Happy birthday Bri....

My one and only spawn turns another year older today.

I had him when I was 12. Ok, 15 then. Would you believe 25?

It was always a trip to do Halloween and his birthday together. Hard to get original when at least half the celebration involves traisping up and down streets with hoards of screaming short people everywhere you look.

The other mothers got a break...I took usually 8-10 curtain climbers that were purported to be my son's friends tricking and then off to the cake and ice cream and presents extravaganza.

I don't miss those friggin days..really. No, really.

Ok, maybe a little bit. ;p

But I am glad he lives in his own humble abode..honest to gawd!

Court ruling saves more voters right to cast a ballot.

As we all know, its a given that the Rethug’s will try, by any means necessary, to stop people who primarily vote “D” from voting.

With the most important election in my memory on the line, its vitally important for all votes to be counted, and for all voters to be able to exercise the right to vote. The ACLU has been working hard to that end. From Jurist:

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday upheld an injunction granted by a federal judge earlier this month ordering Michigan voting officials to reinstate on voter rolls the names of newly-registered voters whose voter registration cards were returned to the post office as undeliverable. The ACLU of Michigan had challenged the new Michigan state law, which permitted nullification of such voter registrations, on the grounds that it violated the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which sets forth conditions that must be met before an individual can be removed from voting rolls. In a 2-1 opinion, the Sixth Circuit agreed, holding:

[T]here has never been a determination [here] that the [removed] voters are ineligible….[T]he preliminary injunction is necessary to protect the individual voters of Michigan affected by the undeliverable-voter-ID-card practice….[It] ensures that each individual who has properly registered to vote but was removed due to an error that is out of his or her control will be able to case a ballot on election day.

The NVRA allows registered voters to remain on voter rolls for at least two federal elections after registration cards have been returned as undeliverable. AP has more.

I can’t handle the idea of another stolen election, it makes me crazy. I wrote earlier this week that thousands of attorneys will be stationed at polling places across America Tuesday. I like that. But we have to stay diligent and so does everyone else that believes in our country and the Constitution. This NYT article makes me crazy…laying out all the states so far that have had to deal with or attempted to steal our votes.

What jerks my chain is that the actual amount of illegal voting cases in the US is practically nil..none existant. The average number of cases of actual voting fraud are 8 people a year. In the whole U.S.

The Rethugs are pulling a wonderful hoax on us under the guise of making sure no one votes that shouldn’t. They are the ones stealing votes, not illegal voters.

And they do it, with a smile on their faces and waving the fucking flag.

Ted Stevens won't be tossing in the towel..

In fact, he has stated unequivocally that he will continue to run and continue to serve his constituents, in spite of being  a convicted felon as of this week. Per TPM:

The so called "Lion of Alaska," returned home yesterday to a rally in his honor in the airport that bears his name.

Approximately 500 supporters greeted Stevens with the chant "We trust you," Anchorage Daily News reported.

Some attendees wore shirts bearing the slogan, "F*#@ the feds, vote for Ted."

"Anyone who thinks you can get a fair trial in the heart of liberalism, Washington, D.C., is smoking dope. He was railroaded," Mark Kelliher, a retired engineer told the ADN expressing the distrust many Alaskans place in "outsiders," or non-Alaskans.

Members of Alaska's political elite also attended, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who urged the crowd to get friends to work and vote for Stevens and joined the elder senator in a little jig on stage.

Of course the Senate can dump his ass if they want to...but I am not holding my breath on that happening. McCain at least has called for this asshat to step down...I give him props for that.  But seriously...the people of AK don't mind a convicted felon representing them? One convicted of lying  and who is known to have ties to the guy that ratted out the state reps that are now on trial in the state of AK courts for accepting his bribes? 

Amazing to me...some folks just don't mind anything that smells of corruption...as long as he brings home the pork. And Ted IS the king of pork. And the heart of liberalism is DC...lol..who knew? ;)

Mayor Kenneth Edwards busted stealing political lawn signs.

Bear in mind Mayor Kenneth Edwards states he did nothing wrong by removing the sign from someone else's yard. From 5News:

Greenwood mayor accused of stealing campaign signs

5NEWS obtained the incident report filed by Greenwood police. In the report, the officer describes how someone driving behind a Toyota pickup claimed he saw that truck pull up to a house at Ware Road and Highway 10. The witness told officers the passenger got out and grabbed something next to the carport. The item in question was reportedly a "Vote no to extend the city sales tax" Sign.

The officer stopped the truck that had no license plate and he says that's when he realized the passenger was Greenwood Mayor Ken Edwards. The officer called the police department to get instructions on what to do next since the mayor was involved.

The Sebastian County Sheriff's Department was called in and the driver, Gordon Griffith, also of Greenwood, was given a field sobriety test, which he passed. Both men were released.

Someone in the comments actually calls the Mayor a terrorist for his actions..LMAO! Both the Mayor and the commenter are idiots and obviously wingtards of the highest order.
Tags: Mayor Kenneth Edwards, Greenwood Mayor Kenneth Edwards

What we need now is an intelligent President, not a former POW.

This post goes to the idea that Palin is a fucking idiot that couldn't finish college without transferring four times, yet thinks she can run our nation. And a journalism degree doesn't prepare you to guide a nation through the shittiest times we have ever seen in our countrie's history.

That, my friends, is complete and utter bullshit.

If we were not in two wars that are bankrupting our nation and a financial mess that rivals the Great Depression, perhaps your degree wouldn't make any difference Ms. Palin. But this election it does.

And your running mates lack of knowledge in the area of economics doesn't make me feel any better either. He has shown us that the people he relies on most are lobbyists that support the big corporations and the top one percent of our nation.

That ain't gonna cut it when millions upon millions of us are barely eeking out a living and have to decide between keeping the house warm this winter and buying food that keeps rising in cost every single fucking week.

