Could This Be Pay Back From The Big Guy?

Bush
‘unlikely’ to attend GOP convention.

Schwarzenegger
May Be No Show At GOP Convention

I'm just saying............

McCain And More Politics First

So McSame sees a chance to redeem himself from the Katrina Birthday Photo-op by getting his ass in the way of hurricane prep and possibly even the cleanup - what a putz.

Moira Whelan: McCain's Disastrous Politics of Gustav

Today, Obama stated that he would stay out of the way as Hurricane Gustav once again threatens the Gulf Coast. Even Bush, who three years ago celebrated Katrina's landfall at John McCain's birthday party, is staying away.

What does McCain do? Just like he did when he traveled to a market place in Baghdad, he puts the lives of Americans in danger, and diverts the mission for his own personal political gain. He will travel to the Gulf Coast to give a speech while emergency professionals are urging people to leave. Not only is it political grandstanding, it's a disgusting display of the type of bad leadership we would see if John McCain became President.

Preparedness for hurricanes is serious business. When it's done right, emergency managers control the airwaves, the message, and urge political leaders to stay out of the way so they can make sure people and property are safe. Senators and Congressmen are briefed, but told to stay out of the way and wait until they find out what resources are needed, and then make it happen. The governor takes cues from the Emergency Management director of the state: brief people to get out,
show leadership, be honest, and make the calls for resourc?s that need to be made. The President turns the keys to government over to the FEMA director to make sure resources flow properly and stands by to twist arms if needed. The business of disasters is left to disaster professionals with politicians playing a supporting role.

But not in 2008, and not when John McCain is sucking wind on a political campaign.

Now, some Americans will see McCain's trip as "leadership" but just as John McCain's visit to a marketplace in Baghdad resulted in three Blackhawk helicopters and hundreds of soldiers being ordered to protect his photo op stroll through the market, this could be deadly.

It's a complete disregard for the mission and the government professionals at all levels attempting to keep people safe.

John McCain's mere suggestion that he should go there shows his horrific and dangerous judgment. If it actually happens, which hopefully it does not, then he will actually be doing harm. Because he is a presidential candidate, air traffic stops when he lands, roads are closed, and press follow him. Secret service and law enforcement personnel have to make sure everything is secure. That means all of
these things STOP WORKING to make the area safer for the people getting out and protecting their homes. The only thing working in the favor of emergency management professionals are the noticeably small crowds at McCain events...so perhaps people will not be motivated to stay around.

These are the very reasons Obama and Biden dismissed the suggestion of travel immediately when asked. He's talked to Jindal--a man on McCain's short list for veep--and has expressed help. Trips of politicians often happen after major storms, but when doing these, the main goal is to highlight the devastation in order to secure the resources needed to fix it. It appears these gentlemen get it, and McCain is out of touch in a truly dangerous way.

McCain's suggestion of a visit will waste precious hours in getting resources in at a time when hours and minutes make all the difference. It will impact news coverage which should otherwise be used to urge people to get out through the proper channels, not political parties.

But a visit? Senator McCain, that would be a disaster for the country. Your truly reckless act would show once and for all that you actually would be worse than President Bush.

Let's not forget what the real McCain was doing when the Levees broke in 2005...........eating cake!

The Insanity Of Our Neo-fascist Regime Continues

You may remember this from back in May, well now the Appeals court has handed out its ruling.

So in what insane world does this make any sense? The Government can tell a business that they can not test the product they sell to ensure it is safe for their customer(that would be you and me)?

Only in the GOP rabbit hole we live in.

Court: U.S. can bar mad-cow testing - USATODAY.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court says the government can prohibit meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease.

Because the Agriculture Department tests only a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease, Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its cows. The government says it can't.

Larger meat companies worry that if Creekstone is allowed to perform the test and advertise its meat as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that would have cleared the way for the testing. The appeals court said restricting the test is within the scope of the government's authority.

