Monday With McCain

"He has more than earned our support. He has earned our admiration and our love."---John McCain on George W. Bush [Chicago Tribune 08/11/2004]

McCain? Bush? Even Republicans Think They Are The Same!

From knoxnews.com:

In a slip of the lip echoing a misstatement 20 years ago, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey cast Tennessee's 55 votes at the Republican National Convention for "George S. McCain."

Ramsey, chairman of the delegation, said Friday that he was concentrating on the first part of his floor statement, wherein he recalled that George Bush in 2000 defeated Democrat Al Gore Jr. in Tennessee, then lapsed into an auctioneer's chant.

An auctioneer by profession, Ramsey spoke in a sing-song voice as if bidding up the number of votes to be cast for Tennessee for John McCain. At the end, he declared, "Tennessee casts 55 votes for George S. McCain."

"The ironic thing is that, back in 1988, Lamar Alexander, who was chairman of the delegation to the convention then, nominated 'Robert Bush' for president," said Ramsey.

He said Alexander told him at breakfast the day before the convention: "Don't do what I did."

"I told him, 'I don't think that will be a problem. I can remember his name.' "

Ramsey said relatively few people noticed his misstatement in naming the presidential nominee at the convention because "they were laughing or mesmerized by the auctioneer part."

The lieutenant governor said he was not especially unsettled by the experience.

"I think all 55 of them (votes) still counted, and that's what was important," he said.

More On Sarah Palin's Alleged Affair

It is now being reported that the guy Sarah Palin allegedly had an affair with has just filed an EMERGENCY court motion to have his divorce records sealed.

So what does that tell us?

Well, it seems the Enquirer might not be so wrong after all.

Wonder what he's trying to hide?

Wonder if any family members or friends will speak up?

In other Sarah Palin news, senior lawmakers in the Alaska State Legislature said Friday that they would seek subpoenas to compel seven witnesses to answer questions in an ethics inquiry into whether Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, improperly put pressure on state officials to dismiss her former brother-in-law, a state trooper.

I Love America!!!

What else says "I Love America" life a dirty swimming pool, a hunting rifle, and a red, white, and blue bathing suit? Now,if she could have found somewhere to attach a lapel flag pin...

My Take On McCain's Acceptance Speech...

Ok...So I didn't actually watch McCain's acceptance speech, I read the transcript. But my SparkNotes version of what McCain said is as follows:

I am a victim, a dedicated if imperfect servant of my country, not perfected until I realized that the State is far more important than I am, I love peace, I hate war, I will wage war, I will smite the Muslims, I will kill the Russians, I will strike down anyone who fails to bow the knee to me, I will drill, I will build nuclear power plants, I will care for the jobless, the homeless, the bankrupt, the sick, the oil men, the bankers, the arms merchants, the soldiers, the lobbyists; I was a POW, I bear the scars of Jesus on my body, I was wounded, I was hurt, I was crippled, I was jailed, I was tortured, I was imprisoned, I was gaoled, I was in captivity, I was behind bars, I was held against my will, except when I decided to stay, I told nothing, I told nothing, I told everything, country first, country first, freedom, low taxes, I will stand at your side, not in front of you, world empire, everything for the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State, hail me, hail me, hail me.

This Modern World

GOP Factoids

Courtesy of Associated Press:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

Soccer Moms Need Loving Too!!!

From the National Enquirer, the fine folks that first broke the news that former Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards had cheated on his wife and had an affair, comes news that Republican Vice-President choice Sarah Palin is "allegedly" having an affair with her husband's business partner.

Oops!!!

The Good News And The Bad News

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The good news is that Sarah Palin’s speech was laden with trite delivery, cutesy messaging and no specifics about anything specific. It was a Toastmasters after dinner speech at best. Nothing special, nothing great. Hardy-har-har. Yuck, yuck. We get it, Shecky Palin. You’re not a Washington-tainted, Beltway-contaminated politician, but just a mom who can field-dress a moose. Holy Fess Parker, Batman! Frances McDormand in a pants suit. (Speaking of which, after hearing all the Hillary pants suit jokes, I noticed nary a dress at the Xcel Energy Center. At least on women attendees.)

Now the bad news. The Republicans loved it. Think Red-Stater for moment. The guys that bring you NASCAR, bad country music, Lee Greenwood, “Hee Haw” and now Sister Sarah. Preaching to the choir. And the choir loved it. Big time. While you and I may laugh at the phoniness of her address, the dude with the sequined-cowboy hat ate it up and wants seconds. She delivered to her crowd.

Sarah Palin Supports Young Mothers...

NOT!!! Yes girls...If Sarah Palin has her way, if you are a victim of rape, the government will force you to give birth. If you are a victim of incest, the government will force you to give birth. And support for that child? Too bad!!! Don't expect much from Sarah Palin. Governor Palin recently slashed funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live. So much for Sarah Palin being pro-life...

Titties, Toes And Tater-Tot Tuesday

Monday With McCain

"In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations."---McCain while trying to support Georgia after it invaded South Ossetia, starting a military conflict with Russia.

Obama & Biden: The New Neo-Cons?

