Is Foaming at the Mouth a Symptom?

Our friends at worldnetdaily.com continue to propagate a particular extreme right-wing ideology that promotes end time beliefs, jingoism, racism, and over the counter pills to combat the maladies of old age. When you peruse their various entries or links, it is often self-parodying. The headlines appear to be written by some born again P.T. Barnum. "The World May End Tomorrow! "Still Time to Join WND's Next Caribbean Adventure"

This one caught my attention:

"Liberals Clinically Mad, Concludes Top Psychiatrist"
Eminent doctor makes case leftist ideology is a mental disorder

Dr. Lye Rossiter asserts, "a social scientist who understands human nature will not dismiss the vital roles of free choice, voluntary cooperation and moral integrity – as liberals do," he says. "A political leader who understands human nature will not ignore individual differences in talent, drive, personal appeal and work ethic, and then try to impose economic and social equality on the population – as liberals do. And a legislator who understands human nature will not create an environment of rules which over-regulates and over-taxes the nation's citizens, corrupts their character and reduces them to wards of the state – as liberals do."

Dr. Rossiter says the liberal agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority in the population by:

-creating and reinforcing perceptions of victimization;

YES, I HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY EIGHT YEARS OF INCOMPETENCE, POLITICAL EXTREMISM, FAILED POLICIES, AND ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR. NO WONDER I FEEL A TAD BIT LIKE A VICTIM.

-satisfying infantile claims to entitlement, indulgence and compensation;

YES, THERE HAS BEEN A CONTINUING PERIOD OF ENTITLEMENT AND INDULGENCE. THE TOP 1% OF THIS COUNTRY'S EARNERS OWN 33.4% OF ALL THE WEALTH. THE TOP 10% OWN NEARLY 70% OF THE OVERALL WEALTH AND NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE LOWEST 50% OWN ONLY 5%. THE GAP BETWEEN THE WEALTHY AND THE POOR ONLY HAS INCREASED DURING THE EIGHT YEARS OF BUSH ECONOMICS. THIS PERIOD OF GROWING DISPARITY BREEDS A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT AND INDULGENCE AMONG THOSE WHO CONTROL THE WEALTH IN THIS COUNTRY. AS A LIBERAL MY ONLY RECOURSE IS TO RESORT TO INFANTILE BEHAVIOR-SUCKING MY THUMB.

-augmenting primitive feelings of envy;

AS A CARD CARRYING MEMBER OF THE POLITICALLY INSANE, I MUST ADMIT THERE ARE TIMES I AM A BIT ENVIOUS. NOT OF THOSE WHO HAVE LOST MILLIONS OR BILLIONS DURING THE WALL STREET MELT DOWN. I AM STILL RESENTFUL THAT WE SQUANDERED ALL THE GOOD WILL AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT AFTER 9-11.

-rejecting the sovereignty of the individual, subordinating him to the will of the government.

DR. LYLE HELP ME! OR MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY TO HELP YOURSELF. I HAVEN'T REJECTED THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE INDIVIDUAL. MY GOV'T. HAS TAKEN THAT AWAY BY PASSING THE PATRIOT ACT AND BY IMPLEMENTING INDISCRIMINATE EAVESDROPPING OF AVERAGE CITIZENS' PRIVATE PHONE CALLS. USING THE FEAR OF "THE OTHER," THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS STRIPPED AWAY MANY OF MY CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOMS. YES, I AM MAD AND INCREASINGLY PARANOID BUT THAT IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF MADNESS THAT THE GOOD DOCTOR NEEDS TO ADDRESS IN HIS NEXT TREATISE.

Dr. Rossiter concludes his very cogent argument with, "the roots of liberalism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the liberal mind,"

I guess other than a few crazies who read and digest worldnetdaily as gospel, the 53% of the electorate who voted for Obama are insane. That translates to about 66.7 million voters who may be foaming at the mouth.

Pretty Classy Faux News

I really don't believe in kicking a horse when it is down. The revelations about Sarah Palin's over the top shopping and general lack of knowledge about NAFTA and world geography just makes me wonder about Little Johnny Be Good's lack of judgement. Why in the world did he pick her as a running mate?

I wanted to share little snippet from our friends at Faux News. Only two days after a milestone election, they can't help themselves.



No grace period for Obama. Let's once again attack Obama using the Rovian, Schmidt, Atwater guilt by association technique. I know its a stretch, but if your only talking heads are Freddy Barnes and Sean Hannity, video snippets are probably the best Faux News can do right now!

There Will be Long Lines at Staples Too!

Yes, this is the day that we have been waiting for a looooong time. Election officials expect 80% of eligible votes to exercise their right to cast ballots today. There will be long lines at many polling places. It may be a bit frustrating.

Just remember, there will be another long line tomorrow waiting for Staples to open up in the Washington DC area. Middle level Republican hires in key Bush administrative posts will be buying extra paper shredders There will be lots of paper to shred before Obama's team takes over. Its one thing to to be a true believer in Bush's failed Presidency. You just don't want to get indicted for it!

Republican Sour Grapes

Although Johnny B. McCain charged in the final presidential debate that ACORN's voter-registration drive "may be perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and may be "destroying the fabric of democracy," I keep waiting for the next shoe to drop. Where are the examples of voter fraud that are destroying American democracy? Other than a few right wing bloggers known for wearing tin foil under their baseball caps, the mainstream press has not found any systematic examples of voter fraud affecting the outcome of the elections. By now you would think that a few of the talking heads for Little Johnny would be on Faux News screaming about the rampant voter fraud they have found. So far, the silence is deafening.

As I wrote in this blog previously, sloppy voter registration tactics do not lead to voter fraud. It takes a very sophisticated and diabolical plan to create large numbers of fictitious registrations that would translate into individuals voting using those fake personas. The attacks on ACORN and the brouhaha about alleged voter fraud are just another set of earworms packaged by the Republican operatives to resonant with many of our deeply rooted prejudices. The poor, the dispossessed, the ignorant and other Democrats who live off of federal handouts are stealing the election!