So Karl, Do You Have Any Dignity Left?

Ok, granted we all know Karl Rove is a political hack, who has caused damage to this nation that will take a generation to repair, but this takes the hackery to a new all time low:
August 15th of this month bashing Gov. Tim Kaine:

ROVE: And look, Kaine is undistinguished. With all due respect, he’s an able but undistinguished governor of the state of - or the commonwealth of Virginia and a former mayor of Richmond, which is the 105th largest city in America, not very big. And you can’t get Virginians to tell you really anything that he’s done, other than and raise taxes for transportation.

Followed by this glowing review of Princess Gov. Sarah Palin's experience:

ROVE: She’s a populist, she’s an economic and social conservative, she took on the incumbent governor of the state Frank Murkowski — Republican — beat him in the primary, won an upset in the general election. She’s a former mayor. She’s the mayor of, I think, the second largest city in Alaska before she ran for governor.

Oh and by the way Karl, 2nd largest city in Alaska? try again.

	Name	Status	C C 1980-04-01	C C 1990-04-01	C C 2000-04-01	C E 2007-07-01
<	Anchorage	City	174,431	226,338	260,283	279,671
<	College	Uninc	4,043	11,249	11,402	13,600
<	Fairbanks	City	22,645	30,843	30,226	34,540
<	Juneau	City	19,528	26,751	30,711	30,690
<	Ketchikan	City	7,198	8,285	7,922	7,368
<	Sitka	City	7,803	8,588	8,835	8,874

McCain's Just An Idiot

So now we get around to vetting her.........a little bit backwards eh!

A very reliable source overheard Republican spokesperson McHugh Pierre state TODAY that he had spoken to the McCain Campaign. They are coming to Alaska tomorrow to check out the "Troopergate" investigation.

In other words, THEY DID NOT DO SO PROPERLY AHEAD OF TIME.

So, I wonder what else they may not know...like why Bristol Palin may be holding a blanket over her abdomen in public when she's turned to the side towards the cameras?

Not sure how good a source Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis is, but the folks at firedoglake pointed this one out

The Rove Propaganda Machine At Work

They have already been busy scrubbing the Governor's website of anything embarrassing, but thank goodness for "The Google", they keep everything.

Several media outlets have been reporting it.

Palin Pleased with Obama's Energy Plan
Includes Alaska's Natural Gas Reserves Print Now Printer Friendly

No. 08-135

August 4, 2008, Fairbanks, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today responded to the energy plan put forward by the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

"I am pleased to see Senator Obama acknowledge the huge potential Alaska's natural gas reserves represent in terms of clean energy and sound jobs," Governor Palin said. "The steps taken by the Alaska State Legislature this past week demonstrate that we are ready, willing and able to supply the energy our nation needs."

In a speech given in Lansing, Michigan, Senator Obama called for the completion of the Alaska natural gas pipeline, stating, "Over the next five years, we should also lease more of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and gas production. And we should also tap more of our substantial natural gas reserves and work with the Canadian government to finally build the Alaska natural gas pipeline, delivering clean natural gas and creating good jobs in the process."

Governor Palin also acknowledged the Senator's proposal to offer $1,000 rebates to those struggling with the high cost of energy.

"We in Alaska feel that crunch and are taking steps to address it right here at home," Governor Palin said. "This is a tool that must be on the table to buy us time until our long-term energy plans can be put into place. We have already enjoyed the support of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, and it is gratifying to see Senator Obama get on board."

The Governor did question the means to pay for Obama's proposed rebate - a windfall profits tax on oil companies. In Alaska, the state's resource valuation system, ACES, provides strong incentives for companies to re-invest their profits in new production.

"Windfall profits taxes alone prevent additional investment in domestic production. Without new supplies from American reserves, our dependency and addiction to foreign sources of oil will continue," Governor Palin said.

Did They Even Bother To Vet Her?

