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".

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.

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:

A "tax" IS a "resdistribution of wealth" and Obama is not a socialist!

I am freakin' sick of listening to conservatives and idiots screaming "Obama is a socialist!" because of McCain's obsession with winning this election at any cost. Either McCain is dumber than I thought, or he is intentionally playing dumb in order to hoodwink the dumb and dumber, and it freakin' ticks me off!

Any tax is redistributed, therefore it can always be said that the government is redistributing "the wealth". When the government collects our payroll taxes, it redistributes them to various programs, the maintenance of the government, education, et-freakin'-cetera!!! Joe the Plumber can't distribute his own wealth, as McCain suggested, unless Joe doesn't pay his freakin' taxes or he distributes said wealth after paying his freakin' taxes!!  Wake up people!!

Stop listening to McCain and Palin trying to screw you, and use the common sense you were born with, damn it!

Related article - McCain in 2000 Defended ‘Progressive’ Taxation from Charge of ‘Socialism’

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MORE RECENT POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

| More Endorsements of Obama by Republicans/Conservatives
| Hey there, hey Sarah Palin! Do Real® Americans wear Valentino?
| The Candidates On the Issues: the Economy | Part II in a Series
¶ Sarah Palin Can't Tell a Donkey From an Elephant?
¶ Ken Adelman, a Neocon for Neocons, Endorses Barack Obama. Huge.
| Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama
¶ Notable Republican/Conservative Endorsements of Barack Obama
¶ Palin Indicates Support for a Constitutional Marriage Amendment

Hey there, hey Sarah Palin! Do Real® Americans wear Valentino?

By now, if you are alive and have read a newspaper, or watched the news on television, you all know about Sarah Palin's gift from the RNC. Valued at $150,000 originally, I have a feeling that when all is said and done, that wardrobe is going to cost the McCain Camp a hell of a lot more than $150k. Oh yeah.

<<EDIT: October 23 - To those claiming that this is sexist because the media is focusing on what Palin wears, I offer this disclaimer. It is not what she wears, it is rather, who paid for what she wears. Candidates generally provide their own wardrobes. And, it is the dichotomy between the image she has chosen to portray, and the reality. A woman who questions the patriotism of other Americans because they differ with her in their views, has no business patronizing foreign designers. A woman who portrays herself as the equivalent of "Joe Six-Pack" has no business wearing $2500 Valentino jackets that donors to the RNC paid for. A woman who claims to be a fiscal conservative is truly a hypocrite when she spends $150k in a two-month period, of money not her own, in clothing herself. Of course, this is to be expected of a woman who spent $50k twice to redecorate her office when she was the Mayor of Wasilla. And this is to be expected of a woman who inherited a town [Wasilla, Alaska] with $0 debt when she became the Mayor of Wasilla, yet left it with $22 million in debt, and legal battles that are ongoing to this day. END EDIT>>

My random petty thoughts:

• I am wondering if  Real® Americans patronize Sak's and Neiman's...
• What did Todd buy? His take out of the $150,000 was $4,000+....new fur lined boots, perhaps?
• That red leather jacket wasn't quite right for you, Sarah. Honestly sweetie, you looked like an old motorcycle chick.
• Nope, it wasn't illegal. The RNC paid the bill, not the McCain Campaign, which would have been illegal.
• Sarah and Todd own assets valued at $2 million.....doncha think they could afford to buy their own clothes?
• The clothes were nice, but Sarah could really use a better stylist....Palin still comes across as a dressed up redneck!
• The red suit and the black boots were..........reminiscent of a hooker I saw on a cop show last year. Tasteless.
• $5k for hair and makeup? OMG, get a freakin' refund!
• I wonder if they sell wolfskin coats at Neiman's.............
• Sarah likes foreign designers such as Valentino (as in the suit she wore when speaking at the RNC).....does that mean she's not a Real® American?? I'm pretty sure I spotted an Armani in there too. Possibly a Chanel.
• I can not STAND her voice.....it makes me freakin' cringe!!!
• How many Republicans sent in their $10 or $15 donations only to learn that it not only went to cover Sarah's back, but to foreign designers at that?  That is sad.
• There is a scandal brewing re Sarah and Todd and the house that Todd built. I am really, really hoping that it breaks prior to 2012.

UPDATE - Oct. 23: Oops, new revelation that September expenses included an additional $20,000 for Palin's hair and makeup artists. That is over and above the $150k.
To view the full "shopping list", click here.

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MORE RECENT POSTS: ¶ = most popular posts

| The Candidates On the Issues: the Economy | Part II in a Series
¶ Sarah Palin Can't Tell a Donkey From an Elephant?
¶ Ken Adelman, a Neocon for Neocons, Endorses Barack Obama. Huge.
| Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama
¶ Notable Republican Endorsements of Barack Obama
¶ Palin Indicates Support for a Constitutional Marriage Amendment

Palin Indicates Support for a Constitutional Marriage Amendment

  In an interview with CBS', David Brody, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, indicated that she favors a constitutional amendment which would define marriage legally on a federal level as "between one man and one woman".

