Hurricane Gustav

Hurricane Gustav is headed for the Gulf Coast and is likely to be a category 4 or 5 when it strikes. It could be worse than Katrina - not just because of its ferocious wind speeds, but because it is nearly twice the size of Katrina.

I thought it was profound that Mayor Ray Nagin had this to say after issuing his evacuation warnings...

"This is very, very serious, and we need you to heed this warning," he said. "We really don't have the resources to rescue you after this." Photo and quote from the Boing Boing Blog.

One reason I raise this issue here is that it could well impact on the Republican National Convention. They are considering program changes (President Bush might not show to address the convention). You can read more about this at lots of sites, but here's one link - the Chicago Sun-Times

Sarah Palin Hates Polar Bears - Video

Alaskan Editorials Agree - Bad Choice

Over at Daily Kos, someone has been digging up some of the editorials from Alaskan newspapers over the selection of Sarah Palin as a Vice-Presidential nomination. Some of you more serious readers might want to take a peek.

Link

Paul Begala Comments of Palin Choice

The following is from Paul Begala and is posted on CNN...

Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain's age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

In choosing this featherweight, McCain passed over Tom Ridge, a decorated combat hero, a Cabinet secretary and the former two-term governor of the large, complex state of Pennsylvania.

He passed over Mitt Romney, who ran a big state, Massachusetts; a big company, Bain Capital; and a big event, the Olympics.

He passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is knowledgeable about the military, good on television and -- obviously -- a woman.

He passed over Joe Lieberman, his best friend in the Senate and fellow Iraq Kool-Aid drinker.

He passed over former congressman, trade negotiator and budget director Rob Portman.

And he also passed over Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas.

For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown that he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.

Obama Ad - Speaking of Palin - Video

Posted Without Comment

The Republicans Are Coming - Video

From Gawker...

With thousands of "Family Values"-type conservatives descending on St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Republican National convention, area locals—who are largely Democratic, progressive and, yes, gay—are being asked to do their best to make the visiting Right Wingers feel more at home in a series of fun commercials which urge, "The Republicans Are Coming... Make An Effort."

Bushism - Time Zones?

"It's about past seven in the evening here, so we're actually in different time lines."

---George W. Bush January 30, 2001
The President was speaking to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyos. He was in Washington, D.C, she was in Manila. As reported by the New York Times.

Political Fun - Republicans

Political Comics

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John McCain Blames Himself - Video

John McCain has a US Senator - serving in Washington - since 1987 - let's see now - that makes 21 years. But he had this to say about the politicians in Washington and their energy policy...

The Real McCain #2 - Video

A Seondary Benefit - with Link

If Obama wins the election come November, there might well be a secondary advantage to having a President with some intelligence. The following is Stephen Baldwin, quoted from the Huffington Post (and they have video posted)...

"What is freaky to me is the media and Hollywood is so convinced that Middle America and mainstream America cares what it thinks," the actor tells Laura Ingraham, after saying that he will leave the country if Obama wins. He went on to criticize Obama's "change" platform and reaffirm his support for John McCain.

I think I posted a funny photo a few days back showing conservatives leaving the country for Canada when Barrack wins. Wow - all the more reason to vote Democratic.

Footnote: The Baldwin family grew up in my neck of the woods, near Syracuse, NY. Mother Carol Baldwin runs several fundraisers for breast cancer research (I met her once). Son Alec is an avowed Democrat and is probably as screamingly liberal as I am. My point is that a fair share of the family members are good folks.

Growing up Amish - with Link

Boing-Boing did a post on the good and bad about growing up Amish. Kind of interesting - deep Christian roots in that community that isolates itself from the modern world. They separate themselves from the rest of society so they can focus on the teachings of Jesus. The rest of us in this country rather respect the Amish for their commitment to their religion.

And we all know that a strong religion makes you a better person, don't we? Don't we?

Here's the major "con"...

-The rape, incest and other sexual abuse that run rampant in the community

Read the rest of the article - Link

Sarah Palin on Craig Ferguson's Show = Video

A Surprising Choice - Without Comment

Sanctity of Marriage - Link

Since I discovered the Party of Jesus web site a few days ago, I've been reading a few of their posts. The language is stronger than one usually sees on politically motivated web sites, but it carries some news I'm not seeing elsewhere.

