You know it's coming.
Someone at the Republican Convention will have to give a speech somewhere along the lines of the "No He Can't" speech. That is, a speech that will take Obama's catch phrase "Yes We Can" and try to turn it against him while giving the delegates something to chant.
It will go something like this:
They will provide a litany of things that Obama is purported to want to do with the appropriate Republican spin and each time they will end with "No He Can't" which will be chanted in unison by the audience.
So, they will say "Obama wants to raise your taxes! No He Can't!!!
Obama wants to cut-n-run from Iraq! No He Can't!!!
Obama wants to redefine marriage to allow gays to marry! No He Can't!!!
Obama wants to prevent us from drilling for oil in wildlife preserves! No He Can't!!!
And so forth.
The question is who will give that speech?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sarah Palin = Clarence Thomas
Is McCain out of his mind?
That’s a good question. McCain picked someone whose sum total of experience is having served as governor of a teeny tiny state for less than two years.
Alaska? A tiny state?
Yes. Alaska is one of the smallest states by population. San Antonio, Texas has nearly twice the population as the entire state of Alaska.
Some people are calling her Sarah Quayle Palin, but I think the more apt analogy is with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Sarah Palin was picked for two reasons, and experience wasn’t one of them. First, she’s a woman. And second, she is a fundamentalist rightwinger.
There are many other women in the Republican Party far more experienced to take on the job of Vice President starting with Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former N.J. Gov. Christie Todd Whitman. Then there is Sens. Olypia Snow, Susan Collins and Elizabeth Dole and Govs. Jodi Rell and Linda Lingle, all with more experience than Palin.
But none were apparently rightwing enough to satisfy the James Dobson-wing of the Republican Party.
That is where Sarah Palin fits the bill. Vigorously anti-choice, even in cases of rape and incest, and a favorite of the anti-public education homeschool crowd who pushes for “creation science” to be taught in the classroom, Palin promises to be a reliable rubber stamp on all evangelical religious right issues.
That is the way it was with Clarence Thomas back when George Bush the Elder passed over dozens of far more qualified black jurists to elevate Thomas to the Supreme Court simply because of his hard-right political views.
BeldarBlog has been pushing for Palin as VP since early June and he is clearly elated. Below is a comment I left on his blog back then:
I think Sarah Palin is a very interesting choice. But I am a bit surprised that Beldar is so enamored with her. As others have already noted, she has little experience on the national stage and if she happened to have a D after her name rather than an R would Beldar still agree that she was a good choice for the other party?
Let's face it, she is a one-term governor of a teeny, tiny state. Yes, I mean tiny in the population sense. Alaska has fewer people than Rhode Island afterall. Why, twice as many people live in Hawaii. It is the 47th smallest state population wise and only merits one representative in the U.S. House. Texas has 32 by contrast.
In fact, more people live in Austin than live in the entire state of Alaska. Twice as many people live in San Antonio. So that means that Mayor Phil Hardberger is respeonsible for twice as many people as Gov. Palin.
I'm still betting that McCain will go with a Hispanic VP - someone like Sen. Mel Martinez - to try and make inroads with that ethnic group. You say that identity politics is stronger with Democrats, yet I think it is almost guaranteed that McCain will pick a woman or a minority for his VP. I would be shocked if he did otherwise.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Gallup Daily: Obama Moves Ahead, 48% to 42%
Ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out! Wh-wh-wh-wh-what’s it all about?
Sorry, that was a line from a Beastie Boys song that is stuck in my head. But, seriously, check out the latest from Gallup polls.
Mark was in a frenzy the other day when the poll had McCain up 46-44, but now McCain is back down at his normal low-40s level (42) and Obama has jumped up to 48.
So is that the “bounce” that Mark swore that Obama wasn’t getting? Or (more likely) are the polls simply correcting back to the trend where they have pretty much been all along? And what happens when and if Obama gets a real bounce out of the convention?
Sorry, that was a line from a Beastie Boys song that is stuck in my head. But, seriously, check out the latest from Gallup polls.
Mark was in a frenzy the other day when the poll had McCain up 46-44, but now McCain is back down at his normal low-40s level (42) and Obama has jumped up to 48.
So is that the “bounce” that Mark swore that Obama wasn’t getting? Or (more likely) are the polls simply correcting back to the trend where they have pretty much been all along? And what happens when and if Obama gets a real bounce out of the convention?
More of the McSame and Pawlenty of it
Veep speculation on the Republican side has reached it’s high point, which (Yawn!) ain’t all that high.
Who will McSame pick to go down in flames with him this November?
Mitt Romney, the wealthy Mormon from Massachusetts who has flip-flopped almost as many times as McCain has?
Or Holy Joe Lieberman, the turncoat Democrat and No. 1 apologist for Bush’s quagmire in Iraq?
Or will it be that guy who no one has ever heard of - Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota? What’s his story? I haven’t cared enough to try and find out.
Or is there some other dark horse pick out there waiting to surprise us?
The suspense is so high it is ummm, it’s uhhh... Wait. What were we talking about again?
Who will McSame pick to go down in flames with him this November?
Mitt Romney, the wealthy Mormon from Massachusetts who has flip-flopped almost as many times as McCain has?
Or Holy Joe Lieberman, the turncoat Democrat and No. 1 apologist for Bush’s quagmire in Iraq?
Or will it be that guy who no one has ever heard of - Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota? What’s his story? I haven’t cared enough to try and find out.
Or is there some other dark horse pick out there waiting to surprise us?
The suspense is so high it is ummm, it’s uhhh... Wait. What were we talking about again?
It’s the policies, Stupid!
Presidential campaigns tend to be driven by personalities and political conventions brings it all out in spades. Everyone has a story to tell and they can be heartwrenching.
We’ve heard about how Michelle Obama lost her father to MS; how Joe Biden lost his first wife and a daughter to a drunken driver when he was first elected to the Senate. We’ve heard about Hillary’s struggle to break the glass ceiling on the highest office in the land and we are going to hear lots more about Obama’s personal story tonight.
Next week, John McCain will have his own compelling story to tell about the five years he spent in a Vietnamese POW camp.
And when it comes time to vote, these are the stories that will resonate the most with voters as they go into the voting booths. But that is a shame, because the personalities and the human interest stories are really just window dressing and matter very little in the day to day functioning of our country.
It is the policies that the winning party will implement that matters the most. And what needs to be made clear to people is that after eight years of near total control of the federal government - Republican ideas DON’T WORK!!!
But Democratic ideas, as evidenced by the boom times of the Clinton years, clearly DO WORK.
Regardless of what you think about the personalities involved in this election, the only thing that really matters is which policies will be put into place and the choice comes down to the ones that have consistently failed for the last eight years, or the ones that worked great during the previous eight years. It is as simple as that.
We’ve heard about how Michelle Obama lost her father to MS; how Joe Biden lost his first wife and a daughter to a drunken driver when he was first elected to the Senate. We’ve heard about Hillary’s struggle to break the glass ceiling on the highest office in the land and we are going to hear lots more about Obama’s personal story tonight.
Next week, John McCain will have his own compelling story to tell about the five years he spent in a Vietnamese POW camp.
And when it comes time to vote, these are the stories that will resonate the most with voters as they go into the voting booths. But that is a shame, because the personalities and the human interest stories are really just window dressing and matter very little in the day to day functioning of our country.
It is the policies that the winning party will implement that matters the most. And what needs to be made clear to people is that after eight years of near total control of the federal government - Republican ideas DON’T WORK!!!
But Democratic ideas, as evidenced by the boom times of the Clinton years, clearly DO WORK.
Regardless of what you think about the personalities involved in this election, the only thing that really matters is which policies will be put into place and the choice comes down to the ones that have consistently failed for the last eight years, or the ones that worked great during the previous eight years. It is as simple as that.
Big Dog Time
Here is President Bill Clinton doing “everything possible to ensure Obama's defeat” this fall.
It is clearly in the Clintons’ interests to have Democrats in the White House this fall, especially if it can be shown that they had a hand in getting them elected.
I think they played this one brilliantly. They allowed the bar to be set real low with this phony media-fed melodrama about them being upset and bitter. They played the rightwingers for suckers and dupes. And then they blew everyone away with their actions at the convention. Well done.
And here’s another great speech....
It is clearly in the Clintons’ interests to have Democrats in the White House this fall, especially if it can be shown that they had a hand in getting them elected.
I think they played this one brilliantly. They allowed the bar to be set real low with this phony media-fed melodrama about them being upset and bitter. They played the rightwingers for suckers and dupes. And then they blew everyone away with their actions at the convention. Well done.
And here’s another great speech....
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Olympic flashbacks at the Democratic Convention
I feel like I'm still watching the Olympics.
Every person who gives a speech at the Democratic convention gets judged by the pundits the same way the athletes in Beijing would get judged after every event.
Last night, Hillary Clinton nailed her dismount after a flawless performance on the uneven bars. But Keynote Speaker Mark Warner fumbled badly like a gymnast who landed on his knees after a vault. Or at least that's the way the pundits judged it.
Tonight, Bill Clinton dominated his event like Usain Bolt running the 100-meter dash and made it look easy. John Kerry also impressed with his performance on the rings. But Joe Biden stutter-stepped after his less than fantastic pomel horse routine. Or so the pundits judged.
Update
And now after having watched Biden's speech, I realize that the pundits are just as boneheaded and full of it as many of the Olympic judges in Beijing. That was a terrific speech and just because it was partially overshadowed by Bill Clinton's tour de force doesn't mean it wasn't also great in its own right.
Every person who gives a speech at the Democratic convention gets judged by the pundits the same way the athletes in Beijing would get judged after every event.
Last night, Hillary Clinton nailed her dismount after a flawless performance on the uneven bars. But Keynote Speaker Mark Warner fumbled badly like a gymnast who landed on his knees after a vault. Or at least that's the way the pundits judged it.
Tonight, Bill Clinton dominated his event like Usain Bolt running the 100-meter dash and made it look easy. John Kerry also impressed with his performance on the rings. But Joe Biden stutter-stepped after his less than fantastic pomel horse routine. Or so the pundits judged.
Update
And now after having watched Biden's speech, I realize that the pundits are just as boneheaded and full of it as many of the Olympic judges in Beijing. That was a terrific speech and just because it was partially overshadowed by Bill Clinton's tour de force doesn't mean it wasn't also great in its own right.
Whose a Bush Dog??
I nearly flipped when I ran across this the other day via Glenn Greenwald.