“ I am, in my own, state, I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that that's where we would go because I don't support gay marriage. I'm not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can't do, should and should not do, but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that I believe would be best for traditional marriage and that's casting my votes and speaking up for traditional marriage that, that instrument that it's the foundation of our society is that strong family and that's based on that traditional definition of marriage, so I do support that. ”

Stating that you "would/do support a federal marriage amendment" is far different from stating that you "do not support same sex marriage". Such an amendment would invalidate marriages within states which have laws allowing same sex marriage, such as California. It would also prohibit individual states from passing laws to allow same sex marriage in the future.

What Happened to Our Freedom?

 
When my Mother lay dying in the summer of 2004, her brother from Germany came to see her one last time. He, and my Mother had grown up in Germany during the rise of Hitler. Their parents, now gone, remembered well when Germany was much like the US, when it was still a parliamentary democracy.

My Mother, though she was dying, was very concerned about the election of 2004. She was afraid of George W. Bush. I asked my Uncle why this was so, and he said one word, 'fascism'. I asked him what he meant, and he briefly explained that my Mother recognized fascism when she saw it, as did he, because they grew up with it. He further stated that Bush was using many of the same tactics that both Mussolini and Hitler had used to close down a democracy. He said that the US was in the middle of the process, but that it was coming. He said that Bush would win the election, because we were no longer able to have real elections.

I didn't quite believe him at the time, but I do now. And, I am scared. I am scared that even if Obama is elected, he won't be able to turn back the laws which were enacted to subvert the Constitution. I am more scared that he won't be elected because certain members of the Bush admin won't allow it.

Recently I watched the video you'll see after the jump, by Naomi Wolf, a highly respected writer and journalist.

And I began to do some research. Links to some of the articles that I read, as well as the video, are after the jump. Please read as much as you can, and view the video, and tell me what your thinking is.

This issue is non-partisan. It is American. As Americans, I believe that we need to look further at this, and not consider ourselves on opposite sides because we support different political ideologies.

RELATED ARTICLES:

| Has Sarah Palin Been Picked as the Titular Head of the Coming Police State? [Wolf claims that Palin was actually chosen by Rove and Cheney, and Wolf has good reason to believe that this is so]

Videos and more related articles after the jump.

Post Debate: Obama Brought it Home Baby!

 
Last night in the final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, Obama brought it HOME, baby!

While Senator McCain did his angry little man act, rolling his eyes, smirking, barely able to control his fury at his own self-orchestrated political demise, Senator Obama did as he always does - he behaved like you would hope that a President would. Calm, forceful but polite -- I would guess that he plays a mean game of poker.

Another Threat of Violence at a Palin Rally in Scranton, PA

 
At a Palin rally on Tuesday, October 14, in Scranton, PA, one of Palin's supporters again shouted "Kill him", as the crowd booed a reference to Barack Obama by Republican Congressional candidate, Chris Hackett.

The Secret Service is now investigating that incident, and if they find the individual whom they are seeking, he will likely be arrested. However, in my opinion, it is a damn shame that McCain and Palin are not held accountable, and arrested, for inciting violence across multiple venues, using their own clear contempt for Obama to do so.

This is perhaps the most dangerous election I have ever watched unfold. And, it is by far, the most contemptible.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann calls for McCain to suspend his campaign and bring it under control.

RELATED POSTS: ¶ = mos popular posts

¶ Sarah Palin Engendering Racial Hatred, Encouraging the Insanity on the Campaign Trail
| Demonizing Barack Obama: The Politics of Hate

 

Technorati Tags: sarah palin,keith olbermann video,john mccain,threats of violence at Palin rallies,Palin rallies,McCain rallies encouraging violence,barack obama,republicans,demonizing barack obama,race baiting by McCain campaign,politics,2008 elections

US Judge Provides Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Alleged Co-Conspirators With Laptops at Guantanamo

 
Could someone please tell me how we became so screwed up as a country that we torture prisoners, are willing to hold them without legal representation for indeterminate lengths of time, require little or no evidence in order to do so, and yet we allow al-Qaeda kingpin, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, to access his US provided laptop for twelve hours per day? His four alleged co-conspirators also have that "right". 

Now this might not seem so unusual if Khalid Sheik Mohammed were just any prisoner. He is, however, the alleged architect of September 11  according to the 9/11 Commission Report.  From the Miami Herald:  

Guantanamo guards must furnish confessed al Qaida kingpin Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his four alleged co-conspirators with enough battery power to use their prison camp laptops 12 hours a day -- but the 9/11 accused can't surf the Internet, a military judge ruled.

Sarah Palin Engendering Racial Hatred, Encouraging the Insanity on the Campaign Trail

 
I have loathed Sarah Palin and everything she stands for since the day I began researching her, which was during her introduction by McCain to the American people.

However, at this point, I am way beyond loathing her.  She is a woman without the intellectual wherewithal to compete on the national stage.  She is a joke in a quest for a position that is so far beyond her abilities, she doesn't even understand the responsibilities of said position. She is stupid. She is racist. She is unethical. And, unfortunately, we can not just ignore her.She is dangerous.