I want a President that will listen to all sides of an arguement. I want a President that is well read and worked hard to get to where he is...not someone that leaned on his daddy and granddaddys laurels to get into a military academy and then sucked majorly, finishing at the bottom of his class.

This time mutha fuckas, we need a smart President..and it ain't John Sidney McCain the Third..nope, it aint.

You can watch Obama's 30 minute infomercial here. It is quite well done I think and almost a million people have watched it online already. That should tell us something...good! ;)

A couple of mighty fine ole broads...who blog.

I do not know if Margaret and Helen are actually 82-year-old females, but frankly I don't care.

Its a good blog and it makes you smile and sometimes chuckle. We all can use a little more of that in our lives can't we? Just a small blurb from the latest post:

Oh Cecilia, bless your heart. We have only been at this for two years, sweetheart. There were over 40 debates during the primaries and most recently we have had three Presidential debates and one Vice Presidential debate. Honey, I trust you can read. Please do because this is important. And I am not trying to be mean or dismissive. It really is that important and you need to read about this stuff and believe me there are piles of stuff out there.

But… if you are not going to read anything else, I hope you’ll chew on this:

Let’s start with John McCain. Picking Sarah Palin was John McCain’s first big decision after winning the nomination. In an earlier interview McCain said he didn’t know much about the economy but he would probably pick a Vice President who could help him on that. Palin? Really? Palin. She went to five colleges and finally got an undergraduate degree in journalism. And if you have watched her interviews with journalists, you have to wonder how much of that degree sank in. Sarah Palin - definitly not the sharpest tool in the shed.

I love it because its down to earth and just a touch of snark. So, I really don't care if its a 22 year old male writing it as some of the detractors are whining about. Its good damn it and its a wonderfully delightful idea for a blog persona.

Check them out when you have the chance. Hug and a tip o the hat to Jet at Bring itOn for finding these ladies and turning me on to them. ;)

Love this new Obama ad!

A tip of the hat to Jet at BIO and Oliver Willis.



Don't you just love how it ends with Palins mug? I do. ;)

Lawyers answer the call to protect voters and their right to have their vote counted.

From Jurist:

The US presidential campaigns of both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain are recruiting large numbers of lawyers to monitor and protect voters’ rights in the upcoming national election, according to a New York Times report. The Obama camp initiated its Voter Protection Program targeting lawyers and law students at the start of the campaign to promote voter education, and it will deploy the volunteers to the polls on election day. The McCain camp is likewise seeking volunteer lawyers and law students to help during election day, and the campaign has also established a Lawyers for McCain group. These campaign-specific efforts are in addition to nonpartisan efforts by groups such as Election Protection[volunteer website], which has already recruited 10,000 people and which actively seeks lawyers, law students, and paralegals to work election protection hotlines, gather voting irregularity data and to run voter protection programs. Such efforts to involve lawyers in the election process increased following the contested 2000 presidential election that pitted now-president George W. Bush against former vice president Al Gore.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states had been removed from voter rolls against federal voting law. That report added to growing controversy over voting laws and procedures in the run-up to November 2008 voting. In early October, both the Ohio Supreme Court and the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected Republican challenges to a directive by the Ohio secretary of state that would co-mingle absentee and regular ballots. Last month, voting rights advocates and elections officials expressed fears that a lawsuit brought by the Wisconsin Department of Justice will effectively disenfranchise thousands of voters there by causing chaos at the polls in November. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed suit against the state’s Government Accountability Board, seeking to force the elections agency to cross-check the identities of recently registered voters against names in other state databases pursuant to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

It makes me feel better, safer and hopefully all our votes are protected…even the idiots that will be voting for McCain. IHT also has a good article up about the squads of lawyers. Over 6,000 attorney’s answered Obama’s email to help protect the votes. From the IHT writeup:

Alan Kessler, a partner at Wolf Block in Philadelphia who recently played host to a $6 million fund-raiser for Obama, said he had already received four calls from Obama volunteers asking him to work on Election Day. Kessler said the 2000 election had caused many lawyers to want to become more active.

“Lawyers have always written checks,” Kessler said. “Now we are taking it to the next level in assuring that there will be no issues on Election Day. We are learning from the last two elections, and we now have the credo ‘Never again.’ If we lose, we lose. But we don’t want it because of something that took place in the polling place.”

Some firms, like Saul Ewing in Philadelphia, are allowing their lawyers to receive pro-bono credit for voter protection work on Nov. 4. Saul Ewing, with 250 lawyers and offices in the mid-Atlantic region, says that lawyers from nearly all of its nine offices will work at the polls and that the firm’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, office had been used for election training.

“Our lawyers are willing to go mano-a-mano if necessary,” said Orlan Johnson, a partner at Saul Ewing and a member of the Obama national finance committee. All volunteers must undergo a training session either in person or online with the Obama campaign.

“We’re going to have lawyers at the polls and in close proximity to the courthouses,” Johnson said. As an example, he said lawyers could be helpful in keeping the polls open when lines became extremely long.

I pray it all goes well, that every single vote is counted….they have to be this time. The world will be watching.

Adios, au revoir, see ya!

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and
we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware,
that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe
this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the
people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave
states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the
Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You
get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of
America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We
get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay
their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the
Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. Please be
aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're
going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need
people to fight, ask your evangelicals.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent
of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple
and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of
America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners)
90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most
of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and
condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal
Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to
cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected
health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100
percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent
of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all
televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the
University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was
actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred
unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent
say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was
involved in 9/11... and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you
are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed
they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

Blue States

Hug and a H/T to Bob for this lil gem. ;)

Pfizer, Pfucks over children in Nigeria-calls it ethical.

