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Selected News For Oct 25 – Oct 31

This thread is for the busy bees of S&L to post news items themselves.

In order to make the articles as readable as possible, please try to stick to the format described in the first of these weekly editions here.

Of course articles that fit under the topic of a recent thread should be posted there. As always, remember to excerpt heavily and to provide a link to the original source.

Related Articles:

 

This article was posted by Steve Gilbert on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 12:00 am. You can leave a response.

77 Responses to “Selected News For Oct 25 – Oct 31”

  1. BillK
    October 25, 2008 at 6:14 am

    A little non-Obama Democrat news from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    McGee’s federal sentencing delayed

    Defense given more time to challenge key witness

    By John Diedrich

    Michael McGee’s sentencing in federal court was delayed Friday to give his defense more time to challenge a key witness about how much money he says he lost in shakedowns by the former Milwaukee alderman.

    U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert ordered that by noon Monday, Adel “Jack” Kheirieh produce all documents backing up claims that he lost about $83,000 to McGee – in cash bribes, cell phone minutes, food and other items. The sentencing will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the judge said.

    Kheirieh testified Friday for more than an hour, saying there were, in some cases, witnesses and documents to support his claims of loss.

    Kheirieh, a store owner in McGee’s former aldermanic district, said he gave the alderman whatever he wanted because McGee had control of his liquor license. That included $19,000 in food, $18,000 in cell phones and more than $20,000 in cash over two years.

    “For him, I was a financial institution,” Kheirieh said. “If he wanted something, he came and got it.”

    The size of Kheirieh’s financial loss will determine where McGee falls along federal sentencing guidelines. The pre-sentence report, which includes a total loss of more than $120,000 to Kheirieh and others, says McGee’s guideline sentence is 12 1/2 to 15 1/2 years. A lower loss number would drop his guideline range, likely by two years.

    McGee’s attorney, Calvin Malone, is asking for four years in prison. …

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/m.....86364.html

    A glimpse into our heavily unionized Socialist future.

  2. BillK
    October 25, 2008 at 6:27 am

    The daily “Republicans: Stay Home” article from the Los Angeles Times:

    Early-voting trends appear to favor Barack Obama

    Voters who weigh in before election day usually lean Republican. This time, Democrats dominate in several key states, and some GOP areas see more black voters than usual.

    By Peter Nicholas

    Reporting from Washington — Record numbers of voters across the nation are casting ballots before election day, including high proportions of Democrats and African Americans in some of the battleground states in what appears to be a promising sign for Barack Obama.

    In the 32 states that allow people to vote before Nov. 4 without a special excuse, election officials report heavy turnout as the presidential campaign reaches its frenzied last days. That’s not surprising in a campaign that has received round-the-clock attention. But it also reflects the intensive efforts of campaigns competing to bank votes before election day.

    In North Carolina, which hasn’t gone for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter in 1976, almost a million people have voted, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2 to 1.

    “We’re going to bust every record we’ve ever had,” Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said of the state’s early-voting participation.

    A surprise is the makeup of the early voters, election experts said. In past campaign seasons, Republicans have used early voting to their advantage, mobilizing a slice of the electorate that typically skews their way.

    Yet a look at voters in a handful of crucial states suggests that Obama is turning out his base in numbers that surpass those of Republican John McCain.

    “Historically, we’ve seen that early voters are older, they tend to be white, have higher incomes and are better educated,” said Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Portland, Ore.

    “And that group of people tends to trend Republican. Now we have a mirror image in this campaign.”

    Lloyd and Sandra Clemons, a retired couple who voted early Friday near Pittsboro in Chatham County, N.C., said they chose Obama, whom they described as an inspirational figure.

    Sandra Clemons, a former municipal worker, said she was initially a Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter because she figured Obama’s candidacy would fade.

    “I was afraid he wouldn’t make it and I’d be disappointed. Now I think it’s a major historic event — just unbelievable, and very exciting,” she said.

    Early voting continues in many states, so the numbers can change. But Obama seems well-positioned in several Republican-leaning states that have the potential to broaden his path to the magic number of 270 electoral votes. …

    http://www.latimes.com/news/po.....5606.story

    Republicans are the racists, yet the author of the article clearly makes the assumption that there’s no way a Black could possibly vote for anyone other than Obama.

    Hmmm…

  3. BillK
    October 25, 2008 at 6:29 am

    From the Los Angeles Times:

    Sarah Palin shops resale in real life

    Sarah Palin’s $150,000 campaign wardrobe has been dominating the news the last two days, but off the campaign trail, it seems the folksy politico isn’t a Neiman’s shopper — she regularly peruses the racks at designer resale store Out of the Closet in Anchorage (ironic, considering her stance on gay marriage).

    Wearing discounted Valentino and Versace still doesn’t put Palin in the financial realm of an “everyday American,” but it’s a step down from the spanking-new designer threads she’s been sporting on the trail.

    Retailer Christos Garkinos recently hosted the owners of the Alaskan store at Decadestwo, the designer resale store he co-owns with Cameron Silver in Los Angeles. “I was saying that Alaska’s been in the news a lot, and they said that Palin shops at their store all the time,” he said. The Out of the Closet owners ended up “buying a ton of stuff,” but the L.A. retailer — a staunch Sen. Barack Obama supporter who recently married his longtime partner — said he was so skeeved out at the thought of Palin wearing clothes bought from his store, he donated 100% of the sales to the Obama campaign. …

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.co.....n-sho.html

    There is no article that can’t slam Palin.

    I hope she’s learning well for 2012.

  4. RightWinger
    October 25, 2008 at 7:03 am

    Why is McCain not talking about this? Demorats now thinking about destroying 401(k) and creating Social Security Jr?

    From the website ‘Workforce Management”

    House Democrats Contemplate Abolishing 401(k) Tax Breaks

    Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive.

    House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute.

    A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, contains elements that are being considered. She testified last week before Miller’s Education and Labor Committee on her proposal.

    At that hearing, the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Peter Orszag, testified that some $2 trillion in retirement savings has been lost over the past 15 months.

    Under Ghilarducci’s plan, all workers would receive a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government but would be required to invest 5 percent of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration. The money in turn would be invested in special government bonds that would pay 3 percent a year, adjusted for inflation.

    The current system of providing tax breaks on 401(k) contributions and earnings would be eliminated.

    “I want to stop the federal subsidy of 401(k)s,” Ghilarducci said in an interview. “401(k)s can continue to exist, but they won’t have the benefit of the subsidy of the tax break.”

    ………………….“From where I sit that’s just crazy,” said John Belluardo, president of Stewardship Financial Services Inc. in Tarrytown, New York. “A lot of people contribute to their 401(k)s because of the match of the employer,” he said. Belluardo’s firm does not manage assets directly.

    Higher-income employers provide matching funds to employee plans so that they can qualify for tax benefits for their own defined-contribution plans, he said.

    “If the tax deferral goes away, the employers have no reason to do the matches, which primarily help people in the lower income brackets,” Belluardo said.

    http://www.workforce.com/secti...../83/58.php

    Of course there is no way the MSM would dare report this, as this would cause a lot of people to jump off the Obama bandwagon. The Demorats have been wanting to get their hands into this pie for a long time. Trillions of dollars of 401(K) money siphoned off into the Govt version earing a lousy 3% in Govt Bonds? To be administered by the Social Security Administration? This is beyond madness. So if this goes down, you’ll be paying Social Security taxes and a mandatory 5% on top of this into an account making a lousy 3%. Pay into 2 Ponzi schemes instead of 1! Fantastic!

    The only piece of good news from this is that my wife, a life long Democrat, will be voting Republican for the first time in her life. She was a fence sitter this time, leaning towards Obama, but after I showed her this news last night she threw her hands in the air and said not this time.

  5. 1sttofight
    October 25, 2008 at 9:49 am

    This simply outragous in so many ways.

    Military Votes Being Tossed Again

    By Bob Parks Saturday, October 25, 2008

    “We support the troops” except when they vote Republican. That would appear to be the pattern again this presidential election, last perfected in 2000, and resurrected in 2008….

    Fairfax County Registrar Rokey Suleman is disqualifying an overwhelming majority of the military federal write-in absentee ballots received in his county on the basis that no address had been given for those witnessing the voter signatures on the ballots. According to Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity and four former members of the military who held a press conference on Thursday, over 98 percent of these military absentee ballots in Fairfax County are being rejected.

    “The federal write-in absentee ballot is a federally mandated ballot that allows military service members and their dependents to cast an absentee ballot when they haven’t received a [state] ballot before the election,” Herrity said. “For them it’s a safety net. It allows them to vote if the mail truck hasn’t reached his or her remote base in Iran or Afghanistan in time to cast a regular absentee ballot.”

    When asked how many ballots had been rejected, Herrity responded, “Out of the 260 military federal write-in ballots received to date, only five included an address for the witness. The other 255 have been set aside for rejection.”

    So here’s how it stands today: we can toss out almost all of the votes submitted by those overseas fighting for our right to do so, while others do everything to protect groups who submit fraudulent voter registrations and votes.

    Our priorities need work.

    http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5800

  6. Buzzy
    October 25, 2008 at 10:17 am

    WOW, listen to this and read the bio – joe the plumber has a friend – http://tinyurl.com/5dfxa2

  7. wardmama4
    October 25, 2008 at 10:53 am

    1st – RE: Military Votes Being Tossed Again.

    Humorous but expected that it is not being shown (in the first two paragraphs) that this is VA – where the military is ‘upsetting’ the blueness of the state and conveniently have left out the (D) behind his name or that he did the exact same thing in GA.

    And the issue with OH is 1) many of those ACORN registered ‘voters’ who are being questioned were during a period where you could register and vote absentee on the same day – by ignoring the validity of the registration – you are possibly allowing some one not eligible to vote to cast a vote and 2) it is the SofS’s job to verify using the database (DMV or SS) to make sure that the registrations are legal – because she is a Dem it is suspect that all of a sudden – it can’t be done. What it ends up, is that the BOE is now having to go through each and every single registration to verify them – to check up on the one person whose office should be doing it. And it casts a pall on all the voters/votes.

    Since ACORN lied by 2/3rds on it’s number of registrations – what makes anyone think that they won’t lie on whether the person is even eligible to vote?

    Talk about real voter supression – seems like the Dems are way ahead on that issue.

  8. 1sttofight
    October 25, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    No one has ever entered my home uninvited and I doubt that is going to change in the future.

  9. locomotivebreath1901
    October 25, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    Failing gub’mint schools greatest security risk.*

    So says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

    “Rice, a Stanford University professor before joining the Bush administration, spoke at a conference of women organized by former TV journalist Maria Shriver, the wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    As an educator, Rice said it broke her heart to see “kids who might be the next Nobel Prize winner … trapped in some public school that’s just basically warehousing them.”

    “But as a secretary of state, it makes me terrified because … if we cannot do better in educating all of our people, then we are not going to be competitive in a global economy,” she said. “We’re going to become protectionist, we’re going to turn inward, the United States is not going to lead.”

    Moreover, she said, the lack of quality education for all children jeopardizes the fundamental American belief that every citizen has the opportunity for success, no matter their background or place of origin.

    “If we can’t keep that true for every American, we’re going to lose who we are, and then we won’t lead, and so it is for me the most pressing national security issue,” she said.

    Rice offered little in the way of concrete solutions for addressing inequities in public schools — suggesting part of the answer lies in “the best practices” adopted by schools that succeed and “having high standards.”

    And she acknowledged that education has not been one of the more pressing issues addressed in the presidential campaign.”

    It’s about flippen time, and I say “What a babe!”

    *Note that Reuters uses a completely different (and less effective) headline in their original story.

  10. DEZ
    October 25, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Is this a joke?
    Only on Biden, who appears on WTF.TV.
    http://www.wftv.com/video/17790025/index.html

  11. torrentami
    October 25, 2008 at 5:14 pm

    Thank GOD McCain changed his position. Has anyone seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G15Iqs5W8KA
    I had no idea he had supported this. I’m a little disturbed. Obviously, this doesn’t change my vote but I am a little more depressed that we don’t have a truer candidate in terms of economics. At least he has the right people guiding him on this now.

