter of his autobiography to his time in Indonesia, but remarkably, he makes only one reference in passing to Maya's birth."

5. Page 49 now reads: "Obama did not dedicate 'Dreams from My Father' to his mother, or to his father, Barack Senior, or to his Indonesian stepfather. Missing from the dedication are the grandparents who raised him in Hawaii, especially during the years his mother abandoned him to return to Indonesia to be with Lolo." It will be corrected to read: "Obama did not include a separate dedication page in 'Dreams from My Father.' Instead, he included the dedication in the introduction, mentioning his mother, his grandparents and his siblings 'stretched across oceans and continents.' Missing are mentions of his father and his step-father."

6. Page 77 now reads: "Still Obama has yet to answer questions whether he ever dealt drugs, or if he stopped using marijuana and cocaine completely in college, or whether his drug use extended into his law school days or beyond." It will be corrected to read: "Obama told several reporters that he stopped taking drugs sometime during his college years."

7. Page 123 now reads: "No one in Obama's paternal or maternal family had ever resided in Chicago." It will be corrected to read: "No one in Obama's paternal or maternal family except for a great uncle had ever resided in Chicago."

8. Page 129 now reads: "In the 'Audacity of Hope,' Obama mentions in passing that in 1984 he had just graduated from college and was working as a community organizer out of the Harlem campus of the City College of New York. This is a job that Obama does not mention in his autobiography, 'Dreams from My Father.' It will be changed to "In the 'Audacity of Hope,' Obama mentions in passing that in 1984 he had just graduated from college and was working as a community organizer out of the Harlem campus of the City College of New York. This is a job that Obama also mentions only in passing in his autobiography, 'Dreams from My Father.'"

9. Page 130 now reads: "More likely, Kellman went to New York to see if reports coming out of New York City about Obama were right, that Obama's profile might just fit in with Kellman's organization." It will be corrected to read: "Kellman happened to be visiting family in New York, so he was able to schedule an appointment to see for himself if reports coming out of New York City about Obama were right, that Obama's profile might just fit in with Kellman's organization."

10. Page 145 now reads: "The year 1995 was a banner one for Obama. He had just married Michelle and the couple bought a Hyde Park condo, the first home Obama ever owned. In 1995, Obama became an author when his first book, his autobiography, 'Dreams from my Father,' was published, to modest sales, but good reviews." It will be corrected to read: "The year 1995 was a banner one for Obama. He had married Michelle in 1992 and the couple bought a Hyde Park condo in 1993, the first home Obama ever owned. In 1995, Obama became an author when his first book, his autobiography, 'Dreams from my Father,' was published, to modest sales, but good reviews."

11. Page 257 now reads: "He has been endorsed by Hamas and had to fire a Middle Eastern advisor who had been meeting privately with Hamas." It will be corrected to read: "He has been endorsed by a Hamas advisor and accepted the resignation of a Middle Eastern advisor who had been meeting privately with Hamas."

 Even as Obama Nation author Corsi claimed Obama campaign didn't "prove a single falsehood," he corrected several of them

Pollsters Probe the Big Bigot Bloc

HAHA!

By Andy Borowitz

In a potentially ominous sign for the Democratic nominee, a new poll shows Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) trailing far behind GOP standard-bearer Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) among voters who identify themselves as racists.

Pundits and pollsters alike have wondered about the role racists might play in the 2008 presidential contest, but the new survey released today was the first concrete attempt to take the pulse of this key voting bloc.

The poll, conducted by Duh Magazine, suggests that Mr. Obama faces an uphill battle in his effort to win the votes of dyed-in-the-wool bigots.

“We wanted to know, why isn’t Barack Obama closing the deal among racists?” said Charles Plugh, editor in chief of Duh. “The answer seems to be because he’s black.”

In a head-to-head matchup, likely bigots chose Sen. McCain over Sen. Obama by a margin of 1,000 to 1, with a majority of racists saying they “strongly disagree” with Sen. Obama’s decision not to be white.

Asked under what conditions they would vote for a black presidential candidate, 95 percent of racists responded, “Only if he were running against someone from a group I hated even more, such as Arabs.”

Duh Editor Plugh says the poll indicates that Sen. Obama “has his work cut out for him” if he is going to make up lost ground among racists.

