NO "LOWERED EXPECTATIONS" FOR PALIN

In the first presidential debate in 2000, Al Gore made George W. Bush look like a complete idiot. Gore had a total command of facts and logic. He spoke brilliantly. Bush spoke like a semi-coherent, bumbling fool. I was more than happy at the end of it. If it had been a prize fight, the referees would have stopped it. It was that one sided.

Imagine my shock and disbelief when the major media outlets declared that Bush had won the debate. And how had he supposedly pulled this off? He had exceeded expectations. Since Bush had neither fainted, wet himself, nor vomited, he therefore had "won the expectations game". I was amazed. But that's how the debate was presented, and Gore's campaign was hurt by it. It's part of the reason the Republicans were able to get the election close enough to steal in 2000.

Now, we are hearing about low expectations for Sarah Palin in her Thursday debate with Senator Joe Biden. We are hearing that if Palin "exceeds expectations" she will be the winner.

I only have one thing to say to that:

BULLSHIT.

Anyone who has been able to force himself or herself to watch Palin's interviews with Katie Couric has to have come away with the absolute conviction that Palin is a dangerous, shockingly ignorant know nothing.  She cannot name a SINGLE publication she reads on a regular basis. She cannot form a coherent sentence about the financial crisis. She knows absolutely NOTHING about any major national issue. She still thinks proximity to Russia equals foreign policy experience. (!!) She lies habitually. In short, she is wretchedly unprepared to be Vice President, or, GOD FORBID, President should the need arise. Hence the lowered expectations for her debate performance. But nothing could be more dishonest, and nothing could be more harmful to America's future, than to let Palin gain political advantage from her own lies and ignorance. 

PALIN CHOSE TO TRY TO RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS. She could have turned McCain down when (after having met her on one occasion!) he offered the Vice Presidency to her. But she didn't. She accepted it, eagerly. In her ugly speech to the Republican HateFest, she embraced the role of attack dog with enthusiasm. She has put herself into the national spotlight. The fact that her glaring deficiencies are now being mercilessly exposed DOES NOT GIVE HER A FREE PASS IN THE DEBATE. If she can't even do more than simply repeat canned answers that have been drummed into her, then why is she entitled to be declared a debate "winner". SHE MUST BE HELD TO THE HIGHEST STANDARD. She is seeking, in effect, the presidency, for God's sake. If she can't measure up there, she won't have the benefit of "lowered expectations". She'll simply fail horrifically.

And take everyone else in America with her.

No lowered expectations, by God! If she can't think on her feet and do more than give laughable sound bites in response to serious questions, then there will be only one word for her:

LOSER.

If McCain Wins, There is a 1 in 5 Chance That Palin Will Become President

Yes, one in five. Those are the actuarial odds for a 72 year old man with a history of cancer.

Yes, Sarah Palin could end up in the White House.

Yes, your votes are crucially important in stopping this tragedy from happening.

But your money is needed, too.  

PLEASE GIVE WHATEVER YOU CAN HERE:

Our nation's future depends on what each of us does now. The election is 5 weeks from tomorrow.

You'll thank yourself when McCain has to go back to the Senate, and Palin has to crawl back to Alaska with her tail between her legs.

THANK YOU FOR WHATEVER YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE!!

The Official Symbol of the McCain Campaign

McCain (Once Again) Falls Flat on His Face

The Wall Street bailout bill has failed in the House. Sixty per cent of the House Democrats voted FOR it; 67% of the House Republicans voted AGAINST it. McCain was, idiotically and prematurely, crowing about how his "leadership" (ha!) had gotten the bailout done, and then the House Republicans torpedoed the bill. Now McCain is trying to blame Obama and the Democrats for the collapse.  My God, what a complete loser this clown McCain is.

BTW, the Republicans voted against the bill BECAUSE IT DIDN'T ABOLISH THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX AND IT DIDN'T WIPE OUT ALL GOVERNMENT REGULATION. Their opposition had NOTHING to do with the interests of ordinary Americans. NOTHING.

Wall Street is getting clobbered today. The real adult in this crisis, the real leader, the truly presidential figure here, Barack Obama, is working to get a bill through that will both ease Wall Street's financial worries and protect the interests of working Americans. The contrast between Obama's calm, mature judgment and McCain's craven, lying childishness, is overwhelming.

There really is only one choice for America's future.

Hey! Where Was Palin in the Post-Debate Spin?

Doesn't the party's VP candidate usually go on all the TV news shows and go on and on about what a great job the presidential candidate did? Palin was nowhere to be seen. Why, it's as if the McCain campaign is hiding her. It's as if they're embarrassed by her. It's as if they're ashamed of her. It's as if they don't think she can string two coherent sentences together at once. It's as if they're afraid that she'll come off like an utterly ignorant, completely unprepared, totally unqualified radical right wing airhead.

Have you EVER seen such a wretchedly bad Republican ticket? Pathetic. Simply pathetic.

In Memory of Paul Newman

A great actor, a great man, a great activist who devoted himself to progressive causes and the well-being of other humans generally. Paul will always have a place in my memory, and he will always be remembered as one of the artistic giants of his time. He will definitely be missed. (You can find a good summary of his life here.)

He will ALWAYS be the coolest.

The Clear Debate Winner: Obama

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

No, McCain DID NOT "Suspend His Campaign"

His commercials are running, his headquarters are all busy, and his surrogates are telling outright lies on national TV even as we speak. He's also speechmaking, as well. In other words, all that talk about suspending his campaign was lying BULLSHIT.

Oh, and McCain has screwed up the bailout deal by demanding MORE deregulation and other perks for the grifters that caused this mess. He's a one man bubonic plague epidemic in the U.S. economy.

I thought Bush and Cheney made a wretchedly bad team. They look like Founding Fathers next to McCain and Palin, the two worst candidates any major political party has ever offered for national office.

PLEASE GIVE TO OBAMA!

My contributions page is right here.

No, by God, No!

Pathetic Sarah Palin is AGAIN trying to convince us that proximity to Russia=knowledge of Russia. Her latest absolutely idiotic contention? Since Russian political leaders sometimes fly over Alaska, this adds to her knowledge of Russia. She ACTUALLY SAID THIS to Katie Couric.