  12. pinandpuller
    October 25, 2008 at 5:26 pm

    Wow, Dez, I wish I knew Morse Code so I could decifer Biden’s blinking. You are correct- WTF-TV LOL!

  13. 1sttofight
    October 25, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    8 year old youtube clip? Come on, you can do better than that , can’t you?

  14. 1sttofight
    October 25, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    Why isn’t someone being frogmarched as we speak for this?

    To test the campaigns’ practices, this author bought two pre-paid American Express gift cards worth $25 each to donate to the Obama and McCain campaigns online. As required by law, the campaigns’ Web sites asked for, and National Journal provided, the donor’s correct name, location and employment. The cards were purchased with cash at a Washington, D.C., drugstore, and the campaigns’ Web sites were accessed through a public computer at a library in Fairfax County, Virginia.

    The Obama campaign’s Web site accepted the $25 donation, but the McCain campaign’s Web site rejected it.

    http://www.nationaljournal.com.....81024_9865

  15. Eagle334th
    October 25, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    The headline on AOL is: “McCain Aides Slam Palin: Claim Diva is ‘Going Rogue’” Then, “What are they so upset about?”, underneath.

    Notice, it says, “Aides”.. as in.. plural.

    Then, the actual headline is, “Palin ‘Going Rogue,’ McCain Aide Says”

    Notice the difference? Of course, throughout the article the aides are named as “This aide” and “That aide” and ‘Source(s)’. What is this? Magic school? Are the Aides supposed to magically appear to us when mentioned in the article?

    http://news.aol.com/elections/.....ays/225713

    Palin ‘Going Rogue,’ McCain Aide Says

    CNN

    posted: 2 HOURS 31 MINUTES

    (Oct. 25) – With 10 days to go until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense they are spilling out in public, sources say.

    Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin “going rogue.” A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to “bust free” of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

    McCain sources say Palin has gone off message several times, and they privately wonder if the incidents were deliberate. They cited that she labeled robocalls — recorded messages often used to attack a candidate’s opponent — “irritating” even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign’s decision to pull out of Michigan.

    A second McCain source tells CNN she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

    “She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone,” said this McCain adviser. “She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

    “Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom.”

    …

    She doesn’t even have any relationships of trust with her family? That’s a pretty farking strong statement to make, unsubstantiated!!

  16. take_no_prisoners
    October 25, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    Biden won’t answer anymore tough questions from an Orlando, FL T.V. station–where’s
    the msm expression of outrage??

    http://elections.foxnews.com/2.....v-station/

  17. Gila Monster
    October 26, 2008 at 3:02 am

    Regarding Eagle’s previous post, picture this;

    “Michelle is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone,” said this Obama adviser. “She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

    “Also, Michelle is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember, self-perceived powerful black liberal women trust only unto themselves as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom.”

    The MSM would be absolute whirling dervishes over that little gem! Cries of racism, misogynism and GD evil Bible clinging rednecks would be shouted from the mount..!!

    Hypocrites, every single frikkin’ one of them..!!

  18. 1sttofight
    October 26, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    Can Obama win the election without cheating?

  19. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 4:25 am

    Does anyone else realize that Palin “going rogue” is the only way McCain can possibly win this election?

    She’d better look out for herself more than for the campaign because the campaign is going boom.

  20. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 4:59 am

    How horrible!

    From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    Credit card lawsuits on the rise

    More Wisconsinites being sued for defaulting on debts

    By Lisa Sink

    A growing number of Wisconsinites are being sued for defaulting on credit card and other debts, another sign of stress in a weakening economy.

    Large-claim money judgment lawsuits – debt collections exceeding $5,000 on credit cards as well as business, car and college loans, and medical and other bills – jumped 49% statewide in 2007, a review of circuit court data found.

    They are on pace to increase 16% in 2008 statewide, with sharper spikes in some counties. Waukesha County is on pace for a 44% increase this year, after a 31% increase last year. Washington County is on pace for a 25% rise, after a 40% uptick last year. By contrast, Milwaukee County is on pace for a 14% rise.

    By September, Waukesha County already had more money judgment cases filed than in all of 2007.

    “This is your Main Street vs. Wall Street,” Milwaukee County Circuit Court Clerk John Barrett said. “I would think that those numbers are really the pulse of the economy. You can look at (these lawsuits) and see at a real micro level who can’t pay their bills.”

    Money judgment cases do not include foreclosures, which also have jumped across the state.

    Although it’s difficult to track exactly how many of the money judgment lawsuits involve credit card defaults, a review of one week of such filings this month in Waukesha County found 56% were credit card collections.

    In one week, 38 consumers were sued for defaulting on a combined $467,622 in credit card debt. The average card balance with interest and fees in these cases was $12,306; actual debt ranged from $5,402 to $56,320.

    Among those sued was a Waukesha man accused of defaulting on two credit cards. Capital One said he owed $26,325 on one card and $10,075 on the other.

    Other southeastern Wisconsin court clerks found primarily credit card debt collections when they scanned lists of their money judgment filings.

    With people squeezed by stagnant or shrinking wages, rising food and energy costs and growing unemployment, it’s no surprise that Americans are resorting to credit cards.

    The credit crunch and declining home values have made it harder for consumers to tap home equity lines to manage credit card debt. …

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/w.....39959.html

    People are racking up five figure credit card debts and defaulting and it’s “Main Street vs. Wall Street.”

    This is what it’s come down to.

  21. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 5:05 am

    From the Miwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    Anti-pork fervor soon fades in D.C.

    By Daniel Bice

    When he took office a little less than two years ago, U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen was all about reforming the way Washington operates.

    “The first thing we did was change the rules to end runaway deficit spending,” Kagen said in a Jan. 30, 2007, press release. “Now, we’ll freeze federal spending at last year’s level, and eliminate earmarks in the federal budget.”

    But something changed.

    Now Kagen is a big fan of earmarks.

    He had three in the recently passed defense-spending bill, including $800,000 for Utility Tool and Trailer in Clintonville for aluminum military trailers.

    Not surprisingly, two executives with Utility Tool gave the first-term Democratic congressman $4,600 earlier this year, and the pair then chipped in a similar amount in September while the measure was pending.

    But Kagen isn’t alone in hauling pork home for campaign donors.

    Look at what else was included in the same defense bill:

    • U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore scored a $400,000 bonus for DRS Power and Control Technologies, a New Jersey-based company with a major office in Milwaukee. The firm’s PAC has contributed $11,000 to the Milwaukee Democrat’s campaign.

    • U.S. Rep. Tom Petri inserted $4 million for John Deere to build tactical utility vehicles, which are manufactured at the firm’s Horicon plant in Petri’s district. John Deere’s political action committee is a longtime fan of the Fond du Lac Republican, having donated $14,000 to his campaign fund over the past five years.

    • U.S. Rep. Dave Obey tucked $3.6 million in the bill for Rex Systems, a radar and computer communications business in Chippewa Falls. The company president and his wife have given $8,000 to Obey, a Wausau Democrat, since 2003.

    Not a bad return on investment, huh? …

    http://www.jsonline.com/watchd.....38434.html

    Both parties are of course at fault here.

    It’s just sad, but remember Americans always think that everyone else’s Congressional reps are bad, but their own is doing a “great job,” especially when they bring in some of that “Government Money.”

  22. Lurkin_no_mo
    October 27, 2008 at 5:10 am

    1st, nope. That’s why we’re seeing all this voter fraud crap.
    Vote early, vote often.
    I can’t remember having so much voter fraud in an election. Anyone else with a better memory remember an election cycle like this with voters registered as Disney characters, etc?

  23. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 5:35 am

    Missed last week, News Corp. President Peter Chernin called for the FCC to make the airwaves an “anything goes” arena:

    From Studio Briefing:

    Chernin Calls For An End To FCC Censorship

    News Corp President and COO Peter Chernin said Tuesday that the FCC should get out of the censorship business, maintaining that the commission’s recent fines against major broadcasters, including News Corp’s Fox Broadcasting, are a violation of the First Amendment. Speaking at The Media Institute’s awards dinner in Washington DC, where he received the group’s Freedom of Speech award, Chernin defended the network’s right to televise a Billboard Awards show live in which Cher and Nicole Richie used language that is barred by FCC rules. The case is due to be heard by the Supreme Court on November 4. Chernin said that the case “hinges on utterances that were unscripted on live television. If we are found in violation, just think about the radical ramifications for live programming — from news, to politics, to sports. In fact, to every live broadcast television event. The effect would be appalling.” He maintained that Fox plans to “fight to the end” to be able to air “occasionally controversial, offensive, and even tasteless content.” He noted that government censorship currently applies only to broadcast television and radio, not to cable or the Internet. “Does it really make sense,” he asked, “to continue government censorship of the occasional bad word, brief nudity, or sexual innuendo on a handful of broadcast channels when we live in an environment of infinitely unregulated choices?”

    http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0589150/

    Perhaps because the broadcasts are made on public airwaves and the signals pumped into American homes “in the public interest?”

  24. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 6:24 am

    No shock whatsoever, from the Washington Post:

    At the U.N., Many Hope for an Obama Win

    By Colum Lynch

    UNITED NATIONS — There are no “Obama 2008″ buttons, banners or T-shirts visible here at U.N. headquarters, but it might be difficult to find a sliver of territory in the United States more enthusiastic over the prospect of the Illinois senator winning the White House.

    An informal survey of more than two dozen U.N. staff members and foreign delegates showed that the overwhelming majority would prefer that Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, saying they think that the Democrat would usher in a new agenda of multilateralism after an era marked by Republican disdain for the world body.

    Obama supporters hail from Russia, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere. One American employee here seemed puzzled that he was being asked whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was even a consideration. “Obama was and is unstoppable,” the official said. “Please, God, let him win,” he added.

    “It would be hard to find anybody, I think, at the U.N. who would not believe that Obama would be a considerable improvement over any other alternative,” said William H. Luers, executive director of the United Nations Association. “It’s been a bad eight years, and there is a lot of bad feeling over it.”

    Conservatives who are skeptical of the United Nations said they are not surprised by the political tilt. “The fact is that most conservatives, most Republicans don’t worship at the altar in New York, and I think that aggravates them more than anything else,” said John R. Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “What they want is the bending of the knee, and they’ll get it from an Obama administration.”

    The candidates have said little about their plans for the United Nations, but Obama has highlighted his desire to pursue diplomacy more assertively than the Bush administration, whereas McCain has called for the establishment of a league of democracies, which many here fear is code for sidelining the United Nations.

    U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has avoided showing a public preference about the presidential campaign — although he has hinted at a soft spot for Obama in private gatherings, according to U.N. officials. His top advisers say they think McCain and Obama would support many of Ban’s priorities, including restraints on production of greenhouse gases that fuel climate change.

    “The secretary general and the Secretariat of the United Nations take no position on the U.S. election,” said Ban’s chief spokeswoman, Michele Montas. “The secretary general deeply respects the democratic process, and he looks forward to working with whomever the American people choose.”

    Many U.N. rank and file are less circumspect, saying they see in Obama’s multicultural background — a Kenyan father, an Indonesian stepfather and a mother and grandparents from Kansas — a reflection of themselves. “We do not consider him an African American,” said Congo’s U.N. ambassador, Atoki Ileka. “We consider him an African.”

    One U.N. official threw a party over the summer and asked guests to place stickers of either an elephant or a donkey on the front door to show their political preference. At the end of the night, the door was covered with about 30 donkeys and two elephants. “We found out that one of the Republicans was an American and the other couldn’t vote,” according to a U.N. official who attended. “So we convinced the American to vote for Obama.”

    “I have not heard a single person who will support McCain; if they do, they are in hiding,” said another U.N. Obama booster from an African country. “The majority of people here believe in multilateralism,” he said. “The Republicans were constantly questioning the relevance of the United Nations.” …

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....11_pf.html

    In no way surprising, but still a bit shocking when you see how blatant the bias is.

  25. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 6:30 am

    From Fox News, Karl Rove says it’s basically over.

    Transcript: Karl Rove on ‘FOX News Sunday’

    WASHINGTON — The following is a partial transcript of the Oct. 26, 2008, edition of “FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace”:

    “FOX NEWS SUNDAY” HOST CHRIS WALLACE: And hello again from Fox News in Washington. Well, with little over a week left until Election Day, the presidential race has come down, as it always does, to a handful of battleground states.

