Inspire Emotion

Not Politics Anymore and a Moral Conundrum

Once upon a time (1999 or so) I had a friend who was a racist. We had not been friends for long, but she knew how I felt about racism, so she never showed me her own until one evening at a local pub, as we were enjoying burgers and drinks. I don't remember precisely what she said, but it was something that was clearly racist.

Yeah, she was drinking, but that's no excuse. And, in fact, that she said it out loud wasn't the issue. What mattered, of course, was that she viewed people as "us and them", and that she considered the "them" part of the equation to be less than the "us".

One more day and more conservative endorsements for Obama

I feel like a pregnant cat ready to have her kittens at any minute. I have never had so much of my emotional well-being invested in any election, ever. 

Whatever you do, do not neglect to vote tomorrow. This. election. is. too. important. And please, please, please - NO write-ins, and forget about Bob Barr and Ralph Nadar. Throwing your vote away is silly, and it isn't like there isn't a huge difference between Obama and McCain. You aren't making a valid point if you do this, and even if you were, no one will care. Cast your vote wisely -- this.election.matters!

ELECTION NEWS - and whatever.......
► Racists for Obama [.....] A few weeks ago I had a conversation (on a forum) with a racist anti-semite over his disgusting predilection for selling Nazi memorabilia such as concentration camp armbands on online auction sites. He insinuated that he might be voting for Obama because he hates Palin more (for killing wolves). It struck me as very odd. On the other hand, a racist anti-semite thrives on hatred, so it should not really be surprising that he would vote based on whom he hates less.
► Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, died today. It makes me sad to realize that neither his mother nor she lived to see him win the presidency. RIP, Ms. Dunham.
► This is arguably the most important election in American history. [.....]
► Palin ramps up rhetoric, suggesting that Obama thinks terrorists are the "good guys". &*$%**$&!!!
► The RNC leaves no avenue of attack un-spun, and goes after Obama for his visit to his dying grandmother. Pathetic losers.
► Josh Simmons, Gators for McCain (1000+ members) chairman at U of Florida, resigned his post on Sunday, and endorsed Obama, stating “I’ve seen a different John McCain than the one I signed up to work for.”
► The states to watch for early indications tomorrow night are Virginia and Pennsylvania. In Virginia, the polls close at 7pm EST. If Obama wins Virginia, it is close to a sure win. If he takes Pennsylvania, where polls close at 8pm EST, it will be almost impossible for McCain to win. If McCain wins Pennsylvania, it will be a very long night.
► Unbelievable. This is from Oct 28, but I just ran across it. McCain's biggest lie - (bolding & text enlargement mine) “Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, today accused his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, and the entire Democratic Party of being “too stupid to govern America,” citing as proof their falling for the many outrageous lies deliberately planted in his and running mate Sarah Palin’s public utterances to test their intellectual acuity.
“Of course that one [Obama] doesn’t pal around with terrorists,” McCain explained. “Of course, he isn’t a Muslim or Muslim sympathizer. Of course, his tax plan doesn’t punish the middle class. Of course he isn’t a socialist. Those were just booby-traps we set to see if they were smart enough to tell the difference between the truth and a whopper. And over and over again, they’ve flunked this vital test of savvy. They’re so dumb they think we meant it!”
► Palin's problem in separating family from governance includes billing the state of Alaska for her children's travel, and making her husband her chief advisor.
► More evidence from Harper's Magazine of McCain's relationship with Khalidi
► Biden mocks the "Maverick Twins" in Daytona Beach 
► Dick Cheney's hometown paper in Wyoming, the Casper Star-Tribune, switched to Obama. [.....]
► A former speechwriter for both Reagan and Nixon endorses Obama, stating “One thing I know is that both Nixon and Reagan would have agreed with Obama’s speech against the Iraq War… But all the organs of the conservative movement followed Bush over the cliff—as did John McCain.” [.....]
► Yesterday, at an airport hangar rally in Columbus, Ohio, the wing-nut Palin had some advice for Tina Fey: “Now speaking of great performances, did anyone catch John McCain last night on SNL — 'Saturday Night Live?' He was such a pro in those skits there with Tina Fey. And little advise [sic] for Tina—we want her to make sure that she’s holding on to that Sarah outfit because she’s gonna need it in the next four years.”
► Starbucks is giving out free coffee tomorrow. After you've cast your vote, head for a Starbucks and tell them that you voted --- you'll get a cup of  great java on the house.