The Fully Vetted Sarah Palin - From The Moderate Voice

It’s a nice shot, but according to at least once source it was taken
on Super Tuesday. That’s in February. At that point, Palin should have
been six months pregnant with her last child. It does make me wonder if
the following will turn into a story.

…the oldest girl is rumored to have actually been the
one who had the last baby, the one with Down’s Syndrome. She was taken
out of school the last 4 or 5 months of her mother’s pregnancy.

On March 5th, 2008 Alaska’s Republican Governor, Sarah Palin,
announced to the media that she was 7 months pregnant with her 5th
child. She is currently 44.

Palin’s daughter Bristol is 16 and attends an Anchorage high school. Students who
have attended class with her report that she has been out of school for
months, claiming a prolonged case of mono.

Palin does not appear pregnant in any recent photographs. The
announcement came as quite a shock to people who had worked closely
with her, and have been quoted as saying that she did not appear
pregnant whatsoever during the prior 7 months. While this is debatable,
you can judge for yourself here: http://gov.state.ak.us/photos.php

(Ed Note: That link has since died since we first looked at it. The pictures were removed today.)

**Added note - we do need to keep in mind that the fact that the child has downs does lend significant likelihood that child is Sarah's , but it is all kinda odd. And I will say it and piss off some, but what mother of an infant child has the time and energy to run for VP in a campaign that will require 20 hour work days for the 2 months.
****The Bloggers were two thirds right, Brisol was/is preggers, and they were hiding it, however Sarah is Trigger's Mom.

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me, Right?

The man picks a VP nominee after 1 meeting and a phone call.

MCCAIN MET PALIN ONCE BEFORE YESTERDAY?

The tick-tock from McCain communications director Jill Hazelbaker:
"John McCain first met Governor Sarah Palin at the National Governors
Association meeting in Washington in February of 2008 and came away
extraordinarily impressed. John McCain followed her career and admired
her tenacity and her many accomplishments. She was scheduled for a high
profile speaking role at our convention and included in the VP
selection process because of his admiration for her strong reform
credentials. Last Sunday, Governor Palin and John McCain had a
conversation over the phone. Governor Palin was at the Alaska State
Fair, and John McCain was at his home at Phoenix. Previously, Rick
Davis, John McCain’s campaign manager, had also been in regular contact
with the Governor as part of the on-going selection process. This past
week, Governor Palin arrived with Kris Perry in Flagstaff, Arizona, on
Wednesday evening. Upon arrival, Governor Palin and her longtime aide
Kris Perry met with Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter of the McCain
campaign at Mr. Bob Delgado’s home in Flagstaff. Mr. Delgado is the CEO
of the Hensley corporation, which is Mrs. Cindy McCain’s family
business. On Thursday morning, Governor Palin and staff were joined by
Mrs. Cindy McCain and later joined by John McCain at the McCain family
home in Sedona, Arizona. At approximately 11:00 a.m. Thursday August
28, 2008, John McCain formally invited Governor Sarah Palin to join the
Republican ticket as the vice presidential nominee on the deck of the
McCain family home."

OMG- What A Bunch Of Fools

These people think they should be running the country, OMG we are in deep shit if these clowns are ever in charge. And we thought the Bushies were inept.
Did you see the teen age girls as they hid their faces and giggled in embarrassment for the old guy.

Here We Go Again!

Sarasota told of new voting machine glitch

Sarasota County’s new voting machines have a programming glitch that could cause votes to be lost on Election Day, the company that makes the system says.

Premier Elections Solutions Inc. sent a letter to Sarasota County election officials on Thursday warning them that memory cards used in new $3 million optical scan voting system could misread votes. Similar letters have gone to more than 1,700 other cities and counties in 34 starts warning of similar problems.

Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent said the company gave her some procedures to use to make sure votes are not lost. Dent said she will review those procedures with her staff today.

“We know what to do,” Dent said.

The primary election is Tuesday. Early voting for that election has been going on since Aug. 11.