“Sen. Obama made a choice at the beginning of this campaign to run as a black man,” Mr. Plugh said. “He could change his position on that, but racists might see that as too little, too late.”

Truthdig - Reports - Pollsters Probe the Big Bigot Bloc

The US Has 761 Military Bases Across the Planet, and We Simply Never Talk About

Can you say hegemony?  Imperialism?  World domination through force?


Here it is, as simply as I can put it: In the course of any year, there must be relatively few countries on this planet on which U.S. soldiers do not set foot, whether with guns blazing, humanitarian aid in hand, or just for a friendly visit. In startling numbers of countries, our soldiers not only arrive, but stay interminably, if not indefinitely. Sometimes they live on military bases built to the tune of billions of dollars that amount to sizeable American towns (with accompanying amenities), sometimes on stripped down forward operating bases that may not even have showers. When those troops don't stay, often American equipment does -- carefully stored for further use at tiny "cooperative security locations," known informally as "lily pads" (from which U.S. troops, like so many frogs, could assumedly leap quickly into a region in crisis).
At the height of the Roman Empire, the Romans had an estimated 37 major military bases scattered around their dominions. At the height of the British Empire, the British had 36 of them planetwide. Depending on just who you listen to and how you count, we have hundreds of bases. According to Pentagon records, in fact, there are 761 active military "sites" abroad.The fact is: We garrison the planet north to south, east to west, and even on the seven seas, thanks to our various fleets and our massive aircraft carriers which, with 5,000-6,000 personnel aboard -- that is, the population of an American town -- are functionally floating bases.
And here's the other half of that simple truth: We don't care to know about it. We, the American people, aided and abetted by our politicians, the Pentagon, and the mainstream media, are knee-deep in base denial.Now, that's the gist of it. If, like most Americans, that's more than you care to know, stop here.

The US Has 761 Military Bases Across the Planet, and We Simply Never Talk About It | ForeignPolicy | AlterNet

King George

You've no doubt seen the email where the blame for high gasoline prices and every other thing wrong with the economy is being blamed on the Congress since November 2006...

 

However, the answer is that the Congress has been hornswaggled and hogtied due to the use of the 'unitary tool' used by President Bush to negate 142 laws (actually 1,200 something of them) as he used his 'signing statements.'  He in effect is King George, interpreting the law as he sees fit, and not allowing Congress to do what the Constitution says only it can do: make laws.  So Congress passes the laws, they arrive on the President's desk for signature and...ouala, the magic is done.  Signing statements do not allow the law to become law, but the president can more or less pick and choose (line item veto which is unconstitutional)...

 

This diabolical administration has done more damage to the U.S. and now threatens the world with its stance on Georgia.  Where will it stop?

Jim Pankey

Truthdig - Cartoons - Bible Thumper

Think Progress » Friedman on ‘drill, drill, drill’: It’s like someone chanting ‘IBM Selectric typewriters’ during the IT revolution.

FRIEDMAN: I’m actually not against drilling. What I’m against is making that the center of our focus because we are on the eve of a new revolution, the energy technology revolution. It would be, Tom, as if on the eve of the IT revolution, the revolution of PCs and the internet, someone was up there standing and demanding, “IBM Selectric typewriters, IBM Selectric typewriters.” That’s what “drill, drill, drill” is the equivalent of today.

Think Progress » Friedman on ‘drill, drill, drill’: It’s like someone chanting ‘IBM Selectric typewriters’ during the IT revolution.

Exposing Five Dangerous Lies in McCain's Big Speech | Election 2008 | AlterNet

False McCain Claim: "My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance."

Facts: McCain's Health Care Plan Does Little to Reduce the Ranks of America's Uninsured and Would Erode the Employer-Based System

Under McCain's Plan, Health Insurance Benefits Would be Taxed For The First Time, Resulting In A $3.6 Trillion Tax Increase On Working Families. McCain's health care plan would eliminate the payroll deduction on health care benefits, which would have the effect of raising taxes on working families by $3.6 trillion. [New York Times, 5/1/08]

McCain's Plan Undermines The Employer-Based Health Care System And Will Lead To Workers Losing Coverage. McCain's health care plan would begin to dismantle the employer-based health care system, removing the incentives employers have to provide health care coverage, resulting in employees losing their health care. [New York Times, 4/30/08;Washington Post, 4/30/08]

