Sarah:My Friends Hate the US Government

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Registered: 09-08-2008
Sarah:My Friends Hate the US Government
8
Mon, 10-13-2008 - 10:56pm
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/index.html

Thanks for this link, Soupyduck. This has to be posted again to show Sarah's connection to the Alaskan Independence Party, and secession from the US, because her lies about Obama need to stop. Well, Sarah's REAL LIVE

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Registered: 09-08-2008
Mon, 10-13-2008 - 11:38pm

Long story, but worth your time.

*****************************************************************************


No time to cry wolf

It’s right to be afraid of Sarah Palin and the outcome of the election. But still, we have to have faith.


By Anne Lamott


http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/10/14/anne_lamott/index.html


News




Reuters photo (left)


Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, left






Oct. 14, 2008 | My pastor once said that you can trap bees on the bottom of a jar without a lid because they won’t look up. They walk around frantically bumping into glass while, one presumes, muttering.


I’ve been feeling like that lately, in these last weeks before the election. I feel trapped on the bottom of the TV jar, frantic, buzzing, bummed. It was largely due to having to see and hear Sarah Palin every time I turned on the TV or radio. Has there ever been, at least in the last 10 years, a more thoroughly repellent American? I mean, besides Lou Dobbs? But Lou Dobbs is easy to avoid, and he’s not a moron, he’s a jerk. But Palin is as ridiculous as the competitors from Monty Python’s Upperclass Twit of the Year competition, jumping over hurdles that are nothing more than a stack of matchbooks. Yet many suggested Palin’s debate was a tie, that she had “succeeded,” apparently, because she failed to lapse into witchcraft incantations or talk about her lady parts. Camille Paglia, writing in this publication, referred to her as nothing less than the new feminist idea.


During the worst of last month, when John McCain was rising in the polls and the market was crashing and George W. Bush was popping in and out of the White House doors like a guy in a cuckoo clock, people told me that there was nothing to fear but fear itself. Hah. What about a nervous breakdown? What about the weight gain that came one pound at a time, in step with McCain’s rise in the polls? What about the specter of financial ruin? The anxiety has been purgatory — not heaven, not hell, but perma-suck. And I haven’t even gotten to my own private wolf attack yet.






But how can you dwell on your own (pitiful) encounter with a wolf when so much of the national dialogue has been about the variety of large, majestic mammals that Palin enjoys killing for sport? When I first heard about Palin, I felt as though Dick Cheney had prematurely come back from the dead — another Strangelovean Christian shooter. (When Cheney accidentally shot his best friend in the face, they were on a ranch for fancy right-wing Christian shooters. Are there undisclosed locations where, if you know the right people, you can club baby seals, or harpoon whales?) However, Palin is not smart like Cheney. In fact, I don’t even think she’s as smart as Bush. And the thought of enduring another dense and incurious leader in the White House is terrifying. The world has roared with laughter at Bush, has routinely voted him the most dangerous man on the planet — and, in some cases, has actually recoiled from him as though from hot flame. Remember the look on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s face when Bush snuck up behind her at the dinner table and massaged her shoulders? Can you imagine, for one moment, what she would make of a Palin presidency?


But Bush is so five minutes ago. And besides, some otherwise reasonable people choose to believe a kind interpretation of Bush Jr. — that he was naive and well intentioned, convinced he heard the voice of God. He spoke to a higher father. Every so often, glimpsing the smug and gregarious ignorance of Bush, I’d be reminded of Helen Mirren playing Elizabeth II in the 2006 film “The Queen,” when she says to the newly elected Tony Blair, “Mr. Blair, you are my 10th Prime Minister. Mr. Churchill was my first. He sat right there.” In other words: Tick-tock, tick-tock.


Last week was better, and the trapped-bee feeling abated somewhat: Barack Obama’s polls were rising, and the crowds at Palin rallies became so toxic that famous Republicans like Christopher Buckley had to backpedal or jump ship, lest they be associated with her. She still has a few staunch friends. Of course, even Richard Nixon had loyal friends at the end, or at least “friend”: that nice Bebe Rebozo.















