Help McCain Count His Houses - Video

Fabulous Life of John McCain - Video

How Many Houses Do YOU Own? - Video

Republican Economics - Link

I suppose that there are a lot of folks out and about in the U.S. who don't pay much attention to politics. Some of them vote Republican because their parents voted Republican, or they support Republicans because of some sort of perception of the Republican party as representing the interests of small business or smaller government.

All of this, of course, in spite of the fact that by voting Republican they are voting against their own best interests. From Reuters...

U.S. wholesale prices took another unexpectedly steep jump in July and shot up at the fastest year-on-year rate in 27 years, according to a government report on Tuesday that was certain to fan fears about a potential surge in inflation.

U.S. home building projects started in July fell 11 percent to the lowest annual rate in more than 17 years, while building permits tumbled 17.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

The Housing Crisis - McCain Style - Video

Bushism - Polyslavic

"We just had some really good news out of Yugoslavia. I'm especially pleased that Mr. Milosevic has stepped down. That's one less Polyslavic name for me to remember."

---George W. Bush October 19, 2000
Speaking at the Al Smith Memorial Dinner in New York.

Fun Political Images - Republicans

Political Funnies

Click on any image to view it larger...

McCain Wants to Bankrupt the Country - Links

While the U.S. runs up the biggest deficits ever, our national debt grows by leaps and bounds, the U.S. dollar shrinks in value against virtually every major currency, our banks are on the verge of closing, the Feds have to bail out large lending companies like Bear-Stearns, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and gas prices soar through the roof - John McCain wants to cut taxes for large corporations. To wit, from the Wonk Room over at Think Progress...

A new report from the Center For American Progress Action Fund finds that a key piece of John McCain’s tax plan — cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% — would cut taxes by almost $45 billion every year for America’s 200 largest corporations as identified by Fortune Magazine.

Now it turns out that many other huge corporations pay nothing in taxes in order to help sustain the U.S. This is from Reuters...

Most U.S. and foreign corporations doing business in the United States avoid paying any federal income taxes, despite trillions of dollars worth of sales, a government study released on Tuesday said.

Do Americans have enough intelligence to think this through and realize that this can't continue? Or will they continue to vote out of stupidity and embrace policies that could bankrupt the nation?

Bush and Torture - Link

In an article that appeared in the online version of Harper's...

In a series of gripping articles, Jane Mayer has chronicled the Bush Administration’s grim and furtive dealings with torture and has exposed both the individuals within the administration who “made it happen” (a group that starts with Vice President Cheney and his chief of staff, David Addington), the team of psychologists who put together the palette of techniques, and the Fox television program “24,” which was developed to help sell it to the American public.

Most significantly, we learn the details on the torture techniques and the drama behind the fierce and lingering struggle within the administration over torture, and we learn that many within the administration recognized the potential criminal accountability they faced over these torture tactics and moved frantically to protect themselves from possible future prosecution.

Approval Ratings: Bush and McCain - Video

Our Loss of Freedoms - Video

The Fourth Amendment

Neo-Cons love to talk about fighting to keep America free. They loves them a good war - and they loves them some "second amendment" talk - the freedom to keep and bear arms. Gotta have guns to shoot up the bad guys (and your family and friends).

BUT - in this "war on terror," just exactly when did we give up the REST of our amendments? First, I'd like to point to the "fourth amendment."

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Then I'd like to point to some recent actions by Homeland Security as pointed out in a post at the J-Walk Blog...

Apr 23, 2008 1:27 PM
Advances In Law Enforcement
from The J-Walk Blog

Customs agents at U.S. airports don't need any evidence of wrongdoing to search the contents of passengers' laptop computers, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. Although police need probable cause - specific evidence of criminal activity - to search someone on the street, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that no such evidence is necessary for a border search. Courts have also ruled that an international airport is the equivalent of a border.

That is all.

John McCain - Confused

John McCain thinks that there's a border shared by Iraq and Pakistan. I guess there sort of is - if you call it Iran.

Video...

And here's a link to some related comments from Crooks and Liars...

Video - CBS Covers For McCain

Bushism - He Thinks This Is Funny

"My opponent keeps saying I give too much tax relief to the top 1%, but he hadn't heard my latest proposal. The bottom 99% will do well when they get to split Dick Cheney's stock options."

---George W. Bush
October 19,2000
Joke delivered at the Al Smith Memorial dinner in New York.