Sarah Palin's recent attacks on Obama are without any real basis in fact, and Palin's supporters demean her, as Palin demeans all Americans. Encouraging, rather than condemning her supporters who yell horrific things such as " kill him" , "he is a traitor", "treason", "terrorist", and other things of that nature in reference to the Democratic nominee for President of the United States, Barack Obama, is beyond stupid, beyond politics, and bordering on insanity. Palin herself calls him "the best friend of a terrorist", a claim totally without basis in fact, and the Republican party has already acknowledged this. One of her supporters hurled a racial epithet at a network sound guy, and yet she didn't tell the supporter to leave, apologize, nothing. This woman needs to go. Quickly. Away.

Palin needs to recuse herself from this election and allow McCain to select another running mate, hopefully someone with intelligence, ethical limits, and the ability to campaign without arousing racial hatred, among other things.  And if she won't resign, McCain needs to grow some real cojones.  So I say, show us some real patriotism, Senator McCain. Put your country first.

Give Sarah Palin the boot. 

   

Sarah Palin Channeling Dick Cheney

 
Today The New York  Times ran an editorial (you can read it below) on Sarah Palin's view of the vice president's role. I must confess, that is the single thing in the vice-presidential debate on Thursday night, that most disturbed me.

Was Palin indicating that she intended to follow in Cheney's footsteps regarding the powers of the vice presidency, (which, as we all know, he twisted out of all recognition)  if she were to hold that office?

Completely terrifying thought.

Palin on how she views the role of the vice president

NYT: Dick Cheney, Role Model

In all the talk about the vice-presidential debate, there was an issue that did not get much attention but kept nagging at us: Sarah Palin’s description of the role and the responsibilities of the office for which she is running, vice president of the United States.

In Thursday night’s debate, Ms. Palin was asked about the vice president’s role in government. She said she agreed with Dick Cheney that “we have a lot of flexibility in there” under the Constitution. And she declared that she was “thankful that the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president also, if that vice president so chose to exert it.”

It is hard to tell from Ms. Palin’s remarks whether she understands how profoundly Dick Cheney has reshaped the vice presidency — as part of a larger drive to free the executive branch from all checks and balances. Nor did she seem to understand how much damage that has done to American democracy.

A Minor Rant and Why Some of You Deserve John McCain

A while back, I think it was before the primaries ended, I saw some comments by Republicans on a friend's blog. They were moaning about how sorry they were that they voted for George Bush twice. How dumb do you have to be to have voted for him TWICE??   Now, I don't know for sure, but I would lay odds that those same individuals are going to vote for McCain this time around.  Why? Because many conservatives never seem to freakin' learn! 

McCain IS McBush, but try to tell many conservatives that, and they will call you stupid, crazy, deluded, ignorant. Oh yeah. Can you say extremely DENSE?

And, even after all that's occurred recently, including the financial crisis which can be pinned on the Republicans who enacted deregulation, and the Bush Admin who cares not how they spend taxpayer money. , I still hear many conservatives reciting the same old crap by rote. It is discouraging.

And then there is John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, the singularly most unqualified running mate chosen for high office EVER. The woman can barely think, for God's sake. [UPDATE: Many conservatives are now jumping on the "Palin is an imbecile" bandwagon, to wit:

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough says Palin 'just seems out of her league.' National Review Editor Rich Lowry called her performance 'dreadful.' Dallas Morning News columnist Rod Dreher described the interview as a 'train wreck.' Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker urged Palin to quit the race, saying: 'If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.'"  Source]

Okay. Fine. If the American people elect John McCain, they deserve what they are going to get, which is four more years of MCSAME. His economic policies, his policies on the war in Iraq are the SAME. His policy on health care will cause you to pay higher taxes within a few years. His tax policy is more of the same.........he will still give the breaks to the wealthiest.    
What the hell is WRONG with you people? Do you not pay attention?

Anyway, I am done talking to conservatives about politics. Except for Dan and Jessie. Most of them make no sense to me. And, if you wanna hate me for this post, feel free. Like I care when I am too scared about the future of this country, and if it even has a future. Really.

Finally, if John McSame is elected, we had better all hope and pray to whatever deities we prefer, that he does not die during his first term in office. And that includes all of you conservatives.

The Real Contest Begins After the Election

Inspire Note: This post was written by guest author, Dan Brantley, one of the valued commentators on Inspire. Give it a read with an open mind. Although I disagree with much of what Dan says, I believe it is a thoughtful, and well written piece that deserves to be considered.

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With all the rancor and bitterness floating around regarding the election, an issue getting little attention is the Contest after the Contest. Because the truth is, whoever gets elected in November, has to deal with several hundred entrenched members of Congress, many with as many years experience as McCain and some with as much charisma as Obama.

I was a principal in a start-up "green" company in Austin, Texas a few years ago. We were the only company in our space that could boast of being environmentally friendly, kind to the air and performing a valuable service that had a positive impact on storm water quality. And our service cost no more, and sometimes less, than existing services of its kind. Between the operations manager and myself we had over twenty year's experience in the business and a good reputation for service.

Has John McCain Lost His Mind?

McCain and his campaign manager, Rick Davis aka millionaire lobbyist for Freddie Mac..

Feel free to copy image to your blog, with attribution, please.