Is this nation turning into an insane asylum? How can this election still be relatively close? How can Obama and Biden not be 30 points ahead? Palin is not only a pathological liar, she's one of these frightening ignoramuses who doesn't realize how ignorant she actually is. She has a sort of Bold Idiocy, a completely unwarranted confidence in her own abilities. She's also buddies with a demented African preacher who prays that she will be protected from witchcraft. FROM WITCHCRAFT, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

No. Hell no. By God, no. I will not accept this woman as a national leader. If by some grotesque turn of events she ends up in the Oval Office, I will be part of a national movement to remove her from it. I'm drawing the line here and now.

To paraphrase the French at Verdun, SHE SHALL NOT PASS!

By the way, I speak some Russian, I have visited Russia, and I have studied Russian history and politics. That makes me one hell of a lot more qualified than Caribou Barbie, the Alaska Disasta!

YEAH! A Marine's Mom Tears the Guts Out of McCain!

It's in all its outraged power and glory right here. She's mad as hell and she lets McCain have it. Excerpts:


I'm talking about Blue Star Families for Obama, an energetic group of active-duty military families who, although they respect the military service and sacrifice of John McCain, nonetheless believe passionately that Barack Obama is a far better choice for commander-in-chief.

http://www.bsf4o.com/

The decision to support Obama for president by many military families is not an emotional one. It is based on careful study of his long history of supporting legislation that provides the best care and opportunities for our nation's veterans and those still in service. A comparison of Obama's senate voting record with John McCain's by major veteran's groups is not even close. He has voted in favor of veteran's benefits and attention to the troops something like 80% of the time in comparison to McCain's 20%. A case in point, as we all know by now, is the recently passed updated version of the G.I. Bill....

...as a Marine mom who has sent a son to Iraq to fight twice, and three nephews four other times, I know the question I would like to see asked of John McCain, because I never see anybody else ask it of him.

But then, why should they?

Less than one-half of one percent of our nation's population has been asked to fight two wars over the past seven years. They've been asked to fight it over and over again.

They've been dragged out of physical rehab from war wounds and sent to fight it again. They've been pulled away from suicide-watch and shipped off to fight again. They've been sent to fight it, spent a year or more there risking their lives daily, and then, while in line to catch the plane for glorious home at last--been pulled away and told to remain in-country another month or two, during which time, more than a few of those who'd been ready to catch the plane home wind up doing so in a flag-draped casket.

This army has been abused in ways I've never seen in my lifetime, and their families have paid a crippling price. Divorce, spousal abuse, child abuse, suicide, cases of PTSD--every single measure of extremely high levels of stress available shows dangerously high levels of it in the military. Junior officers and non-commissioned officers, those lieutenants and sergeants who tend to be combat platoon and squad leaders and absorb some of the worst horrors of war when they not only risk their own lives, but feel responsible for the lives of everyone under them--are fleeing the service in such large numbers that a serious shortage has resulted.

Even the Joint Chiefs of Staff have expressed grave worries of the strains on our nation's military to their commander-in-chief.


Not that he [McCain] cares or has listened.


The question she wants answered is this:

Just where does McCain intend to get the troops for all the wars he intends to fight?

She wants an ANSWER and she wants it now.

So do I.

The McCain Campaign Has Been Exposed for the Fraud It Is

Senator McCain has called for the postponing of the first presidential debate on Friday. He says all of his efforts must go into "solving" the financial crisis.

What a joke. It was McCain's allies who triggered the crisis by working behind the scenes to repeal the regulations that had kept some semblance of rationality in the financial markets. It was McCain himself who spoke out in favor of deregulating financial institutions. It was McCain's candidate for Secretary of the Treasury, Phil Gramm, who is more responsible than any other person for this mess. And Johnny Boy says he's going to help fix things? What a crock. By the way, just what exactly can he do in Washington? He hasn't shown up for his job since April. He's missed many, many key votes. The only thing he's going to do in Washington is pose for photos and act like he's doing something. Truly a farce.

Why is he really "suspending" his campaign and calling for a postponement of the debate? It's simple:

HE'S LOSING. AND HE KNOWS IT. 

This is just a ridiculous stunt, and one more sign of the McCain campaign's bottomless contempt for the American people. He thinks Americans are stupid and inattentive, and he thinks he can lie to them a thousand times and they'll buy it. He's wrong.

And meanwhile, the most sickeningly unqualified candidate for vice president in our history is sealed tightly in her media cocoon. After having made a fool of herself talking to ABC's Charles Gibson, she has limited her "interviews" to a laughable infomercial on Fox "News" with greasy little punk Sean Hannity. She will not submit to a news conference because the McCain campaign knows the truth: Her selection was nothing more than a gimmick, designed to try to sucker women into voting for a woman who is against all major women's rights. Palin is now sinking like a stone in public opinion polling, and deservedly so.

Finally, I'll say this, and some of you may vehemently disagree: if Barack Obama were a white male named John Smith he'd be 15 to 20 points ahead and the pundits would be talking about this election in Johnson-Goldwater terms. But he isn't. He's an African American with a strange name. I can think of no other reason that this election is even close (although Obama is now clearly in the lead.) We have in the Democratic presidential candidate a brilliant, insightful, thoughtful, knowledgeable, enormously talented man, a true LEADER in every sense of the word, backed up by the U.S. Senate's top foreign policy expert, Joe Biden. In the Republican presidential candidate we have an emotionally unstable, corrupt, lying, ethically bankrupt man

who has amazingly little to show for a 26 year career in Congress, backed up by a right wing fanatic with no real knowledge or expertise on any issue, someone who argues that she has "foreign policy" knowledge because her state is close to Russia!!  As I said, if Barack were white, this thing wouldn't even be close.

Seldom has our choice been so clear or so stark. We can go with the modern day FDR, or we can go with Herbert Hoover McCain, one of the principal architects of the utterly unneeded war in Iraq and the terrifying economic crisis with which we are now confronted. In Obama we have a steady hand, a sound mind, excellent judgment, and a capacity for greatness. In McCain we have a violent temper, shockingly bad judgment, and a craven desire to win at any cost. He is a dishonorable man in every way.

Whether our country has a fighting chance or whether it continues to swirl down to its destruction now depends on you and me. I fervently hope and pray that we make the right choice. We may not get another chance.

