Amazing: McCain Booed For A Moment of Decency

I’m ashamed to admit I’m from the same state as the people in this story.

Just read this excerpt:

“I don’t trust Obama,” a woman said. “I have read about him. He’s an Arab.”

McCain shook his head in disagreement, and said:

“No, ma’am. He’s a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with (him) on fundamental issues and that’s what this campaign is all about.”

He had drawn boos with his comment: “I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States.”

The anti-Obama taunts and jeers are noticeably louder when McCain appears with Palin, a big draw for GOP social conservatives.

Absolutely sickening. Disgusting. If I was a Republican, I’d be ashamed of this behavior, period, no matter where it happened.

Notice, also, where it says the taunts are louder when Palin is around, because she brings out “social conservatives”. “Social conservatives” is code for “religious fundamentalists”. Funny how these supposed-”christians” are the nastiest people in the crowd. Come to think of it, it’s not funny. It’s typical.

I’d like to see some Republicans who might read this blog get on here and admit that this behavior is appalling at best and un-American at worst.

What in the HELL has happened to John McCain?!?!?!

From the AP today, emphasis added by me:

Adopting an aggressive tone on the eve of their second debate of the season, the Republican presidential candidate criticized Obama’s ties to Chicago, his legislative record and even his pair of best-selling memoirs.

McCain, speaking about the financial crisis, took offense at Obama’s accusation that McCain opposed regulation that would have prevented the credit crunch. “I guess he believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed,” McCain said.

First of all, Obama isn’t telling any falsehoods…McCain HAS ALWAYS, until about two weeks ago, opposed regulation, and Obama continues to hammer on it because he - Obama - talks about the issues, and that’s an issue.

But on top of that, Mr. McCain is aware, isn’t he, that the line I put in bold is the EXACT thing George W. Bush and his administration has done for the last eight years, right? I mean, it’s Page 1, Rule 1 of the Karl Rove playbook. And if ANYbody in this campaign has been doing it, it’s John McCain when he continues to lie about the Obama Tax Plan.

What happened to this formerly honorable man? What happened to an honorable campaign? What happened to the civil discourse, focused-on-the-issues, may-the-best-man-win campaign that McCain promised us?

I have been growing more and more disappointed in McCain and his campaign by the day…tonight I’m simply appalled.

How Can This Be Justified?

So, when a pastor gets up in a pulpit and breaks U.S. Law to endorse a candidate, and knows he’s doing it, how can christians justify this behavior from their clergy?

How come christians aren’t listening to one of their own, who says it’s wrong to endorse from the pulpit and doesn’t do it in his own megachurch?

Where’s the outrage from the christian church goers on this one?

Defeating The “Bailout”: Reasons More Complicated Than They Appear

When I heard CNN and Faux early this morning going over some of the details of the “bailout bill”, I was initially in favor of it passing. But as I read further into it, I was hoping more and more throughout the day that it would not pass the House. It did not pass the House, of course, and the reasons, I think, are quite varied.

First, there are the “dozen or so Republicans” who apparently switched their “yes” vote to a “no” vote simply because they didn’t like their feelings being hurt by Nancy Pelosi’s speech. Imagine that…GOP’ers acting like spoiled little rich brats…why am I not surprised?

But even before that little group of temper tantrums, there were lots of things wrong with this bill, according to BOTH sides.

Over 130 Repubs voted against it, with, from what I can tell, the primary reasons being a) too much regulation and oversight is written into it, b) too much “assistance” for the middle class and poor, c) not enough of a bailout for the brokers on Wall Street and bankers, and d) not enough protection for the salaries and bonuses of the CEO’s of these struggling corporations.

Meanwhile, 95 Dems voted “no”, with the primary reasons being, again, from what I can tell, a) not enough government oversight and regulation, b) not enough assistance for homeowners in the middle class and lower, c) too much money being turned back over the Wall Street heads and bankers, and d) too much protection for the rich CEO’s and their obnoxious salaries and “golden parachutes”.