They are cold blooded killers and yet..they have the audacity to say it was ethical? Are they serious? From Jurist:

Officials from Nigeria and from US pharmaceutical company Pfizer said Monday that they hope to reach a settlement agreement by the end of next month over allegedly illegal clinical trials conducted in Nigeria by the drug company in 1996. The national government and the state of Kano filed separate lawsuits in 2007 accusing Pfizer of administering meningitis medication to 200 Nigerian children - including 100 with the then-experimental antibiotic Trovan - without the authorization of the Nigerian government or the consent of the patients' guardians. They also charge that the testing killed 11 children and incapacitated 181 others, and demanded a total of $8.5 billion in damages. Pfizer has denied the charges and said that the company's actions were both ethical and beneficial . Pfizer continues to deny legal liability. Reuters has more. AFP has additional coverage.

Last year, a Nigerian court rejected a request by Pfizer to dismiss the Nigerian government's lawsuit on technical grounds. Also last year, criminal court proceedings against Pfizer were suspended at the request of prosecutors, who needed more time to prepare for trial.

I think Pfizer's CEO and head fucktard should be required to be a guinea pig for any drug trial which gets used on children or non-consenting adults.

Tags: Pfizer, Trovan kills children

Ted Stevens found guilty on all counts.

MSNBC has announced the jury returned a verdict...guilty of lying ole Teddy Stevens is. More info as it becomes available.

Update: Its available. Per ABC News:

A federal grand jury indicted Stevens, 84, in July on seven counts of making false statements, for allegedly lying on U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms for the years 1999 to 2006.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for five hours Monday before returning guilty verdicts on all seven counts.

Each charge carries a maximum five years in prison and $250,000 fine.

But Teddy will probably never do a day in jail...wanna bet? Oh, and check this out...he can still be reelected and serve! From MSNBC:

Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel Stevens on a two-thirds vote.

That, my friends, is total horseshit. Also get this, from McClatchy:

Now, voters will decide whether Stevens, who's represented the state in the Senate since 1968 and before that helped usher in statehood for Alaska, should continue to serve as their senator. For the first time in his career, Stevens faces a competitive re-election fight, against Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
*snip*
The guilty verdict will complicate not only his re-election bid but also the remainder of his term in the Senate. His colleagues have the option _ never exercised _ of voting to expel him before his term ends in January. Four U.S. senators have been convicted of crimes, historians note, but not one has received a presidential pardon.
*snip*
The Justice Department has charged 11 people in connection with its corruption probe in Alaska, including five former and current state legislators in Alaska. Other than Stevens, five pleaded guilty, three were convicted by juries in Alaska and two await trial.

I can't wait for Nov 4th. I want to see what Alaskan's decide on this bag o batshit.


Tags: Ted Stevens, Ted Stevens found guilty, Another convicted republican

Will wonders ever cease??

This photo was captured by Elegant Gypsy at the intersection of SR 50/3/7 in downtown North Vernon, Indiana.

“It’s more important than the presidential election.”

Those words were uttered by the fucktard known as Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. A real sweetheart group of Theocrats and religious wingnuts. It was said about Proposition 8 here in Cali, the gay marriage amendment they want to put into the Cali Consitution November 4th.

It just shows how sick and desperate these freaks are. It's pathetic no? Check out these memorable quotes as well from a NYT writeup on the subject:

“This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon,” said Charles W. Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and an eminent evangelical voice, speaking to pastors in a video promoting Proposition 8. “We lose this, we are going to lose in a lot of other ways, including freedom of religion.”

“We’ve picked bad presidents before, and we’ve survived as a nation,” said Mr. Perkins, who has made two trips to California in the last six weeks. “But we will not survive if we lose the institution of marriage.”

Colson's horseshit really chaps my ass. Its all bullshit and bravado for Christs sake. The world will not end, our society will not come crashing down around us, religion will not be outlawed and furthermore:

You hate-filled bags of batshit are disgusting in your self-consuming hatred. May you all rot in hell very soon.

Even lawyers are ignorant morons...imagine my surprise.

This humdinger of a lawsuit was dismissed by Federal Judge Barclay Surrick. From Jurist:

Judge R. Barclay Surrick of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Friday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the citizenship status and eligibility of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to become US president. The lawsuit (PDF), filed by Pennsylvania attorney Philip Berg, had alleged that Obama did not meet the constitutional requirement of being a "natural born" US citizen, arguing that Obama had lost his citizenship as a child when his mother married an Indonesian man, and had failed to reclaim it upon becoming an adult. Berg also alleged that there was insufficient evidence that Obama had been born in the US, and challenged the veracity of his Hawaiian birth certificate. Surrick dismissed the case, finding that Berg lacked standing to bring the suit because he did not face direct harm even if the allegations were true. Berg has said that he plans to appeal the suit's dismissal. AP has more.

A similar court challenge was previously made to the citizenship of Obama's presidential rival, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), arguing that McCain did not qualify as a "natural born" US citizen because he was born at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, a military installation outside of US territory. US District Judge William Alsup dismissed that lawsuit in September for lack of standing

.

Fucking morons...Jesus H. Christ, some people are just downright fucking retarded and it's amazing they are still walking this earth.

Republicans that have endorsed Obama..

Not that I give two shits, but it warms the cockles of my little black heart to see them jump ship like this. From TO:

Joel Haugen, a Republican fighting a tough congressional race against the Democrats in Oregon, has fallen out with his party. The reason: his surprise endorsement of Barack Obama for the presidency.

"I believe in putting nation before party and my first priority is following my conscience with regard to what is best for America," Haugen said in a statement issued by his office today. "I have a huge amount of respect for John McCain, but I believe that he has more of a cold war mentality."

Haugen is just one of many Republican politicians, dubbed "Obamicans", who have defected to Obama. The latest high-profile desertions include Scott McClellan, George Bush's former press secretary, who endorses Obama in a taped CNN programme to be broadcast this weekend, and William Weld, the Republican governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997.

Weld, in a statement released today ahead of a press conference in New Hampshire, described Obama as "a once-in-a-lifetime candidate."