Despite McCain's LIES, His Campaign Manager Was a Mortgage Lobbyist

And right up until last month, too. The New York Times has the irrefutable truth right here.

If this lying son of a bitch McCain and his equally disgusting, lying running mate Caribou Barbie get elected, we can kiss honest and decent government in this country goodbye--for keeps.

Howard Dean Tells the Truth (Yet Again)

"A Prescription for Disaster"

Again I ask: Is John McCain Dying?

And is he putting the entire world at risk with the choice of someone for vice president who thinks the earth is 7,000 years old, who thinks dinosaurs and humans lived together, whose church believes that Alaska will be a haven during the coming near annihilation of the human race, and who believes that she is personally directed by God?

This could not possibly be any more serious a matter.

Is Phil Gramm, McCain's Architect of Disaster, Helping to Shape the Bailout?

Seems that FOREIGN BANKS, like UBS, might be getting U.S. taxpayer money, too. That wasn't part of the original deal. Suddenly, it is.

Phil Gramm is the vice chairman of UBS's American division and a major lobbyist for the bank. In fact, UBS stands to gain BIG if foreign banks are part of the deal.

And ol' Phil is the McCain advisor who is, more than any other person, responsible for the deregulation that led to the financial collapse.

Josh Marshall has the story here.

I smell the stench of insider influence--again.

McCAIN'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER WAS A MAJOR LOBBYIST FOR MORTGAGE GIANTS!

That would be Rick Davis. Seems Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae paid him TWO MILLION FREAKING DOLLARS to fight regulations. The New York Times has the story here. Excerpt:

...several current and former executives of the companies came forward to discuss the role that Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager and longtime adviser, played in helping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beat back regulatory challenges when he served as president of their advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, formed in the summer of 2000. Some who came forward were Democrats, but Republicans, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed their descriptions.

“The value that he brought to the relationship was the closeness to Senator McCain and the possibility that Senator McCain was going to run for president again,” said Robert McCarson, a former spokesman for Fannie Mae, who said that while he worked there from 2000 to 2002, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together paid Mr. Davis’s firm $35,000 a month. Mr. Davis “didn’t really do anything,” Mr. McCarson, a Democrat, said.

Mr. Davis’s role with the group has bubbled up as an issue in the campaign, but the extent of his compensation and the details of his role have not been reported previously.

You know, folks, with McCain, you don't know what to be more angry and disgusted with: his constant, brazen lying, his sickening hypocrisy, or his seeming assumption that Americans are so stupid and gullible that they'll simply swallow his BS. This latest revelation is just another in a long line of incidents that reveal the McCain team's dishonesty and McCain's utter unfitness for office.

Is John McCain Dying?

A specialist in the generation and assembly of medical records speaks out here. Key excerpts:

Last week, when I got the letter from Robert Greenwald talking about John McCain's refusal to release his medical records to fair scrutiny, the fact that there are 1,000 pages of them (I create medical records for a living, 1,000 pages is EXTREME), and the news that he has had malignant melanoma, deep primaries with removal of lymph nodes, my immediate thought was "Then he's dying." If he were to be elected, he'd have an almost 2 out of 3 chance of having a recurrence if he doesn't have one already. This is not the kind of cancer you count on escaping from. This is not Stage II, as it has been reported: Stage II by definition does not have lymph node involvement. By definition, it must be either Stage III or Stage IV.

And she concludes:

If he is in fact a Dead Man Walking, then the choice of Sarah Palin as Vice President also becomes more than a Hail Mary pass intended to destroy any bounce from the wildly successful Democratic Convention. It becomes reckless in the extreme: Choosing an heir apparent who lies, engages in petty revenge, wants to know how to ban books, faithfully attends a church which believes dinosaurs were around 4000 years ago and Jews are punished by God for not believing in Jesus, has less foreign policy experience than a Delta flight attendant, doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is, and has less than two years experience governing a state with a population less than that of Wichita, Kansas or Raleigh, North Carolina.

We know that the secret cabal, the Council for National Policy, who hopes to replace American democracy with religious rule (THEIR religion, not yours), are the people who investigated Sarah Palin and "chose" her for McCain as his VP. Since he accepted their decision, fundamentalist organizations have thrown themselves behind his campaign in a way they had not before. It raises the question of a deal. What would a dying man have to offer power brokers in order to have their backing for the U.S. Presidency?

Quite the deathbed request that would be.

Are you as alarmed as I am at the moment?

Andrew Sullivan RIPS Palin (and McCain)

McCAIN LIES: On Alternative Energy

Lying fraud John McCain claims to be a friend of the environment and a proponent of alternative energy. Both of these are incredible falsehoods. Joseph Romm in Salon has the story here:

Recently the Associated Press noted that "McCain has not shown up for eight Senate votes last year and this year to extend [renewable energy] tax credits, which expire at the end of this year. The last such vote was July 30." Yet at an Aspen Institute meeting in August, when McCain was asked about those missed votes, he simply lied to the audience.

"I have a long record of that support of alternate energy," McCain said. "I come from a state where we have sunshine 360 days a year ... I've always been for all of those and I have not missed any crucial vote."

In fact, on Dec. 13, 2007, the Senate was considering a bill to spend $13 billion on renewable power over five years. The cloture vote to allow the amendment to be brought to the Senate floor required 60 votes; it received 59 for, 40 against, and one senator absent. Yes, you guessed it: No McCain. A spokesman later said he would have voted to block the bill.

Again, in February, the Senate tried to include in a stimulus package an extension of the renewable tax credit, plus nearly $3 billion more for alternate energy. The cloture vote again failed 59-40-1. And again, McCain's absence didn't kill an unpopular alternative energy bill -- it stopped a popular bill from even coming to a vote.

Yet McCain continues to insist: "I have not missed any crucial vote." He would seem to be either a practiced liar who can fake sincerity, a pathological liar who believes his lies, or a man with simply no memory of key events several months earlier.