Matt Stoller over at Open Left has listed MY congressman, Ciro Rodriguez, among the so-called “Bush Dog Democrats” who they want to target for defeat in future elections.
First off, this kind of ideological purging is not healthy for the Democratic Party in the slightest. Second, how in the HELL do they end up placing someone like Rodriguez - who voted 96 percent of the time with the Democratic Party last year - in a list like this??
As it turns out, they only concerned themselves with two votes, one on continued funding for the Iraq War in 2007 (nevermind that Ciro voted against the war authorization back in 2002) and one on their stupid Holy Grail FISA issue.
That is so incredibly stupid that it just makes me want to bash my head against a wall in frustration. And here I had thought that Matt Stoller was one of the leading lights of the liberal blogosphere. Moron!!!
People around here worked their tails off to finally get a Democrat elected in this district and this is the thanks they get. Ciro has a tough re-election battle ahead of him and he needs all the help he can get to keep this seat in the Democratic column. Republican Lyle Larson isn’t going to be a pushover in the general election, and having this “Bush Dog” smear attached to Ciro will only depress his supporters and dampen their turnout on election day.
This is exactly the kind of thing I feared would happen with the stupid “Moneybomb” campaign promoted by Greenwald, Hamsher and a lot of other prominent liberal bloggers who seem to be aping Ralph Nader these days if not Joe Lieberman. The “Shoot Ourselves in the Foot” campaign would be a more accurate moniker.
Matt Stoller over at Open Left has listed MY congressman, Ciro Rodriguez, among the so-called “Bush Dog Democrats” who they want to target for defeat in future elections.
First off, this kind of ideological purging is not healthy for the Democratic Party in the slightest. Second, how in the HELL do they end up placing someone like Rodriguez - who voted 96 percent of the time with the Democratic Party last year - in a list like this??
As it turns out, they only concerned themselves with two votes, one on continued funding for the Iraq War in 2007 (nevermind that Ciro voted against the war authorization back in 2002) and one on their stupid Holy Grail FISA issue.
That is so incredibly stupid that it just makes me want to bash my head against a wall in frustration. And here I had thought that Matt Stoller was one of the leading lights of the liberal blogosphere. Moron!!!
People around here worked their tails off to finally get a Democrat elected in this district and this is the thanks they get. Ciro has a tough re-election battle ahead of him and he needs all the help he can get to keep this seat in the Democratic column. Republican Lyle Larson isn’t going to be a pushover in the general election, and having this “Bush Dog” smear attached to Ciro will only depress his supporters and dampen their turnout on election day.
This is exactly the kind of thing I feared would happen with the stupid “Moneybomb” campaign promoted by Greenwald, Hamsher and a lot of other prominent liberal bloggers who seem to be aping Ralph Nader these days if not Joe Lieberman. The “Shoot Ourselves in the Foot” campaign would be a more accurate moniker.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Good news on Senate races
I don’t think the presidential polls will be worth much until after both conventions are over, but these Senate polls are highly encouraging.
Last week we had good news in Minnesota where Al Franken has evened things up and even inched ahead of Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.
Franken has been down in polls for some time and I was concerned that his might be the one race we lose this cycle. Now maybe not.
And today we get this great news out of North Carolina: Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan has taken a lead over incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole.
And the best news of all comes out of Alaska where Sen. Ted Stevens campaign is falling like a rock. I think this graphic from Pollster.com illustrates it best:
Now if Rick Noriega could just get some traction against John Cornyn here in Texas...
Last week we had good news in Minnesota where Al Franken has evened things up and even inched ahead of Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.
Franken has been down in polls for some time and I was concerned that his might be the one race we lose this cycle. Now maybe not.
And today we get this great news out of North Carolina: Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan has taken a lead over incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole.
And the best news of all comes out of Alaska where Sen. Ted Stevens campaign is falling like a rock. I think this graphic from Pollster.com illustrates it best:
Now if Rick Noriega could just get some traction against John Cornyn here in Texas...
Monday, August 25, 2008
What we’re up against
There has been no better example of the “Any news is good news for McCain” theme in the media that Mark Halperin’s latest bit of “political analysis” for ABC News this past weekend.
So, McCain doesn’t know how many houses he owns - a huge political gaffe for someone who has been trying to make the case in the campaign that the other guy is an “elitist” — and this is somehow bad news for Obama.
Halperin holds the title of “political analyst” for Time Magazine and ABC News, but it is very clear that he is little more than a Republican shill for John McCain. It would be one thing if the media would identify him accurately as a McCain partisan when he starts spouting his nonsense, but to play him up as some kind of non-partisan expert is outrageous and unfair. ABC News should have fired him on the spot after this latest idiocy. Instead, this is just a small sampling of what Democrats are up against for the rest of this campaign.
So, McCain doesn’t know how many houses he owns - a huge political gaffe for someone who has been trying to make the case in the campaign that the other guy is an “elitist” — and this is somehow bad news for Obama.
Halperin holds the title of “political analyst” for Time Magazine and ABC News, but it is very clear that he is little more than a Republican shill for John McCain. It would be one thing if the media would identify him accurately as a McCain partisan when he starts spouting his nonsense, but to play him up as some kind of non-partisan expert is outrageous and unfair. ABC News should have fired him on the spot after this latest idiocy. Instead, this is just a small sampling of what Democrats are up against for the rest of this campaign.
Pleased with Biden
I would have been happy with just about anyone Obama was considering for the VP slot, but I am particularly pleased with Joe Biden. I think my biggest problem with Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine was the prospect of having to listen to the big hissy fit that SOME Democrats were prepared to throw had they been selected. I swear, I have heard far too much carping and whining from people on the Democratic side since the end of the primary season. It’s a wonder that Democrats ever get elected these days.
Nevertheless, I think the hype about all the disunity at the convention is just that — HYPE — and it is best to just follow the advice of Public Enemy and Don’t Believe It.
I think most all of these disagreeable and disgruntled folks will eventually fall in line, just like all those wingnut bloggers who swore a few months back that they would never vote for McCain are now all firmly on board. But first they have to get their time in the limelight, like the handful of South Texas Hillary delegates who keep getting written up over and over and over again by the San Antonio Express-News.
But back to Biden, I think he is an excellent choice. Unquestionably experienced and qualified to step in and take over as president, he will also be a great asset to the campaign as someone who can aggressively strike out at the Republican noise machine.
I remember feeling sorry for Biden when he had to drop his 1988 presidential campaign after one of his speechwriters borrowed too profusely from British Labor Leader Neil Kinock. At the time, borrowing phrases was not uncommon, but a new standard was being set as the global information machine was starting to evolve. My friend Mark is already giddy over the prospects of the “GOP ridicule machine” going after Biden over these past charges of plaigirism. But I think that will be a little difficult to do when their standard bearer likes to crib recipes from Good Housekeeping, does his foreign policy research with Wikipedia and borrows inspirational stories from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
I was glad to see Biden re-emerge as a political force after his failed ‘88 campaign and it was pretty clear that he was in line for a major cabinet post in an Obama administration had he not been tapped as VP. But the VP slot is an excellent place for him right now. Once they finish fumigating the vice president’s office and sweep up all the shredded pieces of the Constitution, hopefully he will be able to get in their and start piecing things back together so that our country can finally get its reputation back.
TPA Roundup 8-25
It's Monday. Do you know what the Texas Progressive Alliance blogs and bloggers have been up to this week? Well, our weekly round-up will tell you. This week's round-up was compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.
refinish69 explains why Travis County and Texas doesn't need another Keel at Doing My Part For The Left.
Two White guys in Houston want each others' jobs. Former Gov. Mark might run for for mayor, and current Mayor Bill may run for governor. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the Frick-and-Frack report.
Prepare yourself for a shock when you visit Bluedaze and see the BILLIONS in handouts given to Big Oil. TXsharon shows how these handouts, paid with our taxes, enable Big Oil to buy influence, work against our best interest, blatantly ignore laws and keep the US dependent on hydrocarbons rather than moving forward.
Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger wonders why, if Washington is broken as McThuselah's campaign says, McThuselah himself hasn't done something to fix it since he's been there more than, you know, 25 years.
The major media outlets may be arguing about whether experience, the war or the economy is the most important issue in this year's presidential election, but jobsanger says there is only one issue that matters , and it's not any of those three.
The Texas Cloverleaf exposes the plan by Congressman Michael Burgess and the Bush DOT to make I-35 from Dallas to Denton a toll road!
BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about WATER and what our fearless leaders plan to do about it: "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink."
Justin at AAA-Fund Blog wonders when Houston will find good leadership ñ in government, in corporations looking for good PR, anywhere ñ for recycling.
Off the Kuff criticizes State Sen. Dan Patrick and State Rep. Frank Corte for their request for a ruling from AG Greg Abbott that the Lege can require cities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Off the Kuff criticizes State Sen. Dan Patrick and State Rep. Frank Corte for their request for a ruling from AG Greg Abbott that the Lege can require cities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Texas Liberal says that he is not a bridge builder.
Before she took off for the DNC convention in Denver, and the Big Tent, Texas Kaos frontpager SCCS took a look at the state of the Central Texas Congressional races.
The rich get Visas while the poor were asked to self-deport notes CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chimse.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts about Perry, Dewhursts, and Craddick's new toll road plan, Texas GOP Leaders Want To Use Public Pension Funds To Build Corporate Toll Roads.
Vince from Capitol Annex takes a look at Republican State Representative candidate Van Brookshire's stupid press release about immigration and the incorrect facts he based it on.
North Texas Liberal shares a stunning tribute to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, penned by a great friend of the late congresswoman.
refinish69 explains why Travis County and Texas doesn't need another Keel at Doing My Part For The Left.
Two White guys in Houston want each others' jobs. Former Gov. Mark might run for for mayor, and current Mayor Bill may run for governor. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the Frick-and-Frack report.
Prepare yourself for a shock when you visit Bluedaze and see the BILLIONS in handouts given to Big Oil. TXsharon shows how these handouts, paid with our taxes, enable Big Oil to buy influence, work against our best interest, blatantly ignore laws and keep the US dependent on hydrocarbons rather than moving forward.
Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger wonders why, if Washington is broken as McThuselah's campaign says, McThuselah himself hasn't done something to fix it since he's been there more than, you know, 25 years.
The major media outlets may be arguing about whether experience, the war or the economy is the most important issue in this year's presidential election, but jobsanger says there is only one issue that matters , and it's not any of those three.