    And joining us now from one of those states, Florida, is the architect of two presidential election victories, Karl Rove.

    And, Karl, welcome back to “FOX News Sunday.”

    ROVE: Thanks, Chris.

    WALLACE: Well, let’s begin with the latest version of the Rove electoral map. Let’s put it up on the screen. This, of course, is an average of recent state polls.

    It shows Obama with his biggest lead of the campaign, leading in states with 317 electoral votes to McCain’s 157, with 270 needed to win the presidency.

    Karl, you now have Ohio a blue state, Indiana, Colorado, Virginia. These are states that Republicans traditionally win.

    ROVE: Yeah. And from Thursday — last Thursday was the most recent map before this one, and from Thursday there were 46 individual state polls in less than 48 hours, and they moved Indiana from being toss-up into the Obama column, giving him his largest lead thus far this campaign.

    In order to — in order for McCain to win, he’s got a very steep hill to climb. He’s got to win all of the toss-up states, 64 electoral votes, all the yellow-shaded states on the map.

    Then he needs to strip away Ohio and Indiana with 31 electoral votes to get him to 252. And then he needs to either win Colorado and Virginia, which gets him to 274, or win one of them plus Pennsylvania, which would get him to 282 or 286. It’s a steep uphill climb.

    WALLACE: Well, and to make it seem even steeper, let’s take a look at the trend lines of your electoral map, because they’re really quite fascinating. What they show is that this race was tied. In fact, for a brief moment in mid-September, McCain was ahead in the states with the electoral vote.

    And then you see, starting in mid-September, it just — the red and the blue lines seemed to diverge and Obama steadily widens his lead for over a month now. How does John…

    ROVE: Right. …

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,444092,00.html

    You might as well spend next Tuesday figuring out how to hide your assets from Obama; certainly heading to the polls is a waste of time at this point.

  26. Steve
    October 27, 2008 at 9:36 am

    “You might as well spend next Tuesday figuring out how to hide your assets from Obama; certainly heading to the polls is a waste of time at this point.”

    Karl Rove’s genius has been greatly exaggerated.

  27. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 10:42 am

    What will be entertaining is to see whether he loses any of his “pure evil” depiction by the MSM now that he’s predicting McCain’s defeat.

  28. 1sttofight
    October 27, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    Uh Oh, Looks like Hair Plug has banned another TV station for asking questions about The One.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZT1y1io4vA

  29. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    Not that this is surprising at all, but we all use computers to come here, and we know Microsoft is far left, and here’s confirmation of the same for the balance of the computing world.

    From AppleInsider.com:

    Apple gives $100,000 to fight California gay marriage ban

    By Prince McLean

    Apple has joined Google in publicly opposing California’s Proposition 8, a measure intended to ban the rights of gay Californians to legally marry, and has contributed $100,000 to defeat the measure.

    Both companies have a history of remaining politically neutral, but have chosen to take sides on this issue because it relates directly to the civil rights and opportunities of their employees.

    In its Hot News feed, the company stated, “Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.”

    Earlier, Google co-founder and president Sergey Brin wrote in the Official Google Blog, “it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8. While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 — we should not eliminate anyone’s fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.”

    The No on 8 campaign notes that “Virtually every major paper in California is against Prop 8. The L.A. Times says it is ‘a drastic step to strip people of rights.’ La Opinión called Prop 8 ‘an unnecessary initiative.’ The San Diego Union Tribune wrote that Prop 8 ‘offends many Californians’ sense of fairness.’”

    Apple’s $100,000 contribution to the No on 8 campaign is significant because the effort to stop the proposition has been systematically outgunned by out-of-state religious groups, who have poured cash into TV advertisements that threaten dire consequences if gays’ right to marry continue in the state. Among other claims, the ads state that if the proposition isn’t passed, California schools will force children to study gay marriage.

    That claim prompted California Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell to announce that the proposition “has nothing to do with schools or kids. Our schools aren’t required to teach anything about marriage, and using kids to lie about that is shameful.”

    http://www.appleinsider.com/ar.....e_ban.html

    Yet. Yet.

    It’s no secret that its backers are pushing this as a civil rights issue, so while no explicit teaching regarding marriage may be occurring yet, the simple fact is that teachers will simply brand anyone who disapproves of gay marriage with the same stigma once used to denote people who disapproved of interracial marriage.

    Churches and religious schools that share a traditional view of marriage will be labeled as organizations promoting hate and will be stripped of any public funding whatsoever – including tax exemptions and any even remotely public events being held on their premises.

    No, nothing needs to be explicitly taught – it will simply be mentioned by teacher after teacher as an already legally-approved method of “encouraging classroom debate and discussion.”

    You know, in the way Ward Churchill has been saying is his right all along.

  30. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    To expand on 1sttofight’s post above, from Fox News:

    Obama Campaign Cuts Off Interviews With Florida TV Station

    Biden gets asked tough questions by Orlando reporter

    Barack Obama’s campaign killed all interviews with a Florida TV station after Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, faced tough and critical questions from a reporter at the Orlando station, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

    During a satellite video Thursday, WFTV’s Barbara West quoted Karl Marx and asked Biden how Obama’s comment to “Joe the Plumber,” about spreading the wealth wasn’t being Marxist.

    “Are you joking?,” Biden asked.

    West replied, “No.”

    Later in the interview West questioned Biden about his comments that if Obama wins the election next month, he would be tested early on as president and wanted to know if Biden was implying America was no longer the world’s leading power.

    “I don’t know who’s writing your questions,” Biden asked her.

    The Obama camp then killed a WFTV interview with Biden’s wife Jill, according to an Orlando Sentinel blog.

    “This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election,” wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign, according to the Sentinel.

    http://elections.foxnews.com/2.....v-station/

    Barack Obama: Defending the public’s right to know whatever we think they should know.

  31. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    From Fox News:

    Government Foils Skinhead Plot to Assassinate Obama

    Skinheads planned to kill Obama and 102 others in Tennessee.

    Federal agents have disrupted a plot to assassinate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate dozens of black students in Tennessee, the ATF said Monday.

    In court records unsealed Monday, federal agents said they broke up plans to rob a gun store and target a predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads. Agents said the skinheads did not identify the school by name.

    A source in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told FOX News that the two skinheads, who were picked up in Crockett County, Tenn., were plotting to shoot 88 black students and decapitate 14 others described as non-whites. The source said officials believe the suspects were planning to attempt an assassination against Obama.

    The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community.

    But officials could not describe how advanced or credible the plot was, nor could they say if they had contacted the Obama campaign.

    Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville field office for the ATF, said the suspects also sought to go on a national killing spree, with Obama as its final target.

    “They said that would be their last, final act — that they would attempt to kill Sen. Obama,” Cavanaugh said. “They didn’t believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying.”

    According to the affidavit, the suspects planned “to drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows.”

    The court document states that the suspects planned to dress in all-white tuxedos and top hats during the assassination attempt, and that they stated they were willing to die during this attempt.

    Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the campaign would have no comment on the alleged plot. The John McCain campaign also had no comment.

    The men, Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman 18, of West Helena, Ark., are being held without bond. Agents seized a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and three pistols from the men when they were arrested. Authorities alleged the two men were preparing to break into a gun shop to steal more.

    Attorney Joe Byrd, who has been hired to represent Cowart, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

    Cowart and Schlesselman are charged with possessing an unregistered firearm, conspiring to steal firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer, and threatening a candidate for president.

    According to the affidavit, the two suspects met over the Internet a month ago through a mutual friend. Both claimed to have “very strong beliefs and views regarding ‘white power’ and ’skinhead’ views.”

    http://elections.foxnews.com/2.....ate-obama/

    Of course had these men instead been planning to blow up a building or attack a military base, the press would have immediately ridiculed the arrest for targeting a bunch of people who “had neither the funds nor the ability” to pull off the attack.

    But since they were targeting the Chosen One, they shall be tossed into a deep dark pit from which there is no escape.

    (Please don’t get me wrong; if they really were planning such an attack they deserve whatever punishment they receive.)

  32. BillK
    October 27, 2008 at 6:22 pm

    October Surprise, not, from the AP:

    Sen. Ted Stevens Found Guilty on All Counts in Federal Corruption Case

    WASHINGTON — Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska’s political patriarch in disgrace.

    The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, increased Stevens’ difficulty in winning what already was a difficult race against Democratic challenger Mark Begich. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

    Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the felony charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating last week.

    Visibly shaken after the verdicts were read — the jury foreman declaring “guilty” seven times — Stevens tried to intertwine his fingers but quickly put his hands down to his side after noticing they were trembling. As he left the courtroom, Stevens got a quick kiss on the cheek from his wife, Catherine, who testified on his behalf during the trial. He declined to talk to reporters waiting outside.

    Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced, but under federal guidelines he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any. The judge originally scheduled sentencing for Jan. 26 but then changed his mind and did not immediately set a date.

    The monthlong trial revealed that employees for VECO Corp., an oil services company, transformed Stevens’ modest mountain cabin into a modern, two-story home with wraparound porches, a sauna and a wine cellar.

    The Senate’s longest-serving Republican, Stevens said he had no idea he was getting freebies. He said he paid $160,000 for the project and believed that covered everything.

    He had asked for an unusually speedy trial, hoping he’d be exonerated in time to return to Alaska and win re-election. He kept his campaign going and gave no indication that he had a contingency plan in case of conviction.

    Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel him on a two-thirds vote.

    “Put this down: That will never happen — ever, OK?” Stevens said in the weeks leading up to his trial. “I am not stepping down. I’m going to run through, and I’m going to win this election.”

    Democrats have invested heavily in the race, running television advertisements starring fictional FBI agents and featuring excerpts from wiretaps. …

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,444257,00.html

    Blah blah Republicans, blah blah corruption, blah blah Nancy Pelosi would never do anything like this (cough, cough.)

    But you’ve got to love the use of wiretaps.

    I’m sure those are available to just random members of the public.

    I wonder, are there autopsy photos of Mary Jo Kopechne that Republicans can run?

    Can we use the ABSCAM videos in RNC ads?

    Nah, that would be “dirty” campaigning.

    The fact that such options have not been explored is why Republican political power is on a (perhaps permanent) decline.

  33. 1sttofight
    October 27, 2008 at 6:46 pm

    Get your hankies and wallets out, these folks need your Prayers and money.

    Just A Guy in My Neighborhood

    http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

    You may have to schroll down a bit.

  34. nuthingbettertodo
    October 27, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    You can’t make this stuff up:

    From The TimesOctober 28, 2008

    Interpol agent passed information to Beltrán-Leyva cartel in Mexico

    Drug smuggler Eduardo Arellano Felix was arrested after a shootout

    Jacqui Goddard
    One of the most dangerous drug cartels in the world has infiltrated the US Embassy in Mexico and America’s top anti-trafficking agency, it emerged last night.

    A captured informant codenamed Felipe admitted to Mexican prosecutors that he used his job as an Interpol agent working at the US Embassy in Mexico City and at the international airport in the city to feed classified information about anti-drug operations to the feared Beltrán-Leyva cartel.

    The revelation came as prosecutors also admitted that two staff in the Mexican Attorney-General’s Office for Organised Crime – a government unit that fights the drug mafia — had been found to have been in the pockets of the cartel for four years, as were at least three federal policemen with inside information on surveillance targets and potential raids. Each were paid between $150,000 (£97,000) and $450,000 a month by the cartel.

    It was the worst known case of law enforcement in Mexico being compromised by drug lords since the arrest in 1997 of General Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, the head of the country’s anti-drug agency, who was convicted of assisting Amado Carrillo, a kingpin.

    “This doesn’t say much for US security — it’s as embarrassing as hell for this to come out and I suspect heads will roll within the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration],” said Bruce Bagley, an expert in Latin American drug trafficking, from the University of Miami in Florida.

    The scandal came five days after Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, travelled to Mexico City to discuss the $400 million Mérida Initiative, a package to help Mexican and Central American law enforcement agencies to fight organised drug crime. “We’ve already achieved an outstanding level of co-operation in our efforts to fight drug trafficking and organised crime… the United States considers this important initiative and its implementation an urgent task,” she said.