But we still have 21 of these nerve-rattling days to get through. Race is still an unknown factor; one of the savviest people I know says Obama will poll ahead by 10 points but only win by 3. On top of this, the Wall Street wolf has now arrived at the door, snarling and gnashing its teeth. (Hang on, I will tell you my wolf attack story in a moment.)


So with all of this going on so close to home, how can we hang on, take care of one another, make a difference, live lives of purpose and dignity and joy — without losing our minds?


I will tell you: Remember the bees, and look up. Don’t stare at the bottom of the jar in which you are trapped. Turn off the TV for half an hour, and look up. Don’t look at the Wall Street traders in their distressing guise as bees, trapped on the floor of the exchange. They are not prisoners, like the bees; they are volunteers. Instead, look up at your computer and find a good charity site where you can send whatever you can afford. Go to

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Registered: 09-08-2008
Tue, 10-14-2008 - 12:17am

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Registered: 09-08-2008
Tue, 10-14-2008 - 1:15am

Hindsight is 20/20...


GOP Senators Reassess Views About McCain
His Old Foes Still Wary Of His Pugnacious Style


By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 4, 2008; A01


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020303242_pf.html



John McCain once testified under oath that a Senate colleague inappropriately used tobacco corporation donations to sway votes on legislation. He cursed out another colleague in front of 20 senators and staff members, questioning the senator's grip on immigration legislation. And, on the Senate floor, McCain (R-Ariz.) accused another colleague of "egregious behavior" for helping a defense contractor in a move he said resembled "corporate scandals."


And those were just the Republicans.


In a chamber once known for cordiality if not outright gentility, McCain has battled his fellow senators for more than two decades in a fashion that has been forceful and sometimes personal. Now, with the conservative maverick on the brink of securing his party's presidential nomination, McCain's Republican colleagues are grappling with the idea of him at the top of their ticket.


"There would be a lot of people who would have to recalibrate their attitudes toward John," said Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), a supporter of Mitt Romney's who has clashed with McCain.


Many Senate Republicans, even those who have jousted with McCain in the past, say their reassessment is underway. Sensing the increasing likelihood that he will be the nominee, GOP senators who have publicly fought with him are emphasizing his war-hero background and playing down past confrontations.


"I forgive him for whatever disagreements he has had with me. We can disagree on things, but I have great admiration for him," said Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee who has often argued with McCain over government spending.


But others have outright rejected the idea of a McCain nomination and presidency, warning that his tirades suggest a temperament unfit for the Oval Office.


"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), also a senior member of the Appropriations panel, told the Boston Globe recently. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."


A former colleague says McCain's abrasive nature would, at minimum, make his relations with Republicans on Capitol Hill uneasy if he were to become president. McCain could find himself the victim of Republicans who will not go the extra mile for him on legislative issues because of past grievances.


"John was very rough in the sandbox," said former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who is outspoken in his opposition to McCain's candidacy. "Everybody has a McCain story. If you work in the Senate for a while, you have a McCain story. . . . He hasn't built up a lot of goodwill."


Santorum was a fierce advocate for the GOP's social conservative wing -- a group particularly hostile to McCain because of his apostasy on immigration and same-sex marriage -- while Cochran is considered one of the more genteel senators. Both men back Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, for president.


To McCain's allies, his fiery personality is part of the "Straight Talk" lore, and a positive quality in a passionate fighter who will tell you to your face how much he dislikes an idea.


"When he's arguing about something he believes in, he's arguing about it," said Mark Salter, a top aide to McCain. "It's an admirable trait, the capacity to be outraged."


Salter scoffed at the idea that McCain is not fit to be president and said most stories about his temper are "wildly exaggerated." He pointed to McCain's success at "across-the-aisle cooperation" with Democrats as an example of how he would deal with Congress if elected president.


Those legislative wins include a major campaign finance law in his name in 2002 and a deal with 14 Democrats and Republicans in 2005 that broke Democratic filibusters on judicial nominees. "That resulted in a lot of good, solid, conservative jurists being confirmed," Salter said.