Last weekend, Bush's former secretary of state, Colin Powell, Obama's biggest Republican catch so far, publicly backed the Democratic candidate.

And they have their own website don't cha know? Its called Republicans for Obama. Again from TO:

Other defectors include Arne Carlson, the Republican governor of Minnesota from 1991 to 1999, who wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune yesterday: "The choice of governor Sarah Palin as a running mate, and the resultant shallow campaign based on fear and suspicion, looks frighteningly similar to the politics of Karl Rove [Bush's campaign strategist]."

The founders of Republicans for Obama include a former Iowa congressman, Jim Leach; a former Rhode Island senator, Lincoln Chafee, and a former Bush fund-raiser, Rita Hauser.

Another defector this week is Ken Adelman, a foreign policy adviser to Ronald Reagan, who told the New Yorker he would endorse Obama because of McCain's temperament, describing as weird his behaviour in response when the economic meltdown began.

The list will get longer...bet on it.

Now for some truth about ACORN

After the Rethugs and their little rat-dog's McCain and Palin, have made unsubstantiated claims against ACORN, its time to lay out some undeniable facts...that BushCo's FBI also knows. Yet they still instigated a...cough...investigation into ACORN's activities. From Open Left:

The attacks on ACORN are spurious to say the least. Here a few key facts that our accusers aren’t telling you.

• ACORN has implemented the most sophisticated quality-control system in the voter engagement field but in almost every state we are required to turn in ALL completed applications, even the ones we know to be problematic.

• ACORN flags in writing incomplete, problem, or suspicious cards when we turn them in. Unfortunately, some of these same officials then come back weeks or months later and accuse us of deliberately turning in phony cards. In many cases, we can actually prove that these are the same cards we called to their attention.

• Our canvassers are paid by the hour, not by the card. ACORN has a zero-tolerance policy for deliberately falsifying registrations, and in the cases where our internal quality controls have identified this happening we have fired the workers involved and turned them in to election officials and law-enforcement.

• The rate of incomplete cards for the drive was 5 percent (about 65,000 cards) and the rate of “suspicious” cards was 1.5 percent (about 19,500 cards).

Those are just the highlights; we have an entire section of our website, The Real ACORN, dedicated to telling the truth about ACORN’s work.

ACORN isn't a rookie when it comes to partisan, smarmy attacks...this ain't their first rodeo. ;)

CREW files FEC complaint on clothes horse Palin

The rightwing nutjobs are all saying this is a non-issue, even though they made an issue of John Edwards haircuts among other frivolous things. Still, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW, filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission Thursday. From TPM:

The group claims the excessive spending is a violation of campaign finance law which specifically prohibits candidates from using campaign funds for personal use.

"It is ridiculous that RNC would spend $150,000 to outfit a vice presidential nominee and her family at any time, but it is more outrageous given the dire financial straights of so many Americans and the state of our economy," CREW director Melanie Sloan said in a statement. "If the RNC had an extra $150,000 to throw around, there were better alternatives than pricey designer clothes."

The RNC now claims all the clothing bought for Palin and her brood will be donated after the campaign. Yeah, right. From the CREW Press Release:

FECA specifically prohibits a candidate for federal office from converting campaign funds to personal use.

FEC regulations make clear that the prohibition applies to clothing purchases, such as those made for the Palin family.The RNC implicitly admitted that the clothing was purchased with campaign funds by stating that it will be donated to charity after the campaign. The RNC also relies on this prospective contribution to explain why the personal use prohibition is not applicable as FEC regulations provide that donations by candidates to charitable organizations are not for personal use. It does not appear, however, that this exception would apply to the clothing worn by Palin’s family, even it does apply to her own.

It wouldn't break my heart to see Mrs. Joe Sixpack busted for this infraction..not one teensy bit. ;) Meanwhile, while many presume the complainer to be Karl Rove, an operative within the Republican Party had this to say on the subject of $150K in clothes for Caribou Barbie:

“One of the most senior Republican strategists in the land warns the McCain campaign after reading the WashTimes interview: “Lashing out at past Republican congresses instead of Pelosi and Reid, and echoing your opponent's attacks on you instead of attacking your opponent, and spending 150,000 hard dollars on designer clothes when congressional Republicans are struggling for money, and when your senior campaign staff are blaming each other for the loss in The New York Times [Magazine] 10 days before the election, you’re not doing much to energize your supporters.

Awww..you mean other Rethugs might not get elected because Caribou Barbie needed new duds? Awesome! ;)

About that so-called Liberal Press..

E&P has a great article up that looks at how the MSM, and specifically the newspaper end of it, has endorsed Presidential candidates over the decades. First a delicious quote from the end of the writeup:

But here is that accounting, which shows an extremely wide GOP edge from the so-called "liberal press" going way back, with even JFK and FDR taking it on the chin. A Democrat did not earn the most editorial votes until Johnson edged Goldwater in 1964 and then not again until Clinton recorded a narrow "win" in 1992.

Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your lil black heart? It does mine. Now their polls:

# endorsements R (%) # endorsements D (%) no-endorsement at all or could not determine(%)

1940: Willkie (R) Roosevelt (D)
813 (63.9) 289 (22.7) 171 (13.4)

1944: Dewey (R) Roosevelt (D)
796 (60.1) 291 (22.0) 237 (17.9)

1948: Dewey (R) Truman (D)
771 (65.2) 182 (15.4)
Thurmond (I) Wallace (I)
45 (3.8) 3 (.3) 182 (15.4)

1952: Eisenhower (R) Stevenson (D)
933 (67.3) 202 (14.5) 250 (18.1)

1956: Eisenhower (R) Stevenson (D)
740 (62.3) 189 (15.1) 270 (22.7)

1960: Nixon (R) Kennedy (D)
731 (57.7) 208 (16.4) 328 (25.9)

1964: Johnson (D) Goldwater (R)
440 (42.4) 359 (34.7) 237 (22.9)