    President Calderón had appealed for the money, which will help to fund resources such as helicopters and surveillance aircraft, to be speeded up as Mexico struggles against a surge in drug violence.

    The money will be filtered through the US Embassy in Mexico City.

    The Beltrán-Leyva cartel is an offshoot of the Sinaloa cartel, the largest Mexican drug trafficking confederation, and has engaged in a bloody turf war as it strives for supremacy.

    “It’s a very big deal that they got inside the embassy and the DEA. The Beltrán-Leyva cartel has got a serious leg-up by doing this and while we don’t know how much information they got, in this war knowledge is power,” Dr Bagley said. “These guys are an emerging player and they have to be taken seriously.”

    Despite the corruption Mexico continues to capture top smugglers. On Saturday Eduardo Arellano Félix was arrested after a shootout in Tijuana. He had allegedly been running the Arellano Félix cartel with his sister.

  35. curvyred
    October 27, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    Barry the Kool-aid King tries to interfere in Midwest Airlines Labor dispute:

    http://www.madison.com/tct/news/311056

    Letter he wrote:

    Noting expressions of concern from members of the Association of Flight Attendants, Obama penned a letter to Midwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer Timothy Hoeksema.

    “I write to ask for clarification on your part on these points and to call on all parties to engage in a good faith negotiation process to weigh all options and protect the jobs of Midwest employees,” read Obama’s letter of earlier this month to the CEO. “At all firms, I believe that policy and practice should encourage employees and management to share fairly in any firm’s success and its struggles.”

    Midwest response:
    “Midwest spokesman spokesman Michael Brophy says the company’s response has been to tell the candidate that, in tough economic times, it is seeking “shared sacrifice” from its employees.”

    Sure no socialist/marxist ideologue at all Extreme sarcasm

  36. BillK
    October 28, 2008 at 5:58 am

    A followup on a post above, from the Los Angeles Times:

    Mexico acknowledges drug gang infiltration of police

    At least 35 officials and agents from an elite unit have been fired or arrested following tips from an informant involving the so-called Beltran Leyva cartel.

    By Tracy Wilkinson

    In a damning blow to its fight against drug traffickers, the Mexican government Monday acknowledged severe penetration of a top law enforcement agency by a vicious gang that may even have bought intelligence on U.S. operations from renegade employees.

    At least 35 officials and agents from an elite unit within the federal attorney general’s office have been fired or arrested in an investigation that began July 31 following tips from an informer.

    The officials, including a senior intelligence director, are believed to have been leaking sensitive information to the very traffickers they were investigating for as long as four years, prosecutors said.

    In exchange, prosecutors said, the corrupt government officials received monthly payments of $150,000 to $450,000 each from the so-called Beltran Leyva cartel, a drug gang based in the Pacific state of Sinaloa that is engaged in a bloody fight with rivals for domination of the region’s lucrative trade.

    The group has also been linked to crimes, including the May killing of Edgar Millan Gomez, acting chief of a federal police agency, who authorities believe was targeted in re- venge for the arrest of alleged traffickers including top cartel operative Alfredo Beltran Leyva.

    The accused officials were members of the agency in charge of probing drug and weapons smuggling as well as kidnapping and terrorism, known by its initials in Spanish, SIEDO. Unlike many agencies within a notoriously corrupt police system, the SIEDO has a generally good reputation in U.S. government circles.

    The case, which represents an unusually serious breach of Mexican security, was launched after an informer with the code name Felipe turned himself in at the Mexican Embassy in Washington. He revealed the names of senior SIEDO officials on the cartel’s payroll and was quickly put into a U.S. witness protection program, sources in the attorney general’s office said Monday.

    “Felipe” told Mexican investigators that he had worked for Interpol and then for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, where he relayed information to members of the Beltran Leyva gang, according to several Mexican media reports.

    The embassy declined to comment. And in Washington, senior Drug Enforcement Administration officials said the investigation was ongoing, and that it was premature to confirm details. …

    http://www.latimes.com/news/na.....6498.story

    It’s OK; I’m sure most drugs will be legalized or at least decriminalized next January anyway.

    Perhaps this could be avoided if the Mexican government only did more to “spread the wealth around.”

  37. BillK
    October 28, 2008 at 6:03 am

    Well, Sarah’s got a job if that Governor thing doesn’t work out.

    From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    Producer reportedly considering Sarah Palin daytime talk show

    By Tim Cuprisin

    Whatever happens on Nov. 4, you’re likely to be seeing much more of Sarah Palin on your TV in the months and years ahead.

    Of course, she’ll remain Alaska’s governor if she isn’t elected vice president alongside John McCain. But that doesn’t provide much visibility down here in the lower 48, certainly not as much as, say, a daytime talk show host.

    That’s the talk floating around these days, based on ratings numbers attributed to Palin both for her appearance last week on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” – the crowd of 15 million was the show’s best audience in 14 years, according to Nielsen Media Research numbers.

    Palin was the reason that the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate brought in some 73 million viewers, more than any of the presidential debates this fall.

    Of course, the audience for both big shows was not composed solely of Palin-backers. If polls are right, there are many more folks on the negative side of the Palin issue than the positive side.

    But that lightning-rod ability to draw in viewers, even hostile viewers, has been noticed in the world of TV.

    The Hollywood Reporter on Friday quoted an unnamed “producer/packager” as saying that he’s held internal meetings to look at how Palin’s personality could be packaged in some way, such as a talk show.

    Frankly, the fact that daytime TV generally pushes a socially liberal line – Elisabeth Hasselbeck on ABC’s “The View” is a notable exception to that rule – makes a conventional syndicated talk show unlikely. Remember, “Dr.” Laura Schlessinger couldn’t reproduce her radio success on daytime TV.

    But there certainly would be a spot for Palin in a venue that reaches her audience niche: Fox News Channel. It’s already given programs to former U.S. Rep. John Kasich and failed Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

    Sarah Palin would fit right in. …

    http://www.jsonline.com/entert.....83454.html

    Of course the return of the Fairness Doctrine would put a swift end to that as well as most of the rest of the programming slate of FNC.

    But somehow I suspect The View as well as MSNBC would remain untouched…

  38. BillK
    October 28, 2008 at 6:07 am

    From a smirking AP:

    Shadowy Informant Set to Take Stand in Fort Dix Trial

    CAMDEN, N.J. — Being an informant for the FBI in the Fort Dix terror investigation has paid well, a witness explained to jurors Monday.

    John Stermel, an investigator assigned to an FBI counterterrorism task force, spent Monday morning on the stand detailing the role of informant Mahmoud Omar, who wore a wire for 16 months in the investigation of five men accused of planning to shoot soldiers at the Army training base.

    Omar was set to testify next — though that might not begin until Tuesday.

    Defense lawyers say it was Omar who tried to plot an attack — not their clients. No attack happened.

    Omar will have received some $185,000 in payments by year’s end, plus reimbursement for $25,000 in expenses and nearly $29,000 in rent, Stermelo testified.

    Weekly payments of $1,500 began in August 2006, the month Omar went with one of the defendants, Mohamad Shnewer, to check out Fort Dix and other military installations in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, Stermel said.

    he government also has paid the former used car salesman’s $1,400-a-month rent since someone working for a defense lawyer in the case tracked him down more than a year ago, Stermel said.

    Stermel said Omar’s help also has led to three criminal convictions on fraud cases unrelated to the alleged Fort Dix plot. …

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,444178,00.html

    Expect the usual “he’d lying for the money because he couldn’t find a job in Bush’s America” excuse from the AP as the trial continues…

  39. BannedbytheTaliban
    October 28, 2008 at 9:42 am

    From the USA (the left side of the USA that is) today:

    2 men accused of planning massacre, targeting Obama

    By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

    WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have foiled an alleged assassination plot targeting Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama that was hatched by two men with reported links to the white supremacy movement, prosecutors said Monday.
    The two suspects allegedly began discussing the plot a month ago. They planned a “killing spree” that would first target a predominately African-American school, federal court documents say. They planned to kill 88 people, the documents say, including beheading 14 black victims. The rampage allegedly was to include “a final act of violence” with the assassination of Obama.

    Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., were arrested and charged with federal weapons violations and threatening a presidential candidate.

    Attempts to contact the suspects’ relatives were unsuccessful.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/p.....-ATF_N.htm

    Days of Minority Report are soon to follow. Big Brother is watching……

  40. BillK
    October 28, 2008 at 9:50 am

    Poor, misguided McCain.

    From a head-shaking AP:

    McCain says campaign ‘doing fine’

    WATERLOO, IOWA — Republican John McCain on Sunday dismissed the sour poll numbers that show him trailing in his White House race against Democrat Barack Obama and said his campaign is “doing fine.” Interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Arizona senator said he has pulled closer to Obama.

    “We’ve closed in the last week,” McCain said. “We’ll continue to be very competitive in many of the battleground states.” Recent public polls have shown McCain trailing Obama both nationally and in some of the battleground states, including Iowa, where McCain was campaigning Sunday. A Newsweek poll released Saturday showed Obama with a 13-point lead nationally.

    Iowa offers seven electoral votes. A total of 270 Electoral College votes are needed to win the presidency.

    Questioned about his standing, McCain said the race is close and insisted he will emerge victorious on Nov. 4, Election Day.

    “This is going to be a very close race, and I believe I’m going to win it,” he said. McCain said he’s been heartened by the size of the crowds and the level of enthusiasm at his events.

    On the subject of his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain rejected the notion that she unqualified to be president and is hurting the campaign.

    “I don’t defend her. I praise her. She is exactly what Washington needs,” he said.

    He also dismissed criticism about the Republican Party spending $150,000 on her wardrobe at high-end retailers.

    “She lives a frugal life, she and her family are not wealthy, she and her family were thrust into this,” McCain said. “She is a role model to millions and millions of Americans.” He continued to paint Obama as a big-spending liberal.

    “We have stark differences,” said McCain, a conservative, characterizing Obama’s economic positions as the most liberal he has seen. “His political philosophy is very different.” McCain argued that he’s comfortable with the state of the race with nine days before the election.

    “Obviously, I choose to trust my senses as well as the polls,” he said. “I’ve been in a lot of presidential campaigns. I see the intensity out there, I see the passion. We’re very competitive out there.” “We’re going to do well in this campaign,” he said.

    At another point, McCain predicted: “We’re going to be up very, very late on election night.” McCain was headed to the University of Northern Iowa for a rally and then to the battleground of Ohio, where polls show McCain faltering in the race for that state’s 20 electoral votes. Ohio gave President Bush a second term in the 2004.

    http://www.rockymountainnews.c.....oing-fine/

    The headline may as well read “McCain refuses to concede race to Obama; is it early Alzheimer’s?”

  41. BillK
    October 28, 2008 at 9:57 am

    CBS also doesn’t want you to forget things are pointless and McCain should concede now:

    Despite Trailing in the Polls, McCain Continues Fight For Iowa

    By John Bentley

    John McCain reminded Iowa voters of all the things he believes make their state great – the Iowa state fair, pork chops on a stick, Sen. Chuck Grassley – in hopes that they would return the favor and vote for him on Election Day.

    “I’m reminded of the people of Iowa, that is a heartland, family valued part of America,” McCain said.

    “We need to win Iowa on November 4th and with your help we’re going to win here.”

    He’ll need a lot of help, especially in a state where he came in fourth in the caucuses back in January. Almost all Iowa polls have Barack Obama leading here, several by double digits. But McCain dismissed those findings when he appeared on “Meet the Press” this morning.

    “Those polls have consistently shown me much further behind than we actually are,” McCain said.

    “We’re doing fine. We have closed in the last week. We continue to close through next week, you’re going to be up very, very late on election night.”

    http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2.....6282.shtml

    Seriously – I’m beginning to think the MSM will just have him hauled off for medical evaluation should he continue to say things like Obama won’t win by a landslide not seen since Reagan’s victory over Mondale.

