Year: 2008
Could Obama’s VP Be a Republican?
Posted on August 7, 2008 in Campaign 2008
“To question your government is not unpatriotic — to not question your government is unpatriotic.”
“I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn’t take an oath of office to my party or my president.”
“National security is more important than the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. And to use it to try and get someone elected will ultimately end up in defeat and disaster for that political party.”
Senator Chuck Hagel
R-Nebraska
How would Mean John McCain respond if Obama’s running mate was [[Chuck Hagel]] of his own party? There are other candidates said to be in the mix including [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Evan Bayh]], [[Joe Biden]] (Mr. Foot in the Mouth), [[Kathleen Sebelius]], [[Sam Nunn]], and [[Chet Edwards]]. Word is that it will be “someone from left field” (does that disqualify Nunn and Hagel?) You could be sitting in the state or the district of the man or woman who is the next VP of the United States.
It is said that Clinton supporters might not like it if she is not on the ballot, but if they are thinking of defecting to Mean John McCain, they should check some of his recent activities and think twice. Obama wouldn’t call any woman a buffalo chip, much less attend a topless beauty pageant.
I think Hagel might well be the best choice. He and Obama are friends. Hagel could position himself as the “real maverick” of the Republican Party and, in the role of hatchet man, could tick off the number of times McCain was just a another member of the herd with the GOP brand across his rump roast rather than a true independent. Obama could then reach across to disaffected Republicans and proclaim a [[National_Union_Party_(United_States)|National Union Party]], the likes of which has not been seen since the Civil War.
Check this article by The Financial Times for further background.
[tags]campaign 2008, barack obama, obama, vice president, vice presidency, candidates[/tags]
Obama on how Republican Leaders Take Pride in Being Ignorant
Posted on August 6, 2008 in Campaign 2008
For a few days we were worried, but then Barack Obama didn’t sweat a drop. He just came right back….
I confess that for the past few days, I’ve been worried about how Obama would fare out there among the “big boys” like John McCain. But just as prisons are filled with eight year olds in the bodies of men, so the Republican Party leadership is filled with prep school bullies wearing suits.
[tags]campaign 2008, barack obama, obama, obama strikes back, mean john mccain, mccain, negative campaigning, positive campaigning[/tags]
Paris Hilton Fights Back
Posted on August 6, 2008 in Campaign 2008
Seth Graham says that Paris made John “her bitch” with this ad.
Here’s what Drew Westen suggests Obama do to win the hearts of voters.
Mrs. McCain Said to be a Buffalo-Chip — By her husband
Posted on August 5, 2008 in Campaign 2008
Do the pundits really think that Obama has the bigger problem with attracting and maintaining the support of women? How about McCain’s suggestion that his wife participate in a topless beauty pageant in family-values South Dakota? What is he doing there anyways, veterans or no veterans?
Yesterday evening John McCain took part in the Sturgis Rally 2008 at Buffalo Chip in South Dakota, an annual tribute to veterans. The candidate was so enthused, he told attendees, that he encouraged his wife toparticipate in the festivities: “I told her with a little luck, she could be the only woman ever to serve as both the first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip.”
As the Huffington Post reported on Sunday, the Miss Buffalo Chip contest is more than a little risque — not to mention bedeviled by violence:
ESPN’s Jim Caple described the [event] as “essentially a topless beauty pageant. And occasionally bottomless, too.”
For those who don’t know, a buffalo chip is a dessicated lump of buffalo manure. Or to put it another, less appetizing yet direct way, whoever wins Miss Buffalo Chip is held to be a piece of shit. Not a nice thing to say about any human being, much less your own wife.
In other news, Obama strikes back at the nasty ads:
“When John McCain gets up there and says I’d rather win an election than win a war. When he says I didn’t visit the troops when I was overseas, even though every media outlet says that’s just not true… [It suggests] you are not trying to solve problems. All you are trying to do is divide people so you can win an election. That is nothing to be proud of. Let’s have a real honest debate about policies that are going to make a difference in people’s lives.”
[tags]Campaign 2008, McCain, John McCain, feminism, Barack Obama, Obama, sexism, Mean John McCain[/tags]
GOPpies defect to Obama
Posted on August 4, 2008 in Campaign 2008
Addendum (11-6-2008): The Republican governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, praised Obama’s energy plan.
Today’s polls were taken before word of John McCain’s falsehoods in publishing came out, so don’t be disheartened. A counterattack is in progress. McCain is following the Bush line of denying that his negative campaign is negative. But as you saw yesterday, the press isn’t buying it.
What may or may not hit the news is that the GOP challenger for a House seat in Oregon endorsed Obama and that a GOP politico in Delaware has done the same.
Schurmer tells Obama how to win.
[tags]campaign 2008, negative campaigning, defections, GOP, McCain, Mean John McCain, Barack Obama, Obama[/tags]
Mama Hilton on Mean Mr. McCain
Posted on August 3, 2008 in Campaign 2008
In the wake of McCain’s alleged-bimbo-attack on Obama, Kathy Hilton, mother of Paris, had this to say:
I’ve been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the money John McCain’s contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country’s time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States.
I’m not the biggest Paris Hilton fan as readers know, but Mama H., you might almost get my vote for vice president!
What a fitting demonstration of how Mean John McCain plans to treat his supporters and the rest of us.