The Health Care Tax Credit McCain Offers Would Cover Less Than Half The Cost Of An Average Health Care Plan. The McCain health plan would give families a $5,000 tax credit to purchase health insurance. However, in 2007, the average family health insurance plan cost $12,000 - more than double the value of McCain's health care tax credit. ["Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey," Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; "'Call To Action' On Health Care Reform," John McCain 2008 press release, 4/29/08; Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]

McCain's Health Care Plan Does Little to Help America's Uninsured. McCain's plan does not focus on "reducing the ranks of the uninsured," of which there are about 47 million, or one in seven Americans. According to the New York Times, "The McCain campaign has no estimate of how many of America's 47 million uninsured would likely gain coverage under its plan." It "has been estimated to reduce the number of uninsured in the U.Sby three to nine million." [Wall Street Journal, 10/11/2007, 4/30/2008; New York Times, 3/2/2008]

McCain's Erosion Of Employer System Would Take Away Millions of Americans' Insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "158 million people nationally" had "employer-sponsored health insurance" in 2007. McCain's elimination of the employer tax incentive to provide coverage would put these 158 million Americans' coverage in jeopardy. According to an analysis conducted by the Center For American Progress, "business owners would no longer need to cover their workers to get tax benefits for their own coverageThe entire employer health insurance system could unravel, ending this as an option for Americans who prefer it." In addition, the McCain plan "would not require insurers to provide health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions." [Kaiser Family Foundation, "Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey; Center For American Progress Action Fund, "Analysis of McCain's Health Care Announcement," 4/29/2008; New York Times Political Blog, "The Caucus," 4/29/2008,

Oil Companies:

False McCain Attack: "Both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies."

The Facts: Energy Bill Actually Raised Taxes on Oil and Gas Industry, McCain Supports Tax Breaks for Big Oil

AP Fact Check: Congressional Research Service Showed That The Energy Bill Actually Raised Taxes On The Oil And Gas Industry. The AP reported, "Clinton is on shakier ground when attacking Obama for supporting "Dick Cheney's energy bill," and not just because it's a stretch to assign the vice president name - red meat to Democrats - to the legislation. The 2005 act that she describes as packed with billions of dollars in oil industry breaks actually raised taxes on the oil and gas industry by about $300 million over 11 years, according to the Congressional Research Service. The nonpartisan analysis found $2.6 billion in tax cuts for the oil and gas industry and $2.9 billion in tax increases. The bulk of tax breaks went to other sources of energy, including alternative fuels favored by both Clinton and Obama." [AP, 2/15/08]

McCain's Tax Plan Will Cut Taxes For Oil Companies by Nearly $4 Billion - Including $1.2 Billion for Exxon. A study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund noted that the corporate tax rate cut included in the McCain tax plan "would deliver a $3.8 billion tax cut to the five largest American oil companies" - ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Valero Energy, and Marathon. According to their analysis ofExxon's financial statements, the company would receive a tax savings of $1.2 billion under the McCain plan. ["The McCain Plan to Cut Oil CompanyTaxes by Nearly $4 Billion," Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/27/08]

McCain Spokesman: McCain Opposes A Bipartisan Compromise to Expand Domestic Oil Production Because of Provisions that Would End Tax Breaks for Oil Companies. "A spokesman for Sen. McCain said that while he 'applauds the bipartisan effort,' he wouldn't support the proposal because 'he cannot and will not support legislation that raises taxes.'" [Wall Street Journal,8/2/08] ##
Trade

False McCain Attack: "I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them."

The Facts: When Obama Negotiate Trade Deals, It Will Be With American Workers in Mind; McCain Supported Deals That Cost Americans Jobs

Obama Said That While "We're Not Going To Draw A Moat" Around The US, Trade Deals Had To Be Negotiated With American Workers In Mind.
McCain Praised NAFTA But Admitted That People Are "Gonna Lose Jobs." "I know NAFTA was a good idea. It's created millions of jobs and it has helped the economies of all three nations. All you have to do is go to Detroit and see the thousands of trucks lined up every day or go to our southern border. There have been winners and losers and that's the problem but free trade is something I think is vital to the future of America. As a free trader, I will open up every market in the world to Iowa agricultural products. Have people lost jobs? Yes, they have. And they're gonna lose jobs although the overall gain in jobs is gonna be pretty impressive." [Des Moines Register, 11/27/07]
McCain Acknowledges Trade Agreements Have Cost America Jobs, Still Believes Agreements Have "Been Very Successful." "McCain has said the trade pacts have been a net positive. 'Overall, the free-trade agreements have been very successful, and I can prove that with economic data on job creation,' McCain said in an interview Monday with the Journal Sentinel. But he added, 'It has left people behind, and we must give those people and others opportunities.'" [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/16/08]
Worker Training

