Bush Bytes

Do You Believe?

2008-11-08T23:57:00.005-05:00

The easy part is now complete: Barack Hussein Obama has been elected the 44th president of the United States. Now he must make good on his promises.

A correspondent in Maine says “Maybe Obama will institute something like the Peace Corps, only for service within the US. It couldn’t be like the old CCC or WPA, though. Nobody today will even pick up a shovel, let alone do any work with it.” I’m not so sure this is an accurate assessment.

On Election Day, I had half a dozen high school seniors (“Youth at the Booth”) who worked as machine judges. Granted, we had no shovels and they got the day off from school. Instead of a 6-hour school day, they worked 14 hours and they must write a report that describes their experiences.

Every single one of them was conscientious. If a voter leaves without pressing the “confirm” button on the screen after pressing the “vote” button, we have a “fleeing voter”. If we don’t catch the voter and bring him or her back to the machine, all we can do is cancel the vote. In this election, we had several fleeing voters and the high school kids caught every single one of them. We didn’t have to cancel even one vote.

These kids had various political perspectives, but every one of them was interested in the process and I think that each of them would be willing to volunteer for a public works program. It’s true that these were special students because they volunteered, but I think they’re not alone.

Give someone a reason and you’ll get a volunteer.

So, yes, I’d like to see a WPA or CCC, or even more emphasis on the Peace Corps, in the Obama administration. If everybody sits around waiting for somebody else to do something, nobody will do it.

Young people today are not what many of us older folks think they are. They are connected. They are interested. They do want what’s best for the country. At least, I hope that’s the case. If not, I fear for the future.

Changing Our National Attitude

I’m not a particularly religious person and I’m more or less certain that at the end of our lives, we simply cease to be. No afterlife. No heaven. No hell. No reincarnation. Everything just stops. We sleep. Done. And I’m no fan of organized religion because organized religion has brought us such delights as the Crusades and the Inquisition. But I do feel that spirituality is important.

Alun O. Jones was the pastor at the Presbyterian church I attended while growing up. I remember one of his sermons. It was about The Dead Sea. It’s called that because nothing that flows in is ever allowed to flow out. The lesson we were to learn from this is that whoever refuses to give is condemned to death. Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes talked about “paying forward”. The Kingston Trio sang about “priming the pump”: (“You’ve got to prime the pump. You must have faith and believe. You’ve got to give of yourself ’fore you’re worthy to receive.”) The message is the same, regardless of the source.

That’s the attitude we need now. We all need to pitch in and help.

“We must hang together, gentlemen; else we shall most assuredly hang separately.”
—Benjamin Franklin

A Day at the Polls and What’s Next

2008-11-05T15:35:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday, I picked up voting supplies from the board of election warehouse: Poll books, certain supplies, phones, and a supplemental list of absentee voters that had requested absentee ballots after the books had been printed. That afternoon, I spread the materials out on a large table at the Worthington Library and marked voters on the supplemental list “AB/PROV” in the poll books. This is done to avoid double voting; anyone who requested an absentee ballot must vote a provisional ballot if that voter comes to the polls.

Twenty percent or more of voters had voted early. Probably quite a bit more.

Multiple precincts voting at a single location are all managed by a single “location manager” instead of 3 “presiding judges”. On Monday, I visited my 3 precincts and found only 2 equipment carts instead of 3. The board of elections confirmed that some equipment had been reassigned to locations where they thought the need would be greater.

On Election Day, I arrived at 5 am and the other 17 poll workers showed up by 5:30. The Ohio Secretary of State says poll workers need to be in place by 6 for a 6:30 opening, but the Franklin County board of Elections mandates 5:30. One voter was in line at 5:30. This was an omen.

At 6:30, we opened with all 8 voting machines operational and a long line of people waiting to use them. Until 9 am, the situation was controlled chaos, with emphasis on chaos. People were annoyed because they had to wait (in some cases, voting took 90 minutes) and we were always giving “the other line” preferential treatment.

This year the Secretary of State mandated an announcement about the option to use paper ballots whenever more than 20 voters were in line. I made the announcement several times during the morning and we processed about 150 paper ballots even though we had only 3 privacy booths. If the voter was willing to use just a clipboard to vote without benefit of the privacy booth, we allowed it. Occasionally half a dozen or more people were voting paper ballots and that helped slowly reduce the line.

By 9 am, the line that once reached back through the school hallway, out the door, and to the parking lot, reached only to the doors of the gymnasium. By noon, there was only a short line and the wait to vote was less than 10 minutes. By 3 pm, there was no line at all and some of the voting machines were occasionally vacant.

After that, we rarely saw more than an occasional voter until 7:30.

During the day, the Obama campaign’s observer was inside the polling location several times to check voter lists that are posted at 6:30, 11, and 4 to show who has already voted. Campaigns may use these lists to contact voters who haven’t yet voted. Clearly, though, most of the voting was over by noon.

In addition to the early and absentee voters, 887 voters cast ballots on Election Day in the 3 precincts I’m responsible for. In the primary, I believe the count was less than 300 and with only a few absentee ballots. Based solely on observation of the poll books, it appears that 90% of eligible voters in the 3 precincts cast ballots in early voting, via absentee voting, or in person.

Assistance from High School Seniors

A “Youth at the Booth” program brings high school seniors in, usually as machine judges, and this year’s half-dozen seniors were remarkable. If a voter leaves a machine before taking a final step to confirm their vote and we don’t catch the voter, we must to cancel the vote. This is a shame because we are discarding the vote of someone who has taken the time to come to the polling location, stand in line, and do everything necessary except for clicking the final “confirm” button. If we can catch the voter, we can save the vote and this year’s group of seniors caught every single fleeing voter. We recorded every vote!

I am proud of these students. It’s an honor to work with them. If you know any students who are interested in government and the board of elections in your area has similar program, encourage them to participate.

Mechanics and Curbside Voting

During the primary, we had about a dozen voting machines, but some were out of service, sometimes for an hour or more. This time we had far more voters and far fewer machines, but they all worked flawlessly and the technician responsible for our machines said that none of the machines in his area had serious problems and only a few experienced minor problems.

Starting this year, Ohio offered curbside voting for anyone who is too ill to come inside and stand in line. The daughter of a man who was returning home following cancer surgery asked for that service. The roster judge brought the appropriate book outside with the man’s daughter, a Republican judge, and me. After the voter signed the poll book, the roster judge returned with it to continue signing other voters in. I obtained the proper ballot, and gave it to the man’s daughter, then the other judge and I stood by while the couple filled out the ballot. Then the woman returned with us to the paper-ballot judge, placed the ballot in a privacy envelope, and dropped it into the ballot box.

Electioneering in the Polling Place and Phone Calls from the Board

One first-time voter had a tiny Obama button on his hat. The greeter didn’t notice it. The roster judge didn’t notice it. The machine judge didn’t notice it. I spotted it only as he was leaving the room. That shouldn’t have happened, but the button was so small that apparently nobody was influenced by it. We spot a few other people with small buttons or stickers and they were all understanding when we explained that they needed to remove the political materials because Ohio law specifies that polling locations must be neutral.

During the day, the board of elections called with reminders and with two policy changes from the Secretary of State. When the board hears more than an occasional report of something being mishandled, they call every precinct using an automated system; this year’s board reminders were all minor technical issues.

The two policy changes from the Secretary of State were equally minor and neither affected any of our voters. For example, we were advised that we could accept as valid identification an expired Ohio driver’s license if the address on the license was the same as that in the poll book. This is a common-sense approach that should have been policy from the outset.

Closing the Polls

Closing the machines, collecting the data storage devices, printing two copies of a results tape, finishing the paperwork, and locking the machines into their carts took about an hour. At 8:30, I was the driver of one of more than 500 cars that converged on the Franklin County Board of Elections warehouse, a drive-through facility. By 9:30, I had returned to the school and dropped off the Republican judge who accompanied me to the warehouse. By 10, I was home.

During our drive to the warehouse, NPR reported that the Ohio Secretary of State would release no information about voting in Ohio until all voters had voted statewide. Any voters in line at 7:30 are allowed to vote and sometimes that has kept some locations open until well after midnight. Apparently all polls closed at or shortly after 7:30 because information quickly began to flow.

The Political Part: Sometimes we do get it right

Relieved. Amazed. Overjoyed. Incredulous. Astonished. All that. You already know which candidate I was for and why.

I see this as a historic victory for us all. Fifty years ago, the goal of equality was simply for blacks and whites to attend the same schools. And even 40 years ago few set their sights much beyond equal access to drinking fountains, buses, hotels, lunch counters, and (of course) voting.

At that time, it never occurred to me that any person who wasn’t a white man could be president, but a year ago it seemed to be at least a remote possibility that a woman or a black man could be president. By early summer it was plausible and, starting a month or so ago, it seemed almost likely.

To vote for or against a candidate because of the color of that person’s skin is absurd, but not to recognize the historic implications of this election is equally absurd.

Half a century is a long time to a person, but not so long in the history of a nation. Maybe we have finally as a people gotten to the point where we judge people by their acts and not by the color of their skin, or by their sex. Racism and sexism still exist, but now it may be true that any American child does have the opportunity to grow up and be elected president.

To break through two barriers in a single election cycle is little short of astonishing. It is a victory for every citizen of the United States.

Going Forward

Barack Obama won’t be able to do everything immediately, soon, or ever. He will do things that will disappoint even his most ardent supporters, possibly by the end of January. But I believe he will do whatever he does based primarily on logic, intellect, and reason. I hope that he will attempt to build a consensus, both within the United States and around the world, to solve the large and growing problems that face us all.

Speeches by both candidates last night seemed to go beyond the usual in reaching out to each other. John McCain’s talk was eloquent and inclusive, so maybe we will be able to begin working across the divide.

At least I hope so.

A Note to My Brother-in-Law, the Republican

2008-10-31T20:15:00.002-04:00

I've edited this a bit from what I sent to my brother-in-law but, for the most part, it was my opinion a couple of weeks before the election and it is my opinion just a few days before the election.

I’ve been out of line. So have you. You’re probably more of a centrist than I think you are; I’m probably more of a centrist than you think I am. You want what’s best for the country. So do I. Likewise John McCain, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and maybe even Sarah Palin.

As far as I can recall, I have never questioned the patriotism of a Republican. I have certainly been critical of the current administration because of the lies that led us into a poorly planned and poorly executed war in the wrong country. Yet for eight long years, I have been told that I am unpatriotic. While you didn’t say that, the party that you support has. Time after time. I have been told to “Just shut the fuck up!” when I have questioned what the current administration has done.

In 2000, I told my fellow liberals to get over it despite overwhelming evidence of voter fraud in Florida.
In 2004, I watched as the secretary of state in my state prostituted himself to rig the election and ensure that George Bush would be re-elected.
It’s now 2008 and most of my Republican friends have had enough of the gang that claimed the moral high ground while lying, cheating, and stealing. Enough is enough.

If John McCain is elected, I know that he will do some things to change the way Washington operates. If Barack Obama is elected, I know that he will do some things to change the way Washington operates. I do not know which will do a better job, but watching Obama for the past year or more suggests to me that he is the one who will bring a renewal of faith in what this country can be. Your opinion differs, and that’s all right.

It is possible for two reasonable, rational people to examine the same set of facts and arrive at totally different conclusions. Disagreements are inevitable. But I have been disagreeable. So have you.

We have known each other since the years when you had long hair and I had hair. I don’t like what we’ve been saying to each other lately. I don’t like the way Republicans and Democrats talk about each other. It seems to me that it’s been primarily the GOP leadership (Rove, Cheney, et al.) who have consciously and consistently questioned the patriotism of Democrats, just as Joe McCarthy did back in the 1950s. In my view, a patriot must speak up when his country is doing the wrong things: Invading the wrong country and torturing prisoners while saying that we don’t torture prisoners, for example. If the house is on fire, I’m not going to just stand there and watch; I’ll tell somebody. For someone to question my patriotism or my intelligence seems well beyond the pale.

That’s not to say it’s just Republicans who are at fault. I’m not always happy with what MoveOn has to say and I’m not always happy with its tactics. Neither am I happy with the Swift Boaters or Jerome Corsi, who has now written two books that are filled with lies, half truths, and innuendos.

The election system is broken. Public financing was a good idea, but money always finds a way around barriers. MoveOn and the Swift Boaters are two prime examples. Despite my desire to see Obama win, I’m not particularly happy that he has raised an astonishing amount of money.

Al Gore recounts a campaign from early in his career in which political advisors told him that specific ads targeted at a specific audience would produce a specific result by a particular time. The consultants were right and Gore was elected. But he said that he felt there was something wrong with the process.

Were it up to me, no political advertising would be allowed. None. Period. Anyone who wanted to run for office would be required to publish an explanation of what they planned to do and how they planned to do it and those who wanted to understand would have to read it. Televised debates would be required and they would be structured as true debates. When the moderator asked a question, the prospective president (or veep) would be required to answer it, not just repeat talking points that have nothing to do with the question.

This would never work, of course. The 527 groups would find a way around it. But we have to find a better process than we are using now.

Since the days of Nixon, we’ve had an “imperial presidency” and both parties seem to think that’s OK. We are supposed to have a president, not a king. The founding fathers were deeply suspicious of government and of each other, so they created a system with three equal branches. Since the late 1960s, Congress has repeatedly surrendered its powers to the president. The party that’s out of favor at any given time whines about it, but neither party wants to change it.

Consider, for example, the GOP’s “nuclear option” regarding filibusters. Had Doc Frist pulled the trigger and outlawed filibusters in the previous session of Congress, the GOP wouldn’t have been able to stage a record number of filibusters in the current term. Both parties whine when the other party does it, but nobody seems to want to change the way things work.

The GOP seems to be unduly concerned about “voter fraud” despite a lack of evidence that it exists and the Dems seem to be unduly concerned with the specter of widespread machine tampering despite a lack of evidence that it exists. Of the two threats, machine fraud seems to me to be potentially the more serious because a few people in the companies that provide these machines could make some relatively simple modifications that could affect vote counting nationally. Yes, I agree that people who present themselves at polling places need to verify their identity. But don’t you also agree, particularly given your understanding of hardware and software, that the software running on voting machines should be available for public review? Can we agree on that at least?

