Saturday, September 6, 2008

Fired Up and Ready to Go for Obama

I truly believe that we are living in extraordinary times, and as Obama and Biden have both commented, the next 60 days are going to set the direction for the future of America.

Looking back on the election of George W. Bush, we have reached a point in our nation where we are divided in such opposing views. Bush who promised an end to divisive politics and to bring about bi-partisan collaboration, has instead delivered the complete opposite. After 8 years of Republican administration, we have so many problems facing us today, and the challenges we face for the future will be impossible to meet if we continue with the same failed policies of the Bush and Cheney Administration.

I was reading with interest the blog by Richard Schiff, well known for his role on the West Wing. I found myself somewhat identifying with his situation, except I had a relationship that came to an end due to difference of political opinions. Although it wasn't the only reason for the demise, it certainly didn't help.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-schiff/as-my-household-shows-wer_b_124349.html

This isn't a unique situation, all across America, there are common stories of politics coming between families.

For myself, as I read and watch about what's going on in the world, what has come out of the conventions, as I listen to what Obama and Biden have to say, it's so easy to see how Obama has been able to inspire and gain the attention of so many. His humility, his vision, and his belief that Americans can influence change from the grassroots level, all remind me that it starts with the individual to make the difference. I still firmly believe that Obama and Biden is America's best hope and with their election to office. I believe that our nation will become stronger and better.

This is an example of what Obama stands for, and how we can all get "Fired Up and Ready to Go" for Obama!


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Friday, September 5, 2008

Humor in Republican Hypocrisy

Sometimes despite the stupidity coming out of the Republicans, you have to take time for some laughs.

Here's a great clip from "The Daily Show", about Republican hypocrisy on Teen Pregnancy, Palin's Experience, and the Sexist/Gender Card.




Notice on the clips from Fox News, that great bastion of truth in journalism, their tagline "Restoring Honor & Dignity to the White House" - hello??? Who has been in the White House these past 8 years??? At least they admit to the fact that after 8 years of Bush, we do need to restore Honor & Dignity to the WH!

And another referencing Sarah Palin's crack at Community Organizers






Another very funny one from Dana Millbank of the Washington Post, on the vile Eastern elite liberal media. Yes the Republicans should be very very scared!


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Thursday, September 4, 2008

The Decline of the Republican Party

I thought I couldn't be surprised or shocked to the depths and ruthlessness of the Republican Party, but it seems they still have the power to shock us.

They just showed a "tribute" of 9/11. How they could do this - to trivialize and use a nation's tragedy for political purposes is so reprehensible.

They have truly crossed the line, and it's clear that they truly have no sense of decency or honor.

If McCain wants to peddle his POW experience for political gain, that's his to use. However to use the death of so many Americans to further his political agenda is just indefensible.

What's worse is the audience are clapping their hands in support of this disgusting display of politics.

When one chooses to show a tribute in a memorial setting, with a non-partisan setting, with the families and people affected to share in a memorial is one thing, to replay the two towers slowly collapsing in a Republican Convention is a clearly not for any honorable purpose.

McCain has demonstrated yet again, he puts his political ambitions first.
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Obama Demonstrates his Professionalism!

Obama responds to Palin's Speech, and reiterates what he stands for, and why he is running for President of the United States!


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Sarah Palin a Pitbull Wearing Lipstick


Last night’s speech by Sarah Palin was completely unremarkable and full of arrogance. Her speech was delivered with snide sarcasm, and behind the “ah shucks, I’m from small town America” façade, she has lived up to her persona as a “pit bull with lipstick”. What surprises me is the lavish praise coming from the mainstream media (MSM) when she has yet to demonstrate any remarkable skill other than being able to give a speech written by some speechwriter filled with sarcasm and disrespect.

She is not a novice to campaigning, and she has given speeches in the past. Furthermore, she was speaking to the Republican base, if she hadn’t been able to preach to the choir, I would have found that scenario remarkable. I am in disbelief in how low the bar has been set for Sarah Palin. She has not yet proved her qualification to be Vice President. Again, this is not about experience. From the very beginning, my concerns for Palin has not been about experience, but her qualification, in addition to the judgment McCain displays in even picking Palin as a candidate.

Yesterday, there was breaking news that US troops had gone over the border into Pakistan to deal with outbreaks in violence spilling into Afghanistan. VP Dick Cheney was immediately sent over to assess the situation. We are living in a complex world, with serious international issues. Palin is simply NOT qualified to face dictators or world leaders to deal with these complex issues.
In regards to the rest of her speech, it was completely devoid of any real solutions or preview for what the McCain & Palin ticket stands for, other than the usual hate-filled rhetoric typical of the Republican Party. In fact the entire night was full of divisive partisan rhetoric, only the continued demonization of the “angry left” and fear-mongering speeches that McCain has offered in the past. They hope to prey on the “9/11” fear of Americans to get people to vote for them.