So, obviously, compromise needs to take place. I tend to lean towards the Dems on all four of the above points, and so do a majority of the citizens of this country. The far right wing of the GOP of today is so far gone it’s becoming a bit embarrassing. Richard Nixon would be a liberal to these people.

They need to get their heads out of their collective rich corporate CEO buddies’ asses and start to legislate better. (To the credit of MANY Republicans this week, while they generally oppose taking from the rich and helping the rest of us, many were willing to compromise, and to the credit of MANY Dems this week, they’ve been working hard to give the President and the GOP some carrots while still trying to make this as equitable as possible, so that it’s not only the middle class that suffers in this crisis).

But in the end, I’m glad it was voted down. No bill in this situation will be perfect to ANYONE, but a little more compromise on both sides is all that is needed to balance things out, IMO. They need to keep working, and keep talking. And in some cases the sane side of both parties need to take the wackos from their own parties out behind the proverbial woodshed for a quick little beatdown.

Not That I’m Surprised, But It’s STILL Funny

I wouldn’t have expected anything else, but it’s still high-larious when the McCain camp and their shills at the WSJ make a big boo boo. From Bloomberg this morning:

McCain kept everyone hanging on whether he’d participate in the first presidential debate. There was no doubt among his advertising staff. In fact, several hours before the candidate announced he would debate, they declared he’d won.

One ad mistakenly went up on the Wall Street Journal’s Web site, quoting the Arizona senator’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, as saying, “McCain won the debate - hands down.” Another showed McCain’s smiling face with the message, “McCain Wins the Debate!”

The ads were pulled about 35 minutes after they first appeared.

Read the full story here.

How Partisan Are You?

Up until just before the GOP national convention, I was torn between Obama and McCain. I honestly didn’t know who I was voting for, although I was leaning towards Obama because he went with Joe Biden as his VP (Bill Richardson was my other hopeful). But if McCain made the right pick, and it appeared he would govern to the center, then he still had a chance to get my vote. Why? Because there was a time when John McCain truly was the “Maverick” that most of us agree at some point we’re going to need to get this ship righted. I didn’t see Barack as all that much of a “maverick”, and I still don’t think he is. But what he IS is tremendously intelligent, tremendously persuasive, and appears to be everything this country needs to at least get our spirit back, even if he’s unable to garner enough support to truly fix Washington.

That all being said, the pick of Sarah Palin by the McCain campaign sealed the deal for me. Instantly. I know the one thing we DON’T need that close to the top, and that is another Neo-con religious zealot fundie from another past century. We need people with an open mind, people with the ability to see where the country is going, and not try to take away every good and just thing we’ve achieved and send us back to the Stone Age on social issues (Stone Age = 1950’s and back).

So that was the gun-toting, redneck straw that broke McCain’s camel’s back for me.

It has me thinking…what would it take for others to change their vote?

So I put this little mini-survey out to my blogging community cohorts.

Democrats/lefties, what would Barack Obama have to do or say to make you vote the other way? Claim to be a Muslim, and that all the rumors are true? Appoint Bill Kristol and Dick Cheney to his cabinet? What would it take?

Again, for the lefties out there in the Peoria area (again, this is for people who have already made up their mind): What would Colleen Callahan have to do to lose your vote? Second part of that, what would Aaron Schock have to do to GET your vote, if you’re not sold on Colleen?

Now, for my righty friends: What would McCain/Palin have to do to get you to vote for Barack Obama? No “third party” or “Bob Baar” excuses here. Say you’ve got TWO choices: McCain or Obama, and you’re 100% voting for McCain right now. What would it take for you to switch?

Again, for the righties: What would Aaron Schock have to do or say to cost him your vote? Admit he’s gay? Introduce a boyfriend at a debate? Say he’s taking away all guns? What would it take for you to change your already-made up mind? And likewise, what would Colleen Callahan have to do to GET your vote right now?

I would really like it if someone would give an honest answer to these questions…you can be funny, or outrageous, as long as it’s an honest answer.