And now, this is the new iterative of the earworms that we will hear from the right wing pundits and Republican congressional leaders after Nov. 4th.



It’s OK to submit an absentee ballot if you have a legitimate excuse. However, early voting encourages more of the poor, the dispossessed, the ignorant and other Democrats who live off of federal handouts to participate in the process. This is not for good democracy or Republicans. I would not be surprised some of the more crazy right wing nuts go further and assert that only white males landowners are truly qualified to vote. Wasn’t that the original intent of the authors' of the Constitution?

It is still insane that we hold election days on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. We should have elections, as do many of the European countries, over the course of a weekend to ensure everyone can get to the polls.

Just wait. The perils of early voting will soon be the cause celebre’ on Hannity and Colmes, talk radio and post mortem blogging after November 4th.

Predictions for Nov. 4th Elections

Fatboy Tom Predicts:

Obama will win 53% of the popular vote and 338 electoral votes.

The Democrats will win 20 Senate seats including North Carolina, Alaska, and Minnesota giving them a majority of 58.

The Democrats will win 248 seats in the House of Representatives.

The New Right Wing Wing Nut Narrative

From the Rush Limbaugh Radio Program: "We know that technological advancement is going along at light speed. And yet during this period of time, whether it be the last 57 years or be it the last 20 years, it seems that a majority of the black population has remained angry, frustrated, and behind. They've been left behind. They are acting like they've been left behind, and of course we've heard that this is because of racism, natural systemic institutional racism in America, that we are unfair, that this country is just horrible and rotten.
...The federal government became the father. The father didn't have to hang around in order for the kids to be okay, depending on how you define okay. But as you study more and more of this ACORN stuff, you find that it has been part of an entire movement that has been going on for two, maybe three decades, right under our noses.

We thought that it was just liberal welfare policies and all that that kept blacks from progressing while other minorities grew and prospered, but no, it is these wackos from Bill Ayers to Jeremiah Wright to other anti-American Afrocentric black liberation theologists with ACORN, and Barack Obama is smack dab in the middle of it, they have been training young black kids to hate, hate, hate this country, and they trained their parents before that to hate, hate, hate this country. It was a movement. It was a Bill Ayers, anti-capitalist, anti-American educational movement. ACORN is how it was implemented, right under our noses. It has been a movement, it has been a religion, and Obama and Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers were all up to their big ears in it."

I'm surprised that he didn't throw in Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton.

The other narrative in attempt to rationalize the failure of unbridled, unregulated economics is also emerging. You hear bits and pieces in various right wing sound bites. When confronted with a reality that is diametrically different that one's belief system, one must find someone to blame, particularly someone who one does not like very much. It is also very convenient to find a culprit who may reinforce your most negative prejudices. Grandson of Atwater and son of Rove.

Here goes.....

The failure of the credit markets, investment banks and insurance companies is due to the Democrats forcing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer mortgages to poor black people who defaulted. Additionally, the Community Reinvestment Act jammed through Congress again by Democrats required commercial lenders and banks to make bad loans to inner cities businesses and residents that also failed. It all started with Clinton and ends at Obama's doorstep. It really isn't important to remind folks that over 85% of sub prime mortgages that defaulted were offered by commercial lenders and not Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The other parallel narrative among the blind and stupid neanderthals is that ACORN has registered so many illegal aliens, phantom voters and comic book characters that this will ensure an Obama victory in all the key battleground states. Not surprisingly those corrupting the sanctity of the vote are poor and black.

Voter registration fraud does not translate to voting fraud. Just because someone turns in a list of new voter registrations with Mickey Mouse as one does not mean that someone claiming to be Mickey Mouse can actually go into a voting booth and vote.

Faux News, talk radio and even representatives of the McCain campaign have used pieces of these two narratives to rally the base in the Republican Party. Stupid is as Stupid does.

Tuck-Pointing Makes for Lasting Relationships

Last weekend at a community event, a neighbor asked me “What the heck are you doing to your house? There is yellow scaffolding in the front." I paused for a moment before answering. I thought why is there scaffolding in front of my house? It took a moment to remember that members of our tuck-pointing family came by a few weeks to continue tuck-pointing our house. The scaffolding has been there for a couple of weeks and will remain there until who knows, Christmas?

I am very accustom to having scaffolding, bricks, ladders, mortar and other utensils of the bricklayer’s trade stacked in our basement, alongside our house or taking up most of the front façade. Living in a brick house that was originally built in 1896 has many interesting features and challenges. One is that, as with all old houses, it is a money pit, we are constantly remodeling, fixing, or changing something.

Old brick houses built on hillsides have their own special challenges. First, they are slowly falling down the hill. Gravity over time does funny things to anything built on a slope. Second, the mortar that holds the bricks together slowly disappears. This was very apparent when we bought our house in 1999. The house had many broken bricks and major gaps between the bricks where the mortar once lived. We were determined to find someone who knew how to repair masonry.

Being new homeowners of a brick money pit, we had no idea how expensive it is to find someone or someone(s) proficient at bricklaying or tuck-pointing. We called a few companies and soon realized that if my wife and I cashed in our annuity and took evening jobs, we then may be able to afford someone to repair our house. Ladies and gentlemen, the cost of tuck-pointing could bankrupt Bears Stearns!

We were at an impasse until another neighbor told us about a couple of masons who work for a company but do some tuck-pointing on weekends for extra cash. My wife gave them a call. They promptly came over and gave us a bid to repair the most damaged and exposed brick wall on the west side of the house. The only caveat is that they work on weekends when they have some free time. At the time it seemed like the best possible plan of action. We didn’t need to cash in our annuity nor did I have to don a Wal-Mart vest to greet people.

This is where our tuck-pointing journey began. Our tuck-pointers did a great job. They replaced bricks, sealed various cracks and replaced mortar on the most damaged part of our house. Normally they would arrive about 8:30 AM on a Saturday. We would invite them in for coffee and some danish. They would work a few hours and leave for day. They would also eat my wife’s wonderful chocolate chip cookies during their mid morning breaks. It was a good relationship.