False McCain Attack: "For workers in industries that have been hard hit, we'll help make up part of the difference in wages between their old job and a temporary, lower paid one while they receive retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage."

The Facts: McCain Has Repeatedly Opposed Vital Training for Workers in Hard-Hit Industries.

More:
http://www.alternet.org/election08/97813/exposing_five_dangerous_lies_in_mccain%27s_big_speech/?page=entire

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 09/07/2008 | McCain's history of hot temper raises concerns

WASHINGTON — John McCain made a quick stop at the Capitol one day last spring to sit in on Senate negotiations on the big immigration bill, and John Cornyn was not pleased.Cornyn, a mild-mannered Texas Republican, saw a loophole in the bill that he thought would allow felons to pursue a path to citizenship.McCain called Cornyn's claim "chicken-s---," according to people familiar with the meeting, and charged that the Texan was looking for an excuse to scuttle the bill. Cornyn grimly told McCain he had a lot of nerve to suddenly show up and inject himself into the sensitive negotiations."F--- you," McCain told Cornyn, in front of about 40 witnesses.It was another instance of the Republican presidential candidate losing his temper, another instance where, as POW-MIA activist Carol Hrdlicka put it, "It's his way or no way."There's a lengthy list of similar outbursts through the years: McCain pushing a woman in a wheelchair, trying to get an Arizona Republican aide fired from three different jobs, berating a young GOP activist on the night of his own 1986 Senate election and many more.<snip>

...But as McCain ascended in politics, he began to acquire a reputation for hotheadedness. On election night 1986, then-Arizona Republican Party executive director Jon Hinz recalled, McCain was unhappy, even angry, even though he'd just won a U.S. Senate seat and his party had just made a virtually unprecedented sweep of state offices.

McCain had hoped that night would help launch him as a national figure. Instead, when the 5-foot-9 senator-elect spoke at the Phoenix victory party, the podium was too tall.

"You couldn't see his mouth," Hinz said.

A furious McCain sought out Robert Wexler, the Young Republican head in charge of arrangements.

"McCain kept pointing his finger in Wexler's chest, berating him," Hinz recalled. The 6-foot-6 Hinz stepped between them and told McCain to cut it out. "I told him I'll make sure there's an egg crate around next time," he said. McCain walked away angrily.

About a year later, McCain reportedly erupted again, this time at a meeting with Arizona's then-Gov. Evan Mecham, who was about to be impeached after being indicted on felony charges.

Karen Johnson, then Mecham's secretary and now an Arizona state senator, recalled how McCain told Mecham that he was "causing the party a lot of problems" and was an embarrassment to the party.

"Sen. McCain got very angry," Johnson recalled, "and I said, 'Why are you talking to the governor like this? You're causing problems yourself. You're an embarrassment.' "

Johnson would go on to work at three different jobs over the next five years, and she said that each time, McCain would contact her boss and try to get her removed.

The McCain campaign didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 09/07/2008 | McCain's history of hot temper raises concerns

Kremlin-watchers warn of direct U.S.-Russia clash

By Tom Lasseter | McClatchy Newspapers

MOSCOW_ In the aftermath of last month's war between Russia and U.S.-backed Georgia, Kremlin-watchers in Moscow are worried that Russia and America are closer to direct confrontation than at any point since the end of the Cold War.

The rhetoric coming from the Bush administration — and presidential hopeful John McCain — suggests that tensions are still on the rise.

During the Cold War, "the sides were very careful of each other. They were careful not to come too close," said Alexander Pikayev, a prominent military analyst in Moscow who works for a government-funded research center. "The risk of direct military clashes is (now) much higher. . . . This situation is much riskier than the Cold War."

Both sympathizers and critics of Kremlin policy shared the assessment of a significantly heightened chance of conflict. They expressed hopes that cooler heads will prevail.