As for McCain's "long record of that support of alternate energy," consider the votes on renewable energy funding and a federal "renewable portfolio standard" (RPS) that he did show up for this decade:

Tax credits for clean energy R&D (2001)
Require a 20 percent RPS where utilities buy 20 percent clean energy ('02)
Reduce 20 percent RPS requirement ('02)
Waive 20 percent RPS if utilities balk ('02)
Increase clean energy R&D funding ('05)
Clean energy incentives ('05)
An RPS to require utilities [to] buy some clean energy ('05)
Tax oil companies windfall profits to fund clean energy ('05)

In every case, McCain voted against renewables, as did Sen. "Global warming is 'the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people'" Inhofe. On the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the biggest congressional effort to push alternative energy in more than a decade, McCain voted against it along with just 11 other senators. Even Inhofe voted for it.

Yes, McCain's record on alternative energy is as bad as the worst anti-environment demagogue in the Senate, James Inhofe of Oklahoma. Oh, and don't forget:

Caribou Barbie, AKA Sarah Palin, is utterly, totally, completely in the pocket of Big Oil right down to the core of her being. Her state gets huge revenues from Big Oil and she's able to hand out big bucks to Alaska's residents because of it--money that comes from the pockets of the other 49 states' residents. Her state government has a symbiotic relationship with the oil industry. 

When McCain argues that he is a strong proponent of alternative fuels, the record is clear:

HE'S LYING.

Rampant Readers: You Want to Help? VIRALIZE THIS!!

Delusional Economic Idiot McCain Wants to Do for Health Care What He Did for Banking!

In other words, completely deregulate it and presumably let it collapse, just as the financial sector is doing. Here is the quote:

Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.

And this imbecile wants to be president?!?

The Republican Double Standard in a Nutshell

Reprinted from Taegan Goddard's site, here.

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 250,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

Once Again: McCAIN'S CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR IS THE PERSON MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MELTDOWN

This particular weasel is a crook named PHIL GRAMM. He was the one who did the most to push through the disastrous deregulation of the financial industry in 1999 and 2000. (He was also involved in the 80s S & L scandal and later the Enron swindle.) Check it out here. Excerpt: 

Gramm is responsible for the rise of the wild and woolly $62 trillion swaps market. And he was chairman of the McCain campaign and a top economic adviser for McCain--until he dismissed Americans worried about the economy as "whiners." After that comment, McCain dumped Gramm. But was Gramm truly excommunicated from McCain land? Last month, he attended a meeting of McCain's top supporters in Aspen, Colorado. And at a dinner that day, McCain singled out Gramm for praise. Last week, failed Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul revealed that Gramm, now an exec for Swiss banking giant UBS (which also lost billions of dollars due to subprime loans and swaps), had recently called him as part of a McCain effort to win Paul's endorsement. Paul turned Gramm down. (Both Gramm and Paul are Texas Republicans.) Gramm's Paul-courting effort seems to indicate that the fellow who has done much to cause the current financial troubles (and who was once considered a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win the White House) is back in the good graces of the McCain campaign.

Shortly after McCain promised he would "clean up" Wall Street, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, his running mate, appeared at a Colorado rally on Monday morning and proclaimed that "John McCain and I will put an end to the abuses in Washington and Wall Street that have resulted in this financial crisis." She promised a McCain administration would "reform the way Wall Street does business." (She was short on details and spent more time discussing Colorado sports stars from Alaska.) What neither she nor McCain has explained is how they plan to be able to reform Wall Street when they are being assisted by 177 lobbyists and the guy who greased the way to the current crisis with a backroom legislative maneuver. If McCain and Palin are serious about never putting America "in this position again," they ought to consider seriously writing down any economic advice they get from Phil Gramm

McCain and Caribou Barbie? Serious about helping ordinary people? That's a joke, right?

BTW, here is more about this amoral, unprincipled BFF of all white collar criminals, Phil Gramm.

THIS is what Leadership Sounds Like

This is what a PRESIDENT sounds like.

Obama's Tax Plan: For Us. McCain's Tax Plan: for the Top 1%

(Click to enlarge)

McCain: Enemy of Working and Retired Americans

The AFL-CIO lays the lumber to him here. Highlights:

McCain Voted for Bush’s 2006 Social Security Privatization Plan. In 2006, McCain voted for the Social Security Reserve Fund. The proposal would shift Social Security’s annual surpluses into a reserve account that would be converted into risky private accounts. [SCR 83, Vote #68, 3/16/06; SCR 83, Vote #68, 3/16/06]

In 2000 McCain Wanted to Divert Social Security Money to Private Accounts. The Wall Street Journal reported that “[a] centerpiece of a McCain presidential bid in 2000 was a plan to divert a portion of Social Security payroll taxes to fund private accounts, much as President Bush proposed unsuccessfully.” The plan would put workers’ retirement money into the risky market and reduce the amount of Social Security payments they would receive from the government. The plan would undermine the Social Security system. [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

McCain STILL Proposes Privatizing Social Security—Despite What His Website Says. McCain told the Wall Street Journal he still backs a system of private retirement accounts that he supported in 2000 and President Bush pushed unsuccessfully. The Journal reported he “disowned” details of a proposal on his 2008 campaign website that says he would “supplement” the existing Social Security system with personally managed accounts. But when asked about the position change he denied it and promised to change the website to reflect his true position. “I’m totally in favor of personal savings accounts… As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it—along the lines that President Bush proposed,” McCain told the Journal.[Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08; Campaign Website, accessed 3/3/08]

McCain Might Raise the Retirement Age and Reduce Cost-of-Living Adjustments. “[T]he McCain campaign says the candidate intends to keep Social Security solvent by reducing the growth in benefits over the coming decades to match projected growth in payroll tax revenues. Among the options are extending the retirement age to 68 and reducing cost-of-living adjustments, but the campaign hasn’t made any final decisions. ‘You can’t keep promises made to retirees,’ said Mr. Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s chief economic aide.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

Let the people in Florida, Arizona, and everywhere in America know!

Calculate Your Obama Tax Cut!

It's right here. It's fun and easy.

Remember, if anyone tells you Obama will raise taxes on people making under $250,000 a year. they are:

A. Lying
B. Misinformed

If the person telling you this is John McCain, he is:

A. Lying

THIS is What a REAL Vice President Sounds Like

Obama RIPS into Fraudulent Economic Imbecile McCain

The details are here. Excerpt:

"Can you afford to take a chance on someone who's voted against the minimum wage 19 times," Obama asked a crowd of thousands under a blazing sun at a rally in western Colorado at the start of a swing through contested Western states. "When it was $4, he was against it, when it was $5 he was against it, when it was $6 he was against it."