Not surprisingly, we got know the tuck-pointers as we moved from the west side of the house, to the south side and finally to the east side. We learned about their families, their health issues, their various ups and downs. We sold them a car, exchanged Christmas gifts and went to UC football games together. When they had time, they came to work. When we had some extra money, we paid them.

The special part of our relationship with our tuck-pointers is that we never know exactly when they will appear. They may stay away for a couple of months but suddenly appear on a sunny Saturday. We only have the front north façade of our house to complete. In many ways it is the most tedious and complicated due to the masonry features and brick front porch.

Somehow the intermittent Saturdays evolved into intermittent months and finally to seasons. It was just part of any longstanding relationship based on mortar and sand.

To our surprise, our masonry friends appeared at our house a couple of Saturdays ago bound and determined to finish their work. Naturally, we invited them in for breakfast and our normal chat. It was like the good old days. As a normal courtesy, I asked one of the tuck-pointers about his son who loved football. I remember that he played in a peewee league. Don, the tuck-pointer, responded, “He’s having a great year. He is the starting safety on his high school football team.” Jeff, the other partner in crime chimed in, “You know Tom, Don’s son is 6’3” and weighs 225 lbs.”

I had a moment of clarity at that point in the conversation. I soon realized that the tuck-pointers have been working on our house since Don’s son was 7 years old. He now is 16 and soon to graduate from high school!

It is increasingly apparent why I stumbled in responding to the neighbor’s inquiring about the scaffolding. My wife and I have become so inured to having masonry equipment stashed in or near our house. Over 9 years it has become invisible. Scaffolding? What scaffolding? It’s an extension of our home.

When we bought our Queen Anne Victorian, we were told, ”When you find good craftsmen, hold on to them. They are like gold.” Well, we did. We have traveled together through heart surgeries, AA meetings, carbon monoxide scares, and hundreds of chocolate chip cookies.

Perhaps they will complete tuck-pointing our house when Don’s son finishes college. Or maybe not.

Beer Hall Sarah

The Washington Post reported this morning that at a rally in Clearwater, FL, Governor Palin said, ""Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," "Boooo!" said the crowd.

"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Palin went on to say that "Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers's living room, and they've worked together on various projects in Chicago."

She didn't stop to reprimand the heckler or say anything in response to the "kill him" comment. Governor Palin continued reading her prepared sound bites.

"Mein Fuhrer, I am ready to take the necessary actions to protect the homeland. We must purge this country of the impure, unholy and the unpatriotic."

Stupidity and ambition are a volatile mix.

Palinpalooza is Over!

"So, I guess, this is all an around and about way of saying that I'm in the Free Sarah Palin camp. I don't mean throw her out there and hope she swims. She needs to be prepared on the substance. But she also needs to be taught techniques to relax, feel calm and grounded, find her center, listen strategically, and take control. Deep breathing exercises, physical and vocal warm ups, can help. Finding that one person in the audience to connect to, or forgetting the audience altogether and having an intimate chat. She needs to find whatever works. And every bit of coaching she gets should be directed toward helping her exude the charm, charisma, and confidence that has gotten her this far." Amy Holmes from the NRO Corner.

It really is a sad day in American politics that candidates for the highest or next highest office need to be coached on how to breath, answer questions or behave in a debate. This reflects badly on John McCain for tapping Palin as his running mate. This also speaks volumes to the lack of intellect. gravitas, and maturity within the present day Republican Party. The worst kind of sexism is tokenism. I am confident that the Republicans could have selected a capable women with far more experience to be McCain's running mate if they truly wanted someone who could be President. They opted to select any women, particularly if she is attractive to run with Little John. Sarah Palin was unqualified weeks ago and will continue to be after tonight's debate.

I don't want someone who looks and sounds like "Average Joe" waiting line at Wal Mart for President or Vice President. These are extraordinarily difficult times with many complicated issues. Let Average Joe stay home and watch Dancing with the Stars. I want a leader with great intellect and integrity to be my President.

Groucho Marx said it best, "i don't want to join a club that would have me as a member."

Little John's Laws of Political Stuntatry

As the Presidential campaign moves ever closer to Election Day, the American voting public is getting a substantive overview of Little John's Laws of Political Stuntatry. These Political Maxims are Little John's rules for political engagement. Stunts are indicative of either a very desperate campaign or political genius. Here are a few more examples out of Little John's playbook we can anticipate in the final four weeks.

Little John will declare himself a Prisoner of War of the Eastern Establishment Elite and force himself to spend a weekend at the Plaza Hotel in NYC only ordering out of the Room Service Menu.

Governor Sarah Palin will convert to Judaism so that she doesn't have to answer questions about her past involvement with the fundamentalist church that promulgates attacks on witchcraft, spouts end of times theology or young earth beliefs.

Little John will show his toughness as a leader by arm wrestling with Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Best two out of three.

Little John will ask to delay Election Day because most Americans are not adequately prepared to vote by then. We need one more year of endless campaigning.

Little John will request that the Electoral College not count the electoral votes from California. The state is so geologically unstable that most voters are incapable of making rational decisions.

Little John will make a surprise appearance on "Dancing with the Stars" and do a waltz with Ann Coulter.

Little John will go to St. Louis and take over as Coach of the Rams, the worst football franchise in the NFL, until they win a game.

Little John will announce a moratorium on negative campaigning and immediately declare that the Barack Obama is not qualified to be President because he is a closeted Muslim.

Sarah Palin will participate in the Vice Presidential Debate but will only respond to questions with passages from the New Testament.

Little John may not know economics. He may not know much about human behavior. He definitely doesn't know anything about the internet. But Little John know the Laws of Political Stuntatry!

Change We Can Believe In!

http://www.usmagazine.com/news/john-mccain-uses-american-idol-makeup-artist

Who Said the Bible Doesn't Encourage Prosperity?

"You know Governor Palin, we do have much in common. I have a particular affinity for creating apocalypses in Southeast Asia and South America. I understand that you know what to do in their aftermath. Perhaps we can get together after this election thing is over and find some new clients."