1968: Nixon (R) Humphrey (D)
634 (60.8) 146 (14)
Wallace (I)
12 (1.2) 250 (24.0)

1972: Nixon (R) McGovern (D)
753 (71.4) 56 (5.3) 245 (23.3)

1976: Ford (R) Carter (D)
411 (62) 80 (12) 168 (26)

1980: Reagan (R) Carter(D)
443 (42.2) 126 (12)
Anderson (I)
40 (3.8) 439 (42)

1984: Reagan (R) Mondale (D)
381 (57.7) 62 (9.4) 216 (27)

1988: Bush (R) Dukakis (D)
195 (29.5) 51 (7.7) 416 (62.8)

1992: Clinton (D) Bush (R)
149 (18.3) 125 (14.9)
Perot (I)
1 (0.1) 542 (66.7)

Barack Obama leads by about 125 to 46 over John McCain. Check out their running list of all endorsements, updated continuously here.

Then and Now...

I taped The Chicago 10 last night as the first game of the World Serious was on at the same time. I watched it at 2am this morning when I couldn't sleep.

What struck me most about the documentary were the parallels between then and now. Too many parts ring true now; the court system, the government painting the individuals as subversives unamerican and communists, the attempt by the city of Chicago to silence the hundreds of thousands of people that poured into the city to protest at the Democratic Convention which ultimately nominated Lyndon Johnson, the increase of troops flowing into Vietnam...and so much more.

As an aside, most of the anti-war groups of the era were actually investigated by the HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee. Who knew that scurrilous group of fascists still existed in the 60's? McCarthy would of been proud.

The movie is a blend of animation and film archives of the protests and confrontations. The animation is used for the trial sections in the movie and the dialog seems to be directly out of the court transcripts.

The film archives are chilling in their brutality. I winced each time a police baton beat senseless a protester that was doing nothing more than sitting on the ground or simply marching down a street.

It's a good movie and one that will show you have far we haven't come in 40 years, when the government and specifically rightwing individuals who control it don't want you to exercise your constitutional rights.

After the movie is a good albeit short English documentary on the whole sordid mess and it makes several points that the movie missed, one of which is the 1968 Anti-Riot law which was passed as part of the Civil Rights law of that decade and the only thing the individuals were actually found guilty on. This law was later struck down as unconstitutional. It was so narrow in scope the labor unions had to demand a special section in the law that exluded them when they had a labor strike in progress.

Btw, if your wondering who the other three are, its the three attorneys that represented the Chicago seven. They too did jail time, thanks to Julius Hoffman, the judge.

Rent it, buy it...just see it.

Chicago 10 on PBS tonite.

Everyone that is younger than I am, which is pretty much everyone in the blogosphere, should watch this. Check your local listings for the time here.

Mark Maron and Sam Seder deliver on McDesperate

Watch and/or listen to the daily here. This is Amerika! ;)

I direct your attention to ...

The man behind the curtain, John McCain. His name is at the top of the ticket and all the literature and ads the campaign puts out. The buck stops with his friggin ass.

And that doddering ole fuck needs to get a firm grip on reality. His campaign is spiraling out of control. People are talking major shit and make no mistake..its all shit. He acts like he is above the fray, but baby....its you on the line..your entire career is on the line.

And I wonder how in the hell it will survive this smarmy-friggin-campaign dude.

I really do. Because if you, John Sidney McCain aren't the man behind the curtain..he's fucking you bad dude..seriously.

In other news, Clyde is sans lampshade and much happier. If we can just get him to quick licking his ass all will be right in the world..or that small part of it.

Thank Gawd for feline tramadol..who knew? ;)

Manchester United!

Its a great group that is looking for new members...oh, shit..wait!

Its Writers United and the title is a bit self-explanatory. It was the brainchild of Utah Savage, who like fine wine gets better with age. :)

I will get your email addresses in the comments section of this post, and sign you up for this private blog of creative, fiction-loving fools...I mean writers. ;>p

Haloscan will record your email and send it to me, so make sure the email you use is the correct one please. Do not print your email address publicly in the comment section, use the area provided under your name.

Also, feel free to email me there with what tools you need on the site, or whatever you call them. It's a naked site right now and it's not pretty.

Michelle Bachmann voted against the new GI Bill...isn't that Un-Amerikan?

From Americans United for Change:

On May 15th, 2008, Rep. Bachmann unapologetically voted against meaningful legislation to establish and fund a 21st century G.I. Bill that ensures our fighting men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan no longer have to worry about paying for a quality college education. The original GI Bill launched millions of families on a course to achieving the American dream – and set the American economy on the right course after a draining war. The new G.I. Bill will help do the same today in an economy slipping further towards a full scale recession. With no help from the Congresswoman, the 21st Century G.I. Bill was signed into law on June 30th. AUFC launched this television ad in May called ‘Lip Service’ in the Twin Cities media market holding Rep. Bachmann to account for failing to support the troops when they return home: http://www.americansunitedforchange.org/blog/entries/new_ads_target_those_turning_their_backs_on_the_troops/

Hello there..

How ya doing? Let me tell you about my weekend....

My son came over Sunday morning as is his usual and we were visiting in my bedroom, shooting the shit when he started loving on Clyde. Suddenly he screamed out..WTF IS WRONG WITH HIS ASS????

Clyde, the Siamese and ONLY non-feral cat and I spent untold hours in the animal ER Sunday. One of his anal glands ruptured.

This is not a pretty site, it horrified me. I raced him to the only animal ER in town and dropped two hundred bucks (cash or debit card only) on my little first born man cat. We went home with lots of things to do, such as:

Hold a warm compress to his butt for five minutes three times a day
Give him liquid antibiotics twice a day...thank god and greyhound I am quite adept at dosing a cat..years of experience thank you very much.
Keep the ugly lampshade on his noggin and only take it off so he can eat or drink water...then immediately put it back on so he doesn't lick his butt.