According to the company, computers that scan paper ballots at each precinct work fine. But when the memory cards from those devices are brought to a central computer system to tally all the results, votes can be lost.

The dropped vote problem dates back to 2006 in Ohio. At least 1,000 total votes were dropped in nine Ohio counties over the course of a handful of elections, including the March presidential primary. The errors were in all cases discovered and corrected within several hours.

Premier Election Solutions previously had said complications with antivirus software caused the problem, but now the company acknowledges that the problem is with the machines themselves.

John You Have No Soul, Do You?

If you can watch this and still vote for this man, boy I tell ya..........................

John Are You Making Sh*t Up Again?

From Andrew Sullivan a tough question:

I've now heard it countless times. McCain has used what appears to be an intensely personal moment in a prison camp as a reason to vote for him in a campaign ad. As he tells it today, it was the pivotal moment in his struggle to survive in the Hanoi Hilton. And yet, in his first thorough account of his time in captivity, in 1973, the story is absent. The story is also hauntingly like that recounted by Solzhenitsen, as told in Luke Veronis, "The Sign of the Cross":

Leaving his shovel on the ground, he slowly walked to a crude bench and sat down. He knew that at any moment a guard would order him to stand up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would beat him to death, probably with his own shovel. He had seen it happen to other prisoners.

As he waited, head down, he felt a presence. Slowly he looked up and saw a skinny old prisoner squat down beside him. The man said nothing. Instead, he used a stick to trace in the dirt the sign of the Cross. The man then got back up and returned to his work.

As Solzhenitsyn stared at the Cross drawn in the dirt his entire perspective changed.
I have one simple question: when was the first time that McCain told this story?

As Andrew points out it is not in his initial telling of his tale in 1973.

Let The Flipping & Flopping Begin

Just how long do think it is going to take for the McCain camp to issue a “clarification?

 

"I don't think there's any doubt the major, major issue is water and can be as important as oil. So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties. I think that there's a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, certainly adjust to the new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource'.

 

 

McCain - Where's The Flag Pin?

Watching the Warren “Civil Forum”, I noticed John has no label flag pin. So, wing nuts, what does that say about John’s patriotism?

What I heard from John McCain tonight:

I was a POW.....blah, blah , blah, pander, pander, pander, I was a POW, blah, blah, blah, I am Pro Life, and did I mention I was a POW......

Do you support Bush more today then four years ago? John does!

Great job by Carterwrightdale.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Why am I not surprised that this is happening in Texas


HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.
The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.
School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.

Minnesota Nut Job!!

Remember the old story, told by Pastors time and time again during Sunday sermons:

There was once a flood. The people in the town evacuated, all but one man. He climbed to his roof and prayed for God to save him. A large truck plowed through the flooding streets and it drove up to the man ?n his roof, the people inside offering help. "No thank you, God will save me," answered the man. As the flood rose, a boat with some people came by the man's house and offered him a ride to safety. "No thank you," said the man, "God will save me." The flood rose to the rooftop and the man stood on the chimney surrounded by water. A helicopter hovered above him, the rescue team inside lowering a ladder to the man. He waved them off, shouting politely, "No thank you, God will save me."
........The man drowned. When he met God, he asked, "I told people you'd save me, why didn't you save me?" God answered, "I sent a truck, a boat and a helicopter....

Well apparently Bachmann didn't get it.



I am embarrassed for you Minnesota!

Limbaugh - World's Biggest Ass!

Limbaugh is truly an idiot! Good job Kieth

Four More Years Of "Deer In The Headlights"

Remind you of this at all?

John The Liar

FACTCHECK.ORG

More Tax Deceptions

McCain misrepresents Obama's tax proposals again. And again, and again

McCain released three new ads with multiple false and misleading claims about Obama's tax proposals.