McCain - No Straight Talk Here - Video

Obama Speaks - Link

Imagine - if we'd elected Al Gore as President in 2000, and/or John Kerry in 2004, we could have spent part of the past year with a President who has a brain larger than the size of a pea. But we got pea-brain George W Bush.

Now Barack Obama isn't the perfect candidate in my book, but he DOES have a brain and will probably serve (if elected) in a manner that makes us proud.

The following is from a speech he gave on July 15, 2008. A link is given below the quotes...

Imagine, for a moment, what we could have done in those days, and months, and years after 9/11.

We could have deployed the full force of American power to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and all of the terrorists responsible for 9/11, while supporting real security in Afghanistan.

We could have secured loose nuclear materials around the world, and updated a 20th century non-proliferation framework to meet the challenges of the 21st.

We could have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in alternative sources of energy to grow our economy, save our planet, and end the tyranny of oil.

We could have strengthened old alliances, formed new partnerships, and renewed international institutions to advance peace and prosperity.

We could have called on a new generation to step into the strong currents of history, and to serve their country as troops and teachers, Peace Corps volunteers and police officers.

We could have secured our homeland - investing in sophisticated new protection for our ports, our trains and our power plants.

We could have rebuilt our roads and bridges, laid down new rail and broadband and electricity systems, and made college affordable for every American to strengthen our ability to compete.

We could have done that.

Instead, we have lost thousands of American lives, spent nearly a trillion dollars, alienated allies and neglected emerging threats - all in the cause of fighting a war for well over five years in a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.

Link (free registration may be required)

McCains - Not So Honest - Link

John McCain is not the maverick he'd like everyone to think he is. He's just another politician skating along the edges of what is legal and what is not. Back in the 1980's he was implicated in a bank scandal as he tried to protect some of his friends from prosecution after they caused the failure of a savings and loan. (The Keating Five)

But that's old news. The point of this post is that blood runs thicker than water - John's son is now involved in a similar banking scandal. It appears that wherever there's money to be milked from taxpayers, the McCains are there.

Link.

Political Cartoons

McCain Lies - Political Video

It's All In Your Head - Political Video

Moral Values - A Court Case

I've long believed that you can't legislate moral values - your best bet to gain some control in creating a moral society is to provide your populace with education and information. I was pissed a few years ago when CBS was fined so heavily for broadcasting the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during the halftime of the Super Bowl because I felt that it would have an incredible dampening effect on all broadcast TV shows.

Here again, I'm not so sure that it's fair to ask the broadcast networks to compete with cable TV shows when the networks are relegated to only broadcasting shows suitable for 5-year-old children. It is up to families to monitor what the kids watch, it's not up to the networks to censor what adults watch. As a nation, we're simply too uptight.

Now this from the Los Angeles Times...

Janet Jackson's brief, provocative dance during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show lasted long enough to trigger more than half a million formal complaints to regulators, tougher indecency rules, dramatically higher maximum fines and video delays on many live programs.

But an appeals court panel ruled Monday that the flash of Jackson's right breast for 9/16ths of a second was too quick to warrant the $550,000 fine levied by the Federal Communications Commission against CBS Corp. for airing it.

I hope the appeal holds up.

Who Is The Elitist? - Link

From the Huffington Post...

Cindy McCain: "In Arizona The Only Way To Get Around The State Is By Small Private Plane" (VIDEO)

Great Question

From a post on the Air America website...

Burning questions for our time
By Brilliant at Breakfast

Why is it that when a guy with a gun shoots a school full of Amish kids, or goes on a rampage at a college, it receives nonstop coverage for a week...but when a guy with a gun and a house full of treatises by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Michael the Savage Weiner, Joe Scarborough is talking about Obama "dissing the troops"?

Bushism - Work Harder

"You'll be in a world in which fits into my philosophy. You know, the harder work—the harder you work, the more you can keep. That's the American way."

---George W, Bush October 17,2000
Third Presidential Debate in St. Louis, Missouri.

Political Joke - No Democrat

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and into a shop. I was only there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. I said to him, 'Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?'

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a 'Nazi.' He glared at me and wrote another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him a 'doughnut eating Gestapo.' He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes.

The more I abused him the more tickets h e wrote. Personally, I didn't care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said 'Obama in '08.'

I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my health.

Political Video - Coal

Coal is being touted as a solution to our energy problem by the coal lobby. Here's a response with tongue in cheek.