[tags]campaign 2008, Paris Hilton, John McCain, Kathy Hilton, Mean John McCain, scoundrels, mudslinging, Obama[/tags]
Mean Mr. Mustard — er — McCain
Posted on August 3, 2008 in Campaign 2008
Such a mean old man
Such a mean old manHis sister Pam works in a shop
she never stops, she’s a go getter
Takes him out to look at the Queen
Only place that he’s ever been
Always shouts out something obscene
Many voters are wondering whether a McCain presidency would be an extension of Mr. Bush’s two disastrous terms. If the way Mr. McCain is running his campaign these days is an indication, Americans don’t have to wait until next January for the answer to that one.
Check the Washington Post on Mean Mr. McCain, too.
Check out video “When McCain Attacks“
And check out Jon Stewart’s Dick Move of the Week: McCain thanks the Hiltons for their money but takes a dump on their daughter as he does.
[tags]campaign 2008, presidential election, john mccain, mccain, obama[/tags]
Terrorists Infiltrate the Military
Posted on July 30, 2008 in Scoundrels Terrorism War
If you’d asked Donald Rumsfeld two years ago, he would have denied that there was any problem of racist extremists infiltrating the military for the purpose of learning terrorist soldiering skills. A new report adds to my suspicion that the Bush administration is fully aware that right wing fanatics are preparing for a new war against America and using the armed forces as a training ground:
The report, titled “White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel since 9/11,” compiles statistics from hundreds of FBI cases from October 2001 to May 2008. It finds that U.S. military experience “is found throughout the white supremacist extremist movement.” It adds: “FBI reporting indicates extremist leaders have historically favored recruiting active and former military personnel for their knowledge of firearms, explosives, and tactical skills and their access to weapons and intelligence in preparation for an anticipated war against the federal government, Jews, and people of color.”
And it’s not just veterans who are drawn to the cause. “FBI cases also document instances of active duty military personnel having volunteered their professional resources to white supremacist causes,” the report states. The FBI finds that “an estimated 19 veterans (approximately 9 percent of the 203) have verified or unverified service in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Calls for zero-tolerance of racial extremism in the military have come from both sides of the aisle. Hatewatch reports that Republican Senator Richard Shelby wrote: “Military extremists present an elevated threat to both their fellow servicemembers and the public. We witnessed with Timothy McVeigh that today’s racist extremist may become tomorrow’s domestic terrorist.”
The eye of the nation needs to be upon some of those reputedly sent to defend us lest they become our attackers.
[tags]terrorism, racism, racial extremism, domestic extremism, domestic terrorism, military[/tags]
Terrorism in Knoxville
Posted on July 30, 2008 in Liberals & Progressives Terrorism
Jim D. Adkisson wanted to send a message: be a liberal and die. That was the motive behind the Unitarian church shooting this past Sunday. And I am with Huffington Post’s correspondent Joe Lauria when he describes it as an act of terrorism:
An act of terrorism is violence by a civilian or civilians against unarmed civilians for a political motive. Al-Qaeda attacking US servicemen in the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, or in the USS Cole, or in Iraq or even in Fort Dix, New Jersey is not terrorism. It is a guerilla attack. Al-Qaeda attacking civilians in US embassies in Africa or at the World Trade Center is indeed terrorism.
Right on the money there. So what is Bush going to do about the incipient right wing terrorism in this country? Nothing, I bet. So far he has been silent, failing to comfort the victims or their families. Like his father, he allows the terrorist right to stock up their armaments until they are needed to strike fear into the hearts of voters who might be inclined to vote liberal.
Likewise, John MCCain has been spending more time pumping out attack ads (which might well be part of the mileau that influenced Adkisson to kill) than speaking out against Americans killing other Americans because of their political beliefs. You can bet Obama would have spoken up if the killer had been a liberal gunning down fundamentalists.
We need to do three things: vote for the middle and left side of the road. Then press newspapers, radio, and television outlets that feature hate pundits such as Coulter and Limbaugh who regularly suggest that liberals ought to be killed to drop these shows and columns. And insist that our leaders put a stop to homegrown terrorist organizations in part by necessary police actions and part by listening to the economic concerns of those who might be tempted to join their ranks.
[tags]terrorism, right wing terrorists, unitarians, unitarian shooting, Knoxville, Tennessee[/tags]
Earthquake
Posted on July 29, 2008 in Earthquakes
It was loud: buzzing through the timbers of our condominium up to the roof. I confess that I was still asleep, but it woke me. Not enough time to run for the doorway and I wasn’t sure how strong it was. Perhaps a stupid move on my part, but I was curious as to how big it was going to be. The vibration raced through the ceiling before petering out.
Doggy and the cats didn’t freak, but everyone is now following me around the house. This was nowhere near as exciting as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake but there’s the possibility that this was a foreshock to something greater.
Here’s the official USGS website for the quake complete with maps (yes, they are fast.)
And here is what it looked like on the seismograph.
Cal Tech has this cool video representation of the shaking. Frankly, it makes it look worse than it was.
I expect the usual “Oh, I couldn’t live in California because I am so afraid of the earthquakes” litany, but I’ll retort as usual that I’d rather have earthquakes than tornados or hurricanes.
[tags]earthquake, earthquakes, Carbon Canyon, Southern California, Greater Los Angeles[/tags]
Obama Rides the Unicorn
Posted on July 26, 2008 in Campaign 2008
I have to say that I enjoy the jibes in this nonpartisan piece….
894th in his class of 899
Posted on July 21, 2008 in Campaign 2008
Can one be a hero while at the same time being a dick? The answer, as McCain has shown, is: yes.
Check out his article at Dickipedia.org.