With regards to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, let me say this: She is far less partisan than her predecessor. The former secretary of state was involved in the Bush re-election campaign. Surely you must see that this is not a good thing. Brunner is a Democrat, but it seems to me that she is generally playing fair. Generally. Yes, there have been some positions from the SOS’s office that seem to be political, but most have been based on a common-sense understanding of the law, the way elections work, and the actual threats to a free and fair election.

You have repeatedly attempted to convince me that voter fraud can and will be perpetrated on a mass scale in Ohio this year. I categorically reject that because of my training by the Franklin County Board of Elections (the director until this year was a Republican; the director is now a Democrat but the former director is now the associate director). Those of us who work at the polls are trained carefully and completely regarding voter validation. The protections that have been put in place are solid.

Jimmy Carter has said that he could not certify elections in the United States and I agree that there are large problems. The problems are not, however, with the poll workers. The problems are with a lack of transparency into what happens in voting machine, at county boards of election, and at the secretary of state’s office. I imagine that you despise Carter, but he is an honorable man who has tried to do the right thing, in office and out.

This has nothing to do with election policy, but I feel compelled to include it at this point: Gerald Ford was also an honorable man. He never wanted the presidency, but he stepped up when needed, served to the best of his ability, and made the right decision in pardoning Richard Nixon.

Also, for what it’s worth, when I lived in Belmont County, I voted for a lot of Republicans—particularly anyone who was running against Wayne L. Hayes, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, because I knew he was a crook and a jerk.

And, you may remember, that I worked for a while in the administration of James A. Rhodes, although I was appointed by John J. Gilligan. So maybe it’s not all black and white. Maybe there really are grays.

Maybe we need a true federal election system. As it is, there are federal election laws (some of which are being broken by Republican-sponsored voter purges [federal law specifies 2 federal election cycles, 4 years, to remove a voter from the rolls]), state laws and rules from secretaries of state, and county/parish board of election rules and policies. For example, the Franklin County Board of Elections sends absentee ballots with postage-paid return envelopes, but Delaware County does not. Some states send electors to the Electoral College based on House districts while other states operate on a winner-take-all basis. It seems to me that a federal election should operate under federal rules.

Would you at least accept that Sarah Palin is no more ready to be president than she is to be an astronaut? Even the Anchorage newspaper says this is the case. Regardless of what you think about John McCain, can you honestly say that Sarah Palin is ready to be president if need be? Can you honestly say this was his best possible choice?

Note: Except when they begin sentences, I have lowercased “conservative” and “liberal”. Should there have been any oversight in that regard, please consider it to be just that: An oversight. “Republican” and “Democrat” are capitalized because they are the formal names of political parties.

Is Obama Perfect?

2008-10-31T19:55:00.001-04:00

No. I know that Obama will disappoint me by something he does or fails to do. Any rational person knows that no president was, is, or can be perfect. I suppose there are people who see Obama in terms of the "great white (so to speak) hope", but I'm certainly not one of them.

The Obama presidency will not do everything I would want it to do, but it will do far more than a McCain presidency could ever hope to do.

Rabid Right NY Post Endorses Obama!

2008-10-31T19:46:00.001-04:00

"We urge them to choose Obama. Obama represents a fresh start."
- NY Post

Keep reading for the rest of the story.

This is when the Post endorsed Obama over Hillary Clinton in the primaries. The words I have quoted above are directly from the Post's website. They leave out important information though, such as the fact that the endorsement was for the primaries, along with surrounding text:

"We urge them to choose Obama - an untried candidate, to be sure, but preferable to the junior senator from New York. Obama represents a fresh start."

In the presidential race, it comes as no surprise to anyone that the Post has endorsed John McCain.

This is a fine example of a half truth: "New York Post says 'Obama represents a fresh start.'" It's the kind of technique Fux News uses regularly, except without the explanation of the trick.

What Does the World Think?

2008-10-31T19:42:00.001-04:00

For a couple of decades I subscribed to a publication that was initially called "Atlas" and then the "World Press Review" (or maybe it was the other way around, although I think not.) This was a magazine that collected articles from various publications--left, right, and center--from around the world, translated them, and provided them without comment for readers in the United States.

Eventually the magazine went out of business because few Americans seem to care much about what anyone else on the planet thinks about anything. During the years I subscribed, there were letters from readers who called the magazine unAmerican because of the articles it printed. Clearly, these readers simply didn't comprehend the mission, which was to inform those of us who live in the United States that there is a much larger world outside our borders, that we might not always do what is best for the planet, that sometimes this annoys those who live elsewhere, and that maybe it would be worthwhile to consider their opinions. If we're really trying to be a "beacon to for the world", it might not be a bad idea to see what the world thinks.

But there is good news! When I thought about the publication recently, I did a Google search to see if anyone else remembered it. What I found is that it still exists as an online publication! http://www.worldpress.org/

There's a Wikipedia article about WPR here. Somehow I missed the news, in 2004, when WPR discontinued its print version, that it would continue on-line.

For those interested in a view that goes beyond their own back yard, spend a little time with the World Press Review.

The Rethuglicans

2008-10-31T19:41:00.001-04:00

A freind says tht she just got a recorded message from the "Virginia Project for Democracy" that said "flyers have been distributed with misinformation about what day Democrats vote." The flyers claimed that Republicans vote on Tuesday and Democrats on Wednesday. She said,
That is a low, low tactic."

But it's also a standard technique that is used by what I call "Rethuglicans".

They also warn people that you'll be subject to arrest if you show up to vote and you have an outstanding traffic ticket. It's nothing more that vote suppressions. Yet this is the party that complains about "widespread voter fraud" that will "destroy the very fabric of this nation."

Fecal matter from the south end of a bull that's headed north.

Joe the (Unlicensed) Plumber

2008-10-31T19:30:00.000-04:00

Joe the Plumber without a license (from Toledo) and Mary the Flag Lady held a media event in Columbus Tuesday. According to the Columbus Dispatch (which has endorsed McCain editorially and backs that up by filling the news hole with anti-Obama stories) says, "The Toledo-area man, who was elevated to fame after he challenged Democrat Barack Obama over his tax policies during a street-side chat, formally endorsed McCain at the Flag Lady's Flag Store in the Beechwold neighborhood."

The Dispatch and Joe (the guy who illegally does plumbing work in Toledo, where a license is required to do plumbing work) have the McCain talking points down: "Citing the 'spread the wealth' comment Obama offered him, Wurzelbacher expressed fears that the U.S. would become a socialist nation under the Democrat. He also agreed with a man in the audience that a 'vote for Obama is a vote to the death of Israel.' Portman [Rob Portman, former Cincinnati GOP congressman] disagreed with that statement."

Joe's talking about running for Congress now, too. That's JUST what we need, another law-breaking know-nothing representative.

I Agree with the Republicans

2008-10-31T19:27:00.001-04:00

I know that this will come as a great shock to people who feel that I am one of those Demonic Democrats, totally blinded when it comes to common sense and reality, but I agree with the Republicans about one of the decisions Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner handed down.

The McCain campaign sent in a batch of voter registration forms and many of them did not have two check boxes checked:
1) Are you a US citizen? [X]Yes [ ]No
2) Will you be at least 18 years of age on or before the next general election? [X]Yes [ ]No

SOS Brunner wanted to disqualify any registrations that did not have both boxes checked. The Republicans sued. The courts found in favor of the Republicans. The courts were right. If you're trying to register to vote, both of these questions can assumed to be answered in the affirmative.

Brunner's other positions on matters pertaining to this election have also annoyed the Republicans, who took one case all the way to the US Supreme Court, only to have it withdrawn before the justices could throw it out.

And still they are trying to have registrations invalidated when a voter registration doesn't match a driver's license or Social Security record. Doesn't match? What do they mean by that?

Joseph Lawrence Johnson (voter ID)
Joseph Lawrence Johnston (driver's license)
SORRY, PAL: YER OUTTA LUCK (at least according to the GOP)

Between 40% and 50% of registrations tested fail by this standard and voters are disenfranchised because somebody missed a "t" or typed an extra "t". Needless to say, Brunner thought the Republicans were being more than a little dishonest in their complaints. And so, surprisingly, did the Republican-dominated US Supreme Court.

For what it's worth, guidance from the Franklin County Board of Elections addresses this issue for this year's election. If a voter shows up with a driver's license on which the photo is clearly that of the person standing there and the only variance is a small difference in the way the name is presented (Elizabeth L. Miller on the poll book and Liz Miller on the driver's license), the person votes a standard ballot.

So I think that's a victory for the good guys. (The "good guys" are not Republicans or Democrats; the "good guys" are truth and justice.)

Half Truths and the Information Sewer

2008-10-28T18:13:00.001-04:00

In a previous post, I mentioned someone who had sent a dreadful and gigantic message about the dangers of Barack Obama to a list that I'm associated with. She said that she thought the document "seemed to be documented". It was, if you consider links to Fox News and right-wing nutcase sites to be documentation.

There is a huge difference between "seems to be documented" and "is documented". Just because somebody posted something on a website or in a blog doesn't mean it's true. One of the letter's sources for anti-Obama "proof" was RightSideOfWisconsin.com.

RightSideOfWisconsin.com is registered through GoDaddy.com and here's the record: Administrative Contact: Lohenry, Todd toddlohenry@gmail.com e1evation, llc PO Box 203 Algoma, Wisconsin 54201 United States (920) 486-4798 Fax -- (920) 482-5666

Todd Lohenry? According to his profile on LinkedIn: Former Chairman of Republican Party of Kewaunee County (So would you accept the opinion of John McCain by a former chairman of a county Democratic party as gospel?)

How Half-Truths Work

I could say that John McCain has 6 fingers on each hand, was brainwashed by the Chinese during the time he was supposedly held captive in Viet Nam, that he intentionally crashed his plane to turn it over to the Russians because he was a mole, that his father was a Martian and he had to be born in Panama to avoid US medical records.

I could even create a blog that contained all of those claims. And I could put together some pretty convincing "documents" that would make it appear to be true. And I am certain that some gullible person would find that website and use it as a reason why McCain should not be allowed to get within 100 yards of the White House.

I could do that, but I won't. I won't because I know not a word of it is true. But there are unethical people in this world, people who would gladly lie, cheat, and steal to put forth disinformation (that's an old term from the Soviet era).

The Soviets thought they had perfected disinformation. If you want to see perfection, just examine the Internet, books by Jerome Corsi, Rush Limbaugh's radio program and blogs, and most of what comes out of the Fox News sewer.

Vote Early, but not Often

2008-10-28T18:12:00.002-04:00

If you can still vote early or send in an absentee ballot, do it!

Early voting in Ohio has seen 2- and 3-hour waits. At the 4-hour BOE training last weekend, we were told that about 15% of registered voters have voted. If we get the predicted 75% to 80% turnout, that means we'll see about 500,000 voters on election day at 854 precincts in 534 voting locations (I'm responsible for 3 precincts and 18-20 poll workers).

Something new this year: The county board of elections has added a nifty new feature to the 200-page reference manual. It's called an "index".

This year, the Secretary of State's office has also sent poll workers a link to a training site and the BOE handed out a 10-page supplement from the SOS at the weekend training session. Franklin County is being held out as a pretty good model of how to get things done (unlike Cuyahoga County, where there's a lawsuit almost every election).

This year, we've added "greeters", whose job it is to make sure that voters are in the right place. If somebody shows up at the wrong precinct, we hope to identify them and send them to the right precinct without making them wait in line for 2 or 3 hours.

Something tells me there are easier and more efficient ways of earning $107 (before taxes).

Am I Terrified?

2008-10-28T18:12:00.001-04:00

A friend noted that those on the right often say they're terrified of Obama and that those of us on the left say that we're terrified of Palin. What's to be terrified about, she wondered.

I don't think I would classify myself as "terrified", so I probably can't answer the question entirely. But I am greatly concerned by the prospect of Palin as president. I think it comes down to her limited education, lack of political experience, anti-science positions, attack-dog positions (which, according to a reporter from one of the Alaska newspapers, may have been forced on her by the McCain campaign), scant knowledge of international situations, and inability to speak a coherent sentence unless it's scripted.

Except for that, I'm fine with her being president.

It seems to me that the right is afraid of the bogeyman, which is something the Republican Party has stressed over the past 8 years with its "we have nothing to offer but fear" campaigns. Those on the left fear a continued slide into mediocrity, or worse.

Educating the Uninformed

2008-10-28T18:10:00.001-04:00

For the past several days, I've been having a conversation with an acquaintance. She brought an enormously long "well-researched report" about the dangers of Barack Obama to a list populated by editors. The "well-researched" report turned out to be a letter written by a member of her family, a person who claims to be a journalist. Yet it consisted of third-hand reports of rumors, innuendos, half-truths, and outright lies. Fortunately, she's open to learning and really wants to know the truth. In the most recent exchange, she mentioned Iran and said that she's not sure that John McCain's criticism of Obama for being willing to talk to the Iranians is appropriate.

My response: I'm glad you believe in talking. After all, if you don't talk to those who some think are your enemies, what happens? War. Keep in mind that the "leader" of Iran, has no real power. He is a figurehead. The real power is with religious leaders and they have not said the kinds of things certified nutcase Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said.

Should we talk without conditions? The United States was talking with Nikita Khruschev before and after his shoe-pounding speech at the United Nations in which he threatened to "bury" the United States. NOT talking is deadly. Talking may not resolve the problems between people, but it's better than not talking.

Also bear in mind that after 9/11, Iran actively helped the United States track down some of the bad guys. This information is available in books written by people who were in intelligence agencies at the time.

It may also be worth noting that it was the United States that forced Iran to start a nuclear program, largely at the behest of US manufacturers.

My correspondent sayd that she would feel better if she had proof that Obama had made strong declarations that he will not compromise with Israel's enemies and that he will stand with Israel.

As a matter of fact, Obama did this when he visited Israel in July of this year: One report, with photos is here.