Obama-ism - Quote

"They're very good at negative campaigning. They're not so good at governing."
--- Barack Obama speaking about Republicans
Sat Aug 2,
ORLANDO, Fla

Political Fun - Images

Click on any image for a larger view of it...

Jib_Jab Video - Campaignin'

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

50 Fascinating Facts About U.S. Presidents- AARP

The following came from AARP Bulletin, July/August 2008.

U.S. Presidents...

RECORD SETTERS

TALLEST: ABRAHAM LINCOLN (6 FEET 4 INCHES)
SHORTEST: JAMES MADISON (5 FEET 4 INCHES)
HEAVIEST: WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT (OVER300 POUNDS)
BIGGEST FEET: WARREN G.HARDING (SIZE 14)
YOUNGEST ELECTED: JOHN F. KENNEDY (43)
YOUNGEST TO TAKE OFFICE: THEODORE ROOSEVELT (42)
OLDEST ELECTED: RONALD REAGAN (69)
LONGEST-LIVED: GERALD FORD (93 YEARS, 166 DAYS)
LONGEST TIME IN OFFICE: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (12 YEARS)
SHORTEST TIME IN OFFICE: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (32 DAYS).

FIRST PRESIDENT WHO WAS...

BORN A U.S. CITIZEN: MARTIN VAN BUREN
BORN WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI: HERBERT HOOVER (IOWA)
BORN IN A LOG CABIN: ANDREW JACKSON
BORN IN A HOSPITAL: JIMMY CARTER
BEARDED: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
A BEARDED DEMOCRAT: NONE
ASSASSINATED: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IMPEACHED: ANDREW JOHNSON
A BOOMER: BILL CLINTON.

FIRST PRESIDENT...

DIED IN OFFICE: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
ATTENDED A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME: BENJAMIN HARRISON
SPOKE ON RADIO: WARREN G. HARDING
APPEARED ON TELEVISION: FRANKLIN D.ROOSEVELT
ESTABLISHED A NATIONAL PARK: ULYSSES S. GRANT (YELLOWSTONE)
PRESIDED OVER SO STATES: DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
APPOINTED A WOMAN TO HIS CABINET: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (FRANCES PERKINS)
APPOINTED AN AFRICAN AMERICAN TO HIS CABINET: LYNDON B. JOHNSON (ROBERT C. WEAVER).

ONLY PRESIDENT WHO...

DIDN'T LIVE IN WASHINGTON: GEORGE WASHINGTON
WAS DEFEATED BY HIS VICE PRESIDENT: JOHN ADAMS (THOMAS JEFFERSON)
FOUNDED A UNIVERSITY: THOMAS JEFFERSON (UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA)
COULD WRITE WITH BOTH HANDS AT THE SAME TIME IN TWO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES: JAMES GARFIELD
HANGED PEOPLE: GROVER CLEVELAND (AS A COUNTY SHERIFF)
SERVED TWO NONCONSECUTIVE TERMS: GROVER CLEVELAND
LATER SERVED AS SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE: WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
WAS SWORN INTO OFFICE BY HIS FATHER: CALVIN COOLIDGE (JOHN CALVIN COOLIDGE)
RESIGNED: RICHARD NIXON
SERVED AS BOTH VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENT WITHOUT BEING ELECTED TO EITHER OFFICE: GERALD FORD
SURVIVED A BULLET WOUND WHILE IN OFFICE: RONALD REAGAN
EARNED A PH.D.:WOODROW WILSON
EARNED AN MBA: GEORGE W. BUSH
SERVED IN THE 20TH CENTURY AND DIDN'T GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE: HARRY S. TRUMAN.

FAMILY MATTERS...

ONLY CHILDREN: NONE
RAISED WITH HALF-SIBLINGS ONLY: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, GERALD FORD AND BILL CLINTON
BACHELOR: JAMES BUCHANAN
GOT MARRIED WHILE PRESIDENT: GROVER CLEVELAND AND WOODROW WILSON
DIVORCED: RONALD REAGAN
FATHERED THE MOST CHILDREN: JOHN TYLER (15)
FATHERED ANOTHER PRESIDENT: JOHN ADAMS AND GEORGE H.W. BUSH (JOHN QUINCY ADAMS AND GEORGE W. BUSH)
GRANDFATHER OF ANOTHER PRESIDENT: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (BENJAMIN HARRISON)
FATHER-IN-LAW TO CON­FEDERATE PRESIDENT: ZACHARY TAYLOR (JEFFERSON DAVIS)

Is Bush Guilty of War Crimes? - Link

Those of us who care have already read a lot about the torture of criminals by the U.S. and are appalled by it. But will the Bush administration ever be tried for the crimes?