Fearing the Other

Rove’s protégé, Steve Schmidt, commonly know as the “the Bullet”, took over the McCain with a vengeance. His special stamp is clearly on the celebrity ads linking Obama to Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. His fingerprints are over the ad touting Obama’s support for sex education for kindergartners. Remember, the goal of Republican politics is to win. And to win at any costs. Democrats have not learned this lesson yet. Democrats believe campaigns are a means to an end. They want to use politics to achieve their policy goals. Republicans see politics as the ends. Frankly, they just want to win to have control.

As Little John appears increasingly out of touch and Palinpalooza starts losing its audience, Schmidt has many more tricks up his sleeve. Here is an approximation of a future political ad created by the Bullet. I am sure you can imagine the images that he would use. The narrative will go something like this…….

“American faces many challenges. Islamofacism. A failing economy. Energy shortages. If you ask most citizens, they still have great faith in our country and are looking for leaders that truly represent American values. Someone who looks, feels and sounds like an American. Someone who loves this county and will lead us relying the true grit, faith and toughness. These are attributes of John McCain, a born leader and someone who is a full-blooded American hero.

Can we really risk turning this country over to someone that you really don’t know? I don’t think so. John McCain stands with you.“

Republicans are masters at exploiting the “fear of the other.” Obama is different. The TV spot will not overtly promulgate racism. The ad will only reinforce underlying prejudices. The future ad will walk right up to the line and will not go over it.

Trust me. They already are in pre-production.

A Bovine Love Affair

According to a recent piece in the NY Times, Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal.

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.

Perhaps Gov. Palin would appoint me to the Alaskan Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation because everyone knows i love king crab legs.

Now we learn that Gov. Palin purchased a tanning bed that was installed in the Governor's Mansion. I guess its better than an iron lung that was installed in John McCain's Arizona ranch.

By the way, our local bookstore is now selling Obama and McCain action figures. If you place a miniature basketball in the Obama action figure's arms, it shoots 3 point shots. The McCain action figure just looks grumpy and gets up two or three times a night to pee.

A Cranky Old Guy Who Knows This IS is His Last and Only Chance

A recent quote from Little John in a debate with Rudy Guiliani during the Republican Primary season...

"I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time."

Little John and his merry band of political hucksters will say anything, lie repeatedly, distort, deny, suppress voter rights, and intimidate foes to win the Presidency. If he does win and it certainly is possible, help me understand his mandate? What is his platform? He has embraced the politics of destruction and deceit. He know this is his last and only chance.

For someone who prided himself on his straight talking sense of personal integrity, Little John has flushed himself down the toilet of Rovian political hackery. He is a pathetic and increasingly sad hollow suit of political ambition.

Qualified? You Bet!

Update II: Let's help Governor Palin understand what the Bush Doctrine is not.

Don't confuse it with the Monroe Doctrine. Wikipedia reports that the Monroe doctrine was established by Marilyn Monroe after dating John and Bobby Kennedy. No more Kennedy's as boyfriends.

The Bush Doctrine can easily be confused with the Budweiser Doctrine-never drink beer owned by foreigners. Oops. I guess we now need to relabel it as the Miller Doctrine.

The Bush Doctrine has nothing to do with Dick Cheney's rules and guidelines for hunting game birds with friends in the Texas bush.

The Bush Doctrine should never be confused with the Biblical story of the burning bush. W is not Yahweh and Little John certainly isn't Moses.

If Governor Palin remembers what the Bush Doctrine is not, she will continue to do well in future press interactions.

Update I: I guess McCain has shipped Sarah back to the tundra to prepare for future interactions with the press and the Vice Presidential debate. It is reported that at least ten communication specialists are helping Sarah prepare for the news cycle debutante ball. She has to come out sometime soon.

Not surprisingly, a former aide in Alaska who had helped prepare Ms. Palin for her campaign debates told the New York Times, "...Sarah had a talent for distilling information into digestible sound bites." The aide said "she generally prefers light preparatory materials to heavy briefing books, and prefers walking through potential questions and answers with aides to holding mock sessions." Apparently context and background are not really helpful in preparing to be a Governor or a Vice President.

Here are some important tips that the communicators are helping Governor Palin with their mock Q's and A's.

-Alaska is NOT and will never be a sovereign country. It is the 49th state of the USA.

-Democrats did not ride on dinosaurs 6,000 years ago. Only Republicans like to be reminded of their ancestors Fred, Wilma, and Dino.

-It is OK to ask God to help you win a dogsled race. It isn't nice to ask him to help you build a natural gas pipeline.

-Showing off your family including your special needs son and pregnant daughter at every photo opportunity imaginable is a good thing. Just be sure to remind the press that your family is off limits.

-When campaigning with Little John, keep reminding him that the Shiites are aligned with Iran, the Sunnis with Al Qaeda, and Czechoslovakia and mimeograph machine no longer exist.

-And finally, there is a difference between earmarks and Washington pork. Earmarks are good for Alaska and Washington pork is wasteful spending.

With these few but important tips, I am confident that Governor Palin will do fine interacting with the press.

_____________________________________________________

Recently, there have been some questions raised regarding whether Governor Palin is really qualified for the Vice Presidency of the United States. Questions regarding lying on key issues, billing Alaska for family expenses, and how could she actually complete a bachelor’s degree in 6 years from 6 different colleges?

Well, those are important issues that will be properly answered by the sure-footed spinmeisters from the McCain campaign. What I want to do is to assure the American voter that Sarah Palin is able to deal with foreign policy issues on Day One as the Vice President. Here are the ten reasons why she is ready.