RECENT and RELATED POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

¶ Notable Republican/Conservative Endorsements of Barack Obama
| McCain on SNL and the Obama Ad on Cheney Endorsement of McCain
| Media Criticism of Palin Threatens Her Right to Free Speech?
| Ron Reagan Endorses Barack Obama
| Obama Interview on The Daily Show - Jon Stewart
| Former Reagan Chief of Staff Endorses Obama
| Edgar M. Bronfman Sr. Endorses Barack Obama
| State Challenges to Roe Vs Wade Disguised - Proposition 4 - Measure 11 - Amendment 48
| McCain and Bush - On the Economy, Two Pieces Cut From the Same Cloth
| McCain Campaign took $51,400 from Charles Keating law firm - including from Keating's own nephew
| Francis Fukuyama, the Original Neocon, Endorses Obama
|The Economist Endorses Barack Obama

Media Criticism of Palin Threatens Her Right to Free Speech?

In the few remaining days of the presidential campaign, I am going to a more diary like style of blogging, and will make one daily post, updated throughout the day with breaking news.

This is because I am so freakin' uptight, I can barely think or breathe or eat or sleep, and I was even totally disinterested in my date last night (very not normal for me).Yeah, I am that anxious. You betcha.

So much is on the line in this election, and after all, the election in 2000 was literally stolen from the Democrats, and some say it was stolen in 2004 as well. Being so far ahead in the most reputable polls is sweet, but still, I can't breathe. More on this later.

ELECTION NEWS - and whatever.....
► Obama on Cheney's endorsement of McCain: “Do you think Dick Cheney is delighted to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain’s going to bring change? Do you think John McCain and Dick Cheney have been talking about how to shake things up, put [sic]Halliburton and get rid of the lobbyists and the old boys club in Washington?”[......]
► OMG, this video is hilarious! A hockey mom sings opera to Sarah.
► Freakin' nasty rumors by the right wing ...... The persistent rumors by the right wing that Obama was not born in this country, are false. His birth certificate from Hawaii was confirmed as authentic by FactCheck.org, and Politico has confirmed the authenticity of an announcement of his birth in the Honolulu Advertiser.
► Concerned that the GOP will again steal the election? Watch this and get angry. [Unrelated to the video, but of note. After the 2004 election, for good reason, the USA quickly dropped to 17th on the Economist's Democracy Index falling far behind more advanced democracies that include: Sweden, Iceland, Canada and Malta whose elections are held to higher standards. .......]
► The endorsement McCain really could have done without........Dick Cheney endorses McCain.
► Palin is the only one of the four candidates who has not yet released her medical records. Could this be because she will again be caught in yet another big lie? Be sure to read this report by Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic.
► Yesterday, in an interview on WMAL-AM radio, Palin claimed that her first amendment right to free speech (and her right to lie, consistently, daily)  was being threatened by the media criticism of her.
Oh dear God. I can not count the ways that this seemingly illiterate, anti-intellectual, ignorant woman frightens me. A quick look at the First Amendment.

RELATED POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

| State Challenges to Roe Vs Wade Disguised - Proposition 4 - Measure 11 - Amendment 48 | Another Threat of Violence at a Palin Rally in Scranton, PA
¶ Demonizing Barack Obama: The Politics of Hate
¶ Sarah Palin Engendering Racial Hatred, Encouraging the Insanity on the Campaign Trail
¶ Politifact Examines McCain's Claims About Obama and Ayers - Calls McCain Claims False and Malicious
| Vote Fraud and the GOP
¶ Sarah and Todd Palin and the Alaskan Independence Party - AIP Ties to Iran
¶ What are the Chances that Sarah Palin Will Succeed to the Presidency Without an Election if the McCain Ticket is Successful?

McCain and Bush - On the Economy, Two Pieces Cut From the Same Cloth

A New York Times video says it all.

RELATED POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

| Francis Fukuyama, the Original Neocon, Endorses Obama
|The Economist Endorses Barack Obama
¶ Notable Republican/Conservative Endorsements of Barack Obama
¶ More Conservatives/Republicans Jump Ship - Endorse Obama
¶ More Endorsements of Obama by Republicans/Conservatives
| Ken Adelman, a Neocon for Neocons, Endorses Barack Obama. Huge.
| Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama
| Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, and Andy Griffith Request Five Minutes of Your Time......
| A lifelong Republican notes: "I voted American - for Barack Obama" | The Anchorage Daily News Endorses Obama
| Editorial: Why I am voting for Barack Obama

McCain Campaign took $51,400 from Charles Keating law firm - including from Keating's own nephew

From Political Base:

Twenty years later and John McCain (R) is still lining his campaign pockets with contributions associated with Charles Keating, who you'll recall was Cindy McCain's business partner prior to the infamous Keating Five scandal which tarnished McCain's own political career.