For instance, John McCain could still get my vote. How? Dump Palin and name a true centrist/moderate as his running mate, acknowledge that he’s been running a dirty campaign and apologize for it, stop the lies and go back to the campaign he said he’d run, talk about the issues that are important to me, and tell me which moderate Democrats he’d add to his cabinet. If he’d do that, I’d seriously look at him again, not because Barack has done anything wrong, not because Biden has done anything wrong, but because then I’d have a choice of “the best of these two” rather than “the lesser of two evils”. I personally hate that attitude when I hear it.

We’ve got two good men (the old McCain was indeed a good man, I cannot believe that man just disappeared overnight since the Palin coronation, but he has and it’s sad) to vote for this year. Either is a VAST improvement over what we have right now. But Sarah Palin is a link to that current attitude, and John McCain picked her…or at least allowed her to be picked when he sold his soul to Karl Rove.

Again, if were just Barack vs. John, we’d have two men I would not be ashamed to vote for. Same goes for the second half of the Dems’ ticket. But Palin? I don’t care WHO the VP nominee is, as long as it’s a Neo-con fundie, I’m not voting for it. Man or woman. That’s the faction of this country that needs to be put down while the other 85% of us go about the business of fixing what’s wrong with this country, fixing the ailments given to us by eight years of Neo-con control.

Reason #237 Why Obama’s Tax Plan Must Be Better Than McCain’s

When a wacko neo-con who is best buddies and a long time associate of Jack Abramoff, a guy who authored Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America”, a guy who lobbied for the NRA and is now on their board of directors, a guy who believes in the total deregulation of corporate America (see where that has us today?), a guy who founded the dangerous “Americans For Tax Reform”, a guy who has a “decades-long” association with Karl Rove, a guy who was the “prime architect” for the idiotic Bush tax cuts (aka: “Welfare For The Wealthy”)…

In other words, when a guy who is supremely responsible for most of what is wrong with our economy today writes an “argument against Obama’s tax plan”, well, to me, that’s a vote of CONFIDENCE in Obama’s plan like none other.

Grover Norquist is a poor judge of what’s good for this country.

There’s A Ray Of Hope For Our Population

I was stunned with delight this week when CNN asked the question, “Which candidate’s plan regarding removing the gas tax for the summer months is the best?” 

Of course, John McCain has pandered to his base by suggesting a simple removal of the Federal Gas Tax for the summer. Hillary Clinton’s idea (which, if I’m not mistaken, is pretty darn similar to a plan talked about by a certain local candidate a few weeks back) called for a dropping of the gas tax and a “windfall profit tax” being assessed the oil companies in addition, which, of course, was a populist position pandering to her base. Obama? Called both ideas irrational and, basically, stupid, saying the tax is not the problem, that corporate greed is.

The results:

McCain - 2%

Clinton - 13%

Obama - 85%

Unbelievable. We do have hope in this country. In a day and age were a certain percentage of the population thinks that any tax is wrong, in a day and age in which it’s an absolute rarity to see 60% or more of us take the same side on anything, to have 85% of the respondents see through the shameful ruse offered by McCain or Clinton is a good sign. Of course, it would have been a better sign if the poll was on Faux News and their typical viewers had similar results, but I’ll still take it.

BTW, if the idiotic populist pandering ideas of McCain and Clinton were actually put in place, and we say 18 cents knocked off a gallon of gas (wow…big deal…it’s only $3.49 now!) we’d simply see the oil companies put 10-15 cents back into the price for additional pure profit. That’s what they did the last time this stupid plan was tried…who can honestly sit here and say they wouldn’t do it again?

Hey, Aaron, Where’s The Beef?

Over at Bill Dennis’ site, contributor Diane Vespa recently asked Colleen Callahan, candidate for the 18th District House Seat in Illinois, “where’s the beef?” regarding Ms. Callahan’s supposed “vagueness” and “lack of accountability”.

I currently, btw, have a question at the end of that post’s comments section that has gone unanswered.