The compress thing is a pain in the lol..ass but the worst part is the Elizabethan collar...aka the lampshade. I figured out quickly that it was far easier to develop a way for him to eat and drink out of certain bowls than take off and put back on that fucking thing whenever he seemed to want to eat or drink.

The other nightmare is that Clyde is not happy with the lampshade on. He does nothing but pace and cry. In fact, he cried so much he became hoarse after just a few hours. We kept him in my bedroom/office and all the other felines were locked out because frankly, they were laughing their fool heads off at him and thats not nice at all. Plus they wanted to slap at the lampshade and watch Clyde go batshit crazy.

So Clyde would eventually cry himself to sleep and I could lay down and sleep too...for a whole hour at a time.

Needless to say I am quite cranky this morning and awaiting my vet's office opening so I can call in for some sedatives and pain meds...for Clyde.

Somehow I think my doc wouldn't write out a prescription for sedatives for me based on Clyde's wound...what do you think?

Photo is an old one of Clyde in happier times..I didn't have the heart to take one of his current state.

100,000 come out for Obama

I can't believe it. I really can't. It warms the cockles of my lil black heart don't ya know? From TruthOut via UK's Daily Mail:

Barack Obama made history again today after drawing the highest American crowd of this year's presidential campaign.

The senator who became the first black man to become a candidate was cheered on by more than 100,000 people in St. Louis, Missouri.

"All I can say is wow," he said as he took the stage in his latest bid to woo voters in the key battleground state.

Every four years, Missouri commands attention because of its bellwether status. It has voted for every presidential winner since 1900, with the exception of 1956.

The Illinois Democrat has drawn big crowds all through his contest with John McCain, who Mr Obama now leads by up to 14 points in nationwide polls.

In May the 47-year-old attracted about 75,000 to an event in Portland, Oregon before that state's primary election.

And in the German capital, Berlin, he drew more than 200,000 during a foreign tour in July.

It IS a big deal for a candidate to draw this many people, look at that picture...people for as far as the eye can see.

John McCain is bragging about 20,000 but he neglects to tell you that also on stage is a well-known country and western singer.

The article also includes the transcript of Obama's speech to the Missourian's. It's a good read for a Sports Sunday m'dear reader.

He did it-Colin Powell endorses Obama

MSNBC:

Appearing on “Meet the Press,” former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell says he's voting for Democrat Barack Obama.

General Powell even gave money to McCain at the outset of the campaign! Powell, who isn't without his own demons in the run-up to Iraq, lays out every single thing that is wrong with the Republican partys move to the extreme right, Sarah Palin and John McCain and his message, his flip-flopping on the economy..its all here in this six minute statement. He mentions it all folks...every last sickening, disgusting thing wrong with the reichwing nutjobs who control the Republican Party and evidently John McCain.

And for that, I am glad, even happy. Powell has, as I said, responsibility for the lies that led us into the war in Iraq. He never spoke publicly about his fears until it was too late..but he did sort of 'redeem' himself this morning on Meet the Press.

IF that doesn't piss off the Rethugs, perhaps Obama's latest financial statement will:

Obama raises record $150 million

Fuck you John McCain, and your little lap dog Palin too.

McCarthyism is alive and well thanks to Michelle Bachmann

This worthless, fearmongering female just freaks me the fuck out. I mean really...is she friggin serious?

Because if she is..we are really fucked if these fascist types of assholes regain control of Congress or hold onto the office of President.



From the ThinkProgress article the video is filched from:

Appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball today, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) attacked the patriotism of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), based on his alleged relationship to former Weather Underground member William Ayers and the values of Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. “I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views,” said Bachmann. “That’s what the American people are concerned about.”

She then went further, suggesting that all liberal views — held by people such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, professors, and all Americans who identify themselves as “liberals” — are “anti-American.” When host Chris Matthews, stunned by her remarks, asked Bachmann how many people in Congress hold anti-American views, she responded, “You’ll have to ask them.”

Bachmann called on the media to conduct investigations into the anti-American activities of members of Congress, similar to Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s discredited House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in the 1950s. “I think people would love to see an exposé like that,” she claimed.

Sick fascist bag o batshit . She makes me that angry.

SCOTUS backs Dems in Ohio voting case

This morning SCOTUS came down hard on the side of voters and Democrats by issuing a ruling which blocked an order requiring Ohio officials to step up efforts to identify invalid voter registrations.From Bloomberg:

The justices today said Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner doesn't have to comply with an order to provide county election boards with lists of new registrants whose information doesn't match up with government databases. A federal trial judge had ordered Brunner to supply the lists by today.

Brunner, a Democrat, said the judge's order could have affected as many as 200,000 Ohioans, potentially forcing them to cast provisional ballots instead of regular ballots. That group likely would have included a disproportionate number of Democrats because of that party's efforts to register new voters this year.

The case is Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party, 07A332.

Thank God and Buddha for those activist judges. Screw the Rethugs and their vote manipulation tactics.

Tags: Ohio Voter Registration, Stealing our votes, Bruner v Ohio Republican Party

Evolution of a President.

From the wonderful mind of Steve at Bring It On:

They gotta be kidding me...

AIG is lobbying states to relax recently enacted rules regarding stricter oversight of the mortgage industry.

I shit you not. What do you want to bet they are spending our money to do this. From Reuters:

Insurance giant American International Group Inc is spending money to lobby states to soften new controls on the mortgage industry, the Wall Street Journal said.

When the U.S. government took control of failing mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it prohibited them from lobbying. But it hasn't banned the practice at AIG, a huge insurer that is still 20 percent-owned by public shareholders, the Journal said.

State regulators said AIG is working to ease some provisions in a new federal law, passed in July as part of a sweeping housing-industry rescue package, which establishes strict oversight of mortgage originators, the paper said.

Simply fucking amazing m'dear reader...