The Attorneys General of ten US States, each and every one of them a member of the Party of Jesus, have petitioned the California State Supreme Court to put a halt to the sane, logical, and just threat of equal rights for all citizens. The fear these Sanctity of Bigotry proponents are experiencing is very well justified. Once gay or lesbian couples from their states get married legally in California, the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution can and will be successfully used to force even Jesus-infested governments to recognize the fact that Equal = Equal.

Before you know it, even states that are as red as the blood of a dead Iraqi child killed in a Republican War President’s faith-based invasion will be forced to treat all citizens with dignity and respect.

Fun Political Images

Party of Jesus - with Link

The Party of Jesus is a great satirical web site featuring stories on it's members as they act like the crazed lunatics they really are. You really should take the time to visit the site - but here's a quick snapshot of one article...

Oklahoma State Legislator Sally Kern, world famous for her psychotic rants about homos being more dangerous than terr’ists, was stopped by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol when she attempted to bring a loaded handgun into the Oklahoma Capitol.

The noted promoter of homophobia and extreme stupidity was not arrested.

And here's another quick little blurb about some crazy Christians going off the deep end - from The Wisconsin...

In a stunning announcement, the Republican Party of Wisconsin introduced Jesus Christ as candidate for Wisconsin's 5th Assembly District.

Rick Graber of RPW had this to say:

"After an exhaustive search for the most viable candidate, we were left with only one man who we thought could actually stand a chance against Tom Nelson: Jesus Christ. In retrospect, as the party of God and all God-fearing people, it is a natural fit."

Honest to God - some things are just so stupid that they are beyond comment - and usually they come from Republicans.

Check this out from Pendagon.net

The “I’m not sh*tting you” news of the day. Here are two guys who should have hung their hypocritical heads in shame after embarrassing their party, but they just can’t help themselves - they hate TEH GAYZ that much.

Two United States Senators implicated in extramarital sexual activity have named themselves as co-sponsors of S. J. RES. 43, dubbed the Marriage Protection Amendment. If ratified, the bill would amend the United States Constitution to state that marriage “shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.”

Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who was arrested June 11, 2007 on charges of lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport terminal, is co-sponsoring the amendment along with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA).

In July of 2007, Vitter was identified as a client of a prostitution firm owned by the late Deborah Jeane Palfrey, commonly known as The DC Madam.

Great Quote - with Link

From Open Left comes this great rant on 'Being a Conservative."

It must be really scary to be a conservative. To be one, you must live in constant fear of terrorists nuking the United States, of gay people on the verge of convincing you that you really enjoy sodomy, of Spanish becoming the official language of the United States next week, of every African-American voting seven or eight times in the next election, of radical Islam suddenly becoming the latest hip thing among kids across the country, of perpetual lesbian orgies in girls bathrooms in high schools across America, of liberals forcing everyone to become a vegan, of Christians being rounded up into concentration camps, and of Democrats outlawing private property if they were to ever take power again.

Obama's Speech - Link

So, how many people saw it? Obama's Acceptance speech, that is. I thought it was good, but was there much of an audience?

J-Walk blog has the answer...

602 Days of G. W. Bush - Video

All of the found images have been rotated cropped resized and/or had the background cloned to fill the frame for the correct alignment and positioning. This is an ongoing project and will continue to progress after January 20th 2009 with the next President of the United States.

28 months - Daily George W Bush Photos - Presidial.org from Jeremy Tubbs on Vimeo.

McCain Picks Palin - Link

Wow - this is strange and I don't know what to think of it. John McCain has picked Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska to be his running mate. I know so little about this - I'll connect you to Daily Kos for some insight. The link is below the quote I've provided...

Let's be honest: John McCain clearly wanted Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman, but he was afraid to buck his party's choice ideologues. So then they looked at Mittens, but having a baker's dozen homes wasn't looking so hot. So he figured that with Pawlenty, he might make a play for Minnesota, but that got shot down over the last week as it become increasingly obvious that Biden would wipe the floor with him in their debate.

Throw in Obama's ground-shifting speech last night, and it was clear that McCain had to throw a hail mary to just remain in the game, much less be competitive.