The Texas Cloverleaf exposes the plan by Congressman Michael Burgess and the Bush DOT to make I-35 from Dallas to Denton a toll road!
BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about WATER and what our fearless leaders plan to do about it: "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink."
Justin at AAA-Fund Blog wonders when Houston will find good leadership ñ in government, in corporations looking for good PR, anywhere ñ for recycling.
Off the Kuff criticizes State Sen. Dan Patrick and State Rep. Frank Corte for their request for a ruling from AG Greg Abbott that the Lege can require cities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Off the Kuff criticizes State Sen. Dan Patrick and State Rep. Frank Corte for their request for a ruling from AG Greg Abbott that the Lege can require cities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Texas Liberal says that he is not a bridge builder.
Before she took off for the DNC convention in Denver, and the Big Tent, Texas Kaos frontpager SCCS took a look at the state of the Central Texas Congressional races.
The rich get Visas while the poor were asked to self-deport notes CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chimse.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts about Perry, Dewhursts, and Craddick's new toll road plan, Texas GOP Leaders Want To Use Public Pension Funds To Build Corporate Toll Roads.
Vince from Capitol Annex takes a look at Republican State Representative candidate Van Brookshire's stupid press release about immigration and the incorrect facts he based it on.
North Texas Liberal shares a stunning tribute to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, penned by a great friend of the late congresswoman.
Friday, August 22, 2008
McCain's housing problem is growing
From Greenwald:
Extreme luxury indeed.
And now we learn that McCain spends $270,000 a year on domestic servants to take care of his 8-11 homes valued at $13 million.
The fact that McCain had no clue about how many homes he owns tells you that he is not the slightest bit concerned about having to make mortgage payments. This is a family that can drop $2 million on a second beachfront condo in an incredibly posh resort community in California simply because “the kids” were starting to use the first one more frequently.
Yes, this definitely matters.
And the reason why the faux Rezko scandal isn’t going to work to counter this is because that whole situation only reminds people just how poor Obama is in comparison to McCain.
Do you think the McCain’s ever had to worry with negotiating with a nextdoor neighbor over a sliver of land just so that they could have a side yard on one of their homes? Not on your life. If they wanted more room, they just bought the neighboring condo to add to their property, like McCain did at his home in Phoenix.
And has anyone gone through all of these real estate transactions with a finetooth comb looking to see if the McCain’s got any breaks or special treatment? Were any of their financial backers involved? Where’s the so-called Liberal Media on that question?
And the other big question I have is how the heck does John McCain get away with paying only $4,000 in property taxes? That’s not much more than what I pay and my one and only house is worth only about a quarter of the loft apartment McCain bought for his daughter Meghan.
McCain lives a life that is about as far removed from the Average American as one can get, and has done so for decades. What's notable is how McCain was able to live that way. McCain himself isn't actually rich. He just lives off the inherited wealth of his much younger, former mistress and now-second-wife -- for whom he dumped his older and disfigured first wife -- and who then used her family's money to fund his political career and keep him living in extreme luxury...
Extreme luxury indeed.
And the grand total of houses the McCains own is...
...anywhere from eight to eleven homes, depending on how you count it.
And now we learn that McCain spends $270,000 a year on domestic servants to take care of his 8-11 homes valued at $13 million.
The fact that McCain had no clue about how many homes he owns tells you that he is not the slightest bit concerned about having to make mortgage payments. This is a family that can drop $2 million on a second beachfront condo in an incredibly posh resort community in California simply because “the kids” were starting to use the first one more frequently.
Yes, this definitely matters.
And the reason why the faux Rezko scandal isn’t going to work to counter this is because that whole situation only reminds people just how poor Obama is in comparison to McCain.
Do you think the McCain’s ever had to worry with negotiating with a nextdoor neighbor over a sliver of land just so that they could have a side yard on one of their homes? Not on your life. If they wanted more room, they just bought the neighboring condo to add to their property, like McCain did at his home in Phoenix.
And has anyone gone through all of these real estate transactions with a finetooth comb looking to see if the McCain’s got any breaks or special treatment? Were any of their financial backers involved? Where’s the so-called Liberal Media on that question?
And the other big question I have is how the heck does John McCain get away with paying only $4,000 in property taxes? That’s not much more than what I pay and my one and only house is worth only about a quarter of the loft apartment McCain bought for his daughter Meghan.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
McCain’s houses
John McCain - so rich, he doesn’t even know how many houses he owns.
Yeah, that’s a really hard question. I’m always forgetting how many houses I own.
And they want us to think that Obama is the elitist?
And Kevin Drum has this:
Asked how many houses he owned, John McCain replied, "I think — I'll have my staff get to you."
Yeah, that’s a really hard question. I’m always forgetting how many houses I own.
And they want us to think that Obama is the elitist?
And Kevin Drum has this:
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Express-News conservative onslaught continues
The onlslaught of conservative/Republican commentary on the San Antonio Express-News editorial pages continues.
Below is a rundown of the opinion pieces that have been published in the E-N so far this week.
Monday
George Will - R
A big picture of John McCain adorns Will’s column declaring that it is time for McCain to “get ornery.”
I searched in vain for the “Paid for by the John McCain for President Campaign” disclaimer.
Victor Landa - I
Landa pens a typically apolitical column about the travails of new immigrants assimilating into American society.
Austin Bay (online) - R
Tuesday
Froma Harrop - R
Harrop dives into the John Edwards sex scandal with relish and uses it as an excuse to take a couple of cheap shots at Obama.
Mona Charen - R
With a headline that begins “Obama fails miserably...” what more can I say?
Rich Lowry - R
Lauds McCain for his faux-saber rattling over the Russia-Georgian conflict and takes more cheap shots at Obama.
Wednesday
Jonathan Gurwitz - R
Apparently frustrated by the Bush administration’s toothless and inept response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia, Gurwitz writes a truly bizarre column in which he viciously attacks not the people who are actually in charge of the government (i.e. the Bush administration), but Noam Chomsky (about something he wrote 30-plus years ago) and the political left (including Obama, I assume) that opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq five years ago. Unbelievable.
Maureen Dowd - D
Dowd gets a D this week as she finally turns her rapier wit on the hapless and extremely unpopular President Bush, but she carefully avoids making any critical references to McCain.
Ruben Navarrette - R
I have to hand it to Navarrette this week. His column looks at first glance like a sympathetic piece about Obama and the challenges still facing him before the Democratic Convention. But on closer inspection, it turns out to have been an excuse to air out old smears and rehash doubts about Obama left over from the primary race. We get to hear yet again about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy and the nativist suspicions that Obama is too “foreign.” Navarrette also determines in the course of the column that the real guilty party in bringing race into the campaign was “a Democratic operative” (i.e. Mark Penn) and urges minorities to remember this in future elections. He proceeds to set a high bar for Obama to clear in order to accomplish the “herculean tasks awaiting him in Denver.” No doubt, Navarrette has already written his post-convention column in which he will bash Obama for failing to accomplish those tasks.
David Broder - I (Online)
Thursday
Cal Thomas - R
Ken Allard - R
Connie Schultz (Online) - Fluff
Meghan Daum - I
And don’t forget that each day on the Op-Ed page we are treated to another one of Bruce Tinsley’s grotesque and hate-filled parodies of Obama in his nauseating “Mallard Fillmore” comic strip.
I keep harping on this issue because we are in the midst of a very important campaign season and for most people their sole source of in-depth news and analysis comes from their local newspaper. It is therefore grossly unfair to have a local paper which fills its Op-Ed pages with reams of rightwing agit-prop and Republican hit pieces while limiting liberal commentary to maybe one or two articles a week.
Below is a rundown of the opinion pieces that have been published in the E-N so far this week.
Monday
George Will - R
A big picture of John McCain adorns Will’s column declaring that it is time for McCain to “get ornery.”
I searched in vain for the “Paid for by the John McCain for President Campaign” disclaimer.
Victor Landa - I
Landa pens a typically apolitical column about the travails of new immigrants assimilating into American society.
Austin Bay (online) - R
Tuesday
Froma Harrop - R
Harrop dives into the John Edwards sex scandal with relish and uses it as an excuse to take a couple of cheap shots at Obama.
Mona Charen - R
With a headline that begins “Obama fails miserably...” what more can I say?
Rich Lowry - R
Lauds McCain for his faux-saber rattling over the Russia-Georgian conflict and takes more cheap shots at Obama.
Wednesday
Jonathan Gurwitz - R
Apparently frustrated by the Bush administration’s toothless and inept response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia, Gurwitz writes a truly bizarre column in which he viciously attacks not the people who are actually in charge of the government (i.e. the Bush administration), but Noam Chomsky (about something he wrote 30-plus years ago) and the political left (including Obama, I assume) that opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq five years ago. Unbelievable.
Maureen Dowd - D
Dowd gets a D this week as she finally turns her rapier wit on the hapless and extremely unpopular President Bush, but she carefully avoids making any critical references to McCain.
Ruben Navarrette - R
I have to hand it to Navarrette this week. His column looks at first glance like a sympathetic piece about Obama and the challenges still facing him before the Democratic Convention. But on closer inspection, it turns out to have been an excuse to air out old smears and rehash doubts about Obama left over from the primary race. We get to hear yet again about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy and the nativist suspicions that Obama is too “foreign.” Navarrette also determines in the course of the column that the real guilty party in bringing race into the campaign was “a Democratic operative” (i.e. Mark Penn) and urges minorities to remember this in future elections. He proceeds to set a high bar for Obama to clear in order to accomplish the “herculean tasks awaiting him in Denver.” No doubt, Navarrette has already written his post-convention column in which he will bash Obama for failing to accomplish those tasks.
David Broder - I (Online)
Thursday
Cal Thomas - R
Ken Allard - R
Connie Schultz (Online) - Fluff
Meghan Daum - I
And don’t forget that each day on the Op-Ed page we are treated to another one of Bruce Tinsley’s grotesque and hate-filled parodies of Obama in his nauseating “Mallard Fillmore” comic strip.
I keep harping on this issue because we are in the midst of a very important campaign season and for most people their sole source of in-depth news and analysis comes from their local newspaper. It is therefore grossly unfair to have a local paper which fills its Op-Ed pages with reams of rightwing agit-prop and Republican hit pieces while limiting liberal commentary to maybe one or two articles a week.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Obama and the VP challenge
I’ve been loathe to speculate too much about Barack Obama’s imminent VP selection which could come anytime now. In the past, I’ve been as surprised as everyone else when the selections are finally announced.