Special favors for McCain?

Verizon and AT&T heart John McCain..a lot. From WaPo:

Early in 2007, just as her husband launched his presidential bid, Cindy McCain sought to resolve an old problem -- the lack of cellphone coverage on her remote 15-acre ranch near Sedona, Ariz., nestled deep in a tree-lined canyon called Hidden Valley.

Sen. John McCain, is a senior member of the Senate commerce committee, which oversees the telecommunications industry.

Isn't that special? Sure is..So is this:

McCain and his campaign have close ties to Verizon and AT&T. Five campaign officials, including manager Rick Davis, have worked as lobbyists for Verizon. Former McCain staff member Robert Fisher is an in-house lobbyist for Verizon and is volunteering for the campaign. Fisher, Verizon chief executive Ivan G. Seidenberg and company lobbyists have raised more than $1.3 million for McCain's presidential effort, and Verizon employees are among the top 20 corporate donors over McCain's political career, giving his campaigns more than $155,000.

McCain's Senate chief of staff Mark Buse, senior strategist Charles R. Black Jr. and several other campaign staff members have registered as AT&T lobbyists in the past. AT&T Executive Vice President Timothy McKone and AT&T lobbyists have raised more than $2.3 million for McCain. AT&T employees have donated more than $325,000 to the Republican's campaigns, putting the company in the No. 3 spot for career donations to McCain, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

"It raises the aura of special consideration for somebody because he is a member of the Senate," said Stanley Brand, a former House counsel for Democrats and an ethics lawyer who represents politicians in both parties.

I see the aura now...don't you? ;)

Joe the Plumber...wtf dude?

I have nothing against plumbers, hell my son is one. What I don't get however is why Joe would think that McCain would represent Joe's best interest.

Joe isn't one of the top one percent...at least I don't think he is since he has worked for that company for decades and supposedly now wants to buy it. From ABC:

ABC News' Chris Bury is outside Toledo, near the home of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber," and reports that Wurzelbacher -- such a key part of Sen. John McCain's critique of Sen. Barack Obama's economic proposals -- acknowledged that he wants to purchase the plumbing business for $250-280,000, not that he would net that much in profits.

He would make much less, he said.

Which would seem to indicate that he would be eligible for an Obama tax cut, not that he would be subject to the tax increase from 36% to 39% Obama would impose on those making more than $200,000 per person, or $250,000 per family.

Wurzelbacher this morning told ABC News' Diane Sawyer that he was talking about, in Diane's words, the prospect, the hope that someday he would make $250,000.

"Well, exactly," he said. "Exactly. I mean not that I don't want to be taxed. You have to be taxed. But to -- just because you work a little harder to have a little bit more money taken from you, I mean, that's scary. You know as opposed to other people. I worked hard for it. Why should I be taxed more than other people?"

Oh, I get it now...Joe hopes to one day make a lot of money...once again, its people voting against their own current self-interest because they hope one day they will be part of the top echelon of rich folks.

If you read the rest of the writeup Joe uses the word socialist to describe Obama's tax plan. So really, Joey is just another Republican that wants to keep all his money and fuck everyone else..kinda like John McCain. Joe is just another part of the Rethug 'base'.

Update: Joe doesn't have a plumbing license, although he is supposed to in order to do work in the Ohio, according to the ToledoBlade. Watch Joey talk about socialism below.


Oh and Joe is registered as a Rethug according to the Toledo article and makes no where near 250K a year...So, yeah..Joey is a Rethug lovin fool...bye Joe..don't let the 15-minutes-of-fame door hit you in your stupid ass on the way out.

Tags: Joe the plumber, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher

McCain's ties to terrorists are much more current...and deadly.

Slate has a nice piece up today about McDesperate's ties to the Cuban terrorists. Make no mistake folks...they are terrorists in every sense of the word. From the Slate writeup:

As a result, McCain's campaign and advisers find themselves allied with and/or supporting militants who have committed acts that any reasonable observer would define as terrorism. On July 20, while campaigning for McCain in Miami and just prior to speaking at a McCain event, Sen. Joe Lieberman met with the wife of convicted serial bomber Eduardo Arocena and promised to pursue a presidential pardon on his behalf. Arocena is the founder of the notorious Cuban exile militant group Omega 7, renowned for a string of bombings from 1975 to 1983. Arocena was convicted of the 1980 murder of a Cuban diplomat in Manhattan. In 1983, Arocena was arrested and charged with 42 counts pertaining to conspiracy, explosives, firearms, and destruction of foreign government property within the United States. He is currently serving a life sentence in federal prison in Indiana. His targets included:

*
Madison Square Garden (he blew up an adjacent store);
*
JFK airport (Arocena's group planted a suitcase bomb intended for a TWA flight to Los Angeles—in protest of the airline's flights to Cuba. The plane would have exploded if not for the fact that the bomb went off on the tarmac prior to being loaded);
*
Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center (causing damage to three levels of the theater and halting the performance of a music group from Cuba);
*
the ticket office of the Soviet airline Aeroflot;
*
and a church.

He also attempted to assassinate the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations.

Arocena was also convicted of the 1979 murder of New Jersey resident Eulalio José Negrín. The 37-year-old Negrín, who advocated diplomacy with Cuba, was machine-gunned down as he stepped into his car, dying in the arms of his 13-year-old son.

Also, McSame's pal Joe Lieberman has promised (video here, in spanish except for Lieberman's promise) Miriam Arocena he would petition Washington to grant a pardon to her husband. "It's my responsibility; it's my responsibility. I will carry [the pardon request] back. I will carry it back," Lieberman told Arocena just before addressing a group at a McCain event. "I think of you like you were my family. ... I'll bring it back. I'll do my best."

Bombers and political killers are one of two things...either terrorists or freedom fighters folks...and it all depends on who you fucking ask doesn't it?