So I visited Project Vote Smart this evening, hoping to learn more about Mr. Schock and his own policies.

Part of what  you’ll see when you click on the specific page I’ve linked for Project Vote Smart is this:

Representative Aaron Schock repeatedly refused to provide any responses to citizens on the issues through the 2008 Political Courage Test when asked to do so by national leaders of the political parties, prominent members of the media, Project Vote Smart President Richard Kimball, and Project Vote Smart staff.This candidate will be asked again to provide responses during the general election.

See that? “…repeatedly refused to provide ANY responses…”. So again, I’m asking, if Ms. Callahan is going to be accused of dodging specifics, when is Mr. Schock going to be held to the same standards by contributors to Bill Dennis’ board, and other Peoria area voters who have their mind made up, simply because Schock will have an “R” next to his name in November?

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Glad I’m Not Going To Be In North Carolina This Week

Because if I was, I’d be around a lot of idiots, namely the North Carolina GOP.

John McCain has it right, when he denounces the ad in question, an attack ad on Barack Obama. McCain, his staff, and the RNC Chairman, Mike Duncan, have all asked the North Carolina GOP to not run the ad, they will run it anyway.

According to the story, N.C. GOP chairwoman Linda Daves “…defended the ad, saying it ‘presents a question of patriotism and judgment.’”

Yeah, it does…it presents that very question towards Ms. Daves’ reflection in the mirror. Idiots.

And good for Mr. McCain for getting it right, just like he did when he denounced Bill Cunningham two months ago.

So?

This doesn’t amaze me anymore. Nothing this bozo says surprises me in the least. What surprises me is that we as a country have let this Dr. Evil-wannabe run the world for the last five years solely to help himself and his oil buddies make obscene profits at our expense. It’s beyond head scratching. Anyone who still supports this guy and his puppet-on-a-string boss (insert smirk and “heh heh heh” here) is not a real American. People who still support these dolts have forgotten what being an American is.

Divisive? So be it. But if we 45% of the country on the reasonable and coherent left can help the 35% of the country on the reasonable and coherent right to distance themselves from the remaining goofball 15% of the FAAAAARR right, and the off the wall 5% of the left, then the 80% of us with a normally functioning brain can have logical and constructive arguments over how to get the country back on track. We can take the best ideas from the lucid left and the best ideas from the lucid right and put them together to rebuild and reunite our confidence and pride in country. 

First thing we need to fix? Well, the Bushies have left us with so many…

But, let’s start by taking ideas on how we want our leaders to handle the economy. I’ll go first. In my next post right below this one.

Economic Fixes…Discuss

Here are generally agreed upon reasons for our weak economy: Subprime mortgage crisis; job losses; weakened dollar abroad leading to significant trade imbalance; continuing cost of war; not enough revenue to pay the bills.

There are obviously lots of factors, and lots of solutions are being bandied about. I’m certainly not an economist, and I’m not going to claim to be smarter than anyone else. I’m just an average Joe who wants to make a few suggestions, and have discussion about them to see if they are good ideas, bad ideas, or can be good ideas with tweaking. In other words, I’m looking to open a line of discussion with people smarter than I (oops, sorry Vonnie, that leaves you out ).

Obviously, I hope the tax cuts Bush imposed to help his rich buddies are not made permanent. I think that will happen.

But my ”first step” in fixing the problems? Wages. I read where the average wage is down since 2001, the typical household income is lower than it was in 2000. But big corporations are raking in record profits. Wages for middle-management on down to entry-level wages are going down, but the big-wigs make more, which pleases the shareholders. However, the people who TRULY spend the money to keep the country rolling (i.e. the middle class) have less to spend.

I also have read that while these profits for the major corporations have soared, they haven’t put the money back into not only the help, but the investment on upgrading equipment and computer software is way off what it once was. That, of course, blows the “trickle down” theories out of the water to me, but we already know that scheme doesn’t work.   

So how do we increase wages?