Vice President Dick Cheney put a spotlight on the standoff during visits to Georgia and Ukraine this week, the countries at the core of the row between Washington and Moscow. He told Georgians on Thursday that the United States will continue to back the country's NATO application — which the Kremlin vehemently opposes — and said that Moscow's intervention "cast grave doubt on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner."

Cheney traveled on Friday to Ukraine, which also is applying to NATO with strong U.S. support. There, he spoke of the "threat of tyranny, economic blackmail and military invasion or intimidation" from Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the same day that it was up to America to decide whether disagreements would get worse.

"We are not interested in bad relations with the United States," Lavrov told CNN. "It wouldn't be our choice, but if the United States does not want to cooperate with us on one or another issue, we cannot impose."

At the Republican convention Thursday, McCain mentioned Russia just after al Qaida and Iran.

"Russia's leaders, rich with oil wealth and corrupt with power, have rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power," McCain said in his nomination-acceptance speech. "As president, I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of the Cold War," he said. "But we can't turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American people."

Democratic contender Barack Obama promised to "renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can curb Russian aggression."

Andrei Klimov, a Russian parliament member with the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, said he didn't think there would be fighting between the United States and Russia, but acknowledged that he's taken aback by how much more possible it seems now.

"If you have a lot of people on the streets with pistols, it is very dangerous," said Klimov, the deputy of the foreign affairs committee in the Duma, the lower house of parliament.

Russian analysts say there are three possible flash points, all centered on or around the Black Sea, once almost lakefront property for the Soviet empire. The sea borders three NATO members — Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania — and two applicants, Georgia and Ukraine. If the two applicants join the alliance, Russia's Black Sea coastline would be surrounded by NATO.

"Now it looks like there is a certain red line that exists in the heads of Russian leadership and they are willing to do anything to stop it from being crossed," said Nikolai Petrov, a Moscow scholar in residence with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "And this red line is Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO."

It's a crucial area for any attempts by Russia to reassert its power in former Soviet territory:

_ In Ukraine, the government of U.S.-backed President Viktor Yushchenko is splintering in a power struggle. If Yushchenko or his opponents use force, the country could split between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions, creating pressure for Washington and Moscow to take sides, if not become directly involved.

_ American warships are deploying in and near Georgian ports, carrying humanitarian aid. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suggested that they're also bringing military aid to the defeated Georgian army. On Friday, the USS Mount Whitney, the command ship for the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet, docked in Poti, Georgia, not far from Russian outposts on shore.

_ Russian warships have been sent to the coast of nearby Abkhazia, a breakaway province of Georgia now occupied by Russian troops and recognized as an independent state by Moscow. In the relatively close proximity in which the Russian and American ships operate there and elsewhere in the Black Sea, one misunderstanding could create an international incident.

"We remember very well the Tonkin Gulf incident" in which untrue reports of North Vietnamese ships firing on U.S. ships started the Vietnam War, said Sergei Markov, a Duma member who's also with United Russia.

Markov, who's close to the Kremlin, accused the Bush administration of playing "a very dirty and bloody game" in which it was intentionally provoking Russia to create the appearance of a new cold war to help McCain's hawkish presidential campaign and further U.S. attempts to hem in Russian power.

Pavel Felgenhauer, a military analyst in Moscow who works with the U.S.-based Jamestown Foundation, agreed that relations between the countries were dangerously tense, but blamed the Kremlin.

"Russia is probing the West, as it often did during the Cold War, (to see) how far is the West willing to go: What will happen if Russia continues to push?" Felgenhauer said. "There is a party of war within the ruling party. . . . It seems that for now the hard-liners are winning."

Aleksandr Dugin, a hard-line Russian theorist whose ideas about weakening American geopolitical standing are popular with many Kremlin leaders, said Russia was challenging U.S. domination and that confrontation may be unavoidable.

Russia's move into Georgia was "an "irreversible decision that will mean in the future a serious, profound, irreversible confrontation with the United States. . . . The stakes are so high that Moscow has placed all its (chips) on the table," he said.

Dugin said he thought the strategy was a good one.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 09/06/2008 | Kremlin-watchers warn of direct U.S.-Russia clash

This is sooooo Repugnitian... haha!