1. Sarah is skilled at combating islamofascism because she still calls french fries freedom fries.
2. When given a map of the world, she can accurately pick out 5 of the 7 continents. She still confuses South America with Africa. Don't we all!
3. She doesn’t need to apply for a passport to visit countries outside of Alaska. She got one in 2004.
4. Governor Palin watches Fox News.
5. Although as Governor she has no authority over the Alaskan National Guard, she does send members Christmas Cards.
6. As an avid hunter Ms. Palin knows how to dress a moose. These skills could come in very handy when interrogating alleged terrorists.
7. As a fundamentalist Christian and a Creationist, she is certainly qualified to pick out the Anti-Christ among the USA’s many enemies or friends.
8. As Governor of Alaska, she fired hear personal chef because he served tabouli and baba ganoush as an appetizer.
9. She ordered both of Lynne Cheney’s novels as books on tape.
10. Although she only stopped in Ireland for refueling on her way to Kuwait, she did visit the Duty Free Shop and bought some cheap vodka for her husband.

Facts are the Damndest Things!

"Unsurprisingly, the reliably Republican Kudlow faithfully regurgitated every GOP talking point in laying the Wall Street's woes at the door of the DNC:

"Are the Denver Dems downing the stock market today? The Dow is off 230 points, starting right from the get-go. So-called market analysts are blaming financials and the credit crunch as they always do. But there's more.
Obama and Biden gave us plenty of class warfare in their Springfield, Ill., get together on Saturday. Tax the rich. Redistribute income and wealth. Go after all those corporate meanies. Trade protection..."

Yesterday, during the Republican National Convention, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 350 points. Will economic wunderkind Larry blame his fellow Republicans for that drop? I doubt it.

Alaskan Vikings Put Eastern Establishment Types on Their Buffet Tables

I only watched a bit of the Republican Convention last night including Governor Palin’s speech. I feel asleep before she brought the family up on stage including her pregnant daughter and future shotgun wedding husband. Incidentally, isn’t it rather odd that the McCain spinmeisters continue to huff and puff that the pregnancy issue is a private matter and continue to throw the underage mom and future husband into every photo opportunity possible? This is a classic Rovian ploy-dangle the red meat in front of the ravenous 24-hour news cycle and then admonish the media for wanting to take a bit of it!

It was rather silly to see Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and McCain’s talking heads resort to railing at the eastern elites and media. Mitt made his fortune in bed with Wall Street financiers and was Governor of the most liberal state in the USA. Rudy’s only claim to fame was two terms as Mayor of NYC, another staunch member of the eastern establishment. And Big John, who spent 5 and half years as prisoner of war, has been working in Washington DC for the past 26 years.

This is Republican politics at its best and worst. Ignore the very obvious contradictions. Mitt, Rudy and John are card-carrying members of the eastern establishment. Last night they took off their silk ties and put on straw hats and bib overalls and went about demonizing all those city slickers east of the Delaware River. I have to admit they have big cahoonies. Most of the time I thought I was watching a No Nothing National Convention in the 1850s. I never heard W’s name mentioned and only rarely the Republican Party.

And Sarah. Well, Governor Palin can certainly read from a teleprompter. She has some experience as a sports announcer on local Alaskan TV reporting on dogsled races and moose hunts. Everyone knows this transition from Governor of Alaska to the Vice Presidency is a real stretch and another wonderful example of gimmicky Republican politics. At the end of the day, we all know she isn’t qualified.

Whenever Republicans nominate individuals for positions that they clearly are not qualified for such as Sarah Palin, Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, W for President, or Dan Quayle for Vice President, you never heard about the injustices of affirmative action. Somehow these individuals don’t need to be qualified because they either are born again, good friends or just good looking. Apparently those qualities supercede the need for experience or gravitas.

On a serious note, I do believe Palin's family issues should be off the political radar, yet Sarah, John and his minions keep putting the Palin clan into the spotlight whenever possible. Karl Rove should be very proud.

Building a New GOP Coalition

Update I: The new revelations about Governor Palin's husband and daughter just reinforce many of the prejudices of the lower 48 voters. I always thought Alaska was similar to Tennessee just with more snow. I have this vision of the Vice President's Mansion, One Observatory Circle, having old washing machines and rusted out snowmobiles scattered across the front lawn.

Now I learn that Governor Palin once was an active member of the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP). It's a tad late, but the AIP apparently wanted to secede with Jefferson Davis. Here's Ms. Palin, as Governor of Alaska, offering greetings to a recent AIP Meeting.



I guess there are some Alaskans who are kind of sad they missed the "good olde days" of the 19th Century secessionists. Maybe they haven't heard that the Confederacy lost the war. News must travel rather slowly to Alaska. Perhaps the internet tubes Senator Ted Stevens use get frozen much of the year.

Yes, the choice has been made. Big John has selected Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. I guess Karl Rove's ongoing effort to create a new Republican majority is taking on a new appearance. Perhaps the GOP has given up on young voters, Hispanics and African Americans. They are asking caribou, polar bears and lots of mosquitoes to stand with the GOP in this Presidential election. Do they vote in Alaska?

Another more serious reaction: I find it rather insulting that the Republican masterminds believe that disaffected Hillary women will jump ship and vote for a unknown former beauty queen from Alaska with a very conservative voting record on all the key social issues. One more Supreme Court Republican appointee and women will lose reproductive rights. Does anyone believe Hillary voters will let that happen?

This is a CNN Breaking News Story!

Wolf Blitzer: “Scientists at NASA are reporting that a large meteor is only half a million miles away from the earth. They predict that there is a 78% likelihood that this meteor will hit the earth sometime in the next 36 to 50 hours. It could mean that life on this planet may end in a massive explosion and conflagration!!”

“We ask our resident experts what this means for the future of our planet and humankind.”





James Carville: “Well, Wolf, I believe the Democrats have missed a great opportunity to blame the Republicans for getting us into this mess. Who was in charge when this meteor decided to collide with the earth? Spending time finding ways to save humanity is just a big waste of time. Once again it shows that the Democrats don’t have a backbone for a real political fight.”

Mary Matalin: “This is exactly why American voters know that when this nation is under attack you must turn to the Republican Party. Life as we know may end in the next two days, but John McCain would never back down. He has the courage to confront this crisis head-on.”

Chuck Todd: “I must agree with Mary. Voters in those crucial swing states of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania continue to tell us in their polling results that they want someone who is a real leader. This could be trouble for the Obama campaign in the very near future.”