But I do think that Obama has to be especially careful this time in light of the fact that the Democrats’ last two VP choices have, in retrospect, turned into disasters.
First, there was Joe Lieberman, the turncoat who just eight years after sharing the presidential ticket with Al Gore is now campaigning hard for John McCain and the Republicans. And now we have the scandal-tarred John Edwards who, up until just a few days ago, still seemed like a good pick. I remember at the time when John Kerry picked Edwards thinking it was a politically smart move, and yet I was unhappy with it because I knew it would cost us a seat in the Senate. Which it did.
A much better VP pick was Bill Clinton’s selection of Al Gore back in 1992. Today, the Oscar-winning, Nobel Laureate who rightfully won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential race has seen his political fortunes rise into the stratosphere.
The late Lloyd Bentsen was another good choice back in 1988 who clearly boosted the hapless Dukakis campaign by taking out the clueless Dan Quayle in their one and only debate. But go back a little further and you have the historic and desperate selection of Geraldine Ferraro who today has become an embittered pariah in the party threatening to join Joe Lieberman in the McCain camp after making several intemperate and ill chosen, if not racist, remarks about Obama.
So Obama needs to be careful because, win or lose, these people stick around and become key players in the party for good or bad.
At this point, I think Bill Richardson would still be the best choice for Obama, but has probably been dismissed as too risky for having two minority candidates at the top of the ticket. The short list according to the conventional wisdom crowd right now includes Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. And maybe Kansas Gov. Karen Sibelius, though I think she is just window dressing at this point. Of those choices, I like Biden the best for his experience and foreign policy expertise.
But I do think that Obama has to be especially careful this time in light of the fact that the Democrats’ last two VP choices have, in retrospect, turned into disasters.
First, there was Joe Lieberman, the turncoat who just eight years after sharing the presidential ticket with Al Gore is now campaigning hard for John McCain and the Republicans. And now we have the scandal-tarred John Edwards who, up until just a few days ago, still seemed like a good pick. I remember at the time when John Kerry picked Edwards thinking it was a politically smart move, and yet I was unhappy with it because I knew it would cost us a seat in the Senate. Which it did.
A much better VP pick was Bill Clinton’s selection of Al Gore back in 1992. Today, the Oscar-winning, Nobel Laureate who rightfully won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential race has seen his political fortunes rise into the stratosphere.
The late Lloyd Bentsen was another good choice back in 1988 who clearly boosted the hapless Dukakis campaign by taking out the clueless Dan Quayle in their one and only debate. But go back a little further and you have the historic and desperate selection of Geraldine Ferraro who today has become an embittered pariah in the party threatening to join Joe Lieberman in the McCain camp after making several intemperate and ill chosen, if not racist, remarks about Obama.
So Obama needs to be careful because, win or lose, these people stick around and become key players in the party for good or bad.
At this point, I think Bill Richardson would still be the best choice for Obama, but has probably been dismissed as too risky for having two minority candidates at the top of the ticket. The short list according to the conventional wisdom crowd right now includes Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. And maybe Kansas Gov. Karen Sibelius, though I think she is just window dressing at this point. Of those choices, I like Biden the best for his experience and foreign policy expertise.
Texas Olympian robbed again
It’s been a rough couple of days for Nastia Liukin, the 18-year old Olympic gymnast from Parker, Texas since she won the coveted All Around Gold Medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Two days ago she was clearly cheated out of a medal in the individual vault competition by ignoramus judges who scored a Chinese gymnast higher even after she practically fell on her ass on her first vault.
And then last night Liukin was awarded the Silver Medal in the individual uneven bars competition despite receiving the exact same score as the Chinese gymnast who took the Gold. It used to be the case that if two people got the same score, they would get the same medal. But for these Olympics, some jackass decided to come up with an impossibly complex “tiebreaking” scheme that can only be figured out by a computer. So, in effect, the computer flips a coin and Liukin gets screwed out of a gold medal. Outrageous!
I hope lots of people are telling the Olympic committee where they can stick their tiebreaking system right now. They should just junk the scheme right now and hand Liukin the gold she deserves before this gets any worse. And to top things off, they had another tie a bit later in the men’s vault competition leaving some other poor schmuck stuck with a Silver following a Gold Medal performance.
I don’t fault the judges so much in this case. Having had the privilege in the past of juding UIL speech and journalism competitions, I know how hard it can be to separate out winners and losers. But a tie is a tie, and unless you are going to have the gymnasts compete again head-to-head it should stay that way.
Two days ago she was clearly cheated out of a medal in the individual vault competition by ignoramus judges who scored a Chinese gymnast higher even after she practically fell on her ass on her first vault.
And then last night Liukin was awarded the Silver Medal in the individual uneven bars competition despite receiving the exact same score as the Chinese gymnast who took the Gold. It used to be the case that if two people got the same score, they would get the same medal. But for these Olympics, some jackass decided to come up with an impossibly complex “tiebreaking” scheme that can only be figured out by a computer. So, in effect, the computer flips a coin and Liukin gets screwed out of a gold medal. Outrageous!
I hope lots of people are telling the Olympic committee where they can stick their tiebreaking system right now. They should just junk the scheme right now and hand Liukin the gold she deserves before this gets any worse. And to top things off, they had another tie a bit later in the men’s vault competition leaving some other poor schmuck stuck with a Silver following a Gold Medal performance.
I don’t fault the judges so much in this case. Having had the privilege in the past of juding UIL speech and journalism competitions, I know how hard it can be to separate out winners and losers. But a tie is a tie, and unless you are going to have the gymnasts compete again head-to-head it should stay that way.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Term Limits Blues
My city council person recently found herself in some hot water as a result of a vacation she took in 2007 in which she stayed for free in a condo in Cancun belonging to one of her wealthy campaign contributors (who just happened to have some development business before the city).
An innocent mistake? Naive? Something a more experienced council person would not have done? Perhaps. But needless to say we have been seeing lots more of these kinds of mistakes with our term-limited, neutered city council.
But now I find out that this latest scandal is being used by some folks as an excuse to oppose extending term limits. Are these people nuts!?! If it weren’t for term limits, I would still have Art Hall as my city council person and Diane Cibrian would not be in office today.
Jaime Castillo makes the point very well in the above linked column. What we are seeing today is not a reason for limiting terms, it is the direct result of having such a moronic term limits policy in the first place.
An innocent mistake? Naive? Something a more experienced council person would not have done? Perhaps. But needless to say we have been seeing lots more of these kinds of mistakes with our term-limited, neutered city council.
But now I find out that this latest scandal is being used by some folks as an excuse to oppose extending term limits. Are these people nuts!?! If it weren’t for term limits, I would still have Art Hall as my city council person and Diane Cibrian would not be in office today.
Jaime Castillo makes the point very well in the above linked column. What we are seeing today is not a reason for limiting terms, it is the direct result of having such a moronic term limits policy in the first place.
Who do the troops support?
If I asked what was the ratio of active duty military personnel supporting John McCain over Barack Obama, you might think 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 or even 4-to-1 would be expected.
Nuh uh. 6-to-1 in favor of Obama.
That’s right. Active duty troops are supporting Obama over McCain by a ratio of 6-to-1.
You think they might be a little fed up with the Bush-McCain quagmire in Iraq?
Oh yes, and Obama is also leading McCain among Christian voters as well, according to this poll.
Nuh uh. 6-to-1 in favor of Obama.
That’s right. Active duty troops are supporting Obama over McCain by a ratio of 6-to-1.
You think they might be a little fed up with the Bush-McCain quagmire in Iraq?
Oh yes, and Obama is also leading McCain among Christian voters as well, according to this poll.
Bolt upstages Phelps
I never would have thought someone could upstage Michael Phelps winning his eighth gold medal at the Olympics, but Usain Bolt’s incredible 100-meter dash last Saturday did just that. Wow!
The guy blew away the fastest runners on the planet, broke the world record by .3 seconds and did it without even trying very hard. He didn’t even run all the way through the finish line!! About 15 meters short of the finish he started to let up and just coasted the rest of the way. Like a football player starting to do his celebratory dance before crossing the goal line, Bolt was already starting to pound his chest and acknowledge the crowd before the race was even over.
But it didn’t even matter. He still shattered the world record and made all the other runners who gave everything they had look like they were in the wrong event. Incredible!
He probably could have shaved another half second off the world record if he had kept running at full pace, but he didn’t care. Like he said at the end of the race, all he was concerned about was winning. It was his world record to begin with.
How did he do it? One clue is that the guy stands 6’ 8” and thus his stride is longer than all the other runners. Usually that is a hindrance for a sprinter, but not for Bolt. You can see his legs churning at the same pace as the other runners, but he gains an extra foot with each step.
I predict that in the next 10 years or so you will see the average height of sprinters steadily climb until 6’ 8’’ becomes the average rather than the exception.
I was ticked last night after watching the women’s gymnastics in the individual vault competition. Alicia Sacaramone of the U.S. was clearly robbed of a medal by the judges who scored the Chinese gymnast higher despite landing her first vault on her knees.
The guy blew away the fastest runners on the planet, broke the world record by .3 seconds and did it without even trying very hard. He didn’t even run all the way through the finish line!! About 15 meters short of the finish he started to let up and just coasted the rest of the way. Like a football player starting to do his celebratory dance before crossing the goal line, Bolt was already starting to pound his chest and acknowledge the crowd before the race was even over.
But it didn’t even matter. He still shattered the world record and made all the other runners who gave everything they had look like they were in the wrong event. Incredible!
He probably could have shaved another half second off the world record if he had kept running at full pace, but he didn’t care. Like he said at the end of the race, all he was concerned about was winning. It was his world record to begin with.
How did he do it? One clue is that the guy stands 6’ 8” and thus his stride is longer than all the other runners. Usually that is a hindrance for a sprinter, but not for Bolt. You can see his legs churning at the same pace as the other runners, but he gains an extra foot with each step.
I predict that in the next 10 years or so you will see the average height of sprinters steadily climb until 6’ 8’’ becomes the average rather than the exception.
I was ticked last night after watching the women’s gymnastics in the individual vault competition. Alicia Sacaramone of the U.S. was clearly robbed of a medal by the judges who scored the Chinese gymnast higher despite landing her first vault on her knees.