And Harretz.com, in February, wrote "He added that has always been 'a stalwart friend of Israel's' and said he considers Israel to be one of the U.S.' 'most important allies in the region [Mideast]. I think that their security is sacrosanct,' he added." Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/958748.html

It really isn't very hard to find the truth, or at least a reasonable approximation. Use Google or Yahoo and then visit the websites of legitimate news organizations, newspapers in the region, and the like. Avoid the loony left and rabid right websites. Read a lot of sources. The Internet makes this easy. You might even consider reading Al Jazeera, which is nowhere near as anti-American as the right-wing nuts claim. There's probably more journalistic integrity at Al Jazeera there than at Fox. Reading it, if nothing else, provides perspective. http://english.aljazeera.net/

All The News That Isn't

2008-10-28T18:06:00.000-04:00

You'd think that less than a week before an election, the Washington Post might actually be able to find some news. Yet on October 27, an article stated breathlessly that "Faulty Ballots Sent to Voters: 126 Erroneous Items Mailed in Latest Mistake by D.C. Board."

So the District's board of elections sent incorrect absentee ballots to "as many as 126 District voters." 126. Wow! And there are how many hundreds of thousands of voters in the District?

Have you ever reached for something and picked up the wrong thing? I presume you're human, so the answer is probably yes.

Last election, I received a ballot from my county board of elections for Reynoldsburg 3C instead of Worthington 3C. I called the BOE, reported it, returned the wrong ballot, and voted the new ballot that they sent.

Does the Washington Post also report instances of cars wearing lane markings off the highway? What a non-story!

This Makes Me Sad

2008-10-24T17:24:00.006-04:00

I asked my brother-in-law if he supported this statement:

"Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."
--Rep. Robin Hayes (R., N.C.) on Saturday at a rally in North Carolina

Although he's a Bush-McCain-Cheney-Palin Republican, I expected him to repudiate the statement. That wasn't quite what happened.

He replied with an argument that was even more ludicrous than Bill Clinton's "that depends on what 'is', is." It was pure bullshit.

I expected a response such as, "No, that's entirely unacceptable," or "Hayes clearly doesn't speak for me," or maybe an even broader, "No, that's not what the Republican Party is about."

Inistead, he said:

I'm trying to imagine which keywords to concentrate on here:
Liberal ("Democrat", "Socialist", "Marxist", or maybe even "Centrist"?)
hate ("disagree with", "dislike", "can't tolerate", "bent on destroying"?)
real Americans (perhaps as opposed to "illegal immigrants", "non-native legal immigrant descendants" or maybe only those who oppose one's political views?)
work and accomplish and achieve (as opposed to enabled via social welfare paid thru oppressive taxation?)
believe in God (as opposed to "atheists" or "non-Christians"?)

So without knowing more about the beliefs and record of Mr. Hayes, I don't categorically support or disavow the statement.

Yow!

So this is what we're up against. My brother-in-law is a bright guy. He graduated with a double major from (The) Ohio State University. But he's been so brainwashed by the neocons who have taken over the Republican Party that he can't even see the hate speech embodied in "Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."

That sincerely frightens me because I can't even begin to imagine a liberal making such a hate-filled blanket statement about conservatives. If we cannot learn to live together and work together for the common good of the United States of America, then there is no hope for us — any of us, liberal or conservative.

Incidentally, on the subject of "believe in God (as opposed to 'atheists' or 'non-Christians'?)", I feel a response is called for. Non-Christians often are part of a mono-theistic religion; in other words, they and Christians believe in the "one 'true' God", so I'm puzzled by the distinction between atheists and non-Christians. Beyond that, there are other possibilities. "Agnostic" is just one of them and that seems to be where I find myself at this time.

If there's one thing that incenses me, it's for someone to say that his or her religion is the one true way to redemption. That is simply absurd because no one on this planet has any more information about redemption than anyone else. But it seems to me that if there is a God, that being must expect us to treat each other fairly, honestly, and charitably.

If you believe in the kind of God who is just waiting for you to fuck up so that he can say, "Ah, ha! Damn you to Hell, fool!" you believe in a different kind of God from the one that I would believe in if I believed in God.

Wow. WOW. WOW!!!

2008-10-19T16:53:00.002-04:00

Spinning furiously on Fox News, John McCain said Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama was "expected", which sounded to me a lot like "well, of course he's supporting Obama; they're both black." Spin it, John. Spin it. Even if I hadn't heard an interview with Powell a week ago in which he said neither race nor long-time familiarity would be a factor in his decision, I wouldn't believe that Powell would let race affect his decision.

Side note: Both McCain and Obama are of the same race, the human race. One has slightly more pigment than the other, but they are members of the same race. But for now we'll overlook that scientific fact.

Powell served the United States in Viet Nam as did John McCain. Powell was Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War and he has proven that he is intelligent, rational, and thoughtful. In saying that he will voter for Barack Obama, Powell called the Illinois senator a transformational figure who has reached out to Americans with an inclusive campaign. Powell also cited Obama'a steadiness, intellectual curiosity, and depth of knowledge as reasons for his decision.

Powell has known McCain for decades and says that the Arizona senator is a good friend. But he said that he's disburbed by the McCain campaign, the selection of Sarah Palin as vice presidential candidate, and the Republican party's xenophobic attitudes.

If William Ayers is really a "washed up old terrorist", Powell wondered why the McCain campaign spends so much time with "robo-calls" that accuse Obama of "palling around with terrorists."

Powell also criticized the selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, saying that she is a distinguished woman who should be admired, but that after watching her for 7 weeks, he's certain that he is not ready to be president of the United States, "which is the job of the vice president."

I paid to see Colin Powell speak several years ago. I would have voted for him if he had ever decided to seek the office of president. And today I hope that Republicans and Independents who have considered voting for the McCain/Palin ticket will now reconsider.

Who Ya Gonna Love?

2008-10-17T22:16:00.003-04:00

A friend from West (by God) Virginia seems to think that I believe all Dems are faultless and all Republicans are crooks . Wrong. But this does seem to be the GOP's approach.

When a Republican is found with his hand in the cookie jar, the assumption seems to be that it's the godless liberal media persecuting a wonderful family-values guy. The GOP closes ranks behind the guy.

Eventually, things become so bad that something has to be done, so the guy holds a tearful press conference and says he's resigning to spend more time with the family.

Compare this to the Mark Dann story in Ohio. The attorney general was clearly dirty. All (I repeat, ALL) statewide elected Dems told Dann that he had to resign or he would be impeached. Dann tried to negotiate. He wasn't allowed to. Dann is no longer the AG. The little piece of shit has gone back to Youngstown.

We go after the crooks and kick them out on their ass.

The GOP has a president who lied the nation into a war, but who is still president. Chickens do eventually come home to roost.

Cluck. Cluck.

So my friend seems to think that I believe all Dems are good and all Republicans are evil. Not so. Here's how I would rank US presidents and Ohio governors, and you may want to note that I liked several of the Republicans and have a less than stellar opinion of some of the Dems:

PRESIDENTS
(R) Dwight D. Eisenhower: Too bad he lied about the U2.
(D) John F. Kennedy: Cool during the missile crisis.
(D) Lyndon B. Johnson: Domestic, great; international, shitty.
(R) Richard Nixon: Got China right, but he was a crook.
(R) Gerald Ford: Honorable guy, but ineffective.
(D) Jimmy Carter: Anything that could go wrong, went wrong.
(R) Ronald Reagan: Nice persona, but a bastard.
(R) George H. W. Bush: Honorable and intelligent.
(D) Bill Clinton: Fine for the economy, but personally a piece of shit.
(R) George W. Bush: Moron.

OHIO GOVERNORS
(D) Michael DiSalle: A man with a conscience.
(R) Jim Rhodes: With bonds all things are possible in the Wonderful World of Ohio.
(D) John J. Gilligan: Understood the environment if not Ohio politics.
(R) Jim Rhodes: Kill the fucking hippies. (Oh, no, wait. We did that the last time I was in office.)
(D) Dick Celeste: Yeah, he was governor.
(R) George Voinovich: The GOP faithful hated him because he tried to be honest.
(R) Nancy Hollister: Gov for a month (no opinion).
(R) Bob Taft: I liked him, but he's the only criminal governor in Ohio's history.*
(D) Ted Strickland: So far, so good.

*Two WV governors have served sentences, so I guess it's a plus that Taft was only convicted while in office, but never had to serve time. Those who live in West Virginia must take political sport more seriously.

William Barron (D): In 1968, the former governor and several of his top officials were indicted on charges of bribery. All but Barron were found guilty. In 1971, he was again indicted on jury tampering charges associated with the 1968 trial. He was sentenced to prison, fined, and stripped of his law license.

Arch Moore (R): In 1990, Moore was found guilty of mail fraud. He served over two years in federal prison and paid a settlement to the state.

Crooks from both parties. How even-handed!

Bob the Spook versus Joe the Plumber

2008-10-17T19:04:00.003-04:00

Bob the Spook is a lot like Joe the Plumber -- he really exists. I've never talked with Joe the Plumber, but I've seen his picture. I have talked with Bob the Spook. I'm not going to identify him as more than just "Bob", though. You'll understand why as you read his account.

Bob, who wrote the following, is a former intelligence officer. Military. He's been on the listening end of wiretaps and the like. He spent some time in the Middle East and now has just retired from a job with a high security rating (nuclear facility in the West). He and I sometimes talk politics because he's a conservative and I'm not. We've also discussed registering to vote, "voter fraud" (a major canard*), and the like.

Here's a message from the second full week of October 2008:

Start Bob the Spook's message

When I turned 21, the voting age at the time, I was away at college. Next trip home, I went to the fire station to register to vote. The fireman pulled a sign from a stack; it was a notice to remove weeds from the property or have it done by the city at the owner's expense. I had to read a few sentences to prove I was literate in the English language. I think still that's a reasonable requirement for voting and citizenship (reading and writing English, I mean, not keeping your yard clear of weeds).

By the time the next election came around, I was off with Uncle Sam's Air Force defending democracy from godless Communism (and, as we found out several years after I retired, successfully). I voted absentee from various nice and not-so-nice places.

After retiring and moving here, I registered to vote. I think the wife and I were in Seattle fooling around on a long weekend. Some scruffily dressed kids were manning a card table and asking people to register to vote. So we did. I don't think we had to declare a party, Washington State had open primaries.

Eventually, we went to vote-by-mail. It's just like absentee voting, but you don't have to be away on election day to do it. One sign-up and I get ballots 3 weeks or so before every election. It was a really nice way to vote when I was working; the lines were really long by the time I could get to the polling place.

I think I've mentioned that I've voted in every presidential election since the LBJ-Goldwater contest. I found myself voting against the guy I liked the least every time except once. Only one guy came up in all those years who had experience that I thought qualified him, that was GHW Bush. And he did a pretty good job. Not perfect, but pretty good. This go-round, the only candidate in the primaries with a resume that impressed me was Richardson; some of his speeches later in the primary season gave me pause. Not sure if he believed all of what he was saying or if he was just trying to establish an identity separate from the other candidates.

This time, looks like I'll be voting for someone whose qualifications are a bit lacking, but I'm willing to settle for integrity and intelligence.

Bob

End Bob the Spook's message

Bob is voting for Obama. So is the very conservative Christopher Buckley, a (now former) columnist for the National Review and son of William F. Buckley. You can read his article here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-10/the-conservative-case-for-obama or http://tinyurl.com/Buckley4Obama

Oh -- and I spotted a car with a Gulf War Vet license plate at the Worthington Community Center on Tuesday. I see the car most days when I go to exercise after work, but this time there was something new on it: An Obama bumper sticker.

*Why "voter fraud" is a major canard:

Lemmie 'splain this in plain English. Let's just assume that ACORN has perpetrated "massive voter fraud", which it hasn't. But let's just assume that just for fun and to get past the "YES, THEY DID!" "NO, THEY DIDN'T!" phase of the conversation. Let's say Mickey Mouse has been registered to vote. When Mickey Mouse shows up to vote, Mickey Mouse will have to produce a photo ID that proves he is Mickey Mouse. Without that, he won't vote. Voter fraud? Hardly.

Let's say William F. Blinn has fraudulently registered 25 times from 25 addresses. When William F. Blinn shows up to vote at 25 precincts (this will be difficult because William F. Blinn will be the lead presiding judge at 3 precincts in Upper Arlington, none of which he is registered to vote at) he will need photo identification that proves he lives at each of the phony address he registered at. Without it, he doesn't cast a vote. To get a driver's license, William F. Blinn would need a Social Security number. Since he has only one of those, William F. Blinn will be able to obtain only one Ohio driver's license (out of state licenses are not accepted at polling places.) Voter fraud? Hardly.

Simply put: Registering is not the same as voting.

"Joe the Plumber"

2008-10-17T18:38:00.000-04:00

Turns out that the man who was held up by John McCain as the typical, hard-working American taxpayer isn't really a licensed plumber, and he owes nearly $1,200 in back taxes. He would actually get a tax break under Barack Obama's tax plan and it was the McCain campaign who arranged for him to show up an an Obama event.

What a surprise!

Can it Get Any Stranger?

2008-10-17T18:34:00.002-04:00

I'm sure this is "just because that Muslim terrorist is from Chicago", but for the first time in its history, the (far)-right-leaning Chicago Tribune has endorsed the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

Wow! This is historic.

For those who believe that Fox News is the only true source of news, here are reports of Obama endorsements [My comments are in square brackets like this.]:

The Washington Post emphatically endorsed him Friday as "the right man for a perilous moment."
The Los Angeles Times said Obama "represents the nation as it is, and as it aspires to be."
The San Francisco Chronicle also endorsed Obama in its Friday edition, describing him as a "portrait of calmness and deliberation" throughout the financial crisis.
Not counting the Chicago Tribune, Editor and Publisher has tallied Obama's endorsement haul at 50 and McCain's at 16. The newspapers reach a circulation of 5.8 million for Obama and 1.5 million for McCain.