  42. 1sttofight
    October 28, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    Sarah Palin is a Redneck woman.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
    Oooooh Ahhhhh

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETFCkkH0_Yo

    Redneck Woman
    by Gretchen Wilson

    Well I ain’t never
    Been the barbie doll type
    No I can’t swig that sweet champagne
    I’d rather drink beer all night
    In a tavern or in a honky tonk
    Or on a 4 wheel drive tailgate
    I’ve got posters on my wall of Skynard, Kid and Strait
    Some people look down on me
    But I don’t give a rip
    I’ll stand barefooted in my own front yard with a baby on my hip

    Cause I’m a redneck woman
    And I ain’t no high class broad
    I’m just a product of my raisin’
    And I say “hey y’all” and “Yee Haw”
    And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
    And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song
    So here’s to all my sisters out there keepin’ it country
    Let me get a big “Hell Yeah” from the redneck girls like me
    Hell Yeah
    Hell Yeah

    Victoria’s Secret
    Well their stuff’s real nice
    Oh but I can buy the same damn thing on a Wal*Mart shelf half price
    And still look sexy
    Just as sexy
    As those models on TV
    No I don’t need no designer tag to make my man want me
    You might think I’m trashy
    A little too hard core
    But get in my neck of the woods
    I’m just the girl next door

    Hey I’m redneck woman
    And I ain’t no high class broad
    I’m just a product of my raisin’
    And I say “hey y’all” and “Yee Haw”
    And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
    And I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song
    So here’s to all my sisters out there keeping it country
    Let me get a big “Hell Yeah” from the redneck girls like me
    Hell Yeah
    Hell Yeah

    I’m redneck woman
    And I ain’t no high class broad
    I’m just a product of my raisin’
    And I say “hey y’all” and “Yee Haw”
    And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
    And I know all the words to every Ol’ Bocephus song
    So here’s to all my sisters out there keeping it country
    Let me get a big “Hell Yeah” from the redneck girls like me
    Hell Yeah
    Hell Yeah

    Hell Yeah
    Hell Yeah
    Hell Yeah
    Hell Yeah

  43. Gil
    October 28, 2008 at 9:46 pm

    Bi-Poller Part II
    Published by AJStrata at 10:59 am under 2008 Elections, All General Discussions

    Reader Frogg passed along this really interesting commentary from a professional pollster who is (a) a die hard Obama supporter and (b) laughing at the public polls:

    I was having dinner a night ago with a friend of mine who is a statistician for a well-regarded private polling company. They do some work for Republicans in California, but most of the work they do is for Democrats or Democrat-leaning operations (Unions, etc.). Anyway, her shop was retained to do a few Presidential polls for targetted states on behalf of a union so the union could decide where to spend their ad dollars for the last week. They did Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Missouri. After mocking the hell out of the voter id spreads used by Rassmussen, Zogby, etc. (and this is coming from a committed Dem who will be voting for Barry O) she said the results of their polling lead her to believe that McCain will definitely win FL, OH, NC, MO and NV. She says Obama definitely wins New Mexico. She said that Colorado and New Hampshire were absolute dead heats. She said she thinks there is a 55% chance Obama holds on in Pennsylvania and a 75% chance McCain wins Virginia. She absolutely laughed at the public polls showing Obama leading Virginia–and pointed out that all of those polls rely on Dem turnout being +4 and as much as +7, when in 2006, Republicans actually had the advantage by +3. She also pointed out that the numbers for Obama in SWVA look absolutely awful and that McCain is running 10 points better then Allen did in NoVa.

    Anyway, her companies conclusion is that the election will come down to Colorado, New Hampshire and the Republican leaning district in Maine, which in her opinion might very well decide the Presidency (apparently the district in Nebraska that Obama thought he might be able to get is now off the table). She said she has very little doubt that the public polling is part of a “concerted voter suppression effort” by the MSM. She said IBD/TIPP was the only outfit doing public polling that was “worth a bucket of warm piss”.

    Emphasis mine. The turnout model scam of 2008 will be the big story of this election. In my last post on polls I noted how many of the polls out there are starting to fall into two camps. The first camp is the traditional approach using historic turnout models where party affiliation is actually quite close as both sides turn out their base equally well. The second model is new and unverified, and assumes there will be a huge difference in party affiliation turnout this year.

    The first class of polls show a very tight race, the second class are so heavily weighted towards the dems they assume all the anger with the direction of the country has no impact on Democrats and their media puppets. The DC/NY Political Industrial Complex is mostly liberal in its make up, and it has recently become more and more isolated in its echo chamber. Just look at how it reacted to Sarah Palin. The end result is the polls of polls are showing a classic bimodal result with clusters of polls at one of these two modes: “traditional’ and “extended” – just like the two turnout models now being openly produced by Gallup.

    http://strata-sphere.com/blog/.....hives/6828

    ==============================================

    Gallup TODAY shows McCain only TWO points away from Obama, btw, people.

    Obama is now at 49% of the vote to 47% for McCain among likely voters using Gallup’s traditional model.

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/111.....ghtly.aspx

    PLEASE read this entire articleat the link above: (I know we are supposed to excerpt.. it is worth your time!!)

  44. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 2:43 am

    See, it’s not the AP that’s biased, it’s Republicans who are giving up.

    McCain struggles for upset in Pa.; GOP doubts grow

    By Mike Glover and Nedra Pickler

    HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Doubts about John McCain’s chances for the presidency grew louder among fellow Republicans on Tuesday as a White House race largely focused on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania entered its final week.

    Even two Republicans once on McCain’s short list for vice president sounded skeptical. In a fundraising e-mail on behalf of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Mitt Romney referred to “the very real possibility of an Obama presidency.” In the Midwest, Gov. Tim Pawlenty gave a dour assessment of McCain’s chances in his state, saying Barack Obama “has a pretty good advantage in Minnesota right now.”

    Nationally, a poll by the Pew Research Center found Obama with a 16-point lead among registered voters. The survey said Obama had 52 percent and McCain 36 percent, with independent voters supporting the Democrat by a 48-31 margin.

    The Nielsen media company reported that both are focusing about three-fourths of their advertising in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Obama, who had been spending four times as much as McCain on advertising, is now airing only twice as many ads as his rival, the ratings company said.

    Those three states are battlegrounds, offering a combined 68 electoral votes on Election Day.

    The concentration of firepower comes even as Obama mounts a national advertising campaign that will culminate Wednesday evening with a 30-minute, prime-time commercial on network television. The candidates also planned appearances on cable TV talk shows, including Obama on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

    The candidates kicked off their final week of campaigning in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, which hasn’t supported a Republican presidential candidate in 20 years and where Obama is ahead in the polls. McCain is working for an upset and has Pennsylvania as the linchpin to his victory strategy.

    “I’m not afraid of the fight, I’m ready for it,” McCain told noisy supporters at a rally in this Republican region and home of the world’s largest chocolate factory.

    Obama’s advisers say they are confident of victory in the state. Still, they sent him to rally supporters in Pittsburgh Monday night and to the battleground Philadelphia suburbs on Tuesday. About 9,000 people stood in the mud and a steady, cold rain at Widener University to hear him.

    “I just want all of you to know that if we see this kind of dedication on Election Day, there is no way that we’re not going to bring change to America,” said Obama, uncharacteristically attired in jeans, sneakers and a raincoat. McCain canceled a second event 50 miles away in Quakertown because of the dismal weather.

    McCain appeared with running mate Sarah Palin, who planned to stay in the state for rallies in Shippensburg and State College. “Pennsylvania, it’s going to be a hard-fought contest here,” she said. “It’s going to come down to the wire here.”

    If McCain doesn’t win the state’s 21 electoral votes, it’s hard to see how he can win the presidency since Obama is expected to pick up several of the states that helped re-elect President Bush four years ago. McCain needs one of the blue states to make up for expected losses in the red one. …

    http://customwire.ap.org/dynam.....MPAIGN_RDP

    Don’t you love that it’s so over the AP doesn’t even feel the need to use their style manual phrase “nonpartisan Pew Research Center?”

    Still, it’s beginning to look more and more like the AP may be right.

    Regardless, discouraging Repubicans is what they’re counting on, so even if it is a waste of time, be sure to vote on Tuesday. :-)

  45. BannedbytheTaliban
    October 29, 2008 at 9:04 am

    More good news from Iraq. Strangely the only place I can find it is the BBC. No “American” news agency has this story anywhere:

    US hands province to Iraqi forces

    Iraqi authorities have taken over responsibility for security in another province from US military forces.

    Wasit, bordering Iran in the east of the country, is the 13th of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be transferred.

    Washington and Baghdad are still negotiating the terms of a draft agreement covering the long-term presence of US troops in Iraq.

    The Status of Forces Agreement aims to allow US forces to stay in Iraq after their UN mandate ends in December.

    The transfer of Wasit took place at a ceremony in the provincial capital of Kut, south of Baghdad.

    See map showing Iraqi-controlled provinces
    Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, said Wasit had achieved a level of efficiency and ability in civil and security matters.

    He also announced that Baghdad would take control “within weeks” of the northern province of Kirkuk (Tamim) and the neighbouring province of Salahuddin.

    The transfer of Wasit comes within a week of the return of nearby Babil province to the Iraqis.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7696785.stm

    Two in as many weeks. That is progress! Oh well. I’m sure Obama will ensure they go right back to the terrorist. But not all the news from the BBC is good, they wouldn’t let that happen:

    Warning on ‘dire’ Iraq conditions

    The Red Cross is warning that despite some improvements in security in Iraq, the condition of the country’s infrastructure remains dire.

    In a statement issued from their headquarters in Geneva, the Red Cross said it was particularly concerned about poor water supplies.

    It estimates that over 40% of Iraq’s civilian population still has no access to clean mains water.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7696641.stm

    Glad to see an 80% reduction in Baghdad is SOME improvement, and the 100% reduction seen in Wasit is also some. However the 40% without water is just astronomical.

  46. texaspsue
    October 29, 2008 at 10:09 am

    “Sarah Palin is a Redneck woman.”

    I’m glad that you posted that 1st. “Hell yeah!”

    Did you notice that BO decided he was one too? LOL He’s jealous….

    http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/.....05f7e4728/

    Except that Gov. Palin is the real deal and BO believes in photo ops.

    “US hands province to Iraqi forces”

    Great News, BannedbytheTaliban. I wish more of these stories would make it to the MSM.

  47. BelchSpeak
    October 29, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    Time for a round of “Guess the Party.”

    Wilkerson freed on $50G bond after extortion arrest
    State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was set free this afternoon on a $50,000 bond after appearing in federal court on attempted extortion charges following a “painstaking” 18-month investigation, during which she was allegedly caught on tape stuffing a cash bribe into her bra, according to a complaint.

    “Dianne Wilkerson accepted these cash payments in exchange for her official duties and responsibilities,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan during a morning news conference at the federal courthouse.

    Wilkerson, who was carrying $6,000 in her purse when she was arrested today, faces charges of attempted extortion and theft of honest services as a state senator, stemming from a money-for-legislation sting operation, officials said.
    A federal criminal complaint alleges that Wilkerson was busted for accepting eight bribes, totaling $23,500, in exchange for her influence on Beacon Hill.

    One undercover video shows Wilkerson allegedly taking $1,000 in cash from an undercover agent and stuffing it into her bra during a June 2007 lunch at No. 9 Park.

    Wilkerson also allegedly used one $1,000 bribe to treat herself to a night of gambling and dining at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

    She is due back in court Nov. 17 in Worcester for a probable cause hearing. She did not enter a plea at today’s “initial appearance” on her criminal complaint.

    Wilkerson appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Timothy S. Hillman this afternoon dressed in a raspberry top and black slacks.

    Wilkerson, 53, is under court order to not lose or destroy any documents, including her cable TV bill.

    Wilkerson’s attorney Max Stern called the government’s case a character assassination.

    “It’s totally limitless,” Stern said of the court orders, adding it will include what she spends “on groceries.” He also said the $6,000 Wilkerson had in her purse today was for “expenses.”

    “We’re going to take a look at her finances carefully to see if she’s reporting her taxes correctly,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil.

    The complaint alleges that:

    • In exchange for payment, Wilkerson pressured the Boston Licensing Board, the mayor and the City Council and held up pending legislation in the Senate, including legislation increasing the salaries of the Boston Licensing Board.