The nation's economic anxieties were sharpened by a historic upheaval on Wall Street with the announcements that financial giant Lehman Brothers was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while titan Merrill Lynch was being bought by Bank of America for about $50 billion.

Charging that McCain was out of touch, Obama said, "He doesn't get what's happening between the mountains in Sedona where he lives and the corridors of power where he works. Why else would he say that we've made great progress economically under George Bush. Why else would he say that the economy isn't something he understands as well as he should.

"Why else would he say, today of all days, just a few hours ago — think about this, we just woke up to news of financial disaster — and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong. Sen. McCain, what economy are you talking about?"

Palin, the LYING Earmark Queen

That noted left-wing Commie Hippie Pinko publication The Wall Street Journal has the details here. Seems that the Rape Kit Queen of Wasilla has asked for almost ONE MILLION FREAKING DOLLARS A DAY, on average, for every day she's been governor. And remember, Alaska receives $1.84 in federal benefits for every $1 Alaskans pay in federal income tax, making it the biggest WELFARE CLIENT in America.

Ah, those right-wing "values" strike again--lying, hypocrisy, psychological projection, and fantasies about a world that has no relation to reality at all.

Want to See All The McCain-Palin DAMNED LIES in One Place?

Check this out!

Actually, there might be a few they missed.

Yes! More Like This, Please.

Yes, Palin's Town Government DID Charge Rape Victims for the Cost of a Rape Kit!

The damning story is here.

And of course, Palin has flat out lied about this.

These people are sick and perverse, and I am dismayed by the fact that there's about a 50-50 chance they could win.

God help our country. And PLEASE CONTRIBUTE MONEY TO OBAMA AND BIDEN!!

Give generously HERE.

Brazen Liar McCain Running the Most Dishonest Campaign in Modern U.S. History

Steve Benen gets it out straight right here:


But there's just something breathtaking about John McCain's 2008 campaign, and it's not just because he's running in part on his reputation for candor and integrity. We're talking about a candidate who's been lying about everything -- his record, his running mate, his opponent, his agenda, his past, and his policies. He'll lie, get caught, and then repeat the same lie. He'll lie, get caught, and then lie about lying. He'll lie about some things in which the truth was just as good, but lying came more naturally. And he seems to be lying more as the race unfolds.

Will the media call him on it--and help save our country from the disaster of a McCain-Palin presidency?

The Swiftboat Scum Are Ready to Strike Again

The Washington Post has the story here. The effort is being funded by many of the same ultra-right wing Texas fanatics that launched the campaign of lies against John Kerry.

And Karl Rove is acting as a consultant.

A storm of despicable filth, slander, and smears is already being thrown at Obama. Now these bastards intend to add to it.

Stay tuned.

John McCain and Sarah Palin's PATHETIC LIES

1. Palin claims she went to Iraq. LIE. She never got past Kuwait.
2. Palin claims she was opposed to the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere". LIE. She campaigned for it, and after it came under fire, she kept the money that had been earmarked for it.
3. McCain claims Palin is against earmarks and pork barrel spending. LIE. Alaska gets more federal aid per person than any other state in the Union.
4. McCain claims he has never approved earmarks. LIE. He has regularly sought special funds for Arizona.

5. McCain claims Obama wanted to teach sex education to 5 year olds, a lie he specifically defended on "The View" on ABC. LIE. DAMNED, FILTHY, OUTRIGHT LIE.

6. McCain claims Obama ignored wounded U.S. soldiers when Obama visited Germany. LIE.

7. McCain claims that Obama wants to raise everyone's taxes. LIE. Obama will CUT taxes for 95% of the working people of America.

8. McCain claims that since Alaska is next to Russia that Palin has  foreign policy expertise. LIE. Palin has never been to Russia, has never met any Russian leaders, has never studied Russian history or politics, and does not speak Russian. Some expertise.

9. McCain claims that Palin is America's foremost energy expert. LAUGHABLE, RIDICULOUS LIE.  She knows more than T. Boone Pickens? More than the heads of our oil, natural gas, nuclear, and alternative energy industries? More than the directors, for example, of General Electric and ExxonMobil. Seriously, how stupid does he think we are?

10. McCain says he supports stem cell research. LIE. The Republican platform specifically opposes it. 

11.  Palin claims she's ready to be president. LIE. Even many conservatives are dismayed by the shallowness of her "knowledge" of world affairs and national issues.

12.  McCain claims to be a reformer. LIE.  McCain's campaign directors ARE ALL LOBBYISTS. McCain's chief advisors ARE ALL WASHINGTON INSIDER CON ARTISTS. This lie is so brazen that it borders on breath-taking.

13. McCain claims to be an agent of change. LIE. He has been one of George W. Bush's most fervent supporters since 2001.

14. McCain claims to be "principled" and "honorable". LIES, BOTH OF THEM. He has switched positions on more than 70 issues, always choosing the most fiercely right-wing view, in order to suck up to the Republican "base". And in his campaign of lies, he has shown himself to be a dishonorable, wretched jackal.

McCain and Palin are running the ugliest, most atrocious campaign of lies in American history. The victory of such morally bankrupt people would be a tragedy and a near fatal blow to our nation's future. All patriots who love America should now rally to Obama and Biden. The alternative is unthinkable--literally.

It's Not Just Who Palin Is; It's What Her Selection Says About McCain

The Republican Convention in Brief

Tragic and Disgusting: Charging Rape Victims for Cost of Evidence Gathering

USA Today is on top of it here. Palin denies that she had anything to do with it, but since she lies about EVERYTHING ELSE, I don't buy it. Excerpt:

In 2000, there were 497 rapes reported in Alaska, FBI statistics show. That's a rate of 79.3 per 100,000 residents, the highest in the nation.

Nationally, victims' advocates have for years reported scattered instances of rape victims being required to pay for their forensic tests, says Ilse Knecht of the National Center for Victims of Crime in Washington. Those complaints have subsided somewhat after Congress in 2005 passed a law requiring states to provide rape exams free of charge or reimburse victims for the costs, says Knecht, whose group supported the provision.