[But, trying to blunt the clear lead Obama has, Fox said, "The Republican nominee has racked up some prominent endorsements over the past several weeks." And those are ... ]

The New York Post [about as far right as Fox] in September endorsed McCain, saying "McCain's lifelong record of service to America, his battle-tested courage, unshakeable devotion to principle and clear grasp of the dangers and opportunities now facing the nation stand in dramatic contrast to the tissue-paper-thin resume of his Democratic opponent, freshman Sen. Barack Obama."
McCain was also endorsed by the Union Leader [probably the most reactionary newspaper in the nation] in New Hampshire, the Boston Herald and the Examiner newspapers in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. [The primary newspaper in Baltimore is the Enquirer, the primary newspaper in Washington is the Post, and the primary newspaper in San Francisco is the Chronicle (mentioned above). OK, so that's 1 for 3, but with a penalty for tying to pass off these 3 papers as worthwile.]
Obama has picked up the most endorsements in California, including those of the Sacramento and Fresno Bee newspapers, the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune. [And, of course, Fox might as well go on, "Californicate is the home of fruits and nuts."]
Other major endorsements for Obama include those of The Boston Globe, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Toledo Blade, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Nashville Tennessean.

Thus endeth the Fox News report.

So here's the story from Editor and Publisher as of 17 October 2008 at 18:36:42 (indications in parentheses indicate B=Bush and K=Kerry in 2004). You may note that several papers switched from endorsing the Republican to endorsing the Democrat, but that NO papers switched from endorsing the Democrat to endorsing the Republican.

JOHN McCAIN
16 newspapers total
1,502,163 daily circulation

CALIFORNIA
Napa Valley Register: 16,283
The San Francisco Examiner (B): 80,000

COLORADO
Mountain Valley News (Cedaredge): 2,000
The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction) (B): 31,349
The Pueblo Chieftain (B): 49,169

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington DC Examiner (N/A): 100,073

MARYLAND
The Baltimore Examiner (N/A): 50,000

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald (B): 182,350
The (Lowell) Sun (B): 44,439

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Foster’s Daily Democrat (B): 22,547
Union Leader (Manchester) (B): 51,782

NEW YORK
New York Post (B): 702,488

OHIO
The (Findlay) Courier (B): 22,319

TEXAS
Amarillo Globe-News (B): 44,764

WASHINGTON
(Spokane) Spokesman-Review (B): 89,779

WEST VIRGINIA
Wheeling News-Register (B): 12,821

BARACK OBAMA
51 newspapers total
6,299,363 daily circulation

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Times (K): 34,000

CALIFORNIA
The Argus (Fremont) (K): 26,749
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek) (K): 183,086
Daily Review (Hayward) (K): 30,704
The Fresno Bee (K): 150,334
La Opinion (Los Angeles) (K): 114,892
Los Angeles Times (N/A): 773,884
The Modesto Bee (K): 78,001
The Monterey County Herald (K): 28,933
Oakland Tribune (K): 96,535
The (Stockton) Record (B): 57,486
The Sacramento Bee (K): 288,755
San Bernardino Sun (B): 54,315
San Francisco Chronicle (K): 370,345
San Jose Mercury News (K): 234,772
San Mateo County Times (K): 25,982
Santa Cruz Sentinel (K): 23,290
Tri-Valley Herald (B): 29,759

COLORADO
Cortez Journal (K): 6,700
The Durango Herald (K): 8,870
Gunnison Country Times (N/A): 4,000
Ouray County Plaindealer (K): 3,000

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Post (K): 673,180

HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (K): 64,305

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 541,663

IOWA
The Storm Lake Times (K): 3,200

MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Globe (K): 350,605
The Standard-Times (New Bedford) (K): 30,306

MICHIGAN
The Muskegon Chronicle (K): 41,114

MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (K): 255,057

NEW MEXICO
Santa Fe New Mexican (K): 25,249

NEW YORK
el Dario La Prensa (): 53,856

NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville Citizen-Times (K): 50,160

OHIO
The (Toledo) Blade (K): 119,901
Dayton Daily News (K): 116,690
The (Canton) Repository (B): 65,789
Springfield News-Sun (K): 24,684

OREGON
Mail Tribune (Medford) (K): 30,349

PENNSYLVANIA
The Express-Times (Easton) (B): 44,561
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (K): 214,374

TENNESSEE
Chattanooga Times (K): 71,716
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (K): 146,961
The (Nashville) Tennessean (K): 161,131

TEXAS
The Lufkin Daily News (K): 12,225

VIRGINIA
Falls Church News-Press (K): 30,500

WASHINGTON
The Columbian (B): 44,623
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (K): 129,563
The Seattle Times (K): 220,883

WEST VIRGINIA
The Charleston Gazette (K): 48,061

WISCONSIN
The Capital Times (Madison) (K): 16,335
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) (B): 87,930

Fear versus Trust

2008-10-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

I've been reading Al Gore's book The Assault on Reason and it reads rather like a federal statute for exporting oatmeal, but I did run across one section that I found to be both interesting and worthwhile.

He quoted Ed Muskie:

"There are only two kinds of politics. They're not radical and reactionary or conservative and liberal or even Democratic and Republican. There are only the politics of fear and the politics of trust. One says you are encircled by monstrous dangers. Give us power over your freedom so we may protect you. The other says the world is a baffling and hazardous place, but it can be shaped by the will of men."

Muskie said those words in 1970, on the eve of the midterm election. I'd like to think we're a little wiser now, 38 years later. But once again it's coming down to fear and loathing versus hope and trust.

My God Is Better than Your God!

2008-10-17T18:32:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe that a "man of faith" is spewing this bullshit. He, of course, exhibits a complete misunderstanding of Buddhism, because Buddhists specifically consider Buddha NOT to be a "god". "Buddah" simply means "awake" or "aware". Not that this would matter to a bigot, of course.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNN) – A minister delivering the invocation at John McCain’s rally in Davenport, Iowa Saturday told the crowd non-Christian religions around the world were praying for Barack Obama to win the U.S. presidential election.

“There are millions of people around this world praying to their god—whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah—that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens,” said Arnold Conrad, the former pastor of Grace Evangelical Free Church in Davenport.

The remark was made before McCain arrived at the rally but the Republican nominee's campaign quickly put out a statement distancing itself from the remarks.

(NOTE THAT CNN CLEARLY INDICATES THAT McCAIN WASN'T PRESENT AT THE TIME. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE WOULD EXPECT FROM FUX NOOZ HAD THE SITUATION BEEN REVERSED.)

“While we understand the important role that faith plays in informing the votes of Iowans, questions about the religious background of the candidates only serve to distract from the real questions in this race about Barack Obama's judgment, policies and readiness to lead as commander in chief,” said McCain campaign spokesperson Wendy Riemann. This incident comes a day after a Minnesota voter asked Senator McCain if Barack Obama was an Arab at a town hall in Lakeville, Minnesota and just three days after Lehigh GOP County Chairman Bill Platt made a speech at a McCain rally in Pennsylvania where he refered to the Democrat nominee for president as Barack Hussein Obama.

So Maybe You Can "Register" an Underage Voter

2008-10-12T02:09:00.002-04:00

But then what? The GOP Sound Machine (Limburger, O'Liely, and the rest of the gang) have been making a big deal out of this "problem". But it's not much of a problem. It's just part of the tpyical sleight-of-hand the GOP likes to employ.

What happens when you show up at a polling place? I can't speak for the rest of the country, but as a poll worker in Ohio I know that the first thing we'll do is ask for your identification. For most people, that's a driver's license. The GOP Sound Machine likes to talk about ACORN and "registered" 13-year-old voters. Apparently a few underage "voters" have been registered here and there. If they show up to vote, will they have a driver's license? Without ID, they won't be allowed to vote.

For the GOP, the party of widespread voter fraud in Florida (2000) and Ohio (2004) to whine about the occasional underage registration seems to be a fine example of the "pot calling the kettle black".

Are the "damnocrats" out to get Palin? The GOP says the are.

2008-10-11T22:09:00.002-04:00

Cool story, except for one thing: It ain't true, bubba. (The somewhat pejorative term "bubba" should not be interpreted as being directed at any particular recipient. In any case, it does not refer to the former president, Bill Clinton.)

July 2008 (Palin isn't John McCain's running mate yet. She isn't even on anyone's radar at this point.): Alaska's 14-member Republican-dominated Legislative Council opens an investigation into the governor's motivations in trying to have Trooper Michael Wooten dismissed. The decision was unanimous. For those who aren't familiar with words of more than 2 syllables, that means ever dad gum one of 'em voted to do it.

That same group voted unanimously (ever dad gum one of 'em voted to do it) to release their report amid accusations by the McCain-Palin campaign that the inquiry was a pro-Obama witch hunt designed to affect the Nov. 4 election. The GOP seems to be having a little problem getting it's talking points all in a row.

Investigator Stephen Branchflower says he doesn't understand the supposed motivations for Palin's acts. She said the family was afraid of Wooten, but having him terminated could lead to an act of retaliation. Forcing him out of his job “would not have de-escalated the situation or provided” Ms. Palin or her family with “greater security,” the report stated. And simultaneously (that means "at the same time"), Palin reduced the number of troopers assigned to her security detail. I guess she was really a-feared of him, then, eh, warn't she, bubba?

Branchflower says Palin violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by applying pressure to get Trooper Wooten dismissed.

Just exactly the kind of person we want to have as president if anything happens to John McCain.

The Real Patriots

I mentioned the break-in at Palin's illegal Yahoo account on a recent TechByter Worldwide broadcast and heard from a couple of listeners who thought I was off base. I wasn't in reporting that, but I had previously introduced political comments (inappropriately) into the program, so I apologized.

An additional conversation ensued with a listener. I wrote the following today:

About 30 years ago (so you already know this is going to be a "good ol' days" story), I worked for a radio station where the program director was even further left than I was. This is, by the way, the only radio station I ever worked at where there were more liberals than conservatives on the air. The chief engineer was a super-conservative (Goldwater type) Republican. The program director claimed that the engineer was really "the most liberal guy in the place" and, talking to the engineer, I came to believe that this was the case. He preferred some methods that I didn't, but all three of us mostly wanted the same things for the country. Conservatives and liberals share a lot of values; if extremists at both ends would sit down and shut up, those of us in the middle could start talking to each other reasonably and politely again and get to work on solving the country's problems. I'd really like to see that happen because working together for common goals is the only way we'll accomplish anything.

Who Would YOU Hire?

2008-10-10T19:06:00.001-04:00

Let's pretend you're the HR director of a company. Or a country.

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, health care problems, a dollar that's weaker than the Canadian dollar for the first time in decades, an all-time-high prison population, skyrocketing federal spending, a mortgage crisis, bank foreclosures, a credit crisis, and ... well, you know. You have a choice about who we should hire. Here are your choices.

CHOICE 1: A guy who attended Occidental College for 2 years and then obtained a B.A. in political science with a specialization in international relations from Columbia University, followed by a law degree (Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude), from Harvard and a guy who earned a B.A. in history and B.A. in political science from the University of Delaware, followed by a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the Syracuse University College of Law.

CHOICE 2: A guy who graduated 894th in his class of 899 at the United States Naval Academy and went on to be shot down over Viet Nam and a woman who attended Hawaii Pacific University for 1 semester, who took "general study" classes at the well known North Idaho College for 2 semesters, then transferred to the University of Idaho for 2 semesters, to Matanuska-Susitna College for 1 semester, and who finally earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Idaho.

Conservatives for Obama

2008-10-10T18:40:00.002-04:00

Brigitte Bardot (sex queen from the 1960s, extreme right-wing fanatic, and animal-rights advocate): Sarah Palin is a a "disgrace to women." And, on Palin's comment that she was a pit bull with lipstick, Bardot said: "I know dogs well and I can assure you that no pit bull, no dog, nor any other animal is as dangerous as you are."

William F. Buckley's son, Christopher, is (not surprisingly) a conservative. He knows John McCain and has written for him. He is backing Barack Obama.

Conservative David Brooks, who argued forcefully on moral grounds for American military intervention in Iraq and said that American and British forces would be welcomed as liberators, says that Sarah Palin "represents a fatal cancer to the Republican party." You may know already that Sarah Palin is John McCain's running mate.

Well known conservative Andrew J. Bacevich, in an article for The New Republic magazine says that a conservative revival depends on a US withdrawal from Iraq, which Obama supports. You may have noticed that John McCain vehemently opposes this.

Conservative columnist Thomas Sowell: "A number of friends of mine have commented on an odd phenomenon that they have observed--conservative Republicans they know who are saying that they are going to vote for Barack Obama. It seemed at first to be an isolated fluke, perhaps signifying only that my friends know some strange conservatives. But apparently columnist Robert Novak has encountered the same phenomenon and has coined the term 'Obamacons' to describe the conservatives for Senator Obama."

And what is it about Republicans that they can't stand intelligence, book-larnin', 'n such? Brooks says "The Republicans have alienated whole professions. Lawyers now donate to the Democratic Party over the Republican Party at 4-to-1 rates. With doctors, it's 2-to-1. With tech executives, it's 5-to-1. With investment bankers, it's 2-to-1. It took talent for Republicans to lose the banking community." Of course, there's still Carly Fiorina, the fired former head of Hewlett Packard who disgraced the company. She's still a McCain supporter.

Are you a big fan of Ronnie Ray-Gun, Jack Kemp, or Newt Gingrich? Larry Hunter says he is and he's backing Obama: "Obama promises a humbler engagement with our allies, while promising retaliation against any enemy who dares attack us. That’s what conservatism used to mean - and it’s what George W. Bush promised as a candidate."

Hello, Republican base: Listen to your leaders. Vote Obama.

Excuse Me, Sir, May I Vote, Please?

2008-10-10T18:01:00.003-04:00

I'm a poll worker, so I must vote absentee. I filed the request more than a month ago with the board of elections. A week or two later, when I received my assignment from the board, a note that was enclosed acknowledged the previously filed request. No problem.

Today, I received two forms from the board of elections: One said that I hadn't completed the form correctly because my address wasn't on the form (it was because the BOE put it there). The second form acknowledged a request that I had made prior to the primary, but said that I would be required to file it again because of a ruling by the Secretary of State. Hmmmm. Problem.