The article starts out...

Red Cross investigators concluded last year in a secret report that the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation methods for high-level Qaeda prisoners constituted torture and could make the Bush administration officials who approved them guilty of war crimes, according to a new book on counter terrorism efforts since 2001.

Link

War Profiteering Uncovered - Link

The war profiteering by private contractors in Iraq may be one of the biggest swindles of all time. But will we know much before G. W. is out of office?

A peek into the story...

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

Link

Source of the Story - Link

Where did it come from? The e-mail that trashes Barack Obama by claiming that he's Islamic and un-American probably came from the heart of the Republican Party. Where else?

A snip...

Laid out before Allen, a razor-sharp, 36-year-old political theorist, was what purported to be a biographical sketch of Barack Obama that has become one of the most effective -- and baseless -- Internet attacks of the 2008 presidential season. The anonymous chain e-mail makes the false claim that Obama is concealing a radical Islamic background. By the time it reached Allen on Jan. 11, 2008, it had spread with viral efficiency for more than a year.

Link

ACLU On FISA - Link

This article is a little dated, but it gives the ACLU's overall take on the meaning of the most recent FISA bill, now signed into law.

Today, in a blatant assault upon civil liberties and the right to privacy, the Senate passed an unconstitutional domestic spying bill that violates the Fourth Amendment and eliminates any meaningful role for judicial oversight of government surveillance. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was approved by a vote of 69 to 28...

Link

A Modern History of Republican Lies - Link

Here's a taste of the article...

It is becoming more and more apparent that starting back in the Nixon era, the Republicans decided that a basic, on-going trait of their party was going to be to lie to the public about whatever it took to win an election! It started out with the Watergate Scandal, it settled down after Nixon resigned and throughout President's Ford's Administration. But since then, the Republican's "lying trend" has gradually escalated ever since Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra Affair became public.

Link

Amazing Stat - Link

We're in the midst of another energy crisis. Gas, heating oil, natural gas, ethanol, electricity - you name it, the price is going up. I've heard a lot of blather about why the price of oil in particular has been skyrocketing and the reasoning seems to change a lot - depends on the fella (gal) on the TV doing the prognosticating - some days it's because the speculators are holding the oil back from the ports, waiting for the price to rise. Some days I hear it's because China and India are growing and demanding a lot more of the Texas Tea. But then you hear something like this...

Amazing Stat: California Uses More Gas than China - link

and you've got to wonder - maybe it's just because we use too damn much.

What do you think?

Al Gore As Superman? - Link

Here's a link to a funny piece in the Onion. Comic book readers will get the connection.

Link

Political Video - Bomb Iran

A lot of the neo-conservatives in the U.S. aren't happy unless we're in 5 or 6 wars at one time. I guess they feel the need to kill lots and lots of foreigners. For whatever reason. It doesn't work for me, but here's a video one of them put together.

Political Video - Turd Blossom Special

Poking a little fun at Karl Rove...

Political Images - Democrats

None of the stuff below is in keeping with my views, really, but it is political humor and commentary expressed through images that deserves to be seen...

Daily Show - Dick Cheney's Daughter

This is a dated video, but is nonetheless important in understanding the two-faced nature of Republicans. What is okay for them isn't okay for anyone else. I'm just sayin'...

Imperial History of the Middle East - Link

A Flash-animated map of the Middle East showing the turmoil these people have gone through during recorded history. It's no wonder they're a little gun-shy about having another super-power (the U.S.) parked in their front yard. It only takes a minute or two to watch this.

Link

WOW - Geopolitics of Iran - Link

The following is an excellent article written for investors (stocks, commodities) on the nature of Iran. If you are a student of such things you may know even more than the author presents herein, but if you're an average Joe (Jo) like me, this will be VERY informative. I got a lot out of it.

A taste...

To understand Iran, you must begin by understanding how large it is. Iran is the 17th largest country in world. It measures 1,684,000 square kilometers. That means that its territory is larger than the combined territories of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Portugal - Western Europe. Iran is the 16th most populous country in the world, with about 70 million people. Its population is larger than the populations of either France or the United Kingdom.

The link