TPA Roundup 8-18
It's Monday, and that means it is time again for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly round-up.
To kick the week off right, the TPA is unveiling its newly redesigned website where you can connect with the Alliance and our member bloggers via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, DFA, Party Builder, Ning and other social networking tools.
Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm looks at a week's worth of opinion columns from the San Antonio Express-News and determines there is a nearly three-to-one imbalance of conservative/Republican columns compared to liberal/Democratic ones.
On Bluedaze, TXsharon busts the myths that Natural Gas is cleaner, that shale drilling will make us safer, and that Domestic Drilling can make us Energy Independent.
There was no attempt of a citizens' arrest of Karl Rove while he visited Houston last week, raising money for Texas House Republicans. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs hoped it would happen, to no avail.
WhosPlayin is concerned about operators wanting to drill for gas in Lewisville's urban forest area near Central Park.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why sexual assault equates to perjury - wink, wink - if you're a person of power in Texas.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on HD-52 Democratic candidate Diana Maldonado's opponent Bryan Daniel sharing his campaign office with a local charity, IRS Complaint Filed Against Round Rock Charity.
Off the Kuff takes a look at the possible effect Libertarian candidates may have on some close State House races.
Texas Liberal uses the ancient epic Gilgamesh to discuss reactions to vulnerability and innocence in both the ancient and modern world.
McBlogger takes a look at the latest Republican fundraising pitch and finds that it's only appealing only to the same geriatric patients who are McThuselah's base. And those elephants are very tacky.
This week jobsanger is outraged by an Arkansas city that's trashing the Constitution and a small Texas country school that's allowing teachers to carry guns.
refinish69 awards the Infamous Cheese Tray Awards over at Doing My Part For The Left.
Mean Rachel supports Obama but argues against Maureen Dowd's assertion that Hillary Clinton's appearance in Denver will "dampen the dreams of our daughters."
Libby Shaw puts the pieces together for us over at TexasKos in his dairy Military Contractors Charge U.S. Taxpayers $85 Billion. Not only are we NOT saving money by outsourcing military support functions, we are pissing off people worldwide. Worst of all? Eisenhower's worst fear has come to pass, the MIC is real , alive and in control....
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog marvels at the coming Charlie Wilson Chair at UT, which will become the first Pakistan Studies chair in the nation.
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at a scandal that links State Sen. John Carona (D-Dallas) to a condo development in Houston that is falling apart.
Don't forget to check out other TPA member blogs for the latest news on Texas and national politics: The Agonist, Asian American Action Fund, B & B, Bay Area Houston, Beginning to Wonder, BlueBloggin, Bluedaze, Brains & Eggs, Burnt Orange Report, Capitol Annex, The Caucus Blog, Common Sense, Dallas South Blog, Dig Deeper Texas, Doing My Part For The Left, Dos Centavos, Easter Lemming Liberal News, Eye on Williamson, Feet To Fire, Grassroots News U Can Use, Half Empty, In The Pink Texas, jobsanger, Latina Lista, Lubbock Left, Marc's Miscellany, McBlogger, Mean Rachel, MindSpeak, MOMocrats, Musings, North Texas Liberal, Off The Kuff, Para Justicia y Libertad, The Red State, Rhetoric & Rhythm, Same Blog, Different Day, South Texas Chisme, StoutDemBlog, The Texas Blue, The Texas Clover Leaf, Texas Education, Texas Kaos, Texas Liberal, Texas Truth Serum, There... Already, Three Wise Men, TruthHugger, Who'sPlayin'?, and Xpatriated Texan.
To kick the week off right, the TPA is unveiling its newly redesigned website where you can connect with the Alliance and our member bloggers via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, DFA, Party Builder, Ning and other social networking tools.
Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm looks at a week's worth of opinion columns from the San Antonio Express-News and determines there is a nearly three-to-one imbalance of conservative/Republican columns compared to liberal/Democratic ones.
On Bluedaze, TXsharon busts the myths that Natural Gas is cleaner, that shale drilling will make us safer, and that Domestic Drilling can make us Energy Independent.
There was no attempt of a citizens' arrest of Karl Rove while he visited Houston last week, raising money for Texas House Republicans. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs hoped it would happen, to no avail.
WhosPlayin is concerned about operators wanting to drill for gas in Lewisville's urban forest area near Central Park.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why sexual assault equates to perjury - wink, wink - if you're a person of power in Texas.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on HD-52 Democratic candidate Diana Maldonado's opponent Bryan Daniel sharing his campaign office with a local charity, IRS Complaint Filed Against Round Rock Charity.
Off the Kuff takes a look at the possible effect Libertarian candidates may have on some close State House races.
Texas Liberal uses the ancient epic Gilgamesh to discuss reactions to vulnerability and innocence in both the ancient and modern world.
McBlogger takes a look at the latest Republican fundraising pitch and finds that it's only appealing only to the same geriatric patients who are McThuselah's base. And those elephants are very tacky.
This week jobsanger is outraged by an Arkansas city that's trashing the Constitution and a small Texas country school that's allowing teachers to carry guns.
refinish69 awards the Infamous Cheese Tray Awards over at Doing My Part For The Left.
Mean Rachel supports Obama but argues against Maureen Dowd's assertion that Hillary Clinton's appearance in Denver will "dampen the dreams of our daughters."
Libby Shaw puts the pieces together for us over at TexasKos in his dairy Military Contractors Charge U.S. Taxpayers $85 Billion. Not only are we NOT saving money by outsourcing military support functions, we are pissing off people worldwide. Worst of all? Eisenhower's worst fear has come to pass, the MIC is real , alive and in control....
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog marvels at the coming Charlie Wilson Chair at UT, which will become the first Pakistan Studies chair in the nation.
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at a scandal that links State Sen. John Carona (D-Dallas) to a condo development in Houston that is falling apart.
Don't forget to check out other TPA member blogs for the latest news on Texas and national politics: The Agonist, Asian American Action Fund, B & B, Bay Area Houston, Beginning to Wonder, BlueBloggin, Bluedaze, Brains & Eggs, Burnt Orange Report, Capitol Annex, The Caucus Blog, Common Sense, Dallas South Blog, Dig Deeper Texas, Doing My Part For The Left, Dos Centavos, Easter Lemming Liberal News, Eye on Williamson, Feet To Fire, Grassroots News U Can Use, Half Empty, In The Pink Texas, jobsanger, Latina Lista, Lubbock Left, Marc's Miscellany, McBlogger, Mean Rachel, MindSpeak, MOMocrats, Musings, North Texas Liberal, Off The Kuff, Para Justicia y Libertad, The Red State, Rhetoric & Rhythm, Same Blog, Different Day, South Texas Chisme, StoutDemBlog, The Texas Blue, The Texas Clover Leaf, Texas Education, Texas Kaos, Texas Liberal, Texas Truth Serum, There... Already, Three Wise Men, TruthHugger, Who'sPlayin'?, and Xpatriated Texan.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Express-News still unbalanced
I’ve complained about this before, but it continues to grate on my nerves. The San Antonio Express-News opinion section is heavily weighted in favor of conservative, Republican commentators. And most of the rest of the space is filled up with fluff pieces by apolitical lightweights.
Actual opinion pieces by true liberals and/or Democrats are few and far between.
I was reminded of this again today by this piece taking the latest Maureen Dowd column to task. Dowd, is one of several New York Times columnists featured regularly on the pages of the Express-News. And many people might mistakenly believe that she counts as a “liberal” when measuring the balance of commentary on the opinion pages. Au contraire. A careful reading of her columns, as the linked article attests, shows that she spends most of her time harping on Democrats and is certainly no advocate of liberal political causes.
George Will, on the other hand, IS an advocate for conservative and Republican causes and this week we get a double dose of his commentary. Here is the rundown on commentary pieces in the E-N so far this week. (I have placed an R next to the names of those I feel advocate Republican positions, an I for those who tend to be Independent or apolitical and a D for those who sometimes advocate Democratic positions.)
Monday:
George Will - R
Kathy Clay Little - I
Tuesday:
George Will - R
Rich Lowry - R
Maureen Dowd - I (”Edwards Unmasked”)
(Online) Mona Charen - R
Wednesday:
Ruben Navarrette - R
Jonathan Gurwitz - R
Ellen Goodman - D
(Online) Froma Harrop - R
So out of 10 columns in three days we have exactly three that are not penned by conservative pundits and/or McCain supporters. So what do we have supposedly representing the left side of the spectrum?
Kathy Clay Little, who has never expressed an opinion one way or the other about Barack Obama, lauds a local black community leader.
Maureen Dowd uses her column to pile on John Edwards in the aftermath of his sex scandal admission.
And Ellen Goodman’s column is about picking berries in Maine and reminiscing about recently departed relatives.
So much for that.
And tomorrow is typically a conservative lovefest with columns by local rightwinger and warhawk Ken Allard and syndicated wingnut Cal Thomas.
The fun never ends.
Update
For Thursday we got:
The Clinton-bashing, Democratic convention-trashing Maureen Dowd column that was skewered in the link above - I
David Brooks - R
Ken Allard - R
Cal Thomas (online) - R
And Friday we get:
Mansour El-Kikhia - D
Thomas Friedman - Sometimes a D, but pro Iraq War.
Kathleen Parker - R
David Broder (Online) - I
And Saturday must be D-Day for the E-N because we actually get two Democratic columnists on one day. Woohoo!
Garrison Keillor - D
Leonard Pitts - D
Gloria Padilla - I
Cal Thomas (online) - R
Of course, Pitts' column this week is about the Edwards' sex scandal and comparing it to Clinton, thus it is nearly indistinguishable from all the rightwing columnists this week.
And, yes, local columnist Gloria Padilla most definitely gets at 'I' for inconsequential next to her name. Padilla really sticks her neck out with her colunm this week advocating more parental involvement in their childrens' education. Yep, that's sure to drum up some controversy. Next week I think she is writing a column advising kids to eat their vegetables and brush their teeth every night.
Actual opinion pieces by true liberals and/or Democrats are few and far between.
I was reminded of this again today by this piece taking the latest Maureen Dowd column to task. Dowd, is one of several New York Times columnists featured regularly on the pages of the Express-News. And many people might mistakenly believe that she counts as a “liberal” when measuring the balance of commentary on the opinion pages. Au contraire. A careful reading of her columns, as the linked article attests, shows that she spends most of her time harping on Democrats and is certainly no advocate of liberal political causes.