Some weeks back, my older daughter sent in an absentee ballot request. It was returned because the address the provided isn't the address they have on record for her, yet the Board of Election's website shows the proper address, the same one that was on the request. Granted, she has a common name, but still .... Another problem.

It doesn't take too many instances like this for the average voter to just say, "Fuck it!" and not vote. And that, of course, is exactly what the GOP would like. I get the idea that the GOP would like it if only male land owners with a net worth of at least half a million dollars would be allowed to vote. That would simplify the process a lot.

And for no reason that we can divine, my wife's affiliation was changed from "Democrat" to "unaffiliated". We're still trying to find out why. This change has no effect in the general election, of course, and (because any voter may request any ballot in the primary) it has no effect for primary elections, either.

But still .... Might one call this yet another problem?

Yes, I am in Ohio. Why do you ask?

You Know, We Already Have "Socialized Medicine"

2008-10-10T17:53:00.000-04:00

The far-right wing nuts are always crying about "socialized medicine", but this is nothing but a scare tactic, and I suspect that most of them know it. What is health insurance but socialized medicine: People band together, pool their resources, and pay a company to find a reason not to pay their claims when they accidentally get sick and have one.

About 30 years ago, I worked for a radio station where the program director was even further left than I was. This is, by the way, the ONLY radio station I ever worked at where I think there were more liberals than conservatives. The chief engineer was a super-conservative (Goldwater type) Republican. The program director said that the engineer was really the most liberal guy in the place and, talking to him, I came to believe that this was the case. He preferred some methods that I didn't, but all three of us wanted the same thing for the country.

That was back in the day before clowns like Karl Rove thought it would expeditious to accuse your opponent of being weak on whatever your weak point was.

I just want my country back.

You start with an anomaly.

2008-10-10T17:51:00.001-04:00

Then you play it up on the GOP Sound Machine. Yesterday, my wife heard a report about voter registration problems in Ohio on the Sinclair Media station (well known for bending the news.) Supposedly the story had been reported in the NY Times. I wasn't able to find anything in the Times, although it may have been there.

You'll hear these stories where you live, too, in the next month or so as the GOP tries to push the "voter fraud" angle.

Earlier this week, I heard a long interview with one of US Attorneys who was fired by the Gonzales Department of Justice. He explained how well-timed announcements and investigations can work to reduce voter turnout because people who ARE qualified to vote, but feel that they might be prosecuted if there is even a tiny error on the forms they filled out, simply don't show up to vote.

The media bought into this story in New Mexico and the GOP chairman called on the US Attorney to get on the team, but after 2 years of investigations, he found zero cases he could prosecute. The one that came closest to being something he might be able to take to court involved ACORN. (I make no defense for ACORN. Clearly there is a problem with the group, just as there was a problem 4 years ago with Swift Boaters. Just as there is a problem this year with the pack of lies, half-truths, and distortions presented in Obama Nation.)

To the GOP, "voter fraud" is a very big deal even if it doesn't exist. But the talking points memo goes out and Rush parrots the line in the afternoon, O'Reilly repeats it at night, and a host of other "pundits" read from the same script day after day, word for word.

The Language of Elections

2008-10-10T17:49:00.002-04:00

McCain supporters in Strongsville, Ohio, and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania are quoted:

"Obama is a terrorist! He's got the bloodlines!"
"F&#king commie terrorist!"
"He should hang for it!"
"Obama is a Muslim! He's a terrorist!"
"He's a filthy commie scumbag!"
"Just look at his name. The name says it all."

The McCain campaign doesn't denounce this kind of hate speech, and Sarah Palin encourages it by claiming that Obama has ties to the Weather Underground (which Obama was active when he was less than 10 years old) knows one of the leaders of the group, who is now a professor and who served on a board with Obama. In fairness, Obama's claim that McCain was a key player in what became the Keating scandal is equally specious.

But what concerns me more than anything is the series of "Kill him!" cries. Will no one among the McCain supporters implore him to put a stop to it? He could, you know, by addressing it directly every time it happens.

But he won't. And attack-dog Sarah Palin continues to invite it.

The Frightened Generation

2008-09-29T17:05:00.003-04:00

There's no small amount of speculation that the Bush administration will suddenly "find" Osama bin Laden a few weeks before the election. Maybe they've had him in custody for a few months now. After all, there have been some secret operations in Pakistan. Secret except for the fact that Pakistan seems to object to being invaded by American troops.

And there's been speculation that Sarah Palin (foreign policy expert because she can almost see a desolate, deserted part of Russia and because Alaska shares a border with Canada) will suddenly realize that she must spend more time with her family and resign from the ticket a week or two before the election. She will say, "The 'liberal media' have 'crucified' her family and she must blah blah blah blah blah." I don't know what the rest of the story will be, but "liberal media" and "crucified" will certainly be in the sound bites that the GOP sound machine will repeat and repeat and repeat.

So what if they find bin Laden? Doesn't that take away a big part of their platform?

No, it wouldn't. Capturing OBL wouldn't end the organization. Bush and Cheney have been the best recruiting agents the group could ever have hoped for and the leadership is distributed and cell-based. Taking out the top guy now would have virtually no effect. And even if it would, the scare mongers will have things to use in scaring us. When the Chinese or the Russians write the history of this period, I suspect we will be referred to as The Frightened Generation.

Example: A new group called "Stop Child Predators" wants to stop Google's Street View. The head of the organization is a former deputy director of the American Conservative Union, Stacie D. Rumenap. She says that Google Street View makes it easy for anyone to obtain detailed photographic information about you and your family. In a video on the organization's website, Rumenap (on the website StopInternetPredators.com) says a predator could use the service to map the most likely route your child walks to school and even figure out the location of your family's bedroom windows.

Something like four fifths of all abuse cases involving children are perpetrated by someone who is in the family or who is known to the family. Four fifths. Eighty percent. Those people already know where you live and where your bedroom windows are. The people we have to fear, then, is ourselves! If you think this sounds like an absurd plot line for The Simpsons, you're right. It once was.

Boo! Betcha I scared you. Vote for me so I can do it again! Instead of FDR's "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," today's GOP offers "The only thing we have is fear."

Bullshit!

Who's the "elitist"?

2008-09-22T19:55:00.001-04:00

When you have seven homes, you have a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, Newsweek checked automobile registrations.

John and Cindy McCain own 13 cars.
Barack and Michelle Obama own 1 car.

We own 2 cars (or 4, depending on how you define cars owned by daughters): A 1993 Taurus, a 1995 Explorer, (Liz's) 2003 Saturn, and (Kaydee's) 2007 Honda.

Who's the "elitist" again? Which family is more like yours? Would it be the one where the papa bear owns 13 cars and thinks the division between "middle class" and "rich" is at $5,000,000? Do you expect to earn $5,000,000 in your entire life?

Want to see the McCain fleet?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/21/mccain-owns-13-cars-obama_n_128047.html

And the GOP sound machine calls Obama the "elitist"? Give me a break!

The Balad of John and Sarah

2008-09-22T18:54:00.002-04:00

Just when you thought it might once again be safe to think in America, Janis Ian (well known free thinker, songwriter, and lesbian) has signed on to sing the GOP's election jingle.*

Janis Ian sings ...

The Balad of John and Sarah

You got Ma Rainey talkin’ ‘bout a jelly roll

Chuck Berry workin’ on a mojo

Bessie Smith singin’ Bull Dagger Blues

Elvis twitching on the evening news

Danger, danger, can’t you see

that sex should stay a mystery

so ban that music, yessirree

That’s what America means to me

We gonna ban Walt Whitman, and Jean Cocteau

All the queers will have to go

Mr. Tennessee Williams, Plato too

You got to give J. Edgar Hoover his due

Danger, danger, can’t you see

They’re in your local library

so ban those authors, yessirree

That’s what America means to me, yeah

We gonna ban all the dagos, the wops and the kikes

Gonna ban all the chinks and the towelhead types

Ban all the wetbacks, ban all the fags

Wrap it up tight in the American flag

Danger, danger, can’t you see

it’s dangerous when they are free

so ban those lazy refugees

That’s what America means to me

I watched the news last night at nine

Saw a head blown off somebody’s spine

The women moaned and the children screamed

Doesn’t anybody else think that’s obscene?

It ought to be a felony

to practice such stupidity

but it’s my right, as you can see

That’s what America means to me, yeah

*Yes, I am kidding, but I'm a little creeped out.

Nothing is Too Low for the McCain Campaign

2008-09-22T18:44:00.003-04:00

Recently I heard a report by NPR. The overarching topic was "Is America Ready for a Black President?" and one of the people interviewed said that he didn't have a problem with a black president, but that Barack Obama wasn't "the right black man".

Why not? Is Obama too "uppity"? Too well spoken? Too well educated? I have to wonder why the GOP fears educated voters. Who would this guy have considered the "right" black man to be president? It seems to me that honkies (and I am one) haven't done particularly well when it comes to running this country. What's wrong with giving an educated black man who can easily think his way out of a paper bag a chance? We've tried stupidity for the past 8 years. Might it not be reasonable to give intelligence a try? Just this once? Instead of electing the guy you might be happy to have a beer with, might it not make sense to elect the guy who has the smarts to solve some of the nation's problems?

The GOP is actively spreading lies about Obama, but that's typical for the party of Nixon, the party of dirty tricks. What's both surprising and disheartening is that John McCain is now using the same tactics he decried in 2000 when George W. Bush used them against McCain. Lies. Whisper campaigns. Half truths.

Maybe you've heard about "Snopes", the urban legend people. I don't know whether the Snopes folks are Republicans or Democrats. Or maybe independents. I do know that I trust them to investigate claims and report the truth.

So I encourage you to consider ...

"50 Lies by Barack Obama" (GOP LIE): http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/50lies.asp
"Barack Obama is not a US citizen" (GOP LIE): http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/citizen.asp
"Obama is a Muslim" (GOP LIE): http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
"Hugo Chavez is funding Obama's campaign" (GOP LIE): http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/chavez.asp

If you visit Snopes and type "Obama" into the search box, you'll get at least 66 hits. At least 60 of those hits indicate that the scurrilous comments are FALSE. Lies. Untruths. If John McCain can't win fair and square, it seems that he's willing to use unethical (might one say "immoral"?) tactics.

Try the same thing with the word "McCain" and you'll get 37 hits. Surprisingly (Really? Does this surprise you?) most of them are TRUE.

E-mail lists facts about Senator John McCain's wife, Cindy McCain. (true)
Article recounts details of Senator John McCain's divorce from his first wife, Carol. (true)
E-mail describes the military pedigrees of Senator John McCain's sons. (true)
Article by Karl Rove describes Senator John McCain. (undetermined)
Does John McCain not qualify as a natural-born citizen of the U.S. because he was born in Panama? (undetermined)
Did John McCain once say that 'the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it.' (true)
Did John McCain say he would define the income level that divides the middle class from the rich as $5 million? (true)

The difference is that most of the reports circulating about John McCain are true while most of the reports circulating about Barack Obama are false.

Does this tell you anything?

Pig Lips in Space - the new movie by Mel Stiller and Op-rah-rah Winfrey:....

2008-09-11T19:45:00.000-04:00

Long ago, I worked with a guy who decided one day, as a favor, to clean my desk. Actually, we sorta shared the desk, except that my stuff covered about 99% of it. But I knew where everything was, at least to within a general depth within a specific stack. So when he cleaned my desk, I couldn't find anything. And I never forgave him. I even send him occasional threatening messages about the event, which happened in about 1970. This message is from him. I assume he wrote it; it sounds like him (such as electrons can sound like a human being.)

Long ago, I worked with a guy who decided one day, as a favor, to clean my desk. Actually, we sorta shared the desk, except that my stuff covered about 99% of it. But I knew where everything was, at least to within a general depth within a specific stack. So when he cleaned my desk, I couldn't find anything. And I never forgave him. I even send him occasional threatening messages about the event, which happened in about 1970. This message is from him. I assume he wrote it; it sounds like him (such as electrons can sound like a human being.)

Well, anyway, all is forgiven Dave!

So - this pig walks into a bar ... no wait.

Transcripts from the first presidential debate 08- panel interview portion:

Mr. Koppel:
Senator Borbammarammadonna, have you ever worn lipstick or ever lusted in your heart for a man wearing lipstick?

Sen. Obama:
Not while wearing lipstick, no.
However,
That depends on the definition of lip, which is above my pay grade.
And, the Republicans, just by the way, they just make stuff up.
Are we allowed to do that, actually?

Miss Crowley:
Senator McPhalin, have you ever dated a pig - either during your first marriage - during which time you were already actually dating your second wife - or, at any other time - while wearing lipstick?

Sen. McSame er, McCain:
No. Look - look it here I mean, you know - - I was a prisoner of war for a long time - maybe 20 years - nobody really knows - and my arms were broke - so that pig with lipstick - I mean look it - that pig with lipstick gave me one lousy blow job and that was it .. and I wasn't even President yet!
But, my dear friends, let me tell you, this guy Barramma is a Muslim, and he took his oath of office on the Koran - which may or may not be legal -
I don't know for sure - I don't really know a lot about the Constitution.
Most Muslims by the way are gay - not that that's bad or anything. Is it?
(LOUD VOICE COMING FROM BOX ON McCain's back:
("Yer da one dat's blowin' it, cowboy -- say, is this bein ' recorderated?
Heeee heee [wheeeze] heee, eh, heh?")

Mr. Russert (who is still dead): [voice from off stage] :
Senator O'Rammer, I know you are an Irish Catholic like me - but - let me read to you exactly what you said in 1987:
"Reagan can go kiss a pig's ass with lipstick as far I care."
Do you stand by that statement?

Sen. Obama:
Well, there you go again.
Where's the beef?
By the way, beef does not come from pigs - and Muslims don't eat something - pigs, cows, - maybe that's Hindus or Jews - whatever - not that I know - because as you know I am a Christian and my pastor is a flaming nutcase asshole. Speaking of which - I really have to pee now --
YOU SAID WE'D GET A BREAK!

Wolf Man Blitzered:
"That concludes this discussion - with the "Best Political Team on Television" - they make me say that part of course - and so now it's up to you to deciderate for yourselves. And I must say, you've always done ahelluvajob on that. How does THAT work anyway? Good night - and good fucking luck - I'm outta here."