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 02:30:39 PM PDT

This was sent in by a reader: apparently, the Republicans couldn't find very many African American supporters to show on the Big Screen Of Triumph, when introducing McCain (see 6:45, 7:02)... so they simply put up stock photos of black people. You know, riding bicycles and appreciating their moms and stuff. Both these images appeared in McCain's introduction, but you can also buy them for a buck or two from iStockphoto.com:

They're fickle people. For a few bucks, they'll support your candidate too. Or your company newsletter.

I actually think this is great news for McCain. If he can win the "people from stock photos found on the internet" demographic, it could boost his candidacy significantly -- especially in swing states. I hear Ohio, for example, is almost entirely populated by stock photos.

As an aside, this is after CBS News pointed out that the solemn pictures of a military funeral that accompanied their "salute to the pledge" on Tuesday was, in fact, also stock footage, portrayed by actors. I actually don't fault them for that, since it'd be one of the few times they tried to pull on American patriotism without using footage of an actual death to do it. And of course, there was McCain inexplicably standing in front of a stock picture of Walter Reed Middle School during a significant portion of his speech. Maybe they wanted to use a picture of Walter Reed Medical Center, but then they found out it had columns.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

What She Said...

At 62 I have known a lot of Republicans ... remembering them fondly, I now call them the real Republicans ... many of them a lot like Chuck Hagel of today, and his family!

The Elephant Party back a few years, the 50's, 60's ..... the 'after the war to end all wars' folks ... the World War II folks ... is not the party of today. I had Republican in-laws I adored, from my first marriage in 1964 ... very Christian like folks, who walked their talk, everyday!!! My husband came from a very large family ... Oklahoma migrants ... 'tuft' as nails, but with an attitude that if we have it, and you come along, we will share it.

My favorite boss of all time, and her husband, and the whole dang family ... all Republicans that I adored as people ... even a whole large office full of Republicans, with whom I shared 50,60 hours a week or more as a real estate agent. I could understand their points of view, even though on some issues, I had quite a different view point, and that was OK,

By honestly sharing our real feelings, and what we truly thought about 'current affairs' ... we always maintained basic respect ... and always came to agreement on the basic issues of living and life, with very few exceptions ... maybe we argued, that it should be by different paths, yes ... but .... but all of us, looking to the mutually shared goal of ... trying to be the best person you can be, with what you got dealt ... working with Whatever created you, and Whomever answers your prayers, when you pray.

My longtime workmate ... a retired motorcycle cop ... another true blue Republican, and the nicest guy you would ever want to meet. Oh, and of course Pastor Wells, and his large family. Christians who would have been very comfortable sharing a loaf of bread, a glass of wine, and a piece of fish with Christ Jesus Himself, and I sense now looking back that Jesus would have enjoyed their company and certainly lingered.

Another ... my Godfather, his whole family ... my God Mother, and her husband, and all their family!!! Crawfish pie and a Fillie Gumbo, and surely in line for the most Patriotic Americans Award ... but very genuine, loving, and honest to the bone ... and then there was my best friend for years, before he passed .. a school janitor ... a real jewel of a guy ... hardest working man I had ever met ... worked as a janitor with him for a while when young, in a large 2 story movie house ... them sticky floors I will never forget ... layers of wax and gum almost an inch thick!!! LOL..

What I see now, in these 'new-type' 'so-called' Republicans, is actually a 'third' party that is now declaring themselves as leaders ... in the race for supremacy ... power over the 'masses' ... that is the rest of us. What used to be a secret agenda is now being revealed. These are not the Republican's I know, or knew ... lot of them passed on, now, and the world has been less for it.

Wonder what these new Republicans are going to call themselves, nowadays, when they run things?

Mavericks/Pitbulls with lipstick? ... armed to the teeth??? Profit at all, and anybody's cost ... the 'WildWest' rides again ... 'pack on your six-shooter' 'grab the rifle' ... 'don't need no phucking horse' ... 'got me a black and chrome hummer!'

'Us against them' ... 'our way or the highway'

'Dead or alive' .... warned Bush/Cheney/and the gang ... and with Mc Cain/Palin, we all know they haven't left the building.

Want real ... want really, real, real change???

Do you believe in equal accountability for equal actions??? Do you believe in equal justice for ALL?
... do you sincerely support our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights???