Can we can start by increasing taxes and closing tax loopholes for these corporations, instead giving them incentives by way of new and different tax breaks IF they increase wages and benefits for American workers?

If we can increase wages, can we do it slowly enough so as to not scare the hell out of the elite on Wall Street who then cry “inflation, inflation!”. Also, why couldn’t these companies be given incentives on bringing jobs BACK to the U.S., not farming them out overseas, and why shouldn’t they instead be harshly PENALIZED for taking their jobs out of country. 

I don’t think I’m proposing, btw, some sort of isolationist nationalism here, certainly not. I’m only suggesting we achieve a better trade balance. It seems to me that the mega-rich actually do BETTER when the middle class has enough extra cash to go out and buy things to stimulate growth.

They are, of course, convinced otherwise. But that’s my start. Let’s discuss…rationally, without snark (oh, crap, that leaves Vonnie out again. Darn the luck.)

What Does Your Candidate Drive?

In the March issue of Motor Trend (which actually hit the newstands in late January), the presidential candidates that were still in the race at that time were asked what kind of car they drove.

Many didn’t respond, but some did, including those who jumped at the chance to be eco-friendly like John Edwards and Chris Dodd (both Ford Escape Hybrids) Mike Huckabee (Chevy Tahoe Flexfuel), those who jumped at the chance to show us the “every-guy” look, like Duncan Hunter (’87 Chevy Suburban - that’s right, ‘87) and Ron Paul (late model Town Car and “older” Buick Skylark is what he said).

Mitt Romney went for the “sporty, but nostalgic” angle with his 2005 Mustang convertible and his 1962 Rambler. Perhaps the most “presidential” of the bunch were Barack Obama (Chrysler 300) and John McCain (Cadillac CTS), and one candidate, Rudy Guiliani, didn’t even know: an aide told Motor Trend “we don’t believe he owns a car” was the answer.

Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich were all non-respondents, so we don’t know what they drive.

But among all those who did respond, only one candidate chose to drive a “furrin’ job”, and it was none other than Vonster’s “Captain America”, Fred Thompson, who wheels a Volvo SUV around Florida. No surprise there, really, when one knows what Thompson really is (and how much does that say about Vonster?).

In The Words Of The Immortal Bobby Boucher: “The Search Continues, Mamma…”

I am so intrigued by the “callahanforcongress” website, and the subsequent questions about it’s authenticity, that I can’t let it rest.

This is a list of candidates for ALL offices in the State of Pennsylvania this year, including those running for Federal positions. The name “Callahan” does not appear on the list.

Today I called the City of Bethlehem, PA to speak to the Mayor John B. Callahan (I still await his return call) and his secretary was just as surprised to hear that he might be running for congress as the news director of the local radio station was when I talked to him yesterday.

I have also left another message with the John B. Callahan from State College, PA (182 miles from Bethlehem) to see if it is HIM that is pondering a run for office.

This is fun, I like working on weird stories. We’ll keep trying to get to the bottom of it. Until then, the saga goes on.

BIG UPDATE: John B. Callahan from State College, PA, the pharmaceutical rep, returned my phone call today, and here is what transpired:

I introduced myself, and gave him a quick summation of the chatter that has been occurring here in Illinois regarding a certain website.

1. It turns out Mr. Callahan is indeed the man who registered that website with GoDaddy.com, he was happy to admit that information to me.

2. He says it happened “after a friend of mine and I got into a heated political discussion one night. He showed up the next night with his daughter in a “Callahan For Congress” T-shirt and I decided to put it on the web, and start the site ‘callahanforcongress.com’. It’s just a joke. I have no intention of running for office.”

3. He is aware of the Mayor John B. Callahan on Bethlehem, and says he even knows the mayor’s wife, Matalda, who at one time apparently worked for the same company that the State College John B. Callahan does.

4. He says both he and his friend are Republicans, hence the x-ed out donkey on the little girl’s t-shirt.

5. When I asked him what his friend’s little girl’s name was, he said “Emma”. He was not aware that the Callahans across the state in Bethlehem also have a little girl named Emma. He laughed at the coincidence.