Remembering 9/11/2001

2008-09-11T19:43:00.001-04:00

Then, or maybe a few days later, someone on a discussion list that I administer tried to point out that the United States is not revered as a paragon of virtue throughout the world. That wasn't the time or the place for that discussion and I remember firmly asking for an end to it. But maybe now is the time.

"Patriotism is overrated." Joan Baez said words to that effect in an interview with Bob Edwards this week and I think she may be right. We are born wherever it is that we're born. Taking pride in that seems silly. Is patriotism the extreme extension of property over people? Is it nothing more than the old "Hurrah for our side because we're better than you are!" nonsense?

And then today I heard Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University and a retired Army colonel, on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. If you can find a recording of that program, it's well worth listening to. Bacevich opposed the war in Iraq from the start. His son died there, but note that I said he opposed it from the start.

He says that he is a conservative who cannot accept the actions of the Bush administration, that actions the United States has taken since the end of the Cold War (and particularly since 2000) have squandered our prestige and our power. As a professor of history, he also takes an honest look at this nation's policies and, in many cases, finds them severely wanting.

The question was and is "Why do they hate us so much?" It's not, as George W. Bush would suggest, because of our freedoms. It is because of what we have done, or not done, to alleviate suffering throughout the world.

It seems to me that we have a long way to go as a planet. As long as it's "us" versus "them", we're never going to get very far beyond the mud. When we ignore global warming, poverty, starvation, ethnic "cleansing", and such, we make enemies. When we support dictators, we make enemies. When we allow US corporations to run roughshod over emerging nations, we make enemies.

All that is not to say that the murderous bastards who planned and executed the attacks on 9/11/2001 were right or justified; but it might explain why some people around the world felt that we got exactly what we deserved on that ugly day.

Pigs with Lipstick

2008-09-10T16:21:00.002-04:00

What do you think of Hillary Clinton's health care plan, Senator John McCain? "I think they put some lipstick on a pig." (October 2007)

What do you think of John McCain positioning himself as an agent of change, Senator Barack Obama? "You know, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." (September 2008)

And then all hell broke loose. The McSame campaign, using the same tactics he deplored in 2000, demanded that Senator Obama apologize to Sarah Palin. [Hello. Did anyone mention Sarah Palin?]

Clearly it's a case of "We can say it about you, but if you say it about us, the fecal matter is going to strike the oscillating air movement device."

The view from Mount Hypocrisy must be breathtaking!

Focus on the Fools

2008-09-09T19:59:00.000-04:00

Hey! This is funny (or maybe it's sad--I report, you decide). It's by Hendrik Hertzberg (OK, so that's a suspicious name!) in the New Yorker (well, by God, he must be a commie-you-nist or one of them damn ay-rabs.) Oh, it's from the "Jew Yorker". Well, a-course he ain't a loyal Merkin*, then.

I quote:

A couple of weeks before August 28th—the night that Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for President, in a Denver football stadium—Stuart Shepard, the digital-media director of the lobbying arm of Focus on the Family, one of the most powerful organizations on the religious right, posed a question to his Internet viewers. "Would it be wrong," he asked, "to pray for rain?" Shepard's answer, apparently, was no, because he proceeded to do just that. He prayed for there to be rain—abundant rain, torrential rain, "rain of Biblical proportions"—in Denver on August 28th. "I'm praying for unexpected, unanticipated, unforecasted rain that starts two minutes before the speech is set to begin," he said, adding, "I know there will probably be people who will pray for seventy-two degrees and clear skies, but this isn't a contest."

In the event, Obama gave his speech under clear skies with the thermometer at seventy-two degrees. It's hard to draw definitive conclusions from this about the efficacy of prayer. Still, Shepard and others who assume that the Almighty faxes meteorological talking points as a matter of routine must now be puzzling over what He meant last week by arranging for a hurricane just severe enough to disrupt the opening of the Republican National Convention (and freshen the public's memories of the present Administration's Katrina incompetence) but, mercifully, not so severe as to do too much damage to the innocent.

--end quoted material--

I believe that this indicates that God has sent her everlasing and clear message that Obama is the candidate God favors. It's crystal clear.

*Merkin: A merkin (first use, according to the OED, 1617) is a pubic wig, originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their genitalia to eliminate lice or disguise the marks of syphilis. There are many different ways of wearing a merkin, although most involve placing the merkin on the vulva or the scrotum.

Palin + Bridge = Nowhere to Run

2008-09-09T18:00:00.004-04:00

I guess she was for the bridge before she was against it. I understand that die-hard Republicans aren't the brightest folks in the basket, but it's hard to understand how even the blindest of the blind can accept Sarah Palin's lies about the Bridge to Nowhere. "If our state wanted a bridge, I said we'd build it ourselves," Sarah Palin said, lying through her teeth to the cheering ("Drill, baby, drill!" Oh, wait, that's another story.) and half-crazed audience in Saint Paul.

Sounds cool. McCain and Palin say they don't want to waste taxpayers' money. Trouble is, at least in Palin's case, it's a sham. A lie. A canard. An untruth. Palin continues to make this claim and it's in a GOP TV ad. That doesn't make it any less true.

Let's turn the clock back to 2006 and allow me to quote Sarah Palin: "We need to come to the defense of southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative." While running for governor, Palin repeatedly stated her support for the bridge that would have connected a town of 2400 to a town of 870.

"Palin was for the infamous bridge to nowhere before she was against it." (Associated Press)

In September of 2006, Palin (still for the bridge) was quoted by the Ketchikan Daily News: "The money that's been appropriated for the project, it should remain available for a link. I think we're going to make a good team as we progress that bridge project." And when people started referring to the bridge as the "Bridge to Nowhere", Palin was photographed in a pro-bridge shirt with the slogan "Nowhere, Alaska 99901". If this is opposition, I wonder what support is.

Eventually Congress was embarrassed into killing Alaska Pork Senator Ted Stevens' project, but even then Palin didn't return federal money that had been sent. She allocated it to building the approach to the bridge that wouldn't be build to nowhere. So that's the "conservative" approach to safeguarding taxpayers' money.

D'oh!

You may already know the rest of the story. In October 2005, Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, tried to move money for the Bridge to Nowhere to fund a bridge to somewhere — one damaged by Hurricane Katrina. That's the point at which Porky Ted Stevens, the indicted Alaska Republican senator (et, tu), threatened to resign and the Senate then rejected spending the money to fix a real bridge to a real location. Even the Heritage Foundation (about as conservative as you can get) called the Bridge to Nowhere "a national embarrassment", but Palin soldiered on.

In November, Congress killed the Bridge to Nowhere, but it was more than a year later that Palin finally decided she should be "against" the bridge.

Although I can understand how the 800 or so people living in the town the bridge would have connected to the nearby metropolis that's about 1/10th the size of the town I live in might have wanted the bridge, I also don't doubt that it would be nice for Congress to approve funding for a heliport near my home so that I could get to work faster. The difference is that I understand why this would be a stupid idea and know that I wouldn't support it even if some yahoo porky congressional critter managed to obtain funding for it.

Now Sarah Palin is against the bridge. According to her, she's always been against the bridge. Except that she was for the bridge before it became embarrassing to be for the bridge. All we have is more lies from the Party of Rove, who learned from the architects of the Third Reich that a big lie, told enough times, becomes the truth in the the feeble minds of the public.

Disinformation: What it Is; How it Works

2008-09-07T12:18:00.004-04:00

Maybe a couple of quick definitions are in order first. A lot of people confuse "misinformation" and "disinformation", but there's a critical difference. "Misinformation" has been in the language for centuries and was formed from the verb "misinform". "Misinformation" is, quite simply, "incorrect information" and that's it. "Disinformation", on the other hand, entered the language in 1939 and Merriam Webster's 10th Edition defines it this way: "False information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth."

The difference is that disinformation (from the soviet term "disinformatsiya") is "covertly spread" and often started by planting rumors and the goal is to influence public opinion. The soviets became masters of this technique, using small newspapers or radio stations in third-world countries to start a rumor, which might then be picked up (with quite a bit of help from the soviet "news" bureau TASS) by larger news operations.

TASS would carry the initial reports but would fail to issue corrections when the originating newspaper or radio station later issued a correction. The rumors continue to spread to larger and more respected news organizations. Sometimes they managed to hit a home run and their disinformation would show up in major Western media.

Karl Rove and company watched and learned. (Is there an irony here? The "defenders of freedom and democracy", as they like to style themselves, taking to disinformation as a pig takes to mud.) They saw how easy it would be to start a whispering campaign. For example, the one in South Carolina, where the rumor mill spread an unfounded and false story about Senator John McCain so that George W. Bush could win the Republican nomination in 2000. These techniques were repeated four years later by the "Swift Boaters" and Jerome R. Corsi, a hack writer and conspiracy theory nut.

Today, we're seeing yet another tired replay of this hoary old script, this time against Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Will the public fall for this canard yet again?

A Disinformatsiya Case Study

The United States Information Agency (USIA) issued a lengthy report in 1996 describing how a disinformation campaign is waged. The full account is here: (The "Baby Parts" Myth: The Anatomy of a Rumor).

The account summarizes an unfounded, but horrifying, rumor that Americans (or, depending on the source, Europeans, Canadians, or Israelis) adopt infants or kidnap children, murder them, and use their body parts for organ transplants. You know it's false. I know it's false. But this story has been seen by millions of people and many of those who are already predisposed to dislike Americans (or, depending on the source, Europeans, Canadians, or Israelis) undoubtedly believed it.

These baby stealing rumors can be traced back at least as far as ancient Rome and were often used to pit one group against another, just as similar techniques are being used today by the GOP to demonize Democrats.

In January 1987, Leonardo Villeda Bermudez, a former Honduran government official mentioned the rumor in passing during an interview. The reporter felt that Villeda was saying the rumors were true. The official immediately issued a clarification and that clarification was repeated by all top Honduran officials, but the rumor had already been reported by one of the news wire services.

A few months later, in April, the disinformatsiya crew in the USSR began spreading and embellishing the rumor. The story appeared in Pravda (which means "Truth"), citing the Honduran account but ignoring all subsequent clarifications and retractions. The story continued to appear in TASS accounts until late 1988.

This event occurred near the end of the Soviet Union and lasted for less than two years, while some stories from the 1950s and 1960s were repeated for more than a decade. Joe McCarthy disgraced the Republican party in the 1950s and some of his lies continue to be handed down from one generation to the next, as if gospel, in the GOP.

The problem is that people believe what they want to believe. It's easy to vilify "the enemy" as Sarah Palin did at the recent Republican convention, and as she continues to do in her role of attack dog. Those Republicans who believe that only they are patriotic (and this appears not to be a small number) will easily believe that Democrats are enemies of the state.

Perhaps someday Republicans will understand that Democrats share with true Republicans a desire for peace, justice, and prosperity. Perhaps the majority of Republicans may even come to understand that their own party has lied to them about nearly everything it has done for the past eight years.

One can only hope.

The Conventions Have Ended

2008-09-07T10:00:00.029-04:00

After the Democratic convention, I felt really good. And it was even better when Obama and Biden made Columbus one of their first post-convention stops. I created a couple of designs that I felt were forward looking and optimistic.

and

I really hoped that the campaign would involve a discussion of the issues, but then came the Republican convention. Lies, deceit, innuendo, and smears abounded. And that was just about their own vice presidential candidate. Of course they blamed "the liberal media" for it, even though it was a story planted by neocon bloggers. (This is essentially the same procedure that the soviets perfected using TASS in the 1950s and 1960s.)

So, for therapeutic value, I needed to create some edgier messages. By the way, if you like any of these, I've made them available via CafePress.

then

and

Well, the Republican convention is over, so the police in Minneapolis and Saint Paul can stop arresting terrorist nuns and beating demonstrators. They can go back to whatever it is they usually do for amusement. The Republicans are fanning out across the country with their message of fear.

And I needed more therapy. That led to ...

and

along with

and

and

and

and finally

This next election is the most important election in my lifetime. It will help determine the direction this country takes for decades and, possibly, whether this country continues to exist.

Incidentally, I've created some of these bumper stickers as wide-screen (1440x900) desktop wallpaper images. If you'd like to download them, you'll find them in a zip file here. Free.

http://www.blinn.com/desktop/ Just download "Obama.zip", extract the files, and use them.

Enjoy!

And please vote.

Aristotle supposedly said, "A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side."
(Smart guy, that Aristotle.)

Nasty?

Yeah, I guess you could say that some of these are nasty. Mean spirited. Personal attacks. In other words, they're exactly the kinds of things that Karl Rove and the rest of his politburo would use to blast the opposition. Hack writer Jerome Corsi's Obama Nation book, for example. Clever play on words, but lacking in factual references. Corsi, Rove, and their ilk are professionals when it comes to innuendo, rumor, and half truths.

So, yeah. Nasty. And without apology for being so. It's time to fight back.

I used to be a Republican

2008-09-05T19:09:00.004-04:00

Maybe I'd like to be again someday, but it's not likely. Today the Republicans are the party of intransigence, not the progressives they once were.

It's not so much the Republicans, but the party as it is currently operating. The party has been taken over by what appear to most of the world to be crazy people. We have the neocons who have started one needless war and seem to be itching to start another. We have people who espouse Christian values and morality lying, stealing, and cheating. They pray loudly and publicly, but their actions do not reflect their words.

I once was a Republican. And this morning I heard a Florida GOP congressman on NPR. He made a lot of sense, talking about Congress working together to get things done. That was once the way things happened.

It's not just the GOP, either. Democrats have taken a harder stance, too, and are more confrontational than they were. I know why this is in my own case: As the GOP told me time and time again that I was the enemy, that I was not patriotic, and everything was the fault of people like me, the "big tent" got smaller and smaller. As the GOP hired more and more managers, all the while saying that they were making government smaller, as they outsourced $50,000 per year jobs to $200,000 per year private contractors who were accountable only to their corporations, as they routinely talked about solving problems and only made them worse -- I could see that the elephant was naked.

I just hope that some true conservatives manage to wrest back control of the party.