So we get Sarah Palin, who has a fairly compelling personal story and is an attractive woman, but has scant political experience, zero name recognition outside of political junky circles, faces an ethical investigation by her own legislature, and will now be forced to run a grueling national campaign despite having an infant child at home.

Those are the marks of desperation, and really, given his precarious electoral position, John McCain had no choice.

Link

UPDATE - I didn't know this!

Two years ago, Palin was part-time mayor of a village of 7,000. Today, she's supposedly ready to step in to run this country in the eventuality that Sen. McCentury can no longer perform those duties? Right. This was a sop to the Right, which was unwilling to accept a pro-choice Republican on the ticket, and a pathetic and hilariously desperate effort to grab the 17 holdout PUMAs (who are fake Democrats already willing to vote for McCain anyway).

Link

Happy Birthday, John McCain - Video

Jib Jab - Time for Some Campaignin' - Video

Time for Some Campaignin'
Uploaded by JibJab

Stupid is as Stupid Does - Link

I watched a lot more of the Democratic Convention than I ever thought I would. It gave me a bit of a glow to hear others speaking so eloquently about the sorts of things that I support and believe in. I loved Obama's speech last night - but somewhere around 2/3rds of the way through it struck me again - for far too many of the voters in this nation, Barack Obama is scary because he's too intelligent.

Yep - Barack's positions were well-reasoned, well-thought out and logical.

Listen to McCain and all you hear is stupid. A lot of Americans are comfortable with stupid - they want a President who reflects their own lives. They did it with Bush - but in the polls it came across as being that most Americans would prefer to "drink a beer" with Bush. Because he's their kind of stupid.

I mean, how else can you explain the fact that so many Americans do not see the lies and the inconsistencies that McCain offers? It has made no sense to me - I keep thinking that sooner or later the other 50% of America will wake up and realize what a buffoon John McCain actually is - but they won't. It doesn't matter what McCain says - the folks who vote for him will like him no matter what.

He's their kind of guy.

Read more - Air America Radio...

John W. McCain is holding a women's-only town hall event today in Wisconsin. He talked about how he's committed to "equal pay for equal work" but he sung a different tune just a few months ago.

In fact, McCain seems committed to just the opposite. In April, he skipped the vote on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would have rectified the Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear “that made it much harder for women and other workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.”

In fact, on that very same day, McCain said that if he had been in the Senate, he would have voted against it because the bill “opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems.” He also dismissed the importance of equal pay, saying that women simply need “education and training“:

McCain Mantra - Link

From the LRC Blog - this is a beaut...

McCain's Mantra

Posted by Thomas DiLorenzo at July 23, 2008 07:13 AM

"I know how to win wars," McKill told an audience of 200 GOP hacks in Baltimore last night. Here's McKill's secret formula:

1. Fly an airplane several miles in the sky dropping incendiary bombs on civilians;

2. Get shot down;

3. Spend the rest of the war in prison.

And by the way, we LOST that war.

McCain Finds the Video Professor - Video

McCain Denies Entry - Video

If you're expecting John McCain to allow dissent during his tenure as President (if elected), you'd probably be wrong.

McCain: Proud To Be Stupid - Video

Political Comics

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A Sunday With President Bush - Beijing and Georgia

Fun With G.W

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Bush - Religion Trumps Science - Link

George W. Bush continues to put his religion before science and medicine. He would rather see you denied access to health care than to tell physicians and pharmacists that they need to do the job they signed on for. The following is from the ACLU's e-newsletter...

Take Action: Proposed Bush Regulation Jeopardizes Women's Health

Late last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
proposed regulations that could seriously undermine access to basic
reproductive health services -- including birth control and abortion.

The rule leaves open the possibility that -- based on religious
beliefs -- institutions and individuals can deny women access to birth
control. It also permits individuals to refuse to provide information
and counseling about basic heath care services. And it expands
existing laws by permitting a wider range of health care professionals
to refuse to provide even referrals for abortions.

Instead of striking a careful balance between individual religious
liberty and patients' access to reproductive health care, the
Bush administration has taken patients' rights and their health
care needs out of the equation.

We have less than 30 days to stop these new rules from being enacted.
Take a stand now.

http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=5KkEowl1keW7T0n6zkfqRg..