George Will, on the other hand, IS an advocate for conservative and Republican causes and this week we get a double dose of his commentary. Here is the rundown on commentary pieces in the E-N so far this week. (I have placed an R next to the names of those I feel advocate Republican positions, an I for those who tend to be Independent or apolitical and a D for those who sometimes advocate Democratic positions.)
Monday:
George Will - R
Kathy Clay Little - I
Tuesday:
George Will - R
Rich Lowry - R
Maureen Dowd - I (”Edwards Unmasked”)
(Online) Mona Charen - R
Wednesday:
Ruben Navarrette - R
Jonathan Gurwitz - R
Ellen Goodman - D
(Online) Froma Harrop - R
So out of 10 columns in three days we have exactly three that are not penned by conservative pundits and/or McCain supporters. So what do we have supposedly representing the left side of the spectrum?
Kathy Clay Little, who has never expressed an opinion one way or the other about Barack Obama, lauds a local black community leader.
Maureen Dowd uses her column to pile on John Edwards in the aftermath of his sex scandal admission.
And Ellen Goodman’s column is about picking berries in Maine and reminiscing about recently departed relatives.
So much for that.
And tomorrow is typically a conservative lovefest with columns by local rightwinger and warhawk Ken Allard and syndicated wingnut Cal Thomas.
The fun never ends.
Update
For Thursday we got:
The Clinton-bashing, Democratic convention-trashing Maureen Dowd column that was skewered in the link above - I
David Brooks - R
Ken Allard - R
Cal Thomas (online) - R
And Friday we get:
Mansour El-Kikhia - D
Thomas Friedman - Sometimes a D, but pro Iraq War.
Kathleen Parker - R
David Broder (Online) - I
And Saturday must be D-Day for the E-N because we actually get two Democratic columnists on one day. Woohoo!
Garrison Keillor - D
Leonard Pitts - D
Gloria Padilla - I
Cal Thomas (online) - R
Of course, Pitts' column this week is about the Edwards' sex scandal and comparing it to Clinton, thus it is nearly indistinguishable from all the rightwing columnists this week.
And, yes, local columnist Gloria Padilla most definitely gets at 'I' for inconsequential next to her name. Padilla really sticks her neck out with her colunm this week advocating more parental involvement in their childrens' education. Yep, that's sure to drum up some controversy. Next week I think she is writing a column advising kids to eat their vegetables and brush their teeth every night.
Another domestic terror attack?
A guy walked into the Democratic Party headquarters in Arkansas and reportedly shot the state chairman, sending him to the hospital in critical condition, and then led police on a wild car chase before being shot and apprehended himself.
No more details so far, but I hope this isn’t another case of a domestic terrorist attack by some guy who hates liberals like the Unitarian Church shooting in Tennessee a few weeks ago.
No more details so far, but I hope this isn’t another case of a domestic terrorist attack by some guy who hates liberals like the Unitarian Church shooting in Tennessee a few weeks ago.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Obama vs McCain on music
Political Wire reports on an item from Blender listing the presidential candidates “favorite” songs. You can be sure that these lists were put together by campaign strategists with the intent on reaching out to certain constituency groups and only vaguely reflect the actual musical tastes of the candidates. But I think they are interesting none the less:
Barack Obama
1. Ready or Not Fugees
2. What's Going On Marvin Gaye
3. I'm On Fire Bruce Springsteen
4. Gimme Shelter Rolling Stones
5. Sinnerman Nina Simone
6. Touch the Sky Kanye West
7. You'd Be So Easy to Love Frank Sinatra
8. Think Aretha Franklin
9. City of Blinding Lights U2
10. Yes We Can will.i.am
John McCain
1. Dancing Queen ABBA
2. Blue Bayou Roy Orbison
3. Take a Chance On Me ABBA
4. If We Make It Through December Merle Haggard
5. As Time Goes By Dooley Wilson
6. Good Vibrations The Beach Boys
7. What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong
8. I've Got You Under My Skin Frank Sinatra
9. Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond
10. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes The Platters
Obama’s list is heavily weighted towards rock, R&B and hip-hop, but they are careful to throw in a Frank Sinatra tune to appeal to the older generation. Frankie turns out to be the only crossover between the two lists.
Obama’s list is also weighted towards black artists with six of the 10 falling into that demographic group compared to just 3 of 10 on McCain’s list. Obama has three female artists counting the Fugees, while McCain has just one if you count the double dose of Abba.
Both lists are, in fact, carefully balanced in their own way. Obama has three contemporary black artists - Fugees, Nina Simone and Kanye West; and two classics - Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin.
Then we have two classic rock picks - Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones; and one contemporary rock by U2 (which also classifies as classic sometimes).
Then they throw in the YouTube hit by will.i.am that features Obama himself giving an inspirational speech.
The Sinatra selection is the oldest song on Obama’s list followed by the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin in the 60s and Marvin Gaye from the 70s. Everything else is more current.
McCain’s songs, by contrast, are very much older with nothing dating more recent than 1977. Apparently McCain’s interest in music died with disco.
He has a particular fondness for Abba with two of their songs making his list. Their 1977 disco smash “Take A Chance On Me” is the most recent song on his list followed by Abba again in 1975.
The Neil Diamond and Merle Haggard songs both date to the late ‘60s as does the Louie Armstrong song, while the Beach Boys are mid ‘60s. Then we have Roy Orbison and The Platters dating back to the ‘50s followed by Doolie Wilson and Frank Sinatra going back even further.
And yes, Doolie Wilson played Sam in “Casablanca” which is where he sang the song “As Time Goes By.”
Merle Haggard is the only country artist on either list (I’m sure Bush would have picked quite a few more) and neither candidate picked anything by The Beatles.
Barack Obama
1. Ready or Not Fugees
2. What's Going On Marvin Gaye
3. I'm On Fire Bruce Springsteen
4. Gimme Shelter Rolling Stones
5. Sinnerman Nina Simone
6. Touch the Sky Kanye West
7. You'd Be So Easy to Love Frank Sinatra
8. Think Aretha Franklin
9. City of Blinding Lights U2
10. Yes We Can will.i.am
John McCain
1. Dancing Queen ABBA
2. Blue Bayou Roy Orbison
3. Take a Chance On Me ABBA
4. If We Make It Through December Merle Haggard
5. As Time Goes By Dooley Wilson
6. Good Vibrations The Beach Boys
7. What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong
8. I've Got You Under My Skin Frank Sinatra
9. Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond
10. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes The Platters
Obama’s list is heavily weighted towards rock, R&B and hip-hop, but they are careful to throw in a Frank Sinatra tune to appeal to the older generation. Frankie turns out to be the only crossover between the two lists.
Obama’s list is also weighted towards black artists with six of the 10 falling into that demographic group compared to just 3 of 10 on McCain’s list. Obama has three female artists counting the Fugees, while McCain has just one if you count the double dose of Abba.
Both lists are, in fact, carefully balanced in their own way. Obama has three contemporary black artists - Fugees, Nina Simone and Kanye West; and two classics - Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin.
Then we have two classic rock picks - Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones; and one contemporary rock by U2 (which also classifies as classic sometimes).
Then they throw in the YouTube hit by will.i.am that features Obama himself giving an inspirational speech.
The Sinatra selection is the oldest song on Obama’s list followed by the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin in the 60s and Marvin Gaye from the 70s. Everything else is more current.
McCain’s songs, by contrast, are very much older with nothing dating more recent than 1977. Apparently McCain’s interest in music died with disco.
He has a particular fondness for Abba with two of their songs making his list. Their 1977 disco smash “Take A Chance On Me” is the most recent song on his list followed by Abba again in 1975.
The Neil Diamond and Merle Haggard songs both date to the late ‘60s as does the Louie Armstrong song, while the Beach Boys are mid ‘60s. Then we have Roy Orbison and The Platters dating back to the ‘50s followed by Doolie Wilson and Frank Sinatra going back even further.
And yes, Doolie Wilson played Sam in “Casablanca” which is where he sang the song “As Time Goes By.”
Merle Haggard is the only country artist on either list (I’m sure Bush would have picked quite a few more) and neither candidate picked anything by The Beatles.
Wacky Packs
Wow. This brings back memories.
At 9 years old, I became hooked on the Topps-brand sticker series of product parodies, which recast Cap'n Crunch as "Cap'n Crud" and Nestle's Quik as "Nutlee's Quit" ("Explodes Instantly with Milk").
I can’t say they had as much influence on me as they did on that writer, but I do recall buying packs of those stickers in the early ‘70s when I was 7-8 years old. My source was the concession stand at the baseball fields where I played Little League games.
My biggest regret now is that I didn’t save the money I blew on Wacky Packs and buy more baseball cards from 1973-74. I don’t have any of the Wacky stickers left because I peeled them all off and stuck them on an old filing cabinet that was in my bedroom. I no longer have that filing cabinet or the stickers, but I still have my baseball cards.
But for those who missed out on this cultural phenomenon, it looks like Wacky Packs are making a comeback.
Fortunately, my kids are still too young to have any interest in such things. But I’m sure in a few more years there will be things equally inane for them to waste their money on and then have fond nostalgic recollections about years later.
Monday, August 11, 2008
True Olympic spirit vs. media hype
Last night I saw one of the most thrilling swimming relays ever as the U.S. Men’s team won the gold by slipping by France at the very end of the race by less than a second. The victory gives Michael Phelps his second gold of the Beijing Olympics and keeps him on track to match Mark Spitz’ record for the most gold medals in one year.
The final lap in that race will be talked about for years to come as the “old” guy on the team - Jason Lezak age 32 - somehow overcame nearly half a body length in the final half lap to slip into first place.
But you wouldn’t know any of this by reading the San Antonio Express-News today. The E-N sports editors were clearly unimpressed with that historic performance and relegated the story to the inside pages. Instead, they highlighted the U.S. Men’s Basketball team’s first round victory over China. No doubt they did this because they could run a big photo of Kobe Bryant dunking the ball over Yao Ming. (Yawn).
I could really care less about Olympic basketball these days. I liked it better when we filled our team with the best college players. But now that we fill the team with ringers it has become a pathetic media spectacle and no fun to watch - boring when we win, an embarrassment when we don’t. Who needs that?
Long after everyone has forgotten which overhyped superstars filled this particular Olympic basketball squad, we will still see replays of the final leg of that swimming relay and wonder how the heck he did it.