I really would like to respect the party again even if its values are no longer mine, or maybe the other way around.

Palin: Cheney with a smile

2008-09-05T19:08:00.002-04:00

If you think it's been bad having the former president of Halliburton in charge of the government for the past 8 years, just wait until Sarah Palin (who's beholding to the entire state of Alaska) gets her hooks in the federal coffers. Corruption? You ain't seen nothin' like it befo. (I wrote that last part in a way that might be understandable to some "we hate intylektyualz" Republicans.)

You youins iz wundering whut the Reepub big wigz is thinkin' 'bout Palin? Fur yer edddyficakshun (ah, enlightenment) (ur, learnin'), here's a transcript (that means a listing of what words came out of their mouths) of what they said when they thought the microphones and cameras had been turned off:

Mike Murphy, former McCain advisor, and Peggy Noonan, a Reagan speech writer, said when they thought the microphones were OFF:

Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these guys, this is all like how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know, just run it up. And it's not gonna work.

Peggy Noonan: It's over.

Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

NBC's Chuck Todd: Don't you think the Palin pick was insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too (inaudible)

Noonan: I saw Kay this morning.

Murphy: They're all bummed out.

Todd: I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political [B.S.] about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.

Murphy: I totally agree.

Noonan: Every time the Republicans do that because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at and they blow it.

Murphy: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.

Todd: And as you called it, gimmicky.

Dis here all leads to de kwesthchun: Why dus Republicans hate dis country so much? Why duz dey want to 'lekt stoopid peeples 'sted of kumpashitate 'murikans what luvs de country?

Translation for Democrats and other thinking people: Why do Republicans hate the country so much? Why do they want to elect uneducated, inexperienced candidates instead of compassionate Americans who love the country?

Say NO to the party of McCarthyism.

Vote SMART.
Vote BLUE.

Intelligent Compassion

Why Palin is a BAD CHOICE (by Karl Rove)

2008-09-05T18:37:00.003-04:00

I've been neglecting this area for a long time, thinking that people of good sense would prevail in 2008. Now I'm not so sure. Given how the rabid right took to Sarah Palin, I'm a bit worried. According to Karl Rove, Palin shouldn't be considered for the vice presidency, though.

Karl Rove, when there was a rumor that Barack Obama was considering Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as vice president: "With all due respect again to Governor Kaine, he's been a governor for three years, he's been able but undistinguished. I don't think people could really name a big, important thing that he's done. He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America. So if he were to pick Governor Kaine, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, 'You know what? I'm really not, first and foremost, concerned with -- is this person capable of being president of the United States?'"

^^ If you don't believe that Karl Rove actually spoke these words in this election cycle, let me know and I will provide a link to the video where you can watch and listen as he says these words.*

Please note that Wasilla, Alaska, would rank no higher than the 10,000th "city" in the nation, by population, and probably closer to 15,000. Also note that the population of Alaska is 47th among the 50 states. Only North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming have lower populations.

You already know that Karl Rove flip-flopped so badly on this one that he probably sprained his flip-flopper, which is quite a feat for someone as slippery as Rove.

Rove on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: "She was mayor of the second largest city in Alaska before she became governor," as if that's some great qualification for being vice president. Except that Wasilla isn't the "second largest city" in Alaska.

Or third.

Or fourth.

For those who are factually challenged, such as Karl Rove, here is a list of the 5 largest cities in Alaska:

Anchorage, 275,043 (largest, 32 times larger than Wasilla)
Fairbanks, 31,324 (second largest, 3.7 times larger than Wasilla)
Juneau, 30,978 (third largest, 3.6 times larger than Wasilla)
Sitka, 8986 (fourth largest)
Wasilla, 8431 (fifth largest)
If you use the 2006 government estimates, Wasilla beats Sitka by about 300 people and becomes the fourth largest "city" in Alaska.

Tom Kaine's city of Richmond, Virginia, has a population of 200,123 (metro area about 1.1 million), so it's just slightly smaller than Anchorage, which (as you may recall) is 32 times the size of Wasilla.

Alaska isn't like states where "fifth largest" might actually be a city of some size. The fifth largest city in Ohio is Akron, with 207,000 people. Or Virginia. Richmond is the fifth largest city (200,000+ people), but that's not enough to impress Karl Rove.

West Virginia, a state with few large cities, has more than 5 cities with populations in excess of 30,000 (which would be about 4 times the size of Wasilla) and nearly 20 cities with more than 20,000 residents. (20,000 is more than double the size of Wasilla.) Anybody want to guess what Karl Rove and his minions would have said if Barack Obama had selected as his vice presidential candidate someone who, until two years ago, had been the mayor of Beckley, West Virginia (population 16,830 -- more than 3 times larger than Wasilla)?

So ...

How do you spell "flip-flop"? Karl Rove.
How do you spell "hypocrisy"? Karl Rove.
How do you spell "lying son of a bitch"? Karl Rove.

How can people listen to this man without having their heads explode?

*This is the difference between Republicans and Democrats: The Democrats have proof, not rumor and innuendo.

Neocon closed minds

2006-01-08T16:55:00.001-05:00

I received a message from a WTVN Radio (Columbus, Ohio) listener following the first program of 2006. "I listend [sic] to you on the way to church Sunday mornings for the Tech help. Keep your Bush bashing to yourself. Then I will like you and listen to you again."

Bush bashing? I don't do that on the air, but the Technology Corner website includes (on the "reference" page) a link to this blog and to Bush Lied Again.

I guess the neocons are all for freedom of speech as long as it's their speech. Or maybe it's this attitude: "I don't have to think because Rush Limbaugh told me what to think, so you shouldn't be thinking, either. Thinking is dangerous. I heard that from Limbaugh, too, and he has a direct line to the guy who has a direct line to God."

As I explained to my little Bush buddy, "I do not bash Bush on the air, but I do believe that I have the right to post my opinions on websites that I pay for personally. Whether you like me or not is immaterial. I happen to like a lot of people with whom I may disagree on one thing or another. This is part of being an adult."

Poor little Bush babies.

What an amazing week!

2006-01-06T17:53:00.000-05:00

Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Jack Abramoff, the once-powerful Republican lobbyist at the center of a federal corruption investigation, pleaded guilty to three criminal charges and will cooperate with a Justice Department probe that threatens to ensnare lawmakers.

[Do you suppose there are some "law"makers who will need a little something to help them sleep tonight?]

[Bloomberg continues] Criminal allegations the government filed today also mention an unnamed former chief of staff to Ney, accused of lobbying the lawmaker and his staff without waiting the required one-year period after leaving Capitol Hill. Neil Volz is the only former Ney chief of staff who went to work for Abramoff.

DeLay, the Texas Republican who until September was House majority leader, took a golf trip to the U.K. in 2000 with Abramoff. DeLay also has benefited from Abramoff-related campaign donations, taking in more money directly from the lobbyist -- $17,000 from 2001 to 2004 -- than any other member of Congress, according to Federal Election Commission records.

[We now switch to the Houston Chronicle for this report, already in progress.] WASHINGTON -- The prosecutor in the Texas money laundering case against Rep. Tom DeLay issued subpoenas today looking for links between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and fundraising by the former majority leader.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued the subpoenas in Austin the same day that Abramoff pleaded guilty in Washington to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud.

[Oh, by the way, sleazinator Tom DeLay called Jack Abramoff "one of my closest and dearest friends." Maybe they can do a little jail time in the same cell and really become "friends".]

Pat Robertson: World's biggest asshole

2006-01-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

Pat Robertson says that Ariel Sharon's stroke was God's retribution for giving up land to the Palestinians.

According to Robertson, this happened before when God offed Yitzhak Rabin. Apparently God is getting better at this killing stuff because now He can just cause a stroke instead of having to use the services of a hired gun.

Robertson says that little bit of land is God's and woe be to anyone who wants to give it away. I guess that means God doesn't care about the Grand Canyon. And we already know that God will turn His back on Dover, Pennsylvania. So either of those can be safely given away to Palestinians, I suppose.

"God save me from your believers," comes to mind. Not all your believers, though. Just the nut cases like Rat Bopertson.

Neocons: Crazy or just stupid?

2006-01-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

The neocons say it's OK for Dictator Bush to ignore any laws he wants to as long as he says it's because he's "fighting terrorists". At the same time, they justify Bush's illegal acts based on the (incorrect) assumption that "Clinton did it" and "Carter did it."

So should Bush invite Monica Lewinsky to the Oval Office for a little evening fun?

What the neocons don't seem to understand is that George Bush and his ilk will not always be in power. Eventually Democrats will find someone popular enough to get so many votes that not even widespread fraud will be able to steal the election. And where will the neocons be then? They'll find that the crooked Democrats are just as bad as the crooked Republicans. They'll find that the Dems will be more than willing to use Herr Bush's precedents.

Do these guys ever look at history? Johnson misused the IRS. So did Nixon. Neither party is immune from this crap.

Allowing Bush & Company to take us down this path is wrong for conservatives, wrong for liberals, and wrong for America.

What is it that neocons don't understand about "unconstitutional"?

Spying on Americans

2005-12-28T23:12:00.000-05:00

The neocons tell me it's wrong to question the government's spying. "Anything they do to fight terrorism is OK," they tell me. The Bush administration has concluded that the FISA Court isn't sufficient. Even though the court has approved virtually every wiretap request it has received (the court was created in 1978) and even though the court's rules allow a president to order an emergency wiretap on his authority and then to present supporting evidence to the court within 72 hours, Bush and his cronies felt that wasn't adequate.

That frightens me. It should frighten you, even if you're a Bush supporter.

The problem is that Bush is creating precedent. If this is allowed to continue, then Bush and any future president will be allowed to order wiretaps at will. Would those who support today's excesses by the Bush camp be happy to see these procedures used by President Kerry, President Gore, or President Clinton? I suspect that they would not. The difference between them and me is that I would oppose this kind of activity by President Gore, President Kerry, or President Clinton ("my" presidents) while they feel that anything "their" president does is moral, ethical, legal, and approved by the one true God.

The FISA Court was established to create minimal safeguards for Americans to avoid the abuses the Nixon administration perpetrated. Why does George War Bush feel that he can trample even these minimal safeguards? If he's unwilling to provide the FISA Court with justifications for his wiretap orders, might that justification be missing? Is it possible that Bush, his brain (Rove), and his keeper (Cheney) have created a Nixonian enemies list? (If so, I'm certainly on it.)

Why can't this administration, which claims to be for strict interpretation of the Constitution, abide by the Constitution?

Oh, by the way – if you believe that I think wiretaps and spying should be eliminated entirely, you're absolutely and completely wrong. The government has the right and the duty to protect Americans. But is also has the duty to abide by the Constitution and the laws passed by Congress.

We have a president, not a king, and presidents are not above the law.

The blown presidency

2005-12-25T21:16:00.000-05:00

I've seen bumper stickers recently that suggest someone should give George W. Bush a blow job so that he can be impeached. This is absurd, of course, a simple blow job in the Oval Office would never be enough to get Mister Bush impeached. To be impeached, the president would have to do something politically foolish and fiscally reckless such as reducing tax cuts for the wealthy and restoring funding cuts for the neediest US citizens. Or he might propose a national health insurance program. Or suggest gun control.

Simply lying to congress, the people who elected him, and the world isn't sufficient.

But just for my own amusement, I wondered ...

And ...

I wanted to upload these to CafePress, but I knew it would be rejected because they won't allow pictures of celebrities. The photo of the Liar and Thief would be OK, but not the young lady. So this morning (26 December) it occurred to me that there's a way I can make this sentiment acceptable to CafePress:

And ...

These are currently at Bush Remover on CafePress.com.

Notice an increase in the use of "impeach"?

2005-12-25T16:02:00.000-05:00

[A]fter former Nixon White House counsel John Dean suggested that the NSA spying was an impeachable offense, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., sent a letter Monday to some legal scholars seeking opinions.
"This is a country founded on the rule of law," [Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Kentucky], "and (Bush) goes around talking about establishing the rule of law around the world, then he flouts the rule of law here on grounds that he's got to do it to fight terror. We're giving away some of our basic freedoms if we continue to flout the law."
Louisville Courier-Journal (25 Dec 2005)

The slippery slope that Bush has embarked upon leads to a police state, plain and simple.
Bush argues that his powers as a president in “times of war” are plenary – that is, full, complete, without limit. Yet the very soul of a democracy is the equal powers that the three branches of government share, each serving as a counterweight to the messianic impulses that any one of the other branches might dare assume.
How can President Bush claim to want to instill a working democracy in Iraq, while at the same time violating our own U.S. laws, our own system of checks and balances? Terrorism is a serious risk to our nation, but a far greater threat is the centralization of American political power in the hands of any single branch of the government.
The Santiago (Chile) Times (21 Dec 2005)

Some adults in the United States believe legal charges should be sought against their president, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports for AfterDowningStreet.org. 32 per cent of respondents believe George W. Bush should be impeached and removed from office, while 58 per cent disagree.
Rasmussen Reports based on telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

Similar abuse of power was part of the impeachment charge brought against Richard Nixon in 1974.
Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter (19 Dec 2005)

Even some of the conservative press -- the ones that understand honor and rule of law -- are talking about impeachment:
Now the president and his lawyers are claiming that they have greater latitude. They say that neither the USA Patriot Act nor the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act actually sets the real boundary. The administration is saying the president has unlimited authority to order wiretaps in the pursuit of foreign terrorists, and that the Congress has no power to overrule him.
Putting the president above the Congress is an invitation to tyranny. The president has no powers except those specified in the Constitution and those enacted by law. President Bush is stretching the power of commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy by indicating that he can order the military and its agencies, such as the National Security Agency, to do whatever furthers the defense of the country from terrorists, regardless of whether actual force is involved.
Willful disregard of a law is potentially an impeachable offense. It is at least as impeachable as having a sexual escapade under the Oval Office desk and lying about it later. The members of the House Judiciary Committee who staged the impeachment of President Clinton ought to be as outraged at this situation. They ought to investigate it, consider it carefully and report either a bill that would change the wiretap laws to suit the president or a bill of impeachment.
It is important to be clear that an impeachment case, if it comes to that, would not be about wiretapping, or about a possible Constitutional right not to be wiretapped. It would be about the power of Congress to set wiretapping rules by law, and it is about the obligation of the president to follow the rules in the Acts that he and his predecessors signed into law.
Editoral in Barrons (Dec 2005)

Truth at last?