Learn all you can ... read up on the facts ... the issues that affect us ALL ... like these hurricanes that keep coming in. ... listen to videos, check out the transcripts yourself, make up your own minds .... beginning to end ... support my favorite congressman ..... 'keeping them honest' Kucinich, and Vote this time ... Obama/Biden 2008.

Vict.

Anti-troop McCain

Veterans:
McCain Voted At Least 27 Times Against Veteran's Benefits. Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 30 times against ensuring important benefits for America's veterans, including providing adequate health care. [2006 Senate Vote #7, 41, 63, 67, 98, 222; 2005 Senate Votes #55, 89, 90, 251, 343; 2004 Senate Votes #40, 48, 145; 2003 Senate Votes #74, 81, 83; 1999 Senate Vote #328; 1998 Senate Vote #175; 1997 Senate Vote #168; 1996 Senate Votes #115, 275; 1995 Senate Votes #76, 226, 466; 1994 Senate Vote #306; 1992 Senate Vote #194]

McCain Has Voted At Least 15 Times To Prioritize Tax Cuts And Tax Loopholes For America's Wealthiest Over Funding For U.S. Veterans. Since his election to the Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 15 times in favor of keeping tax cuts and various tax loopholes for America's top earners, instead of providing valuable funding for United States veterans. [2006 Senate Votes #7, 15, 41, 63, 67; 2005 Senate Vote #343; 2004 Senate Votes #40, 48; 2003 Senate Votes #74, 81, 83; 1996 Senate Vote #115; 1995 Senate Votes #226, 465, 466]

Women and Families:
McCain Opposed Equal Pay Bill for Women, Said They ‘Need Education and Training’ Instead. McCain skipped a vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that would ensure women have the opportunity to recover back pay for discrimination once they discover it. If he had been there to vote, he said he would have voted against it and that women "need education and training" rather than an equal pay bill. The bill addressed a recent Supreme Court decision that said Steelworker Lilly Ledbetter could not recover back pay for 19 years of discrimination at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. because she had not discovered the unequal pay until she retired. The bill would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to allow employees to file charges of pay discrimination within 180 days of the last received paycheck affected by the discrimination. [Source: aflcio.org; H.R. 2831, Vote 110, 4/23/08; Associated Press, 4/28/08]

McCain Voted to Gut the Family and Medical Leave Act. In 1993, before finally voting for the Family and Medical Leave Act, McCain voted to jeopardize leave for millions of workers by gutting the bill. He voted to suspend the Family and Medical Leave Act unless the federal government certified that compliance would not increase business expenses or provide financial assistance to businesses to cover any related costs. [Source: aflcio.org S.Amdt. 16, S. 5, Vote 7, 2/4/93; H.R. 1, Vote 11, 2/4/93]

Education:
McCain voted NO on $52M for 21st century community learning centers. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program was established by Congress for school-based centers to plan, implement, or expand projects that benefit the educational, health, social services, cultural and recreational needs of the community. Amendment to Agencies Appropriations Act; Bill [ Bill H Con Res 83 ; vote number 2001-69 on Apr 4, 2001] vote number 2005-279 on Oct 27, 2005]

McCain voted NO on $5B for grants to local educational agencies. Bill to provide an additional $5 billion for title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Voting YES would provide $2.5 billion for targeting grants to local educational agencies and $2.5 billion for education finance incentive grants. Elementary and Secondary Education Amendment; S Amdt 2275 to HR 3010 vote number 2005-269 on Oct 26, 2005.

McCain voted NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. Vote to adopt an amendment to the Senate's 2006 Fiscal Year Budget Resolution that would adjust education funding while still reducing the deficit by $5.4 billion. A YES vote would:

Restore education program cuts slated for vocational education, adult education, GEAR UP, and TRIO.
  Increase the maximum Pell Grant scholarship to $4,500 immediately.
  Increases future math and science teacher student loan forgiveness to $23,000.
  Pay for the education funding by closing $10.8 billion in corporate tax loopholes.
  [Kennedy amendment relative to education funding; Bill S AMDT 177 to S Con Res 18; vote number 2005-68 on Mar 17, 2005 ]

McCain voted NO on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors. Vote to authorize a federal program aimed at reducing class size. The plan would assist states and local education agencies in recruiting, hiring and training 100,000 new teachers, with $2.4 billion in fiscal 2002. This amendment would replace an amendment allowing parents with children at under-performing schools to use public funding for private tutors. [Reference: Bill S1 ; vote number 2001-103 on May 15, 2001]