The entire speech was laughable and full of hypocrisy, in that she continued to state the false facts about her being the great reformer, and hinted that that any questions about her record can only be categorized as a witch hunt by the Media. The fact is Alaska ranks as the #1 state for all pork barrel projects, and that she hired lobbyists to garner even more funding for her state of Alaska. This is a state swimming in oil tax revenues with a significantly smaller population than that of other states, which could truly use the money for investment in their people. In addition, she had 3 projects that were highlighted by McCain as examples of wasteful government spending. So ironically, the very wasteful spending that McCain rails against, she has been an eager advocate for in the past. In addition, despite the party and the show that the Republicans put on, Palin still faces investigation by her State Legislature for abuse of powers. She’s shown that the way to govern is to be vindictive and take actions to suit her desires, not the will of the people.

She also demonstrated yet again the inability of the Republican party to understand the difficult economic issues faced within the US, as she disparaged the work of “community organizers”.
“Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities.”
Unlike empty promises and the inability of the Republican Party to meet head on the challenges of dealing with destruction in the wake of natural disaster of Katrina, these “community organizers” are the ones hard at work rebuilding homes. Community Organizers are the ground troops in America directly dealing with the problems that everyday Americans face, providing “Meals on Wheels” to the elderly, they are the “Big Brothers and Big Sisters” who help inner city children, they are the ones giving hope to those who have none.
“But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.”

Sarah Palin, who has not contributed to a single meaningful progress in the State of Alaska, other than selling the governor’s plane on ebay, was downright ignorant in her failure to recognize the true impact and help to low income families that Obama was able to help with his Tax Credit legislature during his time in the State Senate. Or the fact that Obama brought attention and resolution to bring care of veterans as part of the Senate Foreign Arms Committee, something McCain has yet to do. He has worked with Dick Luger to bring about true campaign reform, and not just the superficial act of reform.

So while Republicans only talk about caring for Americans, Democrats actually make a difference in the lives of many Americans.

Her attempt to dismiss Obama as not being tough on terror was offensive and quite frankly un-American. This is a FACT, not opinion.
“Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions. Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights?”

Essentially Palin and the Republicans mock the Democrats as being too weak on terror, just because we insist on respecting human rights. They are implying that Democrats, and Obama in particular would compromise the safety of Americans, in other words, they are accusing Obama of treason.

We are a nation of laws, the US Constitution, the democratic principles for which America stands for, along with the Geneva Convention clearly require us to renounce TORTURE, and make it plain that this is not acceptable. Improper search and seizure, and rendition without judicial process goes against the very principles upon which our nation and the founding fathers built.

McCain, who was a POW as he likes to remind us, should KNOW BETTER.

Either we are a nation of laws or we are not. We have NO moral leg to stand on to reprimand China or Russia, when we do not set the example.

Again this idea of “Victory” in Iraq is a mirage. Victory is not about saying “US is #1” and how we defeated the Iraqis. Furthermore, Palin and McCain CLEARLY have not discussed this supposed victory with General Petraeus, who would be the LAST person to say that it is in sight. Success in Iraq means cleaning up the mess that we made. It’s about leaving a stable country with infrastructure, water, electricity, security, and an economy in progress. The destruction and instability we brought about in Iraq has led to increased growth in the terrorist organizations. We are LESS SAFE because of the disastrous policy of the Bush and Cheney neo-con policies.

The bottom line is that McCain and Palin are campaigning not on their own qualities or principles, but on the basis of dividing America, and getting voters to fear the other candidates. Although they attempt to bring people down to the lowest common denominator, and campaign on negative and racist themes, their lack of understanding of the urgent economic problems facing America, and inability to demonstrate the judgment and integrity that Americans are looking for in the next President and Vice President of the United States, will only eventually lead to their failure on election day.

The Republican Party has had control of the White House for the past 8 years, and control of Congress for 6 out of the past 8 years, their leadership has led to the problems and issues we face today. Simply put, John McCain and Sarah Palin do not represent any sort of change, but the continued failed policies of the Bush Administration. Sarah Palin, I hope has enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame. She is an empty politician, with zero substance.