So hopefully if McDesperate brings up Ayers...Obama will have the nads to bring up Arocena. It's the least he can do...to finally put a stop to this horseshit coming out of McCain and Palin's pieholes about palling around with terrorists. Another terrorist linked to McCain from the writeup:

Nor has McCain's senior adviser Diaz-Balart ever wavered in seeking "due process" for legendary bombers and would-be Castro assassins Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch. Both were charged with the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976, killing all 73 civilian passengers—the first act of airline terrorism in the Americas. In 2005, when I asked him about those who died—many of them teenage athletes—Bosch responded, "We were at war with Castro, and in war, everything is valid."

There are plenty of other cuban terrorists/freedom fighters that are linked to McCain..read the article linked at the top of the post for the full 4-11 on it. They have all killed people...on AMERICAN SOIL for the most part. All of them.

Update: A hug and thanks to Helen for finding this video of McCain with another cuban terrorist Roberto Martin Perez. Video won't embed or I would put it up here.



Tags: Eduardo Arocena, McCain ties to terrorists, Joe Lieberman, Luis Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch

Make Poverty History

Poverty robs humans of every coping mechanism there is.

It takes away their pride, their heart, their drive and their grit.

Poverty is noticeable to the naked eye many times.

Its the way you are dressed. Its the look in your eyes.

Poverty will steal everything that makes you....you.

And it will forever change you. It can make you humble or it can make you angry.

Because Poverty hurts physically and emotionally.

It will steal the life out of you if your not strong enough to withstand the barrage of problems, situations and anxieties that are heaped upon you.

Poverty will sap your intellect, it will dull your senses after a while.

Poverty hurts all Americans. It robs all America of something and someone valuable.

World-wide Poverty robs the entire earth of valuable, contributing humans.

It takes away an important commodity. It takes away a contributing human from our society and the world as a whole.

We spend billions trying to rectify it by putting band aid after band aid on it, yet its the first program that gets cut when the government needs to rathole money for Corporate America or an god-forsaken war somewhere.

We can never stop fighting Poverty. No matter where it exists in the world. If for no other reason than it knows no boundaries. It can hit any of us at any time and through no fault of our own.

So even if your a selfish fuck and only think of yourself...fighting poverty is a self-preserving action.

Because no one wants to be poor and hungry. No one.

Sirens Chronicles has several excellent posts up for today's Blog Action as well. Visit us here.

William F. Buckley's son endorses Obama..

And within hours of doing so...was tarred and feathered by his fathers magazine, the National Review. From AP:

A week after endorsing Democrat Barack Obama for president, Christopher Buckley, a writer and son of William F. Buckley Jr., is leaving National Review, the conservative magazine founded by his father more than 50 years ago.

"Within hours of my endorsement appearing in The Daily Beast it became clear that National Review had a serious problem on its hands," Buckley wrote in a blog posted Tuesday on http://www.thedailybeast.com, the online broadsheet founded by Tina Brown.

"So the next morning, I thought the only decent thing to do would be to offer to resign my column there. This offer was accepted — rather briskly! — by Rich Lowry, NR's editor, and its publisher, the superb and able and fine Jack Fowler."

Buckley, a best-selling novelist who had been a featured columnist at the National Review, infuriated conservatives last week by declaring himself "the latest conservative/libertarian/whatever to leap onto the Barack Obama bandwagon."

He criticized Republican John McCain as "irascible and snarly" and credited Obama with having "a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect."

Oh my...that's a friggin trip ain't it? ;) Video of Christopher Buckley on Hardball today:


Tags: Christopher Buckley

Obama has double digit lead in most polls..nationally

He is actually picking up voters in...wait for it..

West-By-God-Virginia

Sweet Jesus in a speedo...say its so! Well, the Newsweek link above says we shouldn't get too excited about WV:

In defense of Chris Matthews and Co., it's easy to see why it's such an attractive subject for speculation. For decades, the thoroughly working-class West Virginia--one of only two states to vote for Jimmy Carter in 1980 AND Michael Dukakis in 1988--was among the bluest states in the union. In fact, Republicans managed to win West Virginia only twice between 1960 and 1996--during the massive GOP landslides of 1972 and 1984. But now the tables have turned. In 2000, the state chose George W. Bush over Al Gore, 52 to 46 percent; four years later, Bush doubled his winning margin to 13 points. The story--for what its worth--was that West Virginia's white working class had chosen to vote its values (Republicans) over its economic interests (Democrats).

But the article goes on to say neither candidate is paying much attention to WV. Why the hell is that?

Perhaps it is because they only have 5 Electoral votes...but meanwhile...

The LA Times has these words of wisdom:

The new poll results also show voters' positions hardening, like cement, with 89% of both registered and likely voters "certain" of their vote, along with 96% of Republicans and 95% of Democrats.

When third-party candidates such as Bob Barr and Ralph Nader are added to the polling mix, the results change little. It's 47-39 Obama over McCain among registered voters and 48-39 among likely voters, with Nader capturing a non-decisive 3% of vote and Barr only 1%.

All I know is...I am tired of this election...and I want it over now! Whoever wins better have their Secretary of the Treasury picked and who is going to lead us out of this recession/financial meltdown.

Paul Krugman wins Nobel Prize for Economics.

Krugman is an unapologetic liberal so we can all be proud of Mr. Krugman, a frequent guest on Olbermann's Countdown show. From the MSNBC writeup:

Paul Krugman, the Princeton University scholar and New York Times columnist, won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect trade patterns and the location of economic activity.

Krugman has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration and the Republican Party in The New York Times, where he writes a regular column and has a blog called “Conscience of a Liberal.”

He has come out forcefully against John McCain during the economic meltdown, saying the Republican candidate is “more frightening now than he was a few weeks ago” and earlier that the GOP has become “the party of stupid.”

I really love the last quote. ;) Below is Paul Krugman on Rachel Maddow's show from October 6th.