TPA Roundup 8-11
The Truth About Texas Republicans, a new blogger-powered website designed to expose the real truth about GOP Texas legislators looks at the stuff State Reps. Dwayne Bohac, Betty Brown, John Davis, Bill Zedler and State Sen. Mike Jackson don't want you to see.
refinish69 was happy to introduce a real progressive Democrat to the readers of Doing My Part For The Left a few weeks ago but has to wonder how to describe Mike Skelly: Democrat or Republican Lite?
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas State Teacher's Association lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency for giving public funds to private institutions.
Irony Alert: Mary McDaniels, Manager - Pipeline Safety, Texas Railroad Commission, who lied on camera about the Atmos Energy gas pipeline couplings, spoke in Ft Worth about pipeline safety, inspections and regulations, for Chesapeake Energy's Barnett Shale pipeline, says TXsharon at Bluedaze.
Julie Pippert at MOMocrats asked, "Offshore drilling---whose issue is it anyway? The people's? Or the politician's?"
Women who enter the military know they may encounter danger along the way, just as their male counterparts do. Diarist Liberal Texas at Texas Kaos highlights an additional danger they face in Assault on Women in the Military, and calls on all of us to ensure that our fighting women are protected from sexual assault from the companions they should be able to trust.
WhosPlayin used to think John McCain was worthy of respect, even if wrong on issues. But mocking conservation and lying about Obama raising taxes show who John McCain really is.
jobsanger thinks Democrats should let Clinton's backers have their vote at the convention, and believes Barack Obama has a chance to win Texas this November.
Neil at Texas Liberal talks about AIDS and African Americans.
Due to purchase of McBlogger by a rival blogging firm, the regular writers are on strike. This week, we'd like to introduce you to a new McBlogger, Rose
Petal.
North Texas Liberal remarks on John McCain's anti-Obama ad comparing the Democratic nominee to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and also includes Hilton's response ad. Still waiting on Britney's energy policy...
Off the Kuff takes a look at The Queue behind KBH for her maybe-to-be-abandoned Senate seat.
YaGottaLoveIt of South Texas Chisme urges Barack Obama to have a fundraiser for money that stays in Texas while urging Hillary Clinton to campaign for Rick Noriega in South Texas.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the Williamson County DA's unwillingness to test DNA evidence in a almost 30 year old unsolved murder, Lawsuit Filed Against County For New DNA, Fingerprint Tests.
Tropical Storm Edouard was more like a decent rainstorm, but that didn't stop the media -- old as well as new, including madcap reporter/Congressman John Culberson -- from building it up to a height it could no more sustain than its winds. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the roundup of the hyperventilating in Houston.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about the economy "Purses Tighten, Small Business Suffers, Families Budget"
nytexan at BlueBloggin points out, as the Gerogia Russia war continues and Bush plays with U.S. athletes at the Olympics, Could The U.S. Get Pulled Into GeorgiaÃs War?
XicanoPwr discusses the immigration survey that was sent presidential candidates Obama and McCain put together by The Sanctuary, a web base grassroots community of pro-migrant, human rights, and civil-rights bloggers.
refinish69 was happy to introduce a real progressive Democrat to the readers of Doing My Part For The Left a few weeks ago but has to wonder how to describe Mike Skelly: Democrat or Republican Lite?
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas State Teacher's Association lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency for giving public funds to private institutions.
Irony Alert: Mary McDaniels, Manager - Pipeline Safety, Texas Railroad Commission, who lied on camera about the Atmos Energy gas pipeline couplings, spoke in Ft Worth about pipeline safety, inspections and regulations, for Chesapeake Energy's Barnett Shale pipeline, says TXsharon at Bluedaze.
Julie Pippert at MOMocrats asked, "Offshore drilling---whose issue is it anyway? The people's? Or the politician's?"
Women who enter the military know they may encounter danger along the way, just as their male counterparts do. Diarist Liberal Texas at Texas Kaos highlights an additional danger they face in Assault on Women in the Military, and calls on all of us to ensure that our fighting women are protected from sexual assault from the companions they should be able to trust.
WhosPlayin used to think John McCain was worthy of respect, even if wrong on issues. But mocking conservation and lying about Obama raising taxes show who John McCain really is.
jobsanger thinks Democrats should let Clinton's backers have their vote at the convention, and believes Barack Obama has a chance to win Texas this November.
Neil at Texas Liberal talks about AIDS and African Americans.
Due to purchase of McBlogger by a rival blogging firm, the regular writers are on strike. This week, we'd like to introduce you to a new McBlogger, Rose
Petal.
North Texas Liberal remarks on John McCain's anti-Obama ad comparing the Democratic nominee to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and also includes Hilton's response ad. Still waiting on Britney's energy policy...
Off the Kuff takes a look at The Queue behind KBH for her maybe-to-be-abandoned Senate seat.
YaGottaLoveIt of South Texas Chisme urges Barack Obama to have a fundraiser for money that stays in Texas while urging Hillary Clinton to campaign for Rick Noriega in South Texas.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the Williamson County DA's unwillingness to test DNA evidence in a almost 30 year old unsolved murder, Lawsuit Filed Against County For New DNA, Fingerprint Tests.
Tropical Storm Edouard was more like a decent rainstorm, but that didn't stop the media -- old as well as new, including madcap reporter/Congressman John Culberson -- from building it up to a height it could no more sustain than its winds. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the roundup of the hyperventilating in Houston.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about the economy "Purses Tighten, Small Business Suffers, Families Budget"
nytexan at BlueBloggin points out, as the Gerogia Russia war continues and Bush plays with U.S. athletes at the Olympics, Could The U.S. Get Pulled Into GeorgiaÃs War?
XicanoPwr discusses the immigration survey that was sent presidential candidates Obama and McCain put together by The Sanctuary, a web base grassroots community of pro-migrant, human rights, and civil-rights bloggers.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Another one bites the dust
The Friday news dump almost always brings something interesting and today we learn that former presidential candidate John Edwards cheated on his wife.
Every Democrats first thought after the initial shock I'm sure was "Whew! We dodged a bullet on that one!"
But how could Edwards be so stupid?? How could he go out and get all these people to commit to his campaign for the presidency knowing he had this ticking timebomb on his person? Did he really think it would never go off?
I'm afraid Ann is probably right, we've probably lost him as an attorney general in the Obama administration. That's a real shame. But if Elizabeth Edwards is still up to it maybe she could do the job instead.
Sex scandals are the real third-rail of American politics these days. It's hard to believe that so many politicians still play fast and loose on that issue.
Every Democrats first thought after the initial shock I'm sure was "Whew! We dodged a bullet on that one!"
But how could Edwards be so stupid?? How could he go out and get all these people to commit to his campaign for the presidency knowing he had this ticking timebomb on his person? Did he really think it would never go off?
I'm afraid Ann is probably right, we've probably lost him as an attorney general in the Obama administration. That's a real shame. But if Elizabeth Edwards is still up to it maybe she could do the job instead.
Sex scandals are the real third-rail of American politics these days. It's hard to believe that so many politicians still play fast and loose on that issue.
Who’s next? Bin Laden’s milk man?
The Bush administration finally finished its first prosecution of one of the big, bad, scary “terrorists” from Guantanamo using the controversial military tribunal system and what did the guy get?
An acquittal from the most serious charge (conspiracy) and a five and a half year sentence which, with time served subtracted out comes to just five months.
But what did you expect? The guy was not a big-shot al-Qaeda operative. He was Osama bin Laden’s driver, fer crying out loud! What’s next? Are they going to go after bin Laden’s gardener? His milk man? The pool boy? Sheesh!
If this was their best case then we might as well just throw in the towel right now and let everyone go. I mean, what were they thinking? Shouldn’t they have started out with their No. 1 worst terrorist in custody? I assume we’ve got a few who are more serious threats than this former Bedouin goat herder with a fourth-grade education.
My Lord, these people are incompetent.
Bin Laden and his minions clearly have nothing to worry about until we can finally get these oafish buffoons out of office. It will be up to Obama to finally catch Osama.
An acquittal from the most serious charge (conspiracy) and a five and a half year sentence which, with time served subtracted out comes to just five months.
But what did you expect? The guy was not a big-shot al-Qaeda operative. He was Osama bin Laden’s driver, fer crying out loud! What’s next? Are they going to go after bin Laden’s gardener? His milk man? The pool boy? Sheesh!
If this was their best case then we might as well just throw in the towel right now and let everyone go. I mean, what were they thinking? Shouldn’t they have started out with their No. 1 worst terrorist in custody? I assume we’ve got a few who are more serious threats than this former Bedouin goat herder with a fourth-grade education.
My Lord, these people are incompetent.
Bin Laden and his minions clearly have nothing to worry about until we can finally get these oafish buffoons out of office. It will be up to Obama to finally catch Osama.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Forgeries, lies and sex
Wow. I’ve had no time to blog the last couple of days and now my head is just spinning with all that has been going on so much that I don’t know where to start.
The new Ron Suskind book that reveals a White House scheme to forge a letter linking Saddam Hussein with Al-Qaeda is just incredible. The fact that the Bush administration would have done such a thing is disturbing enough, but even more disturbing in my opinion is the way the national media has downplayed the whole thing like it’s no big deal. You can’t even find the story on CNN right now. Instead, we’ve already moved on to gawking over Paris Hilton’s new ad mocking John McCain.
Last night on Countdown, Keith Olbermann had Suskind on for an exclusive interview and it was revealed that two of his key CIA sources in the book are suddenly backing away from what they said in the book. But it comes a little late since Suskind has all of their lengthy interviews on tape. Why would they have said these things to begin with if they weren’t true and who is pressuring them now to back away from their comments?
And if Republicans are going to claim that the Bushies didn’t do it, then who did? The letter truly exists and is clearly a forgery. Where did it come from and who wrote it if Suskind’s CIA sources aren’t telling the truth?
Combine this with the ongoing Anthrax controversy about the “sources” who told ABC News way back that the deadly spores were laced with Bentonite, a blatant falsehood meant to link the attacks to Iraq, and we have a clear pattern of manipulation by shadowy elements within our government trying to push us into a war and then invent reasons for us to stay.
And here are some more things I would have blogged about if I had the time:
A great article by Greg Anrig advancing the theme from his book about the failure of GOP ideas as the key reason why McCain’s presidential hopes are going nowhere.
Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, held a fundraiser last year at a Las Vegas strip joint.
And yesterday, John McCain goes to some biker bar and jokes about having his wife take part in a lewd, bikini beauty contest that regularly features women going topless and simulating sex acts on stage.