    • Wilkerson ultimately introduced legislation to increase the number of liquor licenses available in Boston, and then manipulated the timing of that legislation at the request of undercover agents.

    • Between June 2007 and March 2008, Wilkerson took $8,500 in cash payments from an undercover agent and a cooperating witness to assist in obtaining a liquor license for the Dejavu nightclub in Roxbury.

  48. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Wasn’t expecting this at all, though he’s already appealing.

    From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    McGee sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison

    Ex-alderman shook down businesses

    By John Diedrich

    Michael McGee, the former firebrand alderman, was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison Tuesday after he was convicted of using his power over liquor licenses in Milwaukee to shake down business owners for cash, food and cell phones.

    The sentencing guidelines called for McGee to receive 12 ½ to 15 ½ years in prison. The prosecution asked for a sentence in the middle of that range. The defense requested four years.

    With time served and credit for good behavior, McGee can expect to be done with his federal prison term in about 4 ½ years. He also was ordered to pay $107,433 in restitution.

    U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert said he had seen McGee become less defiant and more respectful of the law since his first appearance in court. The judge also said McGee had done good deeds during his one term in office, citing a gun buyback program and an effort to create jobs for young people.

    Clevert said McGee victimized and frightened business owners by extorting money from them. But the judge didn’t focus on McGee’s use of those bribes for personal expenses such as moving costs and attorney’s fees. Rather, Clevert spoke of the former alderman extorting business owners to donate to crime reward funds and other activities.

    “The ends don’t justify the means,” Clevert said. “You can’t twist arms to get people to donate money to help others. This is not a Robin Hood nation.”

    McGee, 39, was convicted by a jury in June on nine counts that included bribery, extortion, attempted extortion and trying to hide a $30,000 transaction.

    On secretly taped conversations played in court, McGee was heard shaking down business owners, saying, “I need bread” and he would take “cash or check.” Referring to himself as the “gatekeeper” and “thug Mike,” McGee said on the tapes that once on the powerful city Licenses Committee, he planned a citywide shakedown of liquor license holders.

    McGee still faces state charges that he plotted to have a man beaten and other counts. He will be in state court Thursday.

    McGee has been incarcerated since his arrest in May 2007. A federal judge refused to release him after evidence showed he was obstructing justice by intimidating witnesses and trying to sway their testimony from jail. McGee ran for re-election this spring from jail and lost.

    The sentencing hearing started Friday but was continued to Tuesday to allow more testimony on the amount of losses by the government’s key witness, business owner Adel “Jack” Kheirieh. Clevert ultimately allowed the government’s entire recommended loss of $129,000, which drove up the guideline sentence.

    After the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic said in a statement: “The evidence at the trial showed that Michael McGee Jr. was one of the most corrupt elected officials in Milwaukee’s history. Although his sentence was below that recommended by the government, his case should serve as a deterrent for other elected officials who may prey on their constituents.” …

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/m.....53704.html

    About half of sentencing guidelines, but I’m still amazed he was sentenced to any time at all.

    Of course the article doesn’t once mention his party affiliation – Democrat, of course.

    Meanwhile, Obama will do his best to reverse that “not a Robin Hood nation” bit…

  49. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    Wow, now this is really grasping for straws.

    From the ultra-liberal Madison, WI Capital Times:

    Is good weather bad news for McCain?

    By Bill Novak

    Good weather across the country is in the forecast for Election Day, which could be bad news for Sen. John McCain in his bid for the White House.

    Local Weather Central meteorologist Brian Olson said the advanced forecast for next Tuesday shows little precipitation anywhere in the United States, a bad sign for McCain if a study done last year holds true this election year.

    Three political scientists confirmed the old political saying that Republicans should pray for rain on Election Day, because voters “on the fence” about going to the polls have a tendency not to go if it’s a rainy day, and those voters are normally more left-leaning.

    The research looked at presidential elections from 1948 to 2000 and showed in three cases, 1972, 1992 and 2000, rain or snow caused hundreds of thousands of potential voters to stay home, and many non-voters end up being Democrats.

    Why? Political operatives say Democrats tend to be lower income than Republicans and might have to rely on public transportation or foot power to get to the polls, which can be a deterrent to going to vote if it’s a rainy day.

    Olson told The Capital Times the long-range national outlook for Nov. 4 shows several areas of rain, but most of the country will be affected by a high pressure system sitting over the eastern half of the country, producing little rain and abundant sunshine.

    “A lot of the country will be pretty quiet,” Olson said.

    He checked the long-range prognostication region by region and couldn’t find much precipitation.

    “From Maine to Florida, the only threat of showers is in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia, there might be some snow showers in the high mountain regions out West and maybe some rain along the Washington and Oregon coasts,” Olson said.

    “All up and down the Plains, from South Dakota to Texas, looks good, the four-corners states (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado) look good and the Midwest is good.

    Weatherwise, “it should be a super Election Day,” Olson said.

    Dane County Clerk Bob Ohlsen said if there is inclement weather on Election Day around here, it usually means a lower turnout by young people than old people.

    “My sense is older people still go to the polls unless it’s ice,” Ohlsen said. “These are people who have voted for years, have always voted, and will vote regardless of the weather.”

    The weather effect on elections research was published in the Journal of Politics in 2007 and was conducted by Brad Gomez of the University of Georgia, Thomas Hansford of the University of California at Merced, and George Krause of the University of Pittsburgh.

    It showed rain in certain counties of Florida on Nov. 7, 2000, might have been the determining factor in the tight race between George Bush and Al Gore, with Bush winning the state by a scant 500 votes, eeking out an Electoral College victory with the Florida results, and subsequently winning the presidency.

    “Something as simple as rainy weather in some Florida counties may have played a critical role in determining the outcome of a presidential election,” the study said, according to an ABC News report on Monday. …

    http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/topstories/311840

    So what, this means Democrats care so little about voting that they won’t bother to do so in the rain?

    This has got to be the most insane piece I’ve seen yet, though it’s surely mild compared to what else will come in the forthcoming week.

    Once again I ask if Obama is so far ahead, why is the MSM so desperate to try and discourage McCain voters?

  50. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    Obama may be a socialist, but of course we don’t need to wait for his coronation inauguration to see socialism in play.

    From the AP:

    Sources: Gov’t prepares loan modification plan

    By Alan ZIbel

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is preparing to unveil a plan as soon as Thursday guaranteeing around 3 million mortgages to troubled homeowners, sources briefed on the matter said.

    The government is contemplating using around $50 billion from the recently passed bailout of the financial industry bailout to guarantee about $500 billion in mortgages. The plan could include loan modifications that would lower interest rates for a five-year period, according to two people briefed on the plan, who asked not to be identified because details were still being worked out and the plan was not yet public.

    The plan would be the most aggressive effort yet to limit damages from the U.S. housing recession, which has shaken global credit markets.

    More than 4 million American homeowners with a mortgage were at least one payment behind on their loans at the end of June, and 500,000 had started the foreclosure process, according to the most recent data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

    The government’s program would be run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The agency’s chairman, Sheila Bair, said last week she was working “closely and creatively” with the Treasury Department on such a plan, but revealed few details.

    The plan had been scheduled to be announced Wednesday but was pushed back because the details were still being finalized.

    Andrew Gray, an FDIC spokesman, said it would be “premature to speculate about any final framework or parameters of a potential program.”

    Treasury Department spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli called details of the loan modification plan “simply inaccurate.” She said the Bush administration “is looking at ways to reduce foreclosures, and that process is ongoing,” but has not decided on a final approach.

    http://customwire.ap.org/dynam.....OSURE_HELP

    Once again, if you played by the rules and paid your mortgage on time, you get the shaft.

  51. Gil
    October 29, 2008 at 5:14 pm

    Obama Memo: Race is Tightening in Battleground States
    October 29th, 2008
    by Major Garrett

    In a phone interview with FOX News, Barack Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand said: “John McCain is right. Things are tightening in the battleground states.”

    FOX News obtained a copy of a memo Hildebrand sent to long-standing Democratic operatives on Tuesday.

    The memo, shown below, reveals the extensive get-out-the-vote efforts Obama’s team has underway and “urgent” needs that have yet to be met.

    Hildebrand told FOX News he sent the memo out to boost efforts in Florida but that similar memos were also sent out seeking help in North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio. He said needs were less acute in Pennsylvania.

    Hildebrand said the campaign disregards current state polls showing Obama ahead.

    “They were not always a good indicator in the primaries so we’re working hard now. We feel good but we always need more help in the field. On the ground in these states, things feel like they are tightening.”

    http://bourbonroom.blogs.foxne.....nd-states/

  52. Icarus
    October 29, 2008 at 10:23 pm

    L.A Times Khaladi Tape

    How does releasing a copy of the khaladi video reveal the “source” who provided the tape?

    What did this guy do insert graphics, with his name scrolling across the video? LMAO
    There may be a logical reason……..1% chance
    I just haven’t heard it!

    Again… How does releasing an unedited copy of the video reveal the source?

  53. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 10:26 pm

    Celebrity insanity, part #344,211,117.

    From Studio Briefing:

    Dreyfuss Says W. Made Bush “Shockingly Empathetic”

    Richard Dreyfuss, who portrays Vice President Cheney in Oliver Stone’s George W. Bush biopic W., has faulted the film for making the president appear “shockingly empathetic.” Appearing on ABC’s The View Tuesday, Dreyfuss made it clear that he was unhappy working with Stone on the film, despite the fact that he and the director share similar political views. “You can be a fascist even when you’re on the left,” Dreyfuss remarked. W., he maintained, was only “6/8 of a good film.” (It was not clear why he represented the fraction in eighths.) What was missing he said, was “us — because we were all terrified of our own president.” For that reason, he added, “I question whether the film will have any historic legs.”

    http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0593639/

    Why otherwise excellent actors believe their political opinions should be shared in public I’ll never quite know, aside from the fact that there’s some percentage of stupid Americans who feel they should vote in line with their favorite stars.

  54. DEZ
    October 29, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    “Again… How does releasing an unedited copy of the video reveal the source?”

    It of course does not, They are just obeying Hillary, who promised an untimely death to anyone that leaked the tape before 2012.

  55. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 10:39 pm

    Amazing how the definition of “hate crime” continues to expand.

    From Los Angeles television station KTLA:

    Official: Gay Man Attacked With ‘Yes on Prop. 8′ Sign

    TORRANCE — Authorities say a Torrance man who used an anti-gay marriage “Yes on Prop. 8″ sign to attack an openly gay man has been charged with a felony hate crime.

    Joseph Storm, 23, got into a scuffle with a 22-year-old man wearing a “No on 8″ button early Sunday in Torrance, according to Deputy District Attorney Janet Wilson.

    Storm and the victim, whose identity has not been released, have known each other since junior high school, she said.

    During the fight, Storm took the lawn sign and knocked the victim down with it, then punched him in the face and choked him, Wilson said.

    Storm is also accused of calling the victim a derogatory name for homosexuals.

    Wilson said it was not immediately clear whether Proposition 8 was at the center of the dispute.

    Storm, who was arrested Monday night, told police that littering led to the fight.

    Storm claimed he saw the victim hold up his middle finger toward the sign, then pull it out of the lawn and throw it in the street, Wilson said.

    Storm said he didn’t know what the sign said, but got angry because the other man was littering, which is why he assaulted him, Wilson added.

    Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to say that only marriage between one man and one woman would be recognized in California. …

    http://www.ktla.com/content_la.....eedID=1080

    I wonder if anyone attacking pro-life protesters could ever be arrested for a felony hate crime.

    Somehow, I don’t think so.

    As I mentioned in another post, given this, I wonder how long before a conservative Christian that happens to get into an auto accident with a homosexual whose car bears say a pro-gay marriage bumper sticker will also be arrested for a felony hate crime…

  56. BillK
    October 29, 2008 at 10:55 pm

    Big shock, not.

    From WENN:

    Milk Stars Hope Film Will Promote Same-sex Marriage

    Actors Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Josh Brolin hope they’ll entertain audiences of forthcoming film Milk beyond the big screen – by prompting more support for same-sex marriage in California.

    The trio appear on screen together in the Harvey Milk biopic – which follows the life of the first openly gay man voted into public office in America.