John McCain: Media Darling - Link

Do you suppose John McCain is loved by the mainstream media so much because he supports the corporations that pay the newscasters? Or do they just admire the elderly? I know that whenever I turn on the news, they are focusing on one of McCain's Obama bashing ads as if it were news. They then spend 5 minutes discussing the merits of the ad.

In the meantime, I've not seen them do the same with ANY of Obama's ads.

From the Gawker website...

The number of times Senator John McCain’s new advertisement attacking Senator Barack Obama for canceling a visit with wounded troops in Germany last week has been shown fully or partly on local, national and cable newscasts: well into the hundreds.

The number of times that spot actually, truly ran as a paid commercial: roughly a dozen.

Women for John McCain - Link

The web site, Women for John McCain is reporting the details of his proposed health care plan. This is particularly relevant in light of the unanimous call among Democrats for Universal Health Care at their convention this week.

Women for John McCain...

The Dallas Morning News today reports details of the McCain health care plan, boldly undercutting the Obama campaign’s proposal of “health insurance for every American”.

Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain’s health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

“So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime,” Mr. Goodman said. “The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured…”

“So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved.”

Of course, McCain's plan does not account for the fact that you can be, and will be, billed for those services. And in addition, your wages can be attached to pay those bills and you can't declare bankruptcy to dismiss those bills. But that's just me looking at the dark side.

A Fresh Look at One Church - Link

If you've read any of my posts before, you're probably aware of the fact that I am a devout believer that organized religion has an incredibly negative impact on the functioning of this nation. I don't care if people believe in God or not, it's just that such belief has no place in our government.

I say this to give purpose to the following post. It's really, really funny. And I assume that it can't be real - just look at the photo of the Reverend Moonjava (at right). And read the text below.

Here's the link...

The staff here at Highview would like to thank everyone who attended Save a Nonbeliever Day on Saturday and helped make it a resounding success!

The church added 11 new members to its roster, and we look forward to seeing our new brothers and sisters in Christ every Wednesday night and Sunday morning, eager and willing to donate lavishly to the organization responsible for the salvation of their eternal souls.

It is however, my sad duty to announce the excommunication of member Roberta Pugilist Tritonsrear-Logsdon, nee Riggs. As many of you aware, she has been warned repeatedly over the years to curb her sinful and disruptive behavior at church-sponsored events. Unfortunately, it has been uncovered that she spent the days preceding our Save a Nonbeliever Day engaged in conduct unbecoming a good Christian and produce consumer.

Accordingly, we ask that anyone who partook of Ms. Tritonsrear-Logsdon’s zucchini and eggplant salad to submit themselves to blood tests being given (free of charge) following this Sunday’s sermon. Additionally, we have been told by doctors and our lawyer to ask said congregation members to refrain from any and all marital relations with their spouses until cleared by our doctor.

Unauthorized searches a Violation - Link

I'm no lawyer - and I've never played one on TV - but my limited knowledge leads me to believe that the American government has no right to search it's citizens without just cause and a search warrant. I reference the 4th amendment to the constitution which I've posted previously in this website. I simply don't understand why this (see below) is allowed - why it hasn't been in front of a judge and why President Bush hasn't been arrested for allowing it to happen.

NY Times Editorial...

The Department of Homeland Security is routinely searching laptops at airports when Americans re-enter the United States from abroad. The government then pores over or copies the laptop’s contents — including financial records, medical data and e-mail messages. These out-of-control searches trample the privacy rights of Americans, and Congress should rein them in.

Bush Hearts McCain - Link

Chris Matthews and Howard Fineman have discussed why President Bush REALLY, REALLY needs John McCain to win the election. It has a lot to do with the aftermath if a Democrat winds up in the White House with the ability to look at all of the documents produced during the Republican reign. Take a look over at Crooks and Liars...

Biden on McCain - That's Not Change - Video

McCain - POW Brothers - Video

Police State - Americans Lose Their Freedoms - Link

I don't care if ABC is a shill for the Republicans or not - they have a right to be on public property and to report the news. I hope they sue the Denver police for a billion dollars. Click on the photo for a link to the article...

Wake Up, America

Here's how you get an audience on their feet. Dennis Kucinich at the Democratic National Convention...

Political Funnies

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