6. Finally, when I asked him, ”do you know anyone in Illinois?”, he said “not that I’m aware of.”  He did have one long pause, and that was when I related to him how his website went up the very same day that Colleen Callahan’s name was tossed into the ring as a possible opponent for the GOP opponent. At no time did I tell him the GOP opponent’s name, at no time did he ask for it, or offer up that he knew who it was. He just said, “wow”, when I brought that up.

So, this whole thing may be solved. Then again it may not be.

Either way, we now know exactly who owns the site: John B. Callahan of State College, PA. We know he’s not running for congress, despite what “Democrat Pundit” said on one of Billy’s threads. We know that he owns the site for exactly one year, and through what he told me, there are no plans to do anything else than what’s already on the site.

What we DON’T know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, is whether or not this site was the brainchild of someone outside of Pennsylvania, but do we really need to know? There are too many strange coincidences to totally close the case. We do not know if the T-shirt on the little girl was really created by Mr. Callahan’s friend, or photoshopped later (check the “C” in “Congress” and see if it matches up with the fold in the little girl’s shirt, for instance). There are many things we know, and still some things that, if this were a court of law, would remain open for question and interpretation.

Be that as it may, whatever the case, if the other campaign new a guy in PA and got him to do this…so what? It’s just politics. There’s nothing overly malicious, just a good move to squat a site. But that’s only IF it happened. Maybe all of these little quirks are just that…quirks and coincidences. January 17th. Emma. Two John B. Callahans. It’s all too much fun.

I’ve enjoyed the hunt.

So, Ann, When Do You Join The Clinton Campaign?

Now that John McCain has secured enough delegates to lock Mike “I Didn’t Major In Math” Huckabee out of the GOP presidential race, Ann…or should I say Stan…Coulter is supposed to be campaigning for Hillary Clinton.

To quote the great Judge Smails of Bushwood…

“Wellllll? We’re waiting!”

Go Beyond The Smears And Lies

CJ Summers feels the same way I do about some bogus emails making the rounds.

I got that very email from my aunt in Minnesota a few weeks back, and answered with some links disproving the email. Sadly, I got back not one, but TWO ridiculous responses from other recipients of the original email.

One said, “…it is SO true…were you there to see him swear in?” and the other said, “if you don’t like it, don’t read it. Whether it’s true or not is not the issue, it’s how many people we can make THINK it’s true.”   The first one was from an idiot. Plain and simple. But the second one was much more frightening. Honest enough to admit it was an intentional smear campaign. I had to check the address to see if the name “Rove” wasn’t somewhere in there.

My 2008 Budget

I’ve completed my proposed 2008 budget for the radio stations. I’ve taken cues from our current “leadership” (wow, is THAT term used loosely here) to complete it.  Here it is:

1. I’m increasing the external advertising (read: “defense“) by a couple hundred thousand. (Actually, advertising is “offense”, but that’s the way our administration has treated our military since 2003, so the comparison is perfect.)

2. I’m also increasing the maintenance cost of the building by purchasing a bunch of new equipment and replacing things that still function just fine (read: “earmarks” and “even more defense“), and I’m not really setting a cost on that, it’ll just be a surprise. (more…)

January 25th, 2009

My prediction: That will be the date (gotta give the new prez a couple of days to acclimate) on which the rank and file of the GOP will denounce “waterboarding” as “torture” and wonder why the president isn’t doing anything about it.

Careful Who You Root For

Senator Bill Brady of Bloomington sent out a letter to the editor, I’m assuming to several papers, that the PJS ran this morning. In it, he shows unwavering support for Fred Thompson (pictured, in the outfit we’d all be going back to if he were elected). Thompson is currently back on his yacht in Florida reading scripts. A vast majority of the country is happy about this fact.

Anyway, the Senator says in the letter that he supported Thompson’s “common sense conservative values”. So what exactly did Mr. Thompson stand for? You really couldn’t tell from his campaign, because it imploded very quickly after he finally announced he was running.