McCain's battles with colleagues have often gone beyond the ins and outs of policy, taking on a fierce personal tone that other senators do not often engage in, at least not in public.


Stevens, for example, has long stuffed the annual Pentagon spending bill with earmarked provisions for his home state that draw the ire of McCain, who has crusaded against such pet projects. In 2002, Stevens inserted an unusual provision in the defense appropriations bill that allowed Boeing Corp. to lease fuel tankers to the Air Force for $21 billion.


McCain regularly took to the floor to criticize the provision and tried to steal jurisdiction from Stevens's subcommittee so he could kill the deal. "This is the same kind of egregious behavior we often rail against here on the Senate floor when it comes to corporate scandals," he said.


While he has lost almost every earmark fight with Stevens, McCain won the Boeing battle by using his perch atop the Commerce Committee in 2003 and 2004 to investigate the lease deal, uncovering corruption inside the Air Force procurement office.


As president, one of McCain's most critical relationships would be with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a necessary ally in the conflict with a Democratic-led Congress. But their relationship has been gravely tested.


In 2003, after McConnell challenged the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law in court, McCain gave testimony that almost accused McConnell of breaking federal laws. Under oath, he said that in 1998 McConnell tried to scuttle McCain's legislation to settle lawsuits against the tobacco industry by informing GOP senators that Big Tobacco would spend millions of dollars supporting candidates who opposed McCain's bill.


McConnell has denied the nature of the allegation, but that deposition culminated a five-year fight between the senators over the tobacco bill and the campaign finance legislation. But McConnell said last week that he would have no trouble with McCain as the nominee or as president.


"We've had a great relationship since," McConnell said. "All of them have been respectable and entirely within the traditions of the Senate."


McCain's relationship with House Republicans has been strained for years. After stumping for more than 50 GOP candidates during the 2000 campaign, McCain dramatically scaled back his efforts in 2002 out of pique toward House Republicans who opposed his effort to overhaul campaign finance law. In 2004, while McCain was objecting to GOP-backed tax cuts, then-Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) suggested that the senator, a former prisoner of war, should go to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to see what "sacrifice" meant to the nation.


Nevertheless, many House Republicans now view McCain as the best possible nominee. Despite the senator's heresies on taxes, immigration and campaign finance, Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), chairman of the Republican campaign committee, said McCain could appeal to independent voters.


"You'll have more Democrats running away from Hillary Clinton than you'll have Republicans running away from our nominee," he said.


In his first run for the presidency in 2000, McCain's temperament became an issue as campaign aides to George W. Bush questioned whether the senator was a suitable occupant for the Oval Office. Only a few of McCain's Senate colleagues endorsed him then.


But the past few years have seen fewer McCain outbursts, prompting some senators and aides to suggest privately that he is working to control his temper. This time, 13 senators have endorsed his presidential bid, more than for any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.


"We all get a little bit mellower," Salter said. "But he doesn't get up every morning saying, 'I must control my temper.' "


Last spring, however, McCain's confrontational side reappeared during a closed-door meeting of senators from both parties. After spending six weeks away from the Senate, he showed up for final negotiations on a fragile immigration bill, leading Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) to question where he had been. McCain responded by swearing at Cornyn loudly and repeatedly, according to witnesses.


Cornyn, who has not endorsed a presidential candidate, doesn't expect to befriend McCain anytime soon but said he will happily stump for him as the nominee.


"We've had our moments, but we've gotten over that and moved on down the road," Cornyn said. "You're talking about people who are professionals. You don't have to link arms and sing 'Kumbaya' to get things done."







View all comments that have been posted about this article.





Edited 10/14/2008 1:26 am ET by niteowl08

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Registered: 09-08-2008
Tue, 10-14-2008 - 3:08am
101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain

http://www.billpressshow.com/McCain101

Every day, tune in to hear a new reason NOT to vote for John McCain in November! We'll then list them here - send them along to all your friends!



The list gets updated weekdays with a new reason each day. By the time Election day rolls around, you'll have all 101 reasons!