And when Republicans aren’t out promoting their brand of family values, they are going completely nuts over every little thing that Obama says in a desperate search for a “gotcha” moment. The latest was a hyped up attempt to ridicule Obama for making the very true and common sense statement that keeping your tires properly inflated improves your car’s gas mileage and saves money.
I think all the Republicans running around the last couple of days waving tire guages are the perfect symbol for a Republican presidential campaign that is running on four flat tires.
The new Ron Suskind book that reveals a White House scheme to forge a letter linking Saddam Hussein with Al-Qaeda is just incredible. The fact that the Bush administration would have done such a thing is disturbing enough, but even more disturbing in my opinion is the way the national media has downplayed the whole thing like it’s no big deal. You can’t even find the story on CNN right now. Instead, we’ve already moved on to gawking over Paris Hilton’s new ad mocking John McCain.
Last night on Countdown, Keith Olbermann had Suskind on for an exclusive interview and it was revealed that two of his key CIA sources in the book are suddenly backing away from what they said in the book. But it comes a little late since Suskind has all of their lengthy interviews on tape. Why would they have said these things to begin with if they weren’t true and who is pressuring them now to back away from their comments?
And if Republicans are going to claim that the Bushies didn’t do it, then who did? The letter truly exists and is clearly a forgery. Where did it come from and who wrote it if Suskind’s CIA sources aren’t telling the truth?
Combine this with the ongoing Anthrax controversy about the “sources” who told ABC News way back that the deadly spores were laced with Bentonite, a blatant falsehood meant to link the attacks to Iraq, and we have a clear pattern of manipulation by shadowy elements within our government trying to push us into a war and then invent reasons for us to stay.
And here are some more things I would have blogged about if I had the time:
A great article by Greg Anrig advancing the theme from his book about the failure of GOP ideas as the key reason why McCain’s presidential hopes are going nowhere.
Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, held a fundraiser last year at a Las Vegas strip joint.
And yesterday, John McCain goes to some biker bar and jokes about having his wife take part in a lewd, bikini beauty contest that regularly features women going topless and simulating sex acts on stage.
And when Republicans aren’t out promoting their brand of family values, they are going completely nuts over every little thing that Obama says in a desperate search for a “gotcha” moment. The latest was a hyped up attempt to ridicule Obama for making the very true and common sense statement that keeping your tires properly inflated improves your car’s gas mileage and saves money.
I think all the Republicans running around the last couple of days waving tire guages are the perfect symbol for a Republican presidential campaign that is running on four flat tires.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Texas Progressive Alliance roundup 8/4
It's Monday, and that means it is time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's Weekly Round-Up.
Last week on Bluedaze , Big Oil threatened TXsharon. In "Big Oil" Threatens Harm to My "Lovelies" and Me she calls out the abuser and includes a new PR plan that will save Chesapeake Energy millions of dollars and help clean up Big Oil's act.
Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm is critical of a campaign to knock off Blue Dog Democrats , even if it means electing Republicans, all in an effort to punish Democrats for failing to hew the line on certain progressive issues.
refinish69 from Doing My Part For The Left has always heard that What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas or does it for Pete Sessions?
Burnt Orange Report went on strike last week to raise $1000 for Chris Bell's State Senate campaign. 12 hours later, 15 donors raised $1,075 for Bell and the BOR team is back to blogging.
jobsanger opines about the lack of Democratic leadership from Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Pelosi: Where's The Leadership?, and lets us know the Nanny State is alive and well in The "Nanny State" Strikes Again.
The Texas Cloverleaf is on a strike for change! Help raise money for selected candidates. What do we want? Donations! When do we need them? Now!
Texas Liberal suggests that life is like a harbor where ships come and go.
Off the Kuff calculates how many eligible but unregistered voters there are in Harris County, and compares it to 2004.
Obama came to Houston but only for a few high-dollar fundraisers in River Oaks, a trend sadly that is repetitive of past Democratic presidential nominees. PDiddie at
Brains and Eggs had the report, and the total take was $1.5 mill.
Mean Rachel gets a response from Rep. Elliott Naishtat to her modest proposal from last week, and at dinner discovers just how unwired the Yankee in the Texas House really is.
Over at TexasKaos, lightseeker makesthe case for a Republican straight ticket ballot, for the Democratic slate (with Video)! It may be the only way to save the Republican Party from its present delusional masters!
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders which will come first - the death of the Republican Party or a full blown police state. CBT, ever the optimist, predicts the former.
Vince at Capitol Annex notes that Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones is going to run for U.S. Senate if and when Kay Bailey Hutchison vacates her seat to run for Governor.
Aimlessness at WhosPlayin got one too many email forwards about "Why Men are Republicans", and decided to retort with "Why Men Prefer Democrats".
McBlogger takes a
look at the ability of DHS to snoop on you. And you thought the FISA stuff was bad...
BossKitty at TruthHugger wonders about "What is Adrenarche and Why Are AmericaÃs Services Sexually Immature"
Last week on Bluedaze , Big Oil threatened TXsharon. In "Big Oil" Threatens Harm to My "Lovelies" and Me she calls out the abuser and includes a new PR plan that will save Chesapeake Energy millions of dollars and help clean up Big Oil's act.
Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm is critical of a campaign to knock off Blue Dog Democrats , even if it means electing Republicans, all in an effort to punish Democrats for failing to hew the line on certain progressive issues.
refinish69 from Doing My Part For The Left has always heard that What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas or does it for Pete Sessions?
Burnt Orange Report went on strike last week to raise $1000 for Chris Bell's State Senate campaign. 12 hours later, 15 donors raised $1,075 for Bell and the BOR team is back to blogging.
jobsanger opines about the lack of Democratic leadership from Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Pelosi: Where's The Leadership?, and lets us know the Nanny State is alive and well in The "Nanny State" Strikes Again.
The Texas Cloverleaf is on a strike for change! Help raise money for selected candidates. What do we want? Donations! When do we need them? Now!
Texas Liberal suggests that life is like a harbor where ships come and go.
Off the Kuff calculates how many eligible but unregistered voters there are in Harris County, and compares it to 2004.
Obama came to Houston but only for a few high-dollar fundraisers in River Oaks, a trend sadly that is repetitive of past Democratic presidential nominees. PDiddie at
Brains and Eggs had the report, and the total take was $1.5 mill.
Mean Rachel gets a response from Rep. Elliott Naishtat to her modest proposal from last week, and at dinner discovers just how unwired the Yankee in the Texas House really is.
Over at TexasKaos, lightseeker makesthe case for a Republican straight ticket ballot, for the Democratic slate (with Video)! It may be the only way to save the Republican Party from its present delusional masters!
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders which will come first - the death of the Republican Party or a full blown police state. CBT, ever the optimist, predicts the former.
Vince at Capitol Annex notes that Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones is going to run for U.S. Senate if and when Kay Bailey Hutchison vacates her seat to run for Governor.
Aimlessness at WhosPlayin got one too many email forwards about "Why Men are Republicans", and decided to retort with "Why Men Prefer Democrats".
McBlogger takes a
look at the ability of DHS to snoop on you. And you thought the FISA stuff was bad...
BossKitty at TruthHugger wonders about "What is Adrenarche and Why Are AmericaÃs Services Sexually Immature"
Friday, August 01, 2008
Anthrax and the Lone Gunman
The news today that a high-level government scientist killed himself just as the FBI was about to charge him with complicity in the post-9/11 anthrax attacks is highly disturbing in many ways. The fact that the source of the anthrax attacks that terrorized the nation for months during the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy came not from some radical Islamic terrorists or Saddam Hussein, but from at top anthrax researcher working at the Army's bioweapons laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland, should raise some very serious questions.
First and foremost is the question as to why would he do such a thing and secondly who else was involved. It is not at all believable that a lone scientist could have pulled off such an attack and then covered it up without some major assistance. People should not be so gullible to buy into yet another “lone gunman” theory that allows the myriad conspirators to slink into the woodwork undetected.
As Glenn Greenwald notes in his must-read piece today, the anthrax attacks were too perfectly timed to support the neo-con drive to link Saddam Hussein to 9/11 and ABC News is aware of at least four high-level government sources who helped perpetuate the link by spreading thoroughly false information about a chemical agent used by Iraq that they said was present in the anthrax.
Who were those sources spreading the false anthrax/Iraq connection and what were their motives (as if it wasn’t obvious)? Greenwald spells it out thusly:
Are we going to be told that the now deceased scientist was the “lone gunman” who perpetrated the anthrax attack by himself with no assistance or coordination from others? And will the general public be so apathetic and complicit as to believe it without question?
We must have some answers, and if ABC News won’t provide them then some other news organization needs to step to the plate and deliver and soon. Because this house of cards isn’t likely to stand very much longer.
First and foremost is the question as to why would he do such a thing and secondly who else was involved. It is not at all believable that a lone scientist could have pulled off such an attack and then covered it up without some major assistance. People should not be so gullible to buy into yet another “lone gunman” theory that allows the myriad conspirators to slink into the woodwork undetected.
As Glenn Greenwald notes in his must-read piece today, the anthrax attacks were too perfectly timed to support the neo-con drive to link Saddam Hussein to 9/11 and ABC News is aware of at least four high-level government sources who helped perpetuate the link by spreading thoroughly false information about a chemical agent used by Iraq that they said was present in the anthrax.
Who were those sources spreading the false anthrax/Iraq connection and what were their motives (as if it wasn’t obvious)? Greenwald spells it out thusly:
Surely the question of who generated those false Iraq-anthrax reports is one of the most significant and explosive stories of the last decade. The motive to fabricate reports of bentonite and a link to Saddam is glaring. Those fabrications played some significant role -- I'd argue a very major role -- in propagandizing the American public to perceive of Saddam as a threat, and further, propagandized the public to believe that our country was sufficiently threatened by foreign elements that a whole series of radical policies that the neoconservatives both within and outside of the Bush administration wanted to pursue -- including an attack an Iraq and a whole array of assaults on our basic constitutional framework -- were justified and even necessary in order to survive.
Are we going to be told that the now deceased scientist was the “lone gunman” who perpetrated the anthrax attack by himself with no assistance or coordination from others? And will the general public be so apathetic and complicit as to believe it without question?
We must have some answers, and if ABC News won’t provide them then some other news organization needs to step to the plate and deliver and soon. Because this house of cards isn’t likely to stand very much longer.
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