Sean Hannity: “David Ayers. Terrorist fist bump. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, closet Muslim, supporter of infanticide, angry black woman,……”



David Gergen: “ I think my colleagues are missing the point. This crisis is not about being a Republican or a Democrat. It’s about giving the American people something to believe in. They are tired of the histrionics and partisan bickering. They want their elected officials to do something for them. What we need is a bi-partisan commission established to study this crisis and make recommendations to the President that are in the interests of all Americans.”

Howard Kurtz: “As an analyst of media, I find it astonishing that not one of these pundits grasp the dire nature of this crisis. The world as we know it may end in a few short hours and we are talking about political advantage! The truth is this meteor isn’t a Republican or a Democrat. We need to find a way to report how the world end’s without our political biases showing. This crisis demands objectivity.”

Wolf Blitzer: “Thank you all for your analyses. We have to take a commercial break now. When we come back, the question I will pose to our guests is, once the meteor hits the earth which party, the Democrats or the Republicans, will see the most immediate benefits?”

Former Prisoner of War

Update I: Big John's comments on the Tonight Show. Unbelievable!!! What can I say? He continues to parody himself.

“The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous,”

How many times do John McCain's syncophants insert the four words "former prisoner of war" as they defend their candidate?

Here are a few that many political junkies haven't heard.

John McCain, former prisoner of war, always washes his hands after visiting the men's room.

As a former prisoner of war, John McCain never forgets Mother's Day.

John McCain, a former prisoner of war, always eats his vegetables.

John McCain's first wife has forgiven him for cheating on her because, you know, he was a former prisoner of war.

John McCain can change his mind on any policy issues because he was-a former prisoner of war.

John McCain can be excused for being occasionally confused or befuddled because he was a former prisoner of war.

Flossing one's teeth is an important daily ritual for John McCain, a former prisoner of war.

Lobbying for Charles Keating, Jr. was a mistake but understandable given than John McCain was a former prisoner of war.

Asking his wife Cindy to take part in the Buffalo Chip Beauty Contest was a good opening line at the Sturgis Rally because you and I know that Big John WAS a former prisoner of war!!!

I am sure you can up with some of your own examples.

I Wonder if There is an Applebee's in Oahu?

On NPR, Cokie Roberts asserted that Sen. Barack Obama's vacation to Hawaii "makes him seem a little bit more exotic," and characterized Hawaii as "a somewhat odd place to be doing it," despite also asserting, "I know that he is from Hawaii, he grew up there, his grandmother lives there." Roberts previously criticized Obama on ABC's This Week, stating that Obama's vacation in Hawaii "has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place."

These inside beltway pundits try so desperately to connect to the working stiffs who live in the nether regions of the USA. Cokie’s silly comments mirror an assertion by the NY Times op-ed contributor, David Brooks, when he lamented that Obama was so elitist, he would never be caught at the salad bar at an Applebee’s Restaurant. Sadly, little Davy hasn’t been to an Applebee’s. If he dined there like the great mass of the American electorate, he would know that Applebee’s doesn’t offer a salad bar.

Cokie lives with her family in Bethesda, MD. According to the 2000 Census, Bethesda is the best-educated city in the United States of America with a population of 50,000 or more. 79% of residents 25 or older have bachelor's degrees and 49% have graduate or professional degrees. The median income for a household is $99,102, and the median income for a family was $130,160. Eighty-six percent of all residents were white. For the vast majority of Americans, Bethesda seems a little “exotic.”

David, the resident reasonable conservative at the NY Times, lives in Montgomery County, Maryland. Montgomery County in Maryland is situated just north of Washington, D.C. and southwest of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the nation, and has the highest percentage (29.2%) of residents over 25 years old that hold an advanced degree. I don’t believe there is an Applebee’s near Davy’s gated home.

I wonder where Davy and Cokie vacation? I do not believe I would find them in Pigeon Forge, TN riding the roller coaster at Dollywood. Or at the Harley Davidson Rally in Sturgis, SD sharing tips with other hog owners. Perhaps they stayed home to show their solidarity with nearly 67% of Americans who are not going anywhere this summer.

I continue to chortle when these highly-paid, insulated pundits believe they can “channel” the feelings and views of those who live outside the affluent neighborhoods ringing Washington, DC. They are clueless. I keep thinking about Joan Rivers description of ‘roughing it.” Roughing it for her means ordering a meal via room service and actually eating it!

As the McCain Campaign Becomes more Audacious, Johnny Boy Looks Smaller and Smaller.

Update 8/5/08

The attack dogs are at it again. Obama has tried extremely hard to avoid the pitfalls of past candidates who are of color. He emphasizes self-improvement, taking personal responsibility, and moving beyond traditional racial barriers. In many ways this message has resonated with a broad swath of voters. Using the Rovian approach, this is the perfect time to attack his apparent strength with another festering earworm.

In Lindsey Graham's comments on the Sunday Fox News Vomitoriam, he insinuated that Obama was implying that McCain is racist. Graham went on to say, "...there's no doubt in my mind that what Senator Obama is trying to suggest -- that he's a victim of something."

Alluding to Obama calling McCain a racist and claiming victimhood is the new Republican earworm. They were holding on to this one for just right time to unload it. And they just did. This earworm will be repeated and repeated by as many McCain surrogates until it loses any air time cache. Graham and the other minions know that many white folks just "love" it when black people claim that other whites are racist and black people are victims.

Again, Obama has never uttered any statements like this. It doesn't matter. The earworm is burrowing its way through the political discourse. Tom Daschle on the same program had to stop and actually say in response, "Barack Obama does not believe John McCain is a racist." This is the attack the jugular politics in the Turd Blossom Universe we should only expect more of in the near future.

Here is a recent post by John Fund from the Wall Street Journal: “The Terminator's Terminator (Steve Schmidt -- McCain's new operations manager).” “The John McCain campaign ... installed Steve Schmidt, until now an ultra intense counselor to the campaign, as its operations manager. Mr. Schmidt has a reputation for ruthless efficiency, a take-no-prisoners campaign style and the ability to inspire confidence in subordinates. Karl Rove once dubbed him "The Bullet," a reference to both the shape of his shaved head and his lethal impact when deployed against opponents….”