But if you’d like to learn more about Mr. Thompson, David Broder’s recent column showed what many would feel were some pretty ugly things (actually, almost everybody except Vonster) about the actor/former Senator.

According to Broder, Thompson did indeed have some pretty strong opinions on things. Well, as long as they were off the record:

We visited for two hours and he answered every question, outlining plans for a campaign that would be notable for its boldness. Repeatedly, he emphasized that the only reason he saw to run was to raise issues that the other candidates were too timid to address. Those issues, he said, included the need to expand military manpower and increase the Pentagon budget, while attacking the “unaffordable” entitlement programs that dominate domestic spending.

Thompson was particularly critical of farm subsidies, and when I asked if he were really going to take that message to Iowa, he said, “Yes, but I’d like to keep that off the record [emphasis added] until I announce out there.” I agreed to omit that detail from my column, but reported that he was going to enter the race with rhetorical guns blazing, and that was his reason for running.

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Turd Blossom Is Active, Bet On It

Seems some South Carolina Republicans received Christmas cards from Mitt Romney (for those who have been in a cave this past year, Mr. Romney is the Mormon candidate for President), saying they came from “The Boston Massachusetts Temple” and quoting some controversial passages from the Book of Mormon.     

Why would someone do this? To get the evangelical christians in their corner, of course. WHO would do something like this? If this doesn’t smell like the work of one Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove, then you haven’t been paying attention for the last 10 years.

I think it’s simply a matter of time until we find out which campaign has hired Rove to twist the race and pull the dirtiest shit you can think of. My guess is it’s the Guiliani folks. But that’s just a guess. The ONLY one I’d rule out is McCain’s camp. They’re the ones who suffered most at the hands of the evil Rove in 2000, no way they’d hire him this time. However, stranger things have happened.

The hope here is that whomever did it is a) found and b) convicted to the full extent of the law for mail fraud. And it is mail fraud.

Border Towns Feel The Smoking Ban’s Wrath

First of all, I’m quite in favor of the smoking ban in Illinois. I have enjoyed two weeks of smoke-free bowling, we’ve visited at least two bar/restaurant type businesses in the last two weeks (one for the first time ever) and enjoyed a smoke-free meal, and overall, are happy with the ban.

Not everyone likes the ban (to be expected) and there are indeed some businesses around Central Illinois who claim to be suffering - frankly, I’m not buying it yet…I think it’s too early to tell.

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My Horse Pulls Up Lame

Gov. Bill Richardson dropped out of the race for President today. His candidacy was a longshot at best, although I never quite understood why. How can a former cabinet member, a current governor, a popular, smart, thoughtful, moderate man be a “longshot”? It certainly was not because he wasn’t among the most qualified for the position. Instead, it was because he was NOT among the most-funded, and NOT among the most-annointed front runners by the media.

On the Democratic side, all we’ve heard is “Hillary vs. Barack” for about the last year. Not that they aren’t qualified candidates, but they ARE NOT the “only” candidates. That John Edwards is doing as well as he is to this point is a credit to his campaign, a credit to him, and a credit to his supporters. But, truth be told, it is also somewhat of a red flag to me. It shows me that - as the best funded “white guy” - Edwards still has a chance in part because there are too many voters…FAR too many voters…who won’t vote for a female or an African American, even one who has one white parent (nor will they apparently vote, in Richardson’s case, for an Hispanic).  This, of course, makes bigots like Vonster cheer heartily, but I find it sad that we still have so far to go in this country. Sad.

It also makes me worry that, with the South still not heard from (and we know how THEY feel about that “uppity woman” and that “uppity black”), the GOP has a chance to win another election they do not deserve to win. Maybe I’m just depressed because my guy (still the best candidate for the job) is now out of it, but I don’t see anything yet that shows me that the electorate, which is still littered with ignorant, bigoted idiots, can rise above itself and elect an obviously qualified individual (Clinton, Obama, to name two) who doesn’t happen to fit their “white, middle aged, protestant” description of what they think a president should be.