A TV spot claims Obama once voted for a tax increase "on people making just $42,000 a year." That's true for a single taxpayer, who would have seen a tax increase of $15 for the year – if the measure had been enacted. But the ad shows a woman with two children, and as a single mother, she would not have been affected unless she made more than $62,150. The increase that Obama once supported as part of a Democratic budget bill is not part of his current tax plan anyway...................

.......The ad continues McCain's pattern of misrepresenting Sen. Barack Obama's tax proposals as falling on middle-income families. It claims that Obama "promises more taxes on small businesses, seniors, your life savings, your family." But that's untrue for the vast majority of small businesses, seniors and individual taxpayers, who would see their taxes go down under Obama's actual plan. He proposes to increase taxes only for those with more than $250,000 in family income, or $200,000 in individual income.

Our Police State - Shoot First

Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in e-mail to friends

Dear Friends and Neighbors-

Yesterday evening, as my mother-in-law prepared dinner and I changed clothes hurrying to head to a community meeting, a heavily-armed county SWAT team burst through our living room door and shot and killed both of our dogs. There were loud voices. In the sights of two high-caliber weapons, I was ushered downstairs in only my boxer shorts before I was bound and forced to kneel on the floor. My mother-in-law was bound face down in the kitchen. The dead body of my bigger and older dog, Payton, laid in a pool of blood on the other side of the living room.

It was some time before someone spoke to me other than to yell orders. I was told there was a warrant but was never shown one. After many questions and much anger, I was told that they had intercepted a package addressed to our house that contained 32 pounds of marijuana. The large, white box, which I just had retrieved from the front porch, sat unopened on a living room table.

The county police then proceeded to turn our house upside-down. I was moved to the kitchen, where I could see my little dog, Chase, lying in his own pool of blood. My mother-in-law watched them shoot him while he was running away. After about 90 minutes, they finally removed my restraints, which tied my hands behind my back. About the same time, Animal Control came to remove our dogs. Emotions overtook me; I broke down and sobbed.

They asked questions. Through my anger, hurt, and confusion, I answered them. Trinity came home from work a little after 8:00 pm, and they questioned her outside. We both were and remain in shock. It does not make sense, but shared what we coul?. About three-and-a-half hours passed before they acknowledged that they had found nothing to connect us to the box, but could not be 100 certain whether or not we were involved. The package alone was enough to arrest us all, they said, but they would not so long as we continued to cooperate.

Then they left. The broken front door remained open and unsecured. Blood from my dogs was pooled and tracked throughout the house. Our belongings were pulled from drawers, closets, and trunks and tossed about, piled in the middle of rooms and on tables and beds.

A Berwyn Heights officer on the scene helped me get the door shut. Just after midnight, I began to clean up the blood. We put a few things back. Trinity and I tried to sleep. Instead, we both laid there through the night as disbelief, fear, and anger played off one another. We try to make sense of it. They invaded our home and killed our dogs! That, above all else, can't be undone.

A friend came this morning to secure the door. People have begun to call, and the outpouring of friendship and support brings tears to my eyes. The media calls have begun, as well.

I wanted to get this out so that you at least hear the story from me. This promises to be a lengthy process, which will involve telling and re-living this story time and again. Hopefully, the healing will begin soon.

Warm regards,

Cheye

****update***

I noticed this story on the front page of MSNBC and found it on CNN and on ABCNEWS and on CBSNEWS and the AP....but this is what I got searching Foxnews for "Cheye Calvo"

Your search - Cheye Calvo - did not match any documents.

No pages were found containing "Cheye Calvo".

Suggestions:

* Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
* Try different keywords.
* Try more general keywords.

John Flipping and Flopping

This is John:



This is John on oil money:



John you sold out again. BTW you just might want to mention to the campaign team about this thing called the Internet...they may want to check it to see just what you may have said in the past before bashing your opponet for almost udentical remarks.

Thanks to the jedreport for pointing out McCain's pro-conservation comments. Now where is the MSM, and why is there no Obama ad using this clip?