Steve and many other alumni of Young Republicans cut their campaigning teeth under the tutelage of the great “Turd Blossom.” Schmidt’s ruthless approach to attacking Obama for his celebrity status is classic Rovian politics. You find your opponents greatest strength and build a false narrative that casts doubts about that candidate’s perceived attribute. As you remember, Rove and his minions painted Al Gore as a boaster and braggart. They Swift-boated John Kerry’s Vietnam War experience. Rove gave a glimpse of the new McCain attack on Obama in a recent speech. He was quoted talking with some Republicans operatives recently saying that Obama “was coolly arrogant… He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette, that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."

Is this a legitimate characterture of Barack Obama? Not really. It doesn’t matter in the Rovian world of political mudslinging. You start with a basic premise to attack and discount the perceived strengths of your opponent with innuendo, half-truths, and in many instances, fabrications. You have your talking heads fertilize the 24-hour news cycle with same narrative and character assassinations. In a short time, the pundits and political reporters start asking questions to fill their newspaper columns or airtime. Are these legitimate attacks on Obama? Is he pompous, presumptuous, and full of hubris? Regardless if the attacks are amoral and baseless, they have succeeded. They are earworms that fester their way into the infected realm of contemporary political dialogue. Often these earworms are packaged in a manner to resonant with many of our deeply rooted prejudices.

Rove and most Republicans control the prevailing discourse not because they have better ideas. They understand how to exploit the media’s insatiable need for news and controversy. Repeating false narratives over and over again gets as much attention as real news. Most viewers and listeners cannot discern the differences. Just poll most Americans even today and ask them if Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9-11 terrorists attacks. How many times did Republican members of congress repeat the lie that Hurricane Katrina didn’t damage our oil drilling efforts in the Gulf? Or that the Chinese were drilling for oil of Cuba’s coastline. Steve Colbert labeled these political polemics at “truthiness.” I called them lies, lies damnable lies!

As these attacks or false narratives increase in ferocity, John McCain’s candidacy becomes less relevant. What are his views on the economy, illegal immigration, global warming? He just has to appear as the candidate that is not Obama. Schmidt’s winning coalition of voters includes those crazies on the extreme right of his party and “low information voters” that will go out in troves to vote against an arrogant Muslim president and independents who begin to doubt Obama’s overall character. Once the earworms grow and infect the political discourse, he wants to discourage other potential voters from voting at all. By debasing the election, he hopes to reduce turnout. This has worked in past elections.

This political strategy does have a downside. John McCain, the maverick, becomes an empty suit. This was most evident recently when McCain told ABC News that payroll taxes were not “off the table” to help bolster social security. Immediately after his flip-flop on no new taxes, a spokesperson, Tucker Bounds, essentially dismissed McCain’s pronouncement by stating “…that raising the payroll tax is absolutely out of the question…there is no imaginable circumstance where John McCain would raise payroll taxes. It’s absolutely out of the question.” Apparently, John McCain no longer speaks for the John McCain campaign.

Sacrifices for Our Country

President Bush recently revealed that he gave up playing golf in solidarity with the soldiers and families who are making sacrifices on behalf of our country. Clearly, this President will do whatever it takes to show support for those troops in harms way. Giving up golf is just one sacrifice he and other members of his administration have done to show support for our fighting men and women. In my investigations, I discovered other ways the President, his family, supporters and members of his administration are sacrificing.

Dick Cheney’s pacemaker, implanted to regulate his heartbeat, stops for two seconds every hour to honor our military.

Condoleezza Rice has refused to go to the orthodontist until we capture or kill Osama Bin Laden.

Douglas Feith will not clean his garage until Amin Chalabi becomes President of Iraq.

Barbara Bush, President Bush’s mother, has instructed her servants never to use her good china at her family’s retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine until the WMDs are found in Iraq.

William Kristol gave up his monthly pedicures to honor our troops.

Paul Wolfowitz hasn’t washed his comb since we invaded Iraq.

Barbara Bush, Jenna’s unmarried twin, has sworn off downing jello shots on weekdays.

Don Rumsfield has refused to fly in jets owned by the Saudi Royal family.

Peggy Noonan named her favorite guinea pig, Tommy Franks, after our swift and decisive victory in Iraq.

Ann Coulter has put her Haliburton stock in a blind trust until the Iraq War is over.

Dana Perino did not renew her membership in the Jessica Simpson Official Fan Club. Instead she bought donuts for the White House Press Corps.

John Boehner only goes to the Tanning Spa once a week and uses the free time to play cribbage with his office staff.

We are at war people! Over 4,000 soldiers have been killed, 30,00 have been wounded and 1.2 million Iraqis have died. The USA is spending 9 billion dollars a month “prosecuting“ the Iraqi War. We must make sacrifices and, most importantly, show our solidarity with our troops and their loved ones. I am very sure many of the injured soldiers languishing in Walter Reed Hospital appreciate the gestures offered by the neocons and their minions.

Parallel Houses of Worship

I didn’t watch Barack Obama’s speech regarding race, his former preacher and contemporary politics. Frankly, I really don’t need to. Any attempt on his part to distance himself from the Rev. Wright’s volatile comments will be met with suspicion and doubt by many whites and resentment and mistrust by persons of color.

Sunday remains one of the most segregated days in America. The vast majority of African Americans and whites continue to go their separate ways for their religious observances.

In era when many Americans spend more time watching Oprah Winfrey than having conversations with their spouses or children, we still go to different places to find God.

At a time when most Americans are filling out their office pools eagerly anticipating a basketball competition that is overwhelmingly led by African American athletes, we cannot sit in the same pews to hear about the beatitudes or sing hymns.

For the first time in our nation’s history, many of us are seriously considering electing someone who is not white for our highest office. Yet, few of Obama’s white supporters have ever been inside an African American house of worship.

For all our progress, most African Americans and whites worship and pray in parallel universes.