Time and time again, I can only contrast their empty, meaningless, angry rhetoric with the hope and understanding that Obama brings to the table regarding the future of America. On the day that Gustav threatened the Gulf Coast, while McCain was eagerly looking for photo opportunities to politicize the natural disaster for his political gain, these are the words that Obama had to say:

"That spirit of looking out for one another, that core value that says I am my brothers’ keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, that spirit is most evident during times of great tragedy, it’s most evident during times of great hardship, it’s most evident when natural disasters strike because we understand that only God has control and so it takes it out of the realm of politics. We all understand that we have to come together. "


"But that spirit can’t just be restricted to moments of great catastrophe. Because as I stand here today and look out at the thousands of folks who have gathered here today, I know that there’s some folks that are going through their own quiet storms."

"All across America there are quiet storms taking place. There are lives of quiet desperation. People who need just a little bit of help. Because if there’s a poor child out there, that’s my child. If there’s a senior that’s having trouble, that’s my grandparent. If there’s a guy who’s lost his job, that’s my brother. If there’s a woman out there without healthcare, that’s my sister. Those are the values that built this country. Those are the values we are fighting for."



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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

McCain's Hubris and Stupidity on display

The pettiness and the absolute stupidity of the GOP is just unbelievable. I think they need to take a good long look in the mirror and just see what they have become. Even Richard Cohen, the conservative journalist, is ashamed of what mockery the Republicans are making of the whole Republican Election, with the nomination of Sarah Palin. He can not believe how ridiculous the Republicans are with the claims for why Sarah Palin is their most qualified VP nominee. We are truly witnessing the unfolding of the Emperor has No Clothes!


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090101715.html


The Republican Party are absolutely pathetic in their attempts to blame the negative attention on the Obama Campaign, when clearly he has told the nation in no uncertain terms, that there should not be any attacks or negative comments made on Palin’s children or family, and that he wants to focus on the issues.

The BIG difference between the Republican and the Democratic pundits and surrogates is that at least the Democratic supporters tell the truth. The Republicans just LIE and they feel insulted when you question them or point it out to them. Rovian Republicans are so ruthless in smearing and attacking successfully, they don’t care if it’s true or if it’s a lie, as long as they can attack negatively, people will believe it. This is why Democrats are sometimes considered wimpy, because we don’t stoop to their level.

NEVER have I heard McCain say that he would fire anyone on his staff for spreading false rumors about the candidate’s family, but here we have Obama setting the example. He was that exasperated that the tone of the campaign has come down to a soap opera, he made it very clear that if he had knowledge of anyone taking part in this in his campaign, they would be fired. We have SERIOUS issues in this nation to deal with, and the fact that we can’t focus on them because of the media circus surrounding McCain’s poor selection of Palin as the VP nominee is just ridiculous.

It’s just shocking to me that the McCain Campaign can’t take responsibility for the picking a terrible VP, and instead they are blaming everyone. I am fed up with the Republican Party’s inability to take accountability for their actions. This is happening time and time again. It happened with Iraq, it happened in Katrina, and it happened with the financial crisis. If they had properly done their job, and vetted this woman, they would have seen that she was unqualified. But they made a horrible decision, and now the truth is coming out. So they are desperately trying to spin this anyway they can, and blame everyone for being unfair. Where was their sense of fairness when they let the rumors fly about Obama being a Muslim, and the jokes that Fox News made when they commented that Michelle and Barack shared a “terrorist” jab. All of these statements made by the Republicans and Fox news were FALSE. The McCain campaign makes ridiculous commercials linking Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to Obama, and McCain just stupidly smirks and says “we are just having a little fun”.

Well it’s not funny when you attack someone’s character, particularly when it is NOT true. Senator McCain blatantly participates in character assassination, and he gets away with it. But when questioned about his judgment in picking Palin, all of a sudden the world is against him. America should demand more from their leaders. With Barack, he has tried to run a decent campaign, and has only responded negatively when McCain attacks him, to set the record straight. With Obama, he clearly takes responsibility for his actions, and ensures everyone is clear what his principles and values are. When Obama makes negative comments, it’s always about the issue or policy NEVER about the person or the character of that person.

But hey, where is their sense of humor with all the fun the liberal bloggers are having about the absolute disaster and stupidity that is Sarah Palin - at least when they have fun, it’s with the truth!

They are whining about the fact that the media is unfair. Of course the Republicans as usual can only dish it out, they can’t take it.