It isn’t just Democrat candidates that suffer from that unfortunate and sickenly wrong ideal…ask Mitt Romney about it.

Obama, Huckabee Jump Out To Early Lead

As of 8:35 pm this evening, (January 3rd), NBC says Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee will win the Iowa caucases of their respective parties.

What does it mean? This year, I don’t think it means much. Most of the country is doing what it can to fight the excessive importance that is placed on the always-first Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. If Obama and Huckabee are smart, and they are, they will not put too much stock in tonight’s victories (if, indeed, NBC is accurate in their assessment…which could, or course, be wrong). If the others are smart, (and most of them are), they will not give up after tonight.

I liken the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries this year to an NBA basketball game or a stock car race more than ever before: You don’t win an NBA game with a 10-0 run in the first quarter and then relax, and you can’t win a stock car race on the first lap. Nevertheless, I’d rather be in Obama and Huckabee’s shoes than any of the rest of them.

Here Come The Remaining 20%, Out Of Their Holes

While checking some websites originating from my home state of Minnesota last night, I read several stories about the big blizzard that blew through the state. Of course, in the comments section of each newpaper story I read, the nutcases were out in force, just like they are everytime it gets cold.

I read the smarmy little “now what was that about Global Warming again?” and the inane “as I look out at my snow-covered car, I chuckle at the thought of ‘Global Warming’. Aren’t we supposed to be enjoying record high temperatures?”

People like these show their ignorance on so many levels it’s both laughable and tragic. First of all, it’s not “global warming”, it’s “climate change”, and anyone who knows anything about what’s been said would know that the warming of the oceans could cause drastic changes in the climates over land masses, both hot AND cold. Notice, I said “could”, not “will”, as I’m in the camp that says the science is probably right, but hopefully we can fix it.

Secondly, it’s December 1st in Minnesota, it’s SUPPOSED to snow. Morons.

We had this discussion over lunch the other day, and even my Republican friends say that if it was the GOP promoting climate change, and the Dems were the ones paying flat-earth “scientists” to say “it’s not true…don’t believe it!”, then those who are the loudest AGAINST the theory of climate change would be the loudest FOR it. C’mon, 20 percenters, even your beloved King George has admitted climate change is not only real, but that humans are contributing to it.

You Tube Debates Rule

I watched the Democratic You Tube Debate a couple of months ago on CNN, and was much happier with the questions asked by normal citizens than those that are usually asked at debates by the TV talking heads.

Same goes for the Republican You Tube Debate on CNN this past week. I watched the whole thing, then I watched the re-run. So as not to distort what I felt I heard and saw, I immediately switched it off upon completion, not wanting to hear John King and Anderson Cooper break the whole thing down. I’d do the very same thing if I watched a debate on Fox (which I won’t, because I won’t watch Faux News). I don’t want the reporters telling me who “won” the debate and who “scored points”. I watched the damn thing, I can decide for myself.

And from what I saw and heard on the CNN You Tube Debate, Ron Paul is clearly the candidate from the GOP side that I’d have to consider voting for. His feeling echoes mine on the “war” in Iraq, and he has the guts to say it in front of a flag-waving, hyper-jingoistic crowd (save for his supporters who were there in Florida that night). But I don’t necessarily think he “won” the You Tube debate. I’d have to give it to Mike Huckabee, who had all the right answers for the conservatives who are looking for someone to back. Of course, what he believes in is a far cry from what I believe in, but that’s not the point. He is the best candidate if the GOP is looking for the true “conservative” to run for Prez in ‘08. Huckabee appeals to the scary Evangelicals, he’s been a governor (anymore, we elect Governors to President, not Senators and Congressmen), and most of his policies fit the GOP agenda. He did, however, lose some points from hardliners when the discussion turned to immigration, as some of the rivals tried to take shots at a couple of his policies.

My other thoughts:

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