On July 31, 2008, campaign finance records show that McCain accepted more than $50,000 in contributions from 41 partners of the Cincinnati law firm Keating Muething & Klekamp. As the name suggests, the firm was founded by Charles Keating. Among the partners who contributed was none other than Keating's nephew, William J. Keating, Jr..

There was no McCain fundraiser in the Cincinnati area on or around July 31st, so it appears that someone was bundling these contributions, yet no one from the Keating firm is listed among McCain's disclosure of bundlers of $50,000 or more. Was McCain reluctant to list someone from the law firm that Charles Keating founded as a bundler?

For a list of the contributions by donor and amount, click here.

RECENT and RELATED ARTICLES | POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

| Francis Fukuyama, the Original Neocon, Endorses Obama
|The Economist Endorses Barack Obama
¶ Notable Republican/Conservative Endorsements of Barack Obama
| Cindy McCain's Business Relationship With Charles Keating and Why She Must Disclose Her Finances
¶ Cindy McCain and the Keating Five: the Unethical McCain Family
¶ John McCain, Deregulation and the Keating Five - Public Amnesia and the Truth

Editorial: Why I am voting for Barack Obama

The issues are important. And in almost all cases, I agree with Obama's policy statements on how specific issues should be addressed. Not that I would expect to agree with all of any one individual's ideas..

But, there are other reasons that I will vote for Obama that are not about specific issues, but are just as compelling, and perhaps more so. For in the end, it is the character and intellect of the man who holds the office that matters most.

McCain and Palin throw Palin's mentor under the proverbial bus

Senator Ted Stevens, the eighty-four-year-old Republican senator for Alaska, was indicted yesterday on seven corruption charges for his dealings with big oil company, VECO. He is running for re-election this year, and becoming a convicted felon does not prevent him from continuing on.

Yesterday, Palin sort of tiptoed around a direct hit on her mentor, Ted Stevens:

Top McCain advisor calls Palin a "whack job".

The McCain campaign has been talking to the press, off the record, about their ongoing adventures with Governor Palin. 

In previous discussions with CNN, they termed Palin a "diva", and today, Politico's Mike Allen reports that a top McCain advisor called Palin a "whack job".  Priceless.

And just what did they think we were all whining about from the beginning? 

Update: Palin appears to be attempting to throw one of McCain's top aides, Nicolle Wallace, under the Straight Talk Express. And, according to the campaign, Palin has a) developed quite a rep for shopping on the campaign trail, and b), she does not like criticism. Barracuda = Diva?

GOP Senator Chuck Hagel on the Palin Pick

Senator Chuck Hagel's unspoken refusal to endorse John McCain (In December 2007, McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, did request him to endorse and campaign with McCain in the upcoming primaries.), who is a longtime friend of Hagel's, has to have frustrated Senator McCain¹. Today, The New Yorker Magazine has likely added to that frustration in the publishing of a series of interviews with Senator Hagel. The piece was published in the November 3 issue of the magazine, and is online now.

In reading the article, it is very clear that Hagel, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations along with Senator Biden, does not appear to support any of McCain's foreign policy statements. Rather, Hagel's views clearly support Obama on all of the significant foreign policy issues. On the other hand, this shouldn't really come as a surprise.........Hagel has repeatedly praised Obama.

Regarding McCain's choice of Governor Palin as the vice-presidential candidate, and on the type of campaign that McCain has been running, Senator Hagel was not complimentary. From The New Yorker:

Hagel said, he’s been “very disappointed” by McCain’s campaign. “He gave one unifying speech and then has spent fifty million dollars to destroy his opponent.” Hagel may be the only senior Republican elected official who has publicly criticized McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. “I don’t believe she’s qualified to be President of the United States,” Hagel told me. “The first judgment a potential President makes is who their running mate is—and I don’t think John made a very good selection.” He scoffed at McCain’s attempts to portray her as an experienced politician. “To try to make the excuse that she looks out her window and sees Russia—and that she’s commander of the Alaska National Guard.” He added, “There is no question that this candidate is arguably the thinnest-résumé candidate for Vice-President in the history of America.”
For Hagel, almost as disturbing as Palin’s lack of experience is her willingness—in disparaging remarks about Joe Biden’s long Senate career, for example—to belittle the notion that experience is important.

It is a lengthy article, but well worth reading, especially if you are still an undecided voter.

---

¹ Senator Hagel's wife, Lilibet Hagel, endorsed Senator Obama on October 7, 2008.

---

RELATED POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

Max and the Marginalized on Hatred at McCain/Palin Rallies

Song "Hounds" by Max and the Marginalized.

Hounds

For the lyrics to "Hounds", click here.