McCain voted NO on funding student testing instead of private tutors. Vote to pass an amendment that would authorize $200 million to provide grants to help states develop assessment systems that describe student achievement. This amendment would replace an amendment by Jeffords, R-VT, which would allow parents with children at under-performing schools to use public funding for private tutors. [Bill S1; vote number 2001-99 on May 10, 2001]

McCain voted NO on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction. Vote to reduce the size of the $1.6 trillion tax cut by $448 billion while increasing education spending by $250 billion and providing an increase of approximately $224 billion for debt reduction over 10 years. [ Bill H Con Res 83; vote number 2001-69 on Apr 4, 2001]

Children's Health Care:
McCain Voted To Cut, Eliminate, Restrict Health Insurance Coverage for Low Income Children and Pregnant Mothers At Least SIX Times. [SCR 27, Vote #76, 5/21/97; S 949, Vote #149, 6/27/97; HR 4810, Vote #204, 7/17/00; H.R. 976, Vote #307, 8/2/07; S 3, Vote #45, 3/11/03; H.R. 3963, Vote #401, 10/31/07]

McCain Opposed Extending Coverage To Uninsured Children. On October 31, 2007, after President Bush vetoed the first SCHIP re-authorization, McCain again opposed expanding SCHIP to millions of additional children. He voted against a motion to invoke cloture and bring the re-authorization forward for a vote before the Senate. The motion passed 62-33. [H.R. 3963, Vote #401, 10/31/07]

McCain Opposed Reauthorizing SCHIP And Providing Insurance For Millions Of Uninsured Children. In August 2007, McCain voted against passage of H.R. 976, which would have reauthorized the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). According to Knight Ridder, "The Senate proposal would provide coverage to 3.2 million" uninsured children and renew coverage for the 6 million children already covered by the program. The legislation passed 68-31. [H.R. 976, Vote #307, 8/2/07; Knight Ridder, 8/2/07]

McCain Voted Against Allowing Uninsured Parents To Enroll In The Same Plans As Their Children. In 2000, McCain voted against an amendment would allow states to expand coverage under the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (S-CHIP) to the parents of the children enrolled in the program. The amendment failed 51-47. [HR 4810, Vote #204, 7/17/00]

Iraq wasn't just a mistake, it was a crime.

There is a video snippet on Youtube showing a young Iraq veteran rooting for McCain and accusing those who think Iraq was a 'mistake' of disrespecting the troops, living and dead.

 

I'd like to put in my two cents.

 

The Vietnam War was a mistake, the Iraq war is a crime.

 

Both began thru deception but Bush went far beyond that by ignoring and bypassing both international laws against aggression and domestic and Constitutional Law when he invaded Iraq, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis in the process and costing the lives of over 4200 of our loyal and brave troops.  He deliberately steered intelligence to assure that his agenda, getting the guy who 'tried to kill my daddy,' was carried out. 

 

Republicans still use 9/11 as their rallying cry.  Iraq had no Al Qaeda, and definitely had no part in the attack on U.S. soil on 9/11.  I protested the war from the start--but not out of disrespect for our troops.  The 'flower children' who protested Vietnam were heroes, not traitors.  They changed the direction of the government's involvement and got us out of Vietnam thru pressure.  It'll take that pressure once more to get us out of Iraq, but we will get out.  We are not a stabilizing influence in the Middle East, we are the catalyst for violence.    

 

The suicide rate among those troops is higher than in any war.  Perhaps that is because they know it is immoral and illegal, yet they are tasked with doing their duty which they do so well.  No one respects our troops more than I.

 

It's the leadership of our government that I despise.  President Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, and many others deserve the disrespect--no, not just disrespect, they deserve to be tried in an international tribunal for war crimes. It's obvious that our own Congress' power has been seriously eroded by the Bush administration due to the 'signing statements' Bush used to interpret laws passed by Congress...otherwise we'd be out of Iraq (and saving lives) by now.  One protester, an Iraq Veteran Against The War, had it right when he held up a sign at the Republican National Convention that read, "YOU CAN'T WIN AN OCCUPATION."

 

So true, so true.

 

Jim