WTF - John Loses His Marbles

GOP: The Few, The Proud, The Ignorant

What a Moron! - Way To Go John, Pimp Cindy!

Indeed, McCain felt so comfortable at the event that he even volunteered his wife for the rally’s traditional beauty pageant, an infamously debauched event that’s been known to feature topless women.

“I encouraged Cindy to compete,” McCain said to cheers. “I told her with a little luck she could be the only woman ever to serve as first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip.”

What an idiot!

You Go Girl!

Hey, I have always refused to even comment about the existence of Paris, as I have always found her annoying, but this is good!

The Fifth Amendment - Should It Be Invoked More?

Interesting take, especially from a Professor at neo-conservative Regent University.

Dog Whistle Politics

Melissa McEwan at the Gaurdian does a great job of explaining just what the crap that came out of the McCain camp this week was....Dog Whistle Politics

This is a lesson in how dog whistles work.

If you're not familiar with the term "dog whistle," as it relates to politics, here's a quick primer: As a literal dog whistle emits a pitch that only dogs can hear, a political dog whistle sends a message that only a particular constituency will hear (or intuitively understand).

Bush has, care of his speechwriters, been dog whistling to his evangelicals for the past eight years; often, when we heathens think he sounds most nonsensical, it's because he's sending a coded message to his Jesus peeps.

Often, dog whistles are merely a covert shout-out to a particular constituency – but sometimes, they're meant to be provocative, to quietly speak to subconscious (or conscious) biases and evoke a particular visceral reaction.

Such is the case with John McCain's campaign advert conflating Barack Obama's candidacy and person with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (which can be viewed here). On its face, it's an obvious editorial on Obama's intelligence and competency, as his image is juxtaposed with two women alleged to be airheads while the voiceover intones: "Is he ready to lead?" And naturally there is an element of commentary on whether he is undeserving and entitled, with which Hilton and Spears are routinely charged. Famous for no reason, just a pretty face, the ad implies.

Caught With Hand In The Hand In The Cookie Jar

Remember the story of Sonia Pitt, who couldn't let a little thing like a bridge collapse get in the way of her sorrid affair. Well seems like the Bushies tried to take of her and gave her a 90K a year gig at TSA, but had to fire her yesterday. Claim they did not know of her earlier reason for termination. Right, forgot to google that applicant?

Face it the only reason they terminated her is they got caught.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has fired Sonia Pitt, the former MnDOT emergency response executive who lost her state job for failing to return to Minnesota in the days after the I-35W bridge collapse.

Pitt was hired two months ago to work in Washington as a security specialist for the agency's Transportation Security Administration. TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said that the latest termination was based on information that MnDOT sent to the federal agency Thursday at TSA's request. The TSA opened an investigation into Pitt's hiring in May about two weeks ago.

Howe said she couldn't comment on the reasoning behind Pitt losing her $89,920 job, but said the information MnDOT sent "corroborated our investigation.''
Thursday was the first time the TSA had contacted the Minnesota agency about Pitt's dismissal, said MnDOT spokeswoman Lucy Kender.

"All I can say is, they called us this afternoon for the first time regarding this issue, about Sonia Pitt's termination status," Kender said.

She said the information sent to Washington was a detailed report from the arbitrator who upheld Pitt's dismissal from her MnDOT post in November.

More Taser Tag - Yeah Let's Tase The Kid With The Broken Back

injured teen from Ozark, Missouri who was tasered up to 19 times by police.

Passing motorists called Ozark police out of concern for the teen as he walked along the busy overpass. When the police arrived, the young man was lying on the shoulder of the highway directly underneath the 30 foot high overpass with a broken back and foot.

Doctors believe 16-year-old Mace Hutchinson broke his back and heel after falling, as his injuries are consistent with such a fall. The boy's family does not understand why police would have tasered the the teen 19 times after he was so seriously injured.