RECENT and RELATED POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

The Anchorage Daily News Endorses Obama

The Anchorage Daily News, the largest and most important newspaper in Alaska,  endorsed Barack Obama today. stating that while many Alaskan's are proud that Governor Palin is on the Republican ticket, it does not overwhelm all other considerations. From the Anchorage Daily News:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.  Continue reading ....

---

RECENT and RELATED POSTS: � = most popular posts

A lifelong Republican notes: "I voted American - for Barack Obama"

An American/Republican comments on a UK article (bolding is mine):

“As a life-long Republican, one who even went so far as to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Indiana primary at the urging of Rush Limbaugh, I am telling you we are outraged that our donations to the campaign have been wasted, and further that McCain has introduced race into this election.
This may well be the week that Mr. McCain finally succeeded in sinking his own ship.
The early voting period has already started in the USA, and today, after all these years voting Republican, I voted American -- for Barack Obama. Not only that, but I sent his campaign some money.”

Palin is a diva, according to a McCain adviser.

CNN spoke to sources in the McCain and campaign and reported today that there is dissension between the campaign staffers and Palin, with spillover in to the public arena.  There is only a little over a week until the election, and this could be the kiss of death. From the CNN report:

The McCain Campaign Strategy: Moose Poo-Poo and Did Sarah Palin Ask the RNC to Spring for Her New Wardrobe

It is unfortunate that it can literally be said that the McCain Campaign's only evident strategy has been to disperse a steady stream of lies, half-truths and divisive filler. And, because it takes time to honestly refute their assertions, insinuations, and honest to God moose poo-poo, it is nearly impossible to stay even or ahead of it. Especially if you are one person blogging.

This past week has spawned a number of lies, assertions and moose poo-poo from Palin. Not content to be kept in the background, albeit, the primary mud-slinger on the campaign trail, Palin requested an interview with the Chicago Tribune, the respected Republican leaning newspaper, which for the first time in it's 161-year-old history, has endorsed a Democrat.

As you might expect, in the Tribune's interview with Palin on Friday, [October 24] she had a lot to say in her very own folksy way. From the Tribune interview:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin insisted in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday that she did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party and "that is not who we are."
"That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are."

Sarah, darlin', you have been so misunderstood. My enduring sympathies. Really. But, um, not to belabor a point, but haven't you been wearing those clothes on the campaign trail? And, if you are telling the truth that you "did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party", then you must be saying that the RNC lied on it's very own disclosure forms. Tsk, tsk..........can't really have it both ways, Sarah.

As to your frugality, well, I would have to say that paying $0 for $150,000 worth of clothing, hair and makeup expenditures, that certainly speaks to your frugal nature, so fear not, you can still claim to be frugal. On this count, at least. What you can not claim is that you are truthful.

Sarah then went on to claim the big 'S word', Sexism, and decried the media's focus on her appearance, rather than on her views about the world, McCain/Palin policies, etc.. From the Tribune interview:

More Conservatives/Republicans Jump Ship - Endorse Obama

Earlier today, former Massachusetts governor, former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts under President Reagan,  and former head of the criminal division of the U.S. Justice Department, William Weld, announced that he is endorsing Obama.

Weld stated that his decision was based on Senator Obama's “good judgment, deep sense of calm and first-class political temperament.”  He also said Obama has a history of bringing Democrats, Republicans and independents together and is the best choice at a time when America's standing in the world is at a low point. He additionally noted that his endorsement was based on an assessment of Obama's strengths, rather than Republican John McCain's weaknesses.

McCain advisor, Charles Fried, has also cut bait. Fried is a conservative legal scholar, a professor at Harvard Law School, and served as Reagan Solicitor General. He cited McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for his running mate.

From The New Republic:

In his letter to Trevor Potter, the General Counsel to the McCain-Palin campaign, he asked that his name be removed from the several campaign-related committees on which he serves. In that letter, he said that chief among the reasons for his decision "is the choice of Sarah Palin at a time of deep national crisis."

Fried is exceptionally thoughtful and principled; his vote for Obama is especially noteworthy.

To view screenshots of the press releases issued by the McCain Campaign where Fried is listed as an advisor, click here and here. Or, you can go to the McCain site[ here and here], but I am sure they will remove his name posthaste.

---

RELATED POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

¶ Notable Republican/Conservative Endorsements of Barack Obama
| More Conservatives/Republicans Jump Ship - Endorse Obama
| More Endorsements of Obama by Republicans/Conservatives
| Ken Adelman, a Neocon for Neocons, Endorses Barack Obama. Huge.
| Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

---

Technorati Tags: politics,2008 elections,2008 presidential campaigns,Barack Obama,Obama,Obama/Biden,John McCain,McCain,McCain/Palin,Republicans,Democrats,Sarah Palin,Charles Fried endorses obama,william weld endorses obama,more republicans endorse obama