Everything that is coming out about Palin is true:

  • She was a member of the Alaska Independent Party – a group whose sole mission is Alaska first and to secede from the United States. So I guess McCain’s ridiculous “Country First” logo doesn’t apply for her.
  • She was a major of a small town, and left them in debt by $20 million dollars.
  • She did request pork projects for her town and for the state. She was for the Bridge to Nowhere. Although she later abandoned it, she still kept the money for other projects. I wonder if Congress should demand that money back from Alaska?
  • She was only governor for 18 months, and this is a state which has NO budget issues, no natural disasters, and has made no decisions regarding the National Guard deployment in Iraq or in Alaska. Futhermore, she is governor of a state that has less people than the state of Delaware!
  • She only received her passport recently.
  • She has no Foreign Policy experience.
  • She has no national government experience.
  • The ONLY domestic policy that we are aware that she supports is overturning Roe v. Wade, preaching abstinence, teaching creationism in schools (denying evolution), and wanting to burn books.
  • She has demonstrated her vindictive and unchristian personality, by her callous laughing at an interview on a radio show with the DJ’s calling her Republican State Senator, Lydia Greene, a “bitch” and “a cancer” for the State of Alaska. This is a State senator who is a cancer survivor.
  • Palin is CUT from the exact same mold as George W. Bush, she demands loyalty tests from her administration, and if she feels crossed, she fires them.

Again, like Bush, she has lawyers who are trying to stonewall the Alaskan Legislative investigation over abuse of power. This is a REPUBLICAN controlled and led investigation, and her lawyers want to cite “governor’s privilege” to private documents. If Palin had done NOTHING WRONG, why are they so determined to keep her emails a secret? I find it ironic that Americans have no say to being wire-tapped, but Palin who is the great reformer won’t even be candid and honest about what happened with the State Commissioner being fired. If she has nothing to hide, then the investigation by the state legislature should find nothing wrong.

All in all, she is unprofessional, unqualified, and lacks any honest Christian charity and decency. Clearly she fits in with McCain, who made cruel jokes about Chelsea Clinton and laughed when a supporter asked him “how do we beat the bitch” when referring to Hillary Clinton. Yes, these are two candidates in a pod. Chelsea Clinton at the time was a minor, and couldn’t fight back, but yet he has the lack of decency and honor to make cruel jokes about her, and to make jokes about women being raped.

What I find difficult to swallow is that they are claiming she has Foreign Policy experience because Alaska is near Russia. In addition, she visits the troops in the hospital, and has her PHOTO taken with them! So basically she is using them for her own purposes. The fact that she visited Iraq ONCE, stopped by Germany, and landed in Ireland for a re-fueling purpose means that she is an expert on Irish, German, and Iraqi affairs.

SERIOUSLY????

If Obama had tried to make the claim, that he is a Foreign Policy expert, because Illinois bordered Canada, he would have been crucified by the Media and the Republican party. This is how insane it has become.

Just how stupid do they think we are? Well if I knew the bar was that low, I would say I should be the next Ambassador to the UN, having lived in Switzerland, and worked near by the UN in Geneva.

Now McCain in a temper tantrum is refusing to go on Larry King Live on CNN, because Campbell Brown had the unmitigated gall of doing her job, and asking Tucker Bounds why Sarah Palin should be considered qualified. He couldn’t answer the question, and he looked foolish and stupid. Just because they were the idiots to pick Palin, now they want to attack CNN for being unfair? It was a simple enough question, and if they had nothing to hide, they would be able to answer it without any issues.

I didn’t think it could happen, but it now has. I have completely LOST ALL RESPECT for John McCain. McCain can bring up the fact that he was a POW as many times as he wants, for me that well has now run dry. I have heard it one too many times as an excuse for why he has messed up, that I can’t dredge up any further sympathy. We have many Vietnam Vets who were once POWs, and have served many tours of duty, that doesn’t mean we need to make them all Presidents. In addition, his blatant lack of support for the Veterans is just too much hypocrisy for me to swallow. Americans really need to know that McCain has been given a grade of D- by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans AND the Disabled Veterans association, while Obama has been given a grade of B+. McCain conveniently says in all of his stump speeches that he supports the troops. Well he has voted against too many legislative bills AGAINST Veterans, more recently, he has spoken out against the improved bi-partisan GI Bill Sponsored by Senators Graham & Webb. He argued against it, and then when the vote was taking place, he didn’t even bother to show up to vote.

He doesn’t have any judgment, common sense, decency, or intelligence. He is a LIAR and makes it clear that he doesn’t put country first. He just wants to be President, and will do anything he can to get there. It’s clear that he put his campaign and election needs first, before the country. If McCain wants to be President, he needs to say full stop, the BUCK STOPS with me. But all we will ever get from him is temper if we question his judgment or excuses – that’s the reality.

I have had ENOUGH of this PATHETIC excuse for a Presidential Candidate.

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