I will not defend Rev. Wright’s most disturbing comments. However, I will defend his right to interpret Jesus’ gospel through the challenges and struggles of his congregation. Since the time Africans were brought to America as slaves, the black church has been a sanctuary. A safe place that permitted people of color to gather, sing and worship without fear of reprisal and prejudice. It was the early black preachers that started the civil rights movement through their sermons and calls for social justice. I can only imagine how whites would have reacted to the black preachers of an earlier era demanding equal rights and the end of segregation. We didn’t have Fox News scouring YouTube for the most incendiary comments 50 years ago!

Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a person defined by his life experience. Over his seventies years he has witnessed the worst forms of racism and its debilatating affects on African Americans. I never lived in the Southside of Chicago. I never suffered the affects of grinding poverty, racism, or violence that continues to plague much of the poorest neighborhoods of Chicago or Cincinnati. I don’t believe his comments are intended to be political statements. His sermons are his attempt to help his congregants find a way to transcend a culture of hopelessness and despair. Did he cross the line at times? Perhaps. But I will not judge him by the excerpts on YouTube. I will take a measure of his life in all the good works he has done to lift his people up.

Barack Obama will repudiate Rev. Wright’s most volatile comments; just as he did when pundits asked if him he appreciated Louis Farrakhan’s support. Obama’s candidacy is a watershed moment in American politics. He isn’t asking the electorate to vote for him because he is solely a person of color. Both whites and blacks are drawn to his candidacy because he understands that we no longer can worship in separate pews. Our common humanity will determine our success in responding to the enormous challenges facing this country right now. Rev. Wright was a leader during a period of religious isolation. Barack Obama’s inclusive politics is moving beyond the racial divisions of the past.

Yes, he was a member of Rev. Wright’s church. But he can’t be held responsible for Rev. Wright’s worldview. Barack’s message emphasizes reconciliation and cooperation. He clearly has move beyond Rev. Wright’s rhetoric. Do we have the courage to join Barack Obama in the same pew? For a few of us, it may never happen. Being an optimist, I believe in the good judgment of my fellow Americans. We have the capacity to join Barack in forming a new body politic.

Portions Should be the Size of My Head

Fatboy Tom is back! Needless to say it has been some time since I offered my keen insights and biting sarcasm. First, the holiday season was just too damn busy! Second, I need some inspiration. Third, I am notoriously lazy.

Parodying some of the buffoonery that is regularly exhibited on the Presidential campaign trail is just too easy and frankly stale. For the record, I really find “Tweety” Chris Matthews to be an absolute dolt. He is enamored with his squeaky voice and just can’t help trashing the Clintons whenever he has the opportunity. The stuff he bilged about Hillary during the New Hampshire Primary was just outrageous. I go back to one of his choice comments that he repeated during the Iowa Caucuses. He kept on saying, “Well over two thirds of the Democratic electorate are rejecting Hillary Clinton this evening. This should be of grave concern for the Hillary and her campaign.” I’m sitting here listening to his spin and thinking, “Using Tweety logic, didn’t 2/3d’s of the participants in the Democratic Caucuses also reject Obama and Edwards?”

The caucuses were not about rejecting candidates but exhibiting voters’ preferences. I am sure those Democrats that stood in a particular corner of the room for Obama will most likely vote for Hillary or Edwards in the general election against any of the pretenders running as Republicans. Tweety’s anti-Clinton antics are becoming legendary. I did love it when Mr. Montana Ranch, Tom Brokaw, reminded, Tweety, that it is important to the let the voters decide and not the pundits after Tweety was flummoxed by the New Hampshire primary victory for Hillary.

Enough about politics…….

I was at the YMCA exercising last night. While I was stretching my hamstrings, I glanced at an old copy of “Shape,” a women’s fitness magazine. It was open to page about, you guessed it, “healthy eating.” For most of us foodies the title of the article is an oxymoron. It is not about reducing bad fats or using fresh ingredients. I am all over that. It’s about portion size.

This article was touting how you can make a piece of pita bread into a wonderful pizza by adding sauté vegetables, some herbs and a few slivers of low fat cheese. Now most pita bread slices are about 8 inches in diameter. Once you add a few vegetables and some micron slices of cheese, it still does not become dinner. It remains just that, a piece of pita bread with some stuff on top. The editors of “Shape” are delusional if they think anyone will walk away from reading this article and start having an 8-inch pita with stuff as their primary source of calories for the day.

I am sure there are those women readers who will try to limit themselves to one pita with stuff and find out very soon that they are still hungry and will remain hungry until they find some rice cakes to consume! Women who try to meet “Shape’s” dietary expectations and fail to limit their intake to one pita with stuff will walk away feeling guilty and gluttoness! The guilt will translate into depression and ultimately to a late night date with a pint of the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

It is not only Shape Magazine that perpetuates this false narrative about healthy eating. Has anyone tried to live on Healthy Choice entrees? I mean actually live on them? They clearly are smaller than a pita pizza.

My general philosophy is a portion should be about the size of my head and not my gall bladder. Most Healthy Choice entrees are promoted with coupons that offer the buyer two for one. There is a reason for that. Unless, you plan on joining Mahatma Gandhi for a long slow fast, the only way to eat healthy choice entrees is in multiples of two! And you still need that pita pizza in reserve to hold off late night hunger pangs.

I am all for eating healthier. And we should limit the total number of calories. I just think this obsession with dieting and body image is ruinous to most people. Very few people have the will power or they come from a pre-determined gene pool that inhibits their ability to live up to the stupid and unrealistic expectations promulgated by our popular culture and Shape Magazine.

By the way, our friends at Weight Watchers have caught on to this idea. I just saw a commercial for Weight Watchers with a byline, “Diets don’t work!” They have been marketing their diet plan for years, and at the same time, making a fortune on every person who joins and rejoins their program. You no longer are just dieting; you are altering your lifestyle. You still buy their stupid food products and go to their meetings. Marketing is often about repackaging.

Give me a dinner the size of my head and I am happy. Feed me an 8-inch pita with stuff and I will eat two Healthy Choice entrees, 8 rice cakes and still have room for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s!