2005-12-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

The Bushwhacker admits that his administration plays fast and loose with our privacy. (Isn't this what got Nixon busted?) And, of course, his supporters (the same folks who went ballistic when Clinton did anything that threatened their privacy) will now look at him and say, "Look! He always levels with the American people, even when he has to lie to do it."

And they will fucking believe it!

The party of honesty and ethics?

2005-11-29T18:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Republican Representative Duke Cunningham (San Diego) admitted that he's a war profiteer who engaged in bribery, fraud, and tax evasion -- profiting from the war in Iraq. Classy, eh?

Republican Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, has been indicted by a grand jury for treason.

Republican Tom DeLay, former majority leader of the House of Representatives has been arrested after a Texas grand jury indicted him.

Republican Senator Bill Frist, still the majority leader in the Senate, is under investigation on civil and criminal charges.

White House chief of staff Karl Rove is still under investigtaion for treason.

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff is probably going to be charged with several ethics violations now that Michael Scanlon, a former aide to Tom DeLay (see above) has admitted to crimimal acts.

"Ethical Repubican"? What a fucking oxymoron!

Absurdities & Atrocities

2005-11-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

On The Writer's Almanac today, Garrison Keillor quoted François-Marie Arouet (aka "Voltaire") who said, "People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities."

"George Bush!" was my first thought. And I found myself wishing that John Kerry had quoted Voltaire during the election. Oh, sure, that would be good. Quote a heathen Frog! That'd go over well, wouldn't it! But several of Voltaire's statements are so appropriate to today's United States:

"All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."
"As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities." (A variant of what Keillor quoted.)
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."
"It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind."
"Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them."

Voltaire also said, "An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination," but I would abhor that if for no reason other than it would leave the country in the hands of the vice president.

FBI, CIA, & Secret Service please note: I hereby expressly state that I do not support assassination of government leaders -- ours or anybody else's despite what that great man of God, Pat Robertson, says.

Am I asking for too much?

2005-11-20T19:03:00.005-05:00

Dwight David Eisenhower issued a strong warning about the military-industrial complex. He was speaking from the perspective of seeing what government by big business did to Europe -- specifically Germany -- in the 1940s. With the Bush II administration, we have finally achieved government of, by, and for Halliburton.

Many Americans were terribly shocked when Eisenhower was caught in a big lie: He had flatly denied that the US was operating planes over the USSR only to have the Soviets produce not only the plane, but also the pilot in 1959.

The government can't always tell the truth. In time of war, deception is an important ally. The War Magician, a book I read many years ago, recounted some of the tricks a magician designed to help the Allies misdirect the Germans. Even during peacetime, the government can't tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

But the government can't always lie, either.

Bill Clinton lied about sex in the Oval Office, but was generally straight with the American people when it came to his political agenda. George Bush, on the other hand, has probably never told the American people a lie about his sex life, but has lied about, twisted, or spun nearly every point of public policy put forward by his administration.

I would be delighted for my country to once again be respected for its principles, but even a cursory examination of the world press and the current administration suggest that this will not happen in my lifetime.

A disturbing thought

2005-11-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I ran across a quotation from Herman Goering following the end of World War II. During the time he was at Nuremburg for his war crimes trial, Goering commented on the ease with which the Nazis were able to convince Germans that the war was just.

“Of course the people don’t want war,” Goering said. “But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”

You won't find these words in the transcript of the trial at which Goering was found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death. He did not speak them when he was on the witness stand. But he did speak them. Goering’s comments were made privately to Gustave Gilbert, a German-speaking intelligence officer and psychologist who was granted free access by the Allies to all the prisoners held in the Nuremberg jail. Gilbert kept a journal of his observations of the proceedings and his conversations with the prisoners, which he later published in the book Nuremberg Diary. The quote offered above was part of a conversation Gilbert held with a dejected Hermann Goering in his cell on the evening of 18 April 1946, as the trials were halted for a three-day Easter recess.
(Source: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm)

Is it possible that the United States will be considerd to be guilty of war crimes because of the war in Iraq? If so, will George Bush, Richard Cheney, et al., be tried for their behavior?

For many decades we’ve said “It can’t happen here!” How sure are we?

The graphic shown above is available as a mouse pad or a wall poster at: http://www.cafepress.com/bushremover/417451

Liberal commie pinko freak cop hater?

2005-11-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

I have moved this post to my Random Thoughts blog.

Remember Teapot Dome?

2005-11-05T09:49:00.000-05:00

An open letter to George W. Bush:

Mister President, I know you're not much of a student of history. That much is clear from your foreign policy. But I wanted to call to your attention an event that came to light early in the 20th Century. That's the 1900s, Mister Bush. The century number is always one higher than the first two digits of the year (excepting the years ending in 00, of course.) I point that out because you clearly weren't much of a math student, either. Just look at the budget!

But I'm writing today about history. Because of what came to be known as the Teapot Dome Scandal, the Warren Harding administration earned the reputation as the most corrupt administration in the history of the country. That record has held up pretty well over the years. Lyndon Johnson challenged Harding with the bogus Tonkin Gulf Incident, Richard Nixon nearly claimed the prize with Watergate and the follow-up stonewalling, and Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra deals certainly made him a contender.

Compared to you, sir, they're all pikers.

It's really clever of you to be elected on a platform of compassion and ethics and then to stand both compassion and ethics on their heads.

Teapot Dome was largely about oil and ethics. Your administration is all about oil and ethics. Some of the members of Warren Harding's administration learned that being federal officials didn't mean that they were above the law. They paid large fines and a few of Harding's Ohio Gang went to prison. It's beginning to appear that some of your little Texas gang of thugs and thieves could end up there, too.

You really should have paid attention in school, Mister Bush. You would have learned that people in high places can get away with crimes for a long time, but eventually they bring themselves down.

Do you think that you and Mister Cheney will have adjoining cells?

The Little Fish

2005-10-28T18:06:00.000-04:00

Scooter Libby (Liddy?) resigned today after being indicted for what the Bush administration would call treason if anyone else had done it.

Will Libby take any of the larger fish with him? Might Dick Cheney have been involved in treason? What about Karl Rove? Maybe even George Bush? I guess that starting a war based on lies isn't illegal or treasonous, but how much did the Liar in Chief know about the outing of a CIA undercover operative?

Could it be that most of the top brass as the White House should be in the Graybar Hotel?

We can only hope!

Rosa Parks

2005-10-25T15:58:00.000-04:00

I note the passing of a true American heroine, a woman who decided that enough was enough, Rosa Parks. For a black woman to do what she did in 1950s Birmingham took more guts than are possessed by the occupants of the entire Bush White House executive suite.

What Rosa Parks did could have cost her life. When has any member of the Bush administration stood bravely for anything that hadn't already been vetted by a poll?

We need more people like Rosa Parks. More people who look at things the way they are, decide that something is wrong, and say "Bullshit!" Not that Rosa Parks ever said that. But she probably did.

Today the entire country is a lot like 1950s Alabama. There's a lot that's wrong, but too many people are just standing around, whistling, and averting their eyes. Afraid to say that the administration used lies to pull us into a war that has now cost 2000 lives. Afraid to admit that members of the Bush administration traitorously revealed the identity of a CIA agent for political purposes. Afraid to say that the neocons who are running the country are a bunch of sycophants who have their eyes on nothing more than what's in it for them.

Afraid of what? The truth?

Well, bullshit! Rosa, we'll miss you.

For another point of view on Rosa Parks and the meaning of her life, be sure to visit the "Editor Mom" blog.

Secret Service protects Bush from high school Bill of Rights project

2005-10-23T17:15:00.000-04:00

It's good to know that the Secret Service has the nation's high schools covered. Not alone, mind you, but with the help of the “patriots” at Wal-Mart (the company that buys much of what it sells from China).

The Progressive reports an incident on September 20 at Currituck County High School in North Carolina. Selina Jarvis, chair of the social studies department, had assigned the senior civics and economics class a Bill of Rights project. The assignment: Take photographs to illustrate their rights in the Bill of Rights.

The magazine report quotes Jarvis, who says one student “had taken a photo of George Bush out of a magazine and tacked the picture to a wall with a red thumb tack through his head. Then he made a thumb’s down sign with his own hand next to the President’s picture, and he had a photo taken of that, and he pasted it on a poster.”

The right to dissent is supposed to be one of our rights, but when the student took his film to the Kitty Hawk Wal-Mart, an employee called the Kitty Hawk police who turned the matter over to the Secret Service. No big surprise there. Some yahoo in a Wal-Mart wants to make trouble for a student and turns the kid in to another yahoo at the police department. So the Secret Service got the tip, realized it would be pointelss to visit the kid, and filed it as "unfounded", right?

Wrong!

The Secret Service sent agents to the high school on September 20 and Jarvis told The Progressive that the Secret Service took his poster. The agents then called on the teacher, who explained what the project was all about.

Wasn't the poster a little suspect, the agents wanted to know. Jarvis: “I said no, it was a Bill of Rights project!” The agents told Jarvis that the student's poster “would be interpreted by the U.S. attorney, who would decide whether the student could be indicted.”

Fortunately, the U.S. Attorney's elevator goes at least most of the way to the top, the student was not indicted, and the Secret Service drorpped the case.

Jarvis, quoted in The Progressive, has a 1-word description of the incident: “ridiculous”.

Conservatives are finally catching on to Bush

2005-10-22T20:55:00.000-04:00

The American Conservative is about as far from my political point of view as a publication can be, but I agree with the October 24, 2005, issue.

In an article titled "Money for Nothing", Philip Giraldi takes the Bushies to task for the billions (with a B) of dollars that have just disappeared in Iraq. The money has "gone to bribe Iraqis," the article says, and to "line contractors’ pockets." Contractors such as the one that Dick Cheney used to work for? Giraldi, by the way, is a former CIA Officer. He is now a partner in Cannistraro Associates, an international security consultancy.

Key quotes from a conservative's conservative publication:

"When the final page is written on America’s catastrophic imperial venture, one word will dominate the explanation of U.S. failure—corruption."

"The American-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority could well prove to be the most corrupt administration in history, almost certainly surpassing the widespread fraud of the much-maligned UN Oil for Food Program."

"Some of the corruption grew out of the misguided neoconservative agenda for Iraq, which meant that a serious reconstruction effort came second to doling out the spoils to the war’s most fervent supporters." I know this sounds like something Ed Schultz would say, but it's from the cover article in The American Conservative. Wow!

"The 15-month proconsulship of the CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] disbursed nearly $20 billion, two-thirds of it in cash, most of which came from the Development Fund for Iraq that had replaced the UN Oil for Food Program and from frozen and seized Iraqi assets. Most of the money was flown into Iraq on C-130s in huge plastic shrink-wrapped pallets holding 40 'cashpaks,' each cashpak having $1.6 million in $100 bills. Twelve billion dollars moved that way between May 2003 and June 2004, drawn from accounts administered by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The $100 bills weighed an estimated 363 tons." I don't know about you, but this is corruption far beyond what I suspected. When it comes to thievery, these guys are professionals.

"Once in Iraq, there was virtually no accountability over how the money was spent." This is a Republican administration and the Republicans are supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility.

"Money also disappeared in truckloads and by helicopter. The CPA reportedly distributed funds to contractors in bags off the back of a truck. In one notorious incident in April 2004, $1.5 billion in cash that had just been delivered by three Blackhawk helicopters was handed over to a courier in Erbil, in the Kurdish region, never to be seen again. Afterwards, no one was able to recall the courier’s name or provide a good description of him." Wait a minute! Earlier I said these guys are professionals when it comes to thievery. Maybe not. Maybe they're just astonishingly stupid.

"Paul Bremer, meanwhile, had a slush fund in cash of more than $600 million in his office for which there was no paperwork."

"Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company, has a no-bid monopoly contract with the Army Corps of Engineers that is now estimated to be worth $10 billion. In June 2005, Pentagon contracting officer Bunny Greenhouse told a congressional committee that the agreement was the 'most blatant and improper contracting abuse' that she had ever witnessed, a frank assessment that subsequently earned her a demotion." Where is the Congressional investigation? Where is the special prosecutor?

"Another U.S. firm well connected to the Bush White House, Custer Battles, has provided security services to the coalition, receiving $11 million in Iraqi funds including $4 million in cash in a sole-source contract to supply security at Baghdad International Airport. The company had never provided airport security before receiving the contract."

"Another American contractor, CACI International, which was involved in the Abu Ghraib interrogations, was accused by the GAO in April 2004 of having failed to keep records on hours of work that it was billing for and of routinely upgrading employee job descriptions so that more could be charged per employee per hour. Both are apparently common practices among contractors in Iraq, and audits routinely determine that there is little in the way of paperwork to support billings."

These are just small snippets from a huge (2800 words) article. If you can read this without being outraged, without feeling that everyone in the White House should be in prison, then you are stronger than I am.

And again I point out that is not from some goof-ball lefty publication. This article is from The American Conservative: Scott McConnell founded The American Conservative with Pat Buchanan and Taki Theodoracopulos in 2002. A Ph.D.in history from Columbia University, he was formerly the editorial page editor of the New York Post and has been a columnist for Antiwar.com and New York Press. His work has been published in Commentary, Fortune, National Review, The New Republic, and many other publications.

Why another anti-Bush blog?

2005-10-22T19:15:00.000-04:00

George W. Bush is a liar. He even lies about having lied to us. Then the back-story changes again when someone points out the lies. The administration is all spin and little substance. So now it's time for us to "byte" back.

I occasionally post new material to www.BushLiedAgain.com and I try to keep up with the latest disasters of the Bush Administration on my "Bush Remover" site at CafePress.

Patriotism is all about doing everything you can to ensure that your country is headed in the right direction. In this case, it has everything to do with pointing out this corrupt administration's missteps, lies, abuses, and mistakes.