"The reason we passed the legislation was that we saw it was prevalent enough to be a pretty considerable problem," Knecht says. "There are no other victims of crime that end up being billed for evidence collection."

The Senate version of the legislation that included the rape-exam provision was sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was one of 58 co-sponsors; Republican presidential nominee John McCain was not.

[Emphasis fiercely added by J. Miller.]

A Quote from John McCain:

"I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I've been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism," the Senator declared. "I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time." [Emphasis gleefully added.]

Hmmmmm. Now which candidate for high office in this race was a (small town) mayor for a few years and has been a governor for all of a year and a half? Let me think. Who could that be?

Ha ha ha ha ha.

(HT: HuffPo)

Spread The Word About McCain's LIES!

Lying Fool Palin Says Iraqis Linked to 9/11 Attacks!

Man oh man, even BUSH doesn't say that any more. Here's the story.

My God. Are the Republicans ACTUALLY SAYING that this woman is the 2nd most qualified person in America to be president??

The Campaign of Sheer, Damned Lies

Dishonorable crook John McCain and his pathologically lying, right-wing nutjob VP candidate are conducting a campaign of such brazen, unhinged dishonesty that the Associated Press has taken notice:

Day after day [Palin] said she had told Congress "no thanks" to the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, a rural Alaska project that was abandoned when critics challenged its costs and usefulness. For nearly a week, major news outlets had documented that Palin supported the bridge when running for governor in 2006, noting that she turned against it only after it became an object of ridicule in Alaska and a symbol of Congress's out-of-control earmarking.

The McCain-Palin campaign made at least three other aggressive claims this week that omitted key details or made dubious assumptions to criticize Obama. It equated lawmakers' requests for money for special projects with corruption, even though Palin has sought nearly $200 million in such "earmarks" this year.

It produced an Internet ad implying that Obama had called Palin a pig when he used a familiar phrase, which McCain also has used, about putting "lipstick on a pig" to try to make a bad situation look better. McCain supporters said Obama was slyly alluding to Palin's description of herself as a pit bull in lipstick, but there was nothing in his remarks to support the claim. Obama accused the GOP campaign of "lies and phony outrage."

The lipstick wars were fully engaged when the McCain campaign produced another ad saying Obama favored "comprehensive sex education" for kindergartners. The charge triggered the sort of headlines becoming increasingly common in major newspapers and wire services monitoring the factual content of political ads and speeches.

"Ad on Sex Education Distorts Obama Policy," was the headline on a New York Times article Thursday. "McCain's 'Education' Spot is Dishonest, Deceptive," The Washington Post's "Fact Checker" article said.

...

With Palin giving McCain's campaign a boost in the polls, Obama supporters are nervously watching to see what impact the latest claims will have. Surveys already show that most people believe Obama would raise their taxes — a regular McCain claim — even though independent groups such as the Tax Policy Center concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under his proposals.

Lie after lie after lie. The McCain-Palin campaign doesn't give a rat's ass about the truth. It only cares about winning at any cost. So what if by lying they're spitting in the face of the American people? They literally DON'T GIVE A DAMN.

Lousy ticket.

Filthy campaign.

Rotten human beings.

Seven Years After 9/11, Where is Osama Bin Laden?

For that matter, why have people seemingly forgotten this statement:

George W. Bush, on 6 August 2001, speaking to a foreign policy advisor who has just finished reading a presidential briefing entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.":

"All right, you've covered your ass."  

(There followed a five week Bush vacation).

Oh, and one more thing: John McCain was calling for a war with Iraq within days of the 9/11 attacks, on the basis of NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER of Iraqi involvement in them.

Three thousand dead because the laziest, most irresponsible president in our history couldn't be bothered to get off his dead ass and do something.

And now the prospect that we might have, as his successor, someone who makes Bush look like a pacifist.

This nation is in terrible danger. There's no way I can sugar coat it. Unless we act, even more tragedy will befall us.

Period.

PALIN SAYS WAR WITH RUSSIA MAY BE NECESSARY

She says that Georgia should join NATO and if Russia invades it, we'll have to go to war.

With Russia.

Because Georgia is such a vital interest of the United States, I guess. That's news to me, btw.

She also says Ukraine should be admitted to NATO. I would like to point out that Russia would consider that an INTOLERABLE threat and would react according;y. It's an INCREDIBLY BAD IDEA.

This woman is as reckless, uninformed, dangerous, and irresponsible a candidate for high office as we have ever seen. There is a 50-50 chance right now she could win.

And a 1 in 6 chance she could become president in the next four years.

Yes, Obama and Biden are open to Georgia being in NATO (a bad idea, btw). But neither of them would ever be so reckless as to discuss the option of war with nuclear armed Russia with such disarming casualness.

And you say you don't have any time to help Obama and Biden?

Why Did Palin Let Her Town Charge Rape Victims for Their Own Rape Kits??

Let's find out.

Want a Laugh?

Imagine Palin trying to answer these questions.

Actually, maybe you won't laugh. If you consider that McCain has had multiple bouts with cancer, is 72 years old, and just might lie and cheat his way to victory, you could actually be terrified.

Calling BS on McCain's Lies and Hypocrisy

DAMN! Matt Damon NAILS IT!

Watch Palin Lying Again

HT: Josh Marshall

Glenn Greenwald Exposes the McCain Campaign of Lies and Fraud

The invaluable Glenn Greenwald is thoroughly disgusted by John McCain's ugly campaign of lies, smears, and distractions, and he unleashes both barrels on it here. It is well worth the few minutes of your time it will take to read it. His point is that in stirring up phony "controversies", the Republican Slime Machine is aided and abetted by a thoroughly complicit news media.

I get almost desperate when I think of the trouble this country is in, and how the Republicans so often grab the attention of the public with childish, idiotic lies, causing the public to ignore the terrible, multiple crises we face. Our financial system is close to meltdown. Our national debt--accumulated since George Washington was president--has grown by SIXTY PER CENT (60%!) under George W. Bush, whose economic policies McCain has completely embraced. Poverty in America has increased since 2001, Americans as a nation now spend more than they earn, and fifty million Americans are without health insurance. Our military is stretched thin, Pakistan is rapidly becoming more unstable, the war in Afghanistan is not going well, and the cracks in the wall we've managed to paper over in Iraq are threatening once again to widen. Our nation will face grave challenges in the coming years as climate issues, struggles for resources, and political upheaval in the Third World accelerate. In short, America is going over the cliff, and the Republicans, led by two of the most utterly shameless liars in our political history, are STILL trying to get us to ignore all of that and to focus instead on phony issues. 