    And the castmates admit they hope to influence voters against California.s Proposition 8, which is attempting to outlaw same-sex marriage statewide.

    Actor James Franco tells Access Hollywood at the film’s U.S. premiere: “This is a really big night for San Francisco and it.s just great that this is happening right before Prop 8.”

    Echoing his sentiments, Hirsch adds: “This film premiere especially is going to generate a lot of attention for Prop 8. I think it.s going to be really helpful for (the fight against) Prop 8.”

    And their co-star, Josh Brolin, admits he too is hopeful the film will have a real impact.

    He says: “If it does impact (election politics) I think that.s great. I feel very strongly about ‘No’ on Prop 8, and you just hope for the best.”

    http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0593965/

    Josh Brolin of course being the son of James Brolin, a.k.a. Mr. Barbra Streisand who also portrayed Ronald Reagan in the 2003 liberal attack film The Reagans.

  57. JohnMG
    October 29, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    I hope it has an impact, too. With any luck, the proponents of Prop. 8 will be energized by the antics of those idiots, and turn out in droves to pass the proposition.

    What was it Forrest Gump said–”Stupid is as stupid does”.

  58. Sandypebbles
    October 29, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    Man this is sick marriage is man and woman or God would have began the earth with Adam an Ernie Hollywood needs to be the place the terriost attack if Obama gets in the White House

  59. Gil
    October 30, 2008 at 2:25 am

    McCain Up in Florida Early Voting Poll
    Posted by Kim Priestap
    Published: October 29, 2008

    This is very interesting. According to an LA Times/Bloomberg poll of those who voted early in Florida, McCain leads Obama 49-45% even though more Democrats voted than Republicans:

    Democrats are beaming that their party is outperforming the Republicans in early voting, releasing numbers Wednesday that show registrants of their party ahead 54 percent to 30 percent among the 1.4 million voters who have gone to the polls early.

    “We’re thrilled at the record turnout so far,” said Democratic Party of Florida spokesman Eric Jotkoff. “It’s a clear indication that Democrats want to elect Barack Obama and Democrats up and down the ballot so that we can start creating good jobs, rebuilding our economy and getting our nation back on track.”

    But party breakdowns for turnout aren’t the same as final tallies, and at least one poll offered a different view for the campaign of Republican John McCain.

    A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll gave McCain a 49-45 lead over Democrat Barack Obama among Floridians who have already voted.

    And Republicans continued to show a traditional strength, leading 50 percent to the Democrats’ 30 percent in the 1.2 million absentee ballots already returned.

    http://www.floridatoday.com/ar.....006/news01

    Democrats are beaming that more Democrats came out to vote early but it seems many of them aren’t voting for the Democrat candidate. Hmmm.

    http://wizbangblog.com/

  60. Gil
    October 30, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    Highlight:

    the Democrats lost half of their lead in generic-ballot polling in the past week, and that the Republicans have come close to a virtual dead heat:

    Potential surprise in the House?
    October 30, 2008
    by Ed Morrissey

    In 2006, Democrats led Republicans on generic Congressional ballot polling by double digits and took control of the House. In 2008, the ground has quietly shifted — and it has accelerated in the past week. The Hill reports that the Democrats lost half of their lead in generic-ballot polling in the past week, and that the Republicans have come close to a virtual dead heat:

    Republicans have cut the Democratic advantage in the generic ballot question in half over the past week, according to a new GW-Battleground poll.

    Democrats now lead by four points, their slimmest lead in more than three years. A week ago, according to the George Washington University poll, their advantage was eight points. Meantime, the congressional approval rating remained low, at 19 percent, up two points from the previous poll.

    ====

    In the final weekend of 2004, the Tarrance Group (GW’s partner) put the GOP up 3 on the generic ballot — and they won a larger majority. They have no data for 2006, but Rasmussen had a 14-point lead for Democrats, who won back control of the House as well as the Senate. Most analysts had predicted gains for Democrats in this cycle as well — but the sudden shift gives a hint that Nancy Pelosi may have her hands full on Tuesday.

    The Republicans have some hurdles here, though. They have more retirees than the Democrats do, making it tougher to focus on pickups as much as simple holds of existing seats. Democrats have far outraised them, too, making it harder to get the message across in the districts.

    Something appears to have changed, however. Could the divided government argument be working in a different direction? Have voters decided to prepare for an Obama presidency by attempting to pass the House into Republican control? It would probably take a harder swing than what we see now to make that a reality — but if this represents momentum, it may come at the right time for the GOP.

    http://hotair.com/archives/200.....the-house/

  61. 1sttofight
    October 30, 2008 at 9:51 pm

    Poor old Snag, now Piglosi is even picking on her.

    Cindy Sheehan’s Campaign Headquarters Heavily Damaged in Late Night Attack

    SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Just 5 days before the election, at 3a.m. on October 30th, all of the front windows of the Cindy Sheehan for Congress campaign offices were shattered. Although staffers had been in the office less than an hour earlier, no one was in the building at the time of the incident. No one was hurt and there were no witnesses. Cindy Sheehan is a candidate for Congress in California’s 8th Congressional District race against incumbent Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

    “It seems to have been a calculated intimidation tactic,” said Tiffany Burns, the Cindy for Congress campaign manager. “One of our computers was stolen, but no other property was taken from our offices and no surrounding buildings were targeted. Clearly they wanted to both frighten us and to gather information.” Total damage to the campaign office is currently estimated at more than $5,000.

    The Cindy for Congress campaign recently chronicled a series of unusual events, including other threats of violence, in a statement issued on October 13th. In that statement, Cindy Sheehan noted “[t]he past few weeks have been a little strange at Cindy for Congress [...] the things that have been happening could just be coincidences, or a run of bad luck, but the climate for the possibility of campaign hanky-panky certainly exists.”

    Campaign staffers also note each incident, including today’s early morning incident, has followed closely on the heels of a confrontation with Cindy Sheehan’s opponent Nancy Pelosi. This morning’s incident occurred after an on-air confrontation between the two candidates on KQED’s public affairs program Forum with Michael Krasny on Wednesday morning.

    “Each time we confront her, each time we ask her for a debate, each time we gain ground in the polls, something horrible happens,” said Burns. “Once or twice might be a coincidence, but such a consistent correlation is hard to ignore.”

    SOURCE Cindy Sheehan; Cindy for Congress
    Copyright 2008 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.

    http://www.breitbart.com/artic....._article=1

    BTW SJ, You do have an iron clad alibi for last night, right?

  62. sheehanjihad
    October 30, 2008 at 10:46 pm

    Hey 1st! I was here the whole time! Ask the Obama investigators!

    Cindy Sheehan’s Campaign Headquarters Heavily Damaged in Late Night Attack

    SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Just 5 days before the election, at 3a.m. on October 30th, all of the front windows of the Cindy Sheehan for Congress campaign offices were shattered. The Snag was passed out in a coma from drinking Jamba Juice laced with pure grain alcohol, and her partially clothed campaign manager was laying in a puddle of vomit next to an empty beer bong and six kegs. The windows were broken from the inside out, suggesting one hell of a “HullabaSnag” going on for hours. No one was hurt in the incident, because everyone was so blind drunk they couldnt find their own asses, and that is saying something due to the ample size of said buttcheeks. Cindy “the Snag” Sheehan is a candidate for Congress in California’s 8th Congressional District race against incumbent Nancy “the Plastic Fantastic” Pelosi (Douche-CA).

    “Actually, we are all pretending that this was a calculated intimidation tactic,” said Tiffany “Fat Hog” Burns, the Snag for Congress campaign manager and dispenser of misappropriated funds. “One of our computers was turned on for the first time, but since everything was covered in vomit and slime, no other property was taken from our rooms full of stolen money and none of what is left of the donations we havent had time to spend yet was targeted. Clearly they wanted to see how people as ugly and grotesque as we all are can actually go to the beach without worrying about harpoon attacks.” Total damage to the campaign office is currently estimated at a little more than $8.73, but they reported satchels full of “campaign contributions” totaling six hundred thousand dollars was missing after a frantic search of the boxes labeled “City of Crawford Red Cross” turned up only some bandages and a reciept for a flat bottom boat signed “dig it, yo peep, malik”.

    The Snag for Congress campaign recently chronicled a series of unusual events, like spending money on the actual campaign, going an entire day without lying like a pig, taking more than one bath a week, studying an old civics book to find out just what a Congress is in a statement issued on October 13th. In that statement, Cindy “da Snag” Sheehan noted “[t]he past few weeks have been a little strange at Snag for Congress [...] the things that have been happening could just be coincidences, or a run of bad luck, but the climate for the possibility of campaign hanky-panky certainly exists.” “We actually bought some stamps and some paper, and a felt marker for our “get out the vote” initiative…but ran short of money immediately and had to go “borrow” some more “donations” to make up for it”. She also noted she doesnt remember much of anything past 1993 either, and we noticed a strange odor of walrus musk emanating from her shorts.

    Campaign staffers also note each incident, including today’s early morning incident, has followed closely on the heels of a confrontation with Cindy “da Snag” Sheehan’s opponent Nancy” We Will Bury You” Pelosi. This morning’s incident occurred after an on-air confrontation between the two candidates on KQED’s public affairs program Forum with Michael Krasny on Wednesday morning in which the two women traded insults and accused one another of being conservative and to have had dreams of bedding Karl Rove. Pelosi was seen to have been victorious when she verbally “bitch slapped” the snag by telling her that she cant have plastic surgery on saddle leather. The Snag, visibly shaken, wobbled out into the street and promptly assaulted a cab driver with a bent squeegee she took after socking a homeless guy in the face and dumping his diluted windex in his lap.

    “Each time we call her a communist bitch, each time we ask her for the number of the San Francisco Red Cross Headquarters, each time we gain ground in the polls by rampant fraud and cheating, something horrible happens,” said “Fat Hog” Burns. “Once or twice might be a coincidence, like we tell people when we are ripping them off, but such a consistent correlation is hard to ignore.” ” We keep telling that plastic socialist wannabe that we are taking over!” ” she tells us we are going down, but I tell her” in your dreams, plastic wonder woman effigy!” She was licking a grape popsicle furiously, and flicking the drips onto her pocket calculator and wiping them on her blouse. Burns then decided to don a pink ballerina outfit and dance around the room singing “I feel pretty” until a tired worker slapped her into a coma.

    SOURCE Cindy “da Snag” Sheehan; Cindy for Something called Congress
    Copyright 2008 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.

  63. 1sttofight
    October 30, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    Excellent as usual SJ, Just Excellent.

  64. Liberals Make Great Speedbumps
    October 31, 2008 at 1:17 am

    Brutally funny SJ! 1st, glad to see that I wasn’t the only one wondering if SJ had a solid alibi.

  65. BillK
    October 31, 2008 at 6:13 am

    From a thrilled Los Angeles Times:

    Obama’s 30-minute ad attracts 33 million viewers

    By Matea Gold

    Reporting from New York — If Sen. Barack Obama were a television executive, he’d have a hit on his hands.

    More than 33 million people watched Obama’s paid political ad Wednesday night on seven networks, Nielsen Media Research reported Thursday, delivering a larger audience for that time period than the usual viewership so far this season.

    On an average Wednesday night, the same networks get an audience of 30.3 million people between 8 and 8:30 p.m.

    The commercial, which ran on CBS, Fox, NBC, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One, drew an audience that was more than half the size as the one that tuned into the final debate between Obama and Sen. John McCain on Oct. 15. That forum had 56.5 million viewers.

    The infomercial was especially popular among African American viewers, attracting 15.2% of that demographic. Overall, 11.6% of television viewers watched the ad. …

    http://www.latimes.com/enterta.....6560.story

    Then again feeding Christians to the lions generated “great ratings” in Rome.

    Whoops, I think I gave away the networks’ plans for the first fall season with the Dems in office.

  66. BillK
    October 31, 2008 at 6:15 am

    From the LA Times:

    Struggling IndyMac borrowers may be in the dark about offer to lower their mortgage payments

    The FDIC, which is running the bank, says more than half of those who were sent letters giving them the chance to rework the terms of their loans haven’t responded.

    By E. Scott Reckard

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s program to lower loan payments for struggling borrowers with mortgages from IndyMac Bank has been lauded by consumer advocates and government leaders as a model of foreclosure prevention.