Because of my work-related travels this past week, I've managed to miss most of the DNC convention, but I did hear Thursday nights opening act--Bill Richardson. I kind of liked Richardson until last night when he re-iterated the war policy of the Democrats:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must fight the terrorists not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be like Afghanistan and Pakistan. We must lead a global effort to secure loose nuclear materials, not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be, in Russia, and the countries of the former Soviet Union.

What? More foreign intervention? Haven't we learned our lesson from Iraq? Or Vietnam? Or Korea?

Whatever happened to the foresight of our founding fathers? Like the words of George Washington:

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to domestic nations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Or those of President Thomas Jefferson, who in his inaugural address on March 4, 1801said: "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."

Sigh...Alas, some things never change...

The Democrats Math Problem

Still being a registered voter in Pennsylvania, I listened with interest to the speach Bob Casey Jr. gave at the Democratic National Convention August 26, 2008. Casey urged the citizens of the United States to elect Barack Obama as President and not to give the Republicans "four more years" of control nor "four more months." The crowd went wild and began shouting "four more months, four more months, four more months." The problem? Even if Barack Obama is elected President, it will be FIVE more months before Bush, Cheney, and the Repugnantcans could be tossed from the White House. Yes FIVE months, NOT four....

A Great Read...

One of my favorite radio talk-show hosts is Michael Lebron, better known as Lionel. Simply put, the guy makes me laugh beyond belief while at the same time educating as few others can or do. When I first moved to Lansing, MI a few years ago, I listened to Lionel on WJIM-am from 11pm to 1am. When WJIM's format changed completely to wacko right-wing moonbats (Shiels, Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin), I listened to Lionel online. When I learned that I would need to head to Washington D.C. for a few days of continuing education classes and that would mean traveling from Lansing to Detroit to Washington D.C., I thought the travel and layover time would be a perfect time to read Lionel's new book, Everyone's Crazy Except You And Me...And I'm Not So Sure About You.

I read the 254-pages almost non-stop, and I highly recommend reading it. Broken into dozens of short chapters, Lionel doesn't fail to entertain, educate, and provoke thought. One of my favorite chapters, I Must Have Penis, is especially entertaining. Here it is in its entirety...

The Spanish accent in unique. Certain words and word forms prove difficult. Words that begin with the letter s followed by a consonant are pronounced with an e before the word. Stop becomes estop. (No estoppel jokes, please.) Sleep is pronounced esleep. Words that end in ts are pronounced minus the t. Nuts becomes nuss.

Got it?

Now here's what happened.

A friend of mine was getting married. I flew to the wedding with his mother, a lovely lady whose native language is Spanish with a Cuban accent and dialect. A lovely woman.

We flew to Minneapolis and then took a puddle jumper to the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin. The plane, as you can imagine, was quite small. Since this was pre-9/11, the pilots had the cockpit door open. It was very tight, very small--and sound carried. Boy, did it carry.

My friend's mother was seated a few rows behind me. She was famished. She wondered aloud if there would be any snacks on this short flight.

To her relief a young man came down the aisle carrying what looked like a large garbage bag filled with apples, crackers, and the like. Hardly first-class treatment.

My friend's mother is far from loud but she could be easily heard by everyone in this tiny plane, what with the rumble and roar of the engine that necessitated volume.

When this young man, a pimply, Nordic-looking, carrot-topped Minnesotan-type kid whose name could easily be Rusty or Skippy, came by our seats, my friend's mother asked a simple question in a very pronounced and easily heard Cuban accent.

Did I tell you that she's a lovely woman?

OK, here goes:

The dutiful Rusty stood there with his garbage bag filled with whatever and with a smile on his face asked if there was anything he could get the lovely woman. Now, mind you, it's loud but you can hear everything anyone was saying. What would the lady like? Her wish was Rusty's command.

Making sure the young lad could hear her request, she inquired, "Do you have penis?"

Silence.

"I haven't had penis since Minneapolis."

More silence.

Rusty was red-faced.

Even the pilots could hear this and looked back at the woman demanding a phallus in seat 5A.

A penis?

Quite a tall order for a commuter carrier. Rusty was dumb-founded. Though he had exactly inventoried all of the snack bag's contents, he was pretty darn sure he was out of that item. It must have crossed his mind that this might have been an advance of sorts. This was hardly the scene for the mile high club.

I had to do something.

I stood and announced, "Peanuts. She wants peanuts."

Exhalation was almost unanimous. A look of relief was seen on Rusty's face.

She had her peanuts and I have this story.

It's true. Swear to God.

Titties, Toes And Tater-Tot Tuesday

Titties, Toes And Tater-Tot Tuesday

Monday With McCain

You know that old Beach Boy song Bomb Iran. Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran---John McCain singing to tune of Barbara Ann, at campaign stop, answering question about what to do with Iran, April 18 2008.

What happened? (Extended)

The Not-So-Straight-Talk Express Strikes Again

WTF?

It's not very difficult to read between John McCain's lines: he is a homophobe.

The question asked of John McCain was whether or not he supported gay couples being "allowed" to adopt children. It matters not that two men or two women in a lasting relationship and who love each other have the finances, desire, responsibility, and love between them. John McCain's requirement to adopt children? A penis and a vagina. That's it--a dick and a pussy. Must be those "traditional Republican family values" I am unaware of.

Just say it, John. Tell us that you are an intolerant old fucker who will sell his soul to the highest bidder, in this case the crazy Evangelicals. Answer the fucking question, Johnny...