Well, I'll say this: if the Republican tactics work again in 2008, we won't have to worry about our nation's future.

We won't have much of a future left.

John McCain: A Dishonorable, Lying Bastard

The latest piece of filth coming out of the McCain campaign is a commercial that comes very close to calling Barack Obama a sex pervert. The Republican ad lies so jarringly and blatantly that I am at a loss for words. The point of Obama's legislation in regard to kindergarten age children is to help them identify and avoid sexual predators. It is NOT about teaching condom use to five year olds. The commercial is a complete and utter distortion of Obama's law and is just about the lowest attack I have ever seen.

The Obama team's response:

"It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls - a position that his friend Mitt Romney also holds. Last week, John McCain told Time magazine he couldn't define what honor was. Now we know why."

I'll say it in plain language: I thought the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 set the standard for all-out dishonesty, but the McCain-Palin campaign is setting the all-time record for lying and smearing. An absolute out and out scumfest.

John McCain hasn't been an honorable man in 35 years. He's a slimy, grasping opportunist who will do ANYTHING and say ANYTHING to win, however loathsome. Adulterer, thief, con man, grifter, and political sewer rat are terms more suited to him than "honorable". If this is how the Republicans intend to fight, I say, let slip the dogs of war.

Oh, and one other thing. As Dick Cheney would put it:

Go fuck yourself, McCain.

UPDATE: From Kansas City.com:

What happened: A new 30-second TV ad attacks Barack Obama's record on education, saying that Obama backed legislation to teach " 'comprehensive sex education' to kindergartners." The announcer then says, "Learning about sex before learning to read? Barack Obama. Wrong on education. Wrong for your family."

Why that's wrong: This is a deliberately misleading accusation. It came hours after the Obama campaign released a TV ad critical of McCain's votes on public education. As a state senator in Illinois, Obama did vote for but was not a sponsor of legislation dealing with sex ed for grades K-12.

But the legislation allowed local school boards to teach "age-appropriate" sex education, not comprehensive lessons to kindergartners, and it gave schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators.

Republican Alan Keyes tried to use Obama's vote against him in the 2004 U.S. Senate race. At the time, Obama spoke about wanting to protect young children from abuse. He made clear then that he was not supporting teaching kindergartners about explicit details of sex.

In shorter language: the ad is a goddamned lie.

And yeah, I'm really pissed off right now.

The Opponent is McCain. The Danger to America's Future is McCain

The candidate that has to be stopped is McCain. He's more dangerous and more reckless than George W. Bush, and I never thought I would say that. He MUST be defeated--for the sake of our country.

Paul Begala Tells the Harsh Truth

He was asked on CNN why Obama can't seem to make the story about McCain and Palin's lies "stick". His reply:

Because the press won't do its job, John..... It is the media's job when a politician flat out lies like she's doing on this bridge to nowhere so call her on it. Or this matter of earmarks where she's attacking Barack Obama for having earmarks, when she was the mayor of little Wasilla, Alaska, 6,000 people, she hired a lobbyist who was connected to Jack Abramoff, who is a criminal, and they brought home $27 million in earmarks. She carried so much pork home she got trichinosis. But we in the media are letting her tell lies about her record.

You can read the full post here.

Watch Palin Lie

Courtesy of Josh Marshall:



In another post, he states simply:

Think about that. On the stump, not a single word that comes out of her mouth -- or not a single word that the McCain folks put in her mouth -- is anything but a lie. I know that sounds like hyperbole. But just go down the list. None of them bear out.

DAMN! This Says It All About Republican LIES

Hunter, one of the top Kos writers, has an exceptional post today on the continuous and unashamed use of outright lies by the leaders of the Republican Party. Key excerpt:

We know, for a fact, that Sarah Palin lied about being "against" earmarks. As mayor of her small Alaskan town, she hired a Team Abramoff lobbyist to squeeze Washington for generous funds, funds far in excess of what the average American small town could expect. The lobbyist delivered nearly $27 million worth of earmarks to the town of less than ten thousand people: a fine haul, indeed. She said so herself, in her own handwriting.

So she lied. Baldly and repeatedly. McCain is now on a multistate tour, repeating the very same lies -- and for Republicans, they are applause lines. Huzzah to the "anti-pork" governor whose state is more dependent on pork than any other state. Hooray for the "anti-earmarks" candidate who made a name for herself as a champion of the earmark.

The question is: what of it?

There is absolutely no penalty for lying, in politics. None. Zip. Nada. Sarah Palin could stand atop a stage and declare herself moon-goddess of Endor, and it wouldn't make a bit of difference. Yes, the papers would correct her. There would be a few cable stories on how there was no prior record of her being declared a moon-goddess. In the end, however, it would not matter, and it would not matter because Republicans have decided that it does not.

The Republican Party is the Kingdom of Lies. It is this persistent, unapologetic lying on the part of the Republicans that causes me to have such utter contempt for them. The Republicans basically spit in the face of the American people every time they lie--and they do it again and again and again.  This constant lying is the most obvious sign that modern conservatism has become a national cancer--and America may be dying of it.

UPDATE: This comment on Hunter's post was tremendous:

The GOP is a crime syndicate--get used to the idea. And with any crime organization the best way to assure fealty is to ask initiates to commit a crime. Lying may not be a crime but, in partisan politics, it serves as a gateway to real criminality. Lying publicly and blatantly demonstrates that the individual is ready to enter the "family." Some Republicans like Larry Craig simply live a dual life that opens them up to blackmail. There's no need to worry about Craig's fealty to the GOP, is there? But others, like Palin and Pawlenty make a show of lying to win the right to commit real crimes. Once a GOP politician has committed a serious crime they they can be trusted to keep faith with the party.