    But when the FDIC, which is running IndyMac, mailed out 35,000 letters offering homeowners a chance to rework the terms of their mortgages, more than half the borrowers were apparently so discouraged, scared or stressed out that they didn’t bother to respond.

    “Anecdotally, what you hear is that a lot of people kind of hunker down when they’re getting into trouble with their mortgages, and maybe just stop opening the mail,” said Mike Krimminger, a special policy advisor to FDIC Chairwoman Sheila C. Bair.

    “Some people have contacted us previously but then just decide they can’t handle it anymore and go silent,” Krimminger said. “And some have maybe just walked away from the home. So it’s a combination of things.”

    The FDIC’s experience has implications beyond IndyMac because the loan-modification program there is being looked at as one of the templates for an emerging government plan to help stem foreclosures. That plan would offer loan guarantees to encourage loan companies to alter as much as $500 billion in mortgages to make them more affordable to struggling homeowners.

    But you can’t help borrowers if you can’t reach them. Despite the difficulties it has encountered, the FDIC appears at IndyMac to have been more successful at reaching them than most mortgage companies have been. Horror stories about elusive homeowners abound in the mortgage industry.

    Bank of America’s Countrywide unit tried to contact one delinquent borrower 150 times before the homeowner called — in response not to the deluge of letters and phone calls but to news accounts of a new Bank of America plan to modify loans, said Steve Bailey, a mortgage executive at the bank. …

    http://www.latimes.com/busines.....3024.story

    Why, I think we need a Government Program to send out people to contact these borrowers and let them know about the new loan programs, don’t you think?

  67. BillK
    October 31, 2008 at 6:18 am

    From a confused Los Angeles Times:

    CVS slashes generic drug costs, escalates price war

    Using the products as loss leaders, the drugstore giant will sell 90-day supplies of more than 400 medications for $9.99 and offer discounts for cash-paying patients at its in-store medical clinics.

    By Lisa Girion and Andrea Chang

    One of the nation’s largest drugstore chains ratcheted up a price war Thursday, offering deep discounts on generic prescriptions amid national concern about the spiraling cost of healthcare.

    Drugstore giant CVS Caremark Corp. announced it would sell 90-day supplies of more than 400 medications for $9.99 and offer discounts for cash-paying patients at its in-store medical clinics.

    The price war was unleashed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the country’s largest retailer, a few years ago. Since then, many grocery stores have followed suit.

    The price competition makes generic drugs just about the only healthcare bill that isn’t escalating. The lower prices provide a measure of relief to consumers who are struggling with rising health insurance premiums and other out-of-pocket expenses or have lost coverage altogether.

    Now savvy shoppers can buy many prescriptions for less than laundry detergent, face cream or a pound of deli meat.

    Retailers can’t make much, if any, profit off the cut-rate generics. But that doesn’t mean they won’t make money off the customers. The stores are using generic prescriptions as loss leaders to bring people in. And cheap drugs do drive other purchases.

    “They are pulling us into the store,” said Stephanie Nelson, an Atlanta resident who shares shopping tips on her website Couponmom.com.

    “As soon as you go to the back of the CVS to pick up your prescription or wait for it to be filled, what are you going to do? You are going to shop,” she said. “I’ll get my diet Coke, shampoo, whatever I need. I’m not going to a different store.”

    Nearly every pharmacy — from the small corner drugstore to the industry giants — has been affected by the price war in much the same way that sales of everything from T-shirts to CDs have been transformed by Wal-Mart’s low-price model.

    Gone are the easy-money days when drugstores could sell a month’s supply of a generic prescription for $8 and pocket the markup of 50% or more.

    “Generics used to generate a significant amount of profit, and that’s all been changed by Wal-Mart,” said Joel W. Hay, an associate professor of pharmaceutical economics at USC. “That’s really squeezed the rest of the retail pharmacy industry. And now they are getting the price down to where there is no profit left, or very little.” …

    http://www.latimes.com/busines.....5211.story

    Wow, you’d almost think that a market economy works or something.

    But that’s OK, it’s only going to be four months or so before the Federal Government imposes price controls in the name of “lowering prices.”

  68. BillK
    October 31, 2008 at 6:24 am

    Given the polls you wouldn’t think the LA Times needs to run another “Whites won’t vote for Obama” story, and yet…

    Obama’s prospects in Missouri may hinge on the economy — and race

    In nearly all-white St. Charles County, some Obama volunteers see the race factor in play. But the economy also plays a big role.

    By Michael Finnegan

    Reporting from St. Peters, Mo. — Some white union members in the suburbs northwest of St. Louis are blunt about their racism when Gary Booth knocks on their doors.

    “I am not voting for a black man,” they tell Booth, who leads organized labor’s Democratic campaign effort in nearly all-white St. Charles County.

    Others are indirect but make clear that their unease with Barack Obama’s race will influence their vote on Tuesday. “It’s a difficult thing to try to break down those barriers,” Booth said.

    Whether Obama or Republican rival John McCain carries Missouri depends in no small part on the nearly 250,000 voters of St. Charles County, a fast-growing working-class area. It would be tough for any Democrat to win in this culturally conservative county, where many voters oppose abortion rights and gay marriage. However, the troubled economy and Obama’s huge campaign operation have put the entire state in play.

    The nominee is making two trips to Missouri in the campaign’s final week. He has 44 offices in the state, which President Bush won handily in 2004, compared with McCain’s 16. As for unpaid volunteers in Missouri, Obama has thousands.

    Steven S. Smith, a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis, said Obama’s campaign was the most elaborate any presidential candidate had ever mounted in Missouri. “The sheer number of campaign volunteers going door to door — get-out-the-vote, voter-registration efforts — has been beyond belief,” he said.

    Obama also is spending three times as much as McCain on television ads in the state.

    Missouri’s economic distress also has enhanced Obama’s prospects. In St. Charles, a county of 344,000 near the convergence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, rising home foreclosures attest to the tough times. So do the 10,000 new empty lots on the county’s exurban frontier: Developers leveled them to build houses but cast aside construction plans in the absence of buyers.

    Still, race remains a potent force in the White House contest here, even as Obama’s top advisors argue the contrary.

    “The truly undecided are not undecided because of race,” campaign manager David Plouffe said. “They’re undecided because they haven’t decided who’s best on taxes, healthcare and other issues.”

    http://www.latimes.com/news/po.....8417.story

    Nice to see the union is spending their member’s own money to convince them they must vote Democratic.

    I wonder what other “incentives” Booth gives them…

  69. BannedbytheTaliban
    October 31, 2008 at 7:52 am

    More equal and just application of the law:

    Two arrested after Obama effigy found on campus

    (CNN) — Two men have been arrested in connection with an effigy of Sen. Barack Obama that was hung outside a building at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, police said Thursday.

    Authorities found a life-size effigy of the Democratic presidential candidate hanging from a tree outside the school’s Mines and Minerals building on Wednesday morning, police said.

    Police said they arrested Joe Fischer, 22, a senior at the university, and Hunter Bush, 21, a former student at Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

    “This was a serious incident. It caused a lot of wounds to be opened from racial tension,” Monroe said.

    http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/.....index.html

    So when will those two, lets call them “happy,” guys from Cal be arrested for their Palin effigy? Just kidding.

  70. BannedbytheTaliban
    October 31, 2008 at 8:22 am

    USAtoday is pulling out all the stops to ensure an Obamanation:

    GOP takes new approach in ads for Senate races

    WASHINGTON — In the waning days of the 2008 elections, Republicans from the top of the ticket on down are making a remarkable appeal: Vote for me, because the rest of my party seems headed for defeat.
    A spate of new ads paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee are premised on Barack Obama beating John McCain. Some even say that Democrats could pick up enough Senate seats to have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes. McCain, meanwhile, is arguing that a vote for him is a check against a Democrat-dominated Congress.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/p.....-gop_N.htm

    Then:

    The New York Times — Poll signals Palin is weighing down Republican ticket:

    “A growing number of voters have concluded that Senator John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, is not qualified to be vice president, weighing down the Republican ticket in the last days of the campaign, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. All told, 59% of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.”

    http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpo.....ew-22.html

    Then:

    Rifle maker bounces boss who supports Obama

    WASHINGTON — Montana gunsmith Dan Cooper has been ousted as chief executive of the rifle company that bears his name after pressure from gun owners who are angry that he is supporting Democrat Barack Obama.

    Cooper, founder and part owner of Cooper Firearms, told USA TODAY in a story published Tuesday that he has voted for Republicans for most of his life, but he is backing Obama “probably because of the war. And also because the Republican Party has moved so far right in recent years.” Cooper said he was attracted to the Democrat’s message about “the retooling of America, which involves the building of middle-class jobs and helping American small business be competitive with those overseas.”

    Cooper contributed $3,300 to Obama’s presidential campaign, according to election records complied by the non-partisan CQ MoneyLine.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/p.....sted_N.htm

    Then:

    Election comes at key point for high court’s stance on abortion

    WASHINGTON — John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s dueling statements on abortion rights have ratcheted up debate over the future of Roe v. Wade at a time when the Supreme Court could be at a crossroads on the 1973 decision that made abortion legal nationwide.

    Only a bare five-justice majority appears ready to reaffirm the decision. That is a change from national election cycles in the last decade-and-a-half when at least six justices, including now-retired Sandra Day O’Connor, supported abortion rights. A single court appointee could decide whether abortion laws become more restrictive or more permissive and whether Roe v. Wade remains the law.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/w.....ourt_N.htm

    So follow the progression:

    1. Republicans have lost, give it up.
    2. They weren’t qualified anyway.
    3. Don’t worry, Obama isn’t going to take your guns, he “respects” the second amendment.
    4. But if you screw up and elect a Republican, he will over turn Roe v. Wade.

  71. wardmama4
    October 31, 2008 at 8:55 am

    re: Two arrested after Obama effigy found on campus

    Also has anyone seen the Obama effigy? In almost every single article there is a pic of the Palin effigy. I only saw the Obama once – and it is a video – and dressed in sweats (yeah like Obama would ever) – with the only clue it’s Obama being a mask (supposedly – could not view the video nor see it in the pic).

    This whole thing just goes to show that the race oops my bad, that the game damn what’s the best word [crusade, operation, offensive - pick your fav] is skewed toward one Candidate – The One ™.

    I think that I will discuss with my hubby making a donation to these two men – wrong as they are – they were also wrongly arrested – unless CA steps up and arrests Mr. Morisette too.

  72. Gila Monster
    October 31, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    “re: Two arrested after Obama effigy found on campus”

    Yes indeed Wardmama, it is rather ironic.

    People (and I use that term loosely) in W. Hollyweird, laughing and chuckling over the hanging Palin effigy and then we have the Obamessiah figure hanging on the U of K campus.
    OMG..!!! It’s a frikkin’ HATE crime!! Fry the little racist bast*rds!!

    AC and Rush are absolutely right, liberals have no sense of humor, but they are overflowing with hypocrisy.

  73. Zilla
    October 31, 2008 at 4:40 pm

    Well said:
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vjo85WhbYqM

  74. Liberals Make Great Speedbumps
    November 1, 2008 at 3:37 am

    Re: Two arrested after Obama effigy found on campus:

    “Police said they arrested Joe Fischer, 22, a senior at the university, and Hunter Bush, 21″

    At least it wasn’t all Bushs’ fault this time.

  75. spiffyw
    November 2, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    Just up the block here a .McCaine Palen signs were pulled down and mailbox filled with eggs other signs on her property were and have been stolen , but now with her mail box defaced. She asked if I thought that was a hate crime ,of course my answer was unles’s youre white …End of story.I Will of course , according to sg’s rule,I paste link when ready .That s a federal crime isn’t it ?

  76. 1sttofight
    November 2, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    Yes it is. Even though you have to buy and maintain your mailbox, it is considered Gov. property.

  77. spiffyw
    November 2, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    And it is hunting season so she had Private Property signs up all over the area . She reported it and took pictures but cops won’t be out till after today .I checked with one of my kids and egging the inside of a mailbox is weird .Big penality for such a stupid thing. Oh I guess that would be par for the course for some people .

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