Obama Nails Republican Lies

J. Miller's INSANELY Useful Action Page!!

Enough of the internal debate! Enough of telling each other how terrible the Republican ticket is! We already know this. We're the Democratic choir. It's now necessary for us for to reach out to every undecided voter, every independent, every wavering or apathetic Democrat, and every disillusioned Republican in America. We need volunteers. We need phone bankers. We need canvassers. We need MONEY $$$$$! We need to spread viral videos. We need to spread viral emails. We need to keep devising new TV ads and get them on local cable in every swing state. In short, there is no more need for talking to ourselves. Here, therefore, is my INSANELY USEFUL ACTION PAGE! Use it and go to war for Obama-Biden!

A. OBAMA-BIDEN CAMPAIGN OFFICE LOCATIONS

INDIANA:

Here.

Illinois people--YOU ARE NEEDED HERE.

WISCONSIN:

Here.

Illinois Democrats can help here as well. Milwaukee is 90 minutes from Chicago.

NEVADA:

Here.

Californians--YOU ARE NEEDED HERE. (Hawaiians too, for phone banking.)

COLORADO:

Here.

VIRGINIA:

Here

Kentucky and Tennessee Democrats--work where it will make a difference.

OHIO:

Here.

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE BATTLE GROUND.

MISSOURI:

Here

Illinois people are needed here, too!

FLORIDA:

Here.

MICHIGAN:

Here.

PENNSYLVANIA:

Here.

NORTH CAROLINA:

Here.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Here.

Massachusetts folks: if we had worked harder here in 2000, we'd be winding up Al Gore's 2nd term.

MONTANA:

Here.

Idaho and Wyoming residents: Work where you're needed

NORTH DAKOTA:

Here.

ALASKA:

Here.

Tell the lying right wing beauty queen to blow it out her ass, Alaskans!

B. PLACES TO CONTRIBUTE MONEY

My personal Obama contribution page. I'm going for $10,000. Help me make my dream come true!

Here

Act Blue

Here.

C. SOURCES OF EXCELLENT VIRAL VIDEOS

The Real McCain

Here.

Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films

Here.

D. SOURCES OF EXCELLENT VIRAL E-MAILS

Is this guy mentally stable?

Here.

The Senator Nobody Really Knows [McCain and corruption]

Here.

McCain's LOUSY Choice [thanks to Kossack Hudson!]

Here.

The Senator and the Terrorist

Here.

A Shocking Anti-Veteran Voting Record [Directly from Donkey O.D.]

Here

Senator Do-Nothing, the D.C. Fraud

Here.

Job Killer, American Dream Killer

Here.

Don't Like Women? That's OK, Neither Does He

Here.

How to Cheat on Your Wife and Profit From It

Here.

Letter from a POW

Here.

E. VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES FOR EVERY STATE

Here.

You know what to do!

F. HOW TO CONDUCT A VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE

Here

G. FIGHTING REPUBLICAN VOTE SUPPRESSION AND VOTE FRAUD

Black Box Voting:

Here.

Brad Blog (This guy is a STAR!)

Here.

Secretaries of State

Here.

Obama's voter protection page

Here.

H. EARLY VOTING STATE BY STATE

Ohio is CRUCIAL here.

Here.

I. MEDIA ADDRESSES

A comprehensive list of 900 different outlets. Let them hear from you!

Here.

J. ADDRESSES OF PRO-OBAMA UNIONS :

AFL-CIO: Here.

SEIU:Here.

AFSCME: Here

NEA: Here.

AFT: Here.

K. A letter that I sent to dozens of Facebook friends:

Hey everybody, it's Joe Miller.

I've seen many elections in my long life, but I've never seen a more atrociously bad Republican ticket than the one that is now threatening our nation's survival. At the top is John McCain, Mr. 90% Bush Supporter, falsely promising change while he cozies up to every powerful special interest and lobbyist in America. McCain actually thinks that the whole Iraq War tragedy was a GOOD IDEA. He would do it ALL OVER AGAIN. He has said so himself.

And his candidate for Vice President is so dangerous that she makes me physically ill just thinking about her. Sarah Palin isn't some American Idol contestant. If McCain wins, THERE IS A ONE IN SIX CHANCE THAT PALIN WILL BECOME PRESIDENT. Those are the odds a 72 year old man faces within a four year period. Palin is a right wing fanatic of the worst kind, who is opposed to abortion even for rape victims and victims of incest. She is a creationist, an opponent of gay rights, and an End Times believer. She is even more fanatically pro-Bush than McCain is. She is supported by people who want to turn America from a Republic into a theocracy. She has been the governor of our 47th most populous state for a year and a half; her only other political experience was as mayor of a town of 6500 people (her term ended in 2002) and a member of the city council of that town. Most of you go (or have gone) to schools that have more people than that. Oh, and another thing:

She lies.

About everything.

About her record, about Obama, about her readiness for office. (See here:http://jamillerrampant.blogspot.com/2008/09/shes-simply-damned-liar.html)

McCain as president would be a disaster. He would continue ALL of the incredibly bad economic and foreign policies of the worst president in our history, George W. Bush. McCAIN WOULD BE BUSH'S THIRD TERM--PERIOD. But Palin as president would be a catastrophe. Anyone who is that grossly unprepared would be eaten alive by our nation's enemies and overwhelmed by the burdens of office. She would be a puppet of ultra-right radicals. She would be a blow from which our nation might not recover.

These two MUST BE STOPPED. The alternative is unthinkable.

So what can you do?

First, go to my blog and bookmark this page: http://jamillerrampant.blogspot.com/2008/09/j-millers-insanely-useful-action-post.html

There are all kinds of actions you can take using this as a resource.

Second, if you have $5 or $10 to spare (or know anyone who does), have them go to this page:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/JMiller

Urge your friends who feel as you do to also kick in $5 or $10. Urge them to hit my action page.

Just being angry and venting doesn't really accomplish anything. If Barack Obama and Joe Biden are to have a chance, it will be because millions of people like you cared enough about the country's future to help elect them. Please, please, please take action. I'm 56 years old and I've seen America go through some tough times, but I've NEVER been more worried about our country's future than I am now. Please don't wake up depressed on 5 November, wishing you could have done more.

The time for talk is over.

The time for action is now.

This is everything I could think of. If you have further suggestions, please add them in the comments.

The time for meaningless venting is done. The time for action is now.