#17: John McCain refuses to repudiate and condemn the Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party. Jeff Frederick compared Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden. McCain said he 'didn't know the context' of the comments.

#18: John McCain has a bad temper that is not acceptable for a President.
It's known around the Senate as the "McCain Rage."

#19: John McCain is trying to paint Barack Obama as a terrorist.
He said nothing at a rally when his supporters called Obama a terrorist, and said "kill him." In fact, in February, he said he would not allow these negative attacks to come from his surrogates, when Bill Cunningham viciously attacked Obama.

#20: John McCain called Barack Obama "that one."
It was during the 2nd debate that he made this condescending remark.

#21: John McCain will raise your taxes for his health care plan.
He will raise your income taxes on the $5000 health care tax credit he's offering, which in turn, will also cause your employer to stop offering coverage.

#22: John McCain accused Barack Obama of lying.
That's just about as low as you can get in politics, especially when it's not true.

#23: John McCain wants to destroy health insurance for non-elderly Americans.
He plans to eliminate tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, which would cause 20 million Americans to lose their coverage.

#24: John McCain originally voted against supporting the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
It wasn't until he had presidential ambitions that he supported it.

#25: John McCain's tax plan helps the rich.
He is only looking out for himself because he and wife Cindy would save $373,429 if his tax plan were enacted.

#26: John McCain has a gambling problem.
He freely throws around chips at the table and has done it for years...he'll probably do some gambling in the government if he were to be elected!

#27: John McCain tried to blame Barack Obama for the financial crisis and the bailout failure.
Actually, plenty of his own GOP friends voted to can the bill!

#28: John McCain showed a poor performance in the first one-on-one debate.
He was mean and never looked Barack Obama in the eye, not to mention having poor answers to questions.

#29: John McCain grandstanded during the financial crisis.
He played the card going into Washington like "Arizona Jones" to save everything...yet he's got nothing to do with the crisis, which may be a major part of the reason why the bailout fell apart.

#30: John McCain can't the handle the pressure.
He suspended his own campaign when he fell behind in the polls and the going got tough - will he just suspend the presidency if he gets in a tough spot?

#31: John McCain is two-faced when it comes to lobbyists.
He attacks Barack Obama for having ties to lobbyists. McCain's own campaign manager, Rick Davis, is a lobbyist - he was paid by Freddie Mac through August of this year!!!

#32: John McCain wants to deregulate the health insurance industry like they deregulated Wall Street.
He is against universal health care, which would give health insurance companies much more power than they already have.

#33: John McCain thinks he has oversight over the SEC.
He said he would fire the SEC Chair...but he can't constitutionally do that.

#34: John McCain Knows Nothing About Spain.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2008
Wed, 10-15-2008 - 1:10am
101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain

http://www.billpressshow.com/McCain101


Every day, tune in to hear a new reason NOT to vote for John McCain in November! We'll then list them here - send them along to all your friends!




The list gets updated weekdays with a new reason each day. By the time Election day rolls around, you'll have all 101 reasons!


#16: John McCain opposes having women register for Selective Service. Barack Obama believes in equality and thinks women should be afforded all the opportunities and responsibilities that men do.

#17: John McCain refuses to repudiate and condemn the Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party.
Jeff Frederick compared Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden. McCain said he 'didn't know the context' of the comments.

#18: John McCain has a bad temper that is not acceptable for a President.
It's known around the Senate as the "McCain Rage."

#19: John McCain is trying to paint Barack Obama as a terrorist.
He said nothing at a rally when his supporters called Obama a terrorist, and said "kill him." In fact, in February, he said he would not allow these negative attacks to come from his surrogates, when Bill Cunningham viciously attacked Obama.

#20: John McCain called Barack Obama "that one."
It was during the 2nd debate that he made this condescending remark.

#21: John McCain will raise your taxes for his health care plan.
He will raise your income taxes on the $5000 health care tax credit he's offering, which in turn, will also cause your employer to stop offering coverage.

#22: John McCain accused Barack Obama of lying.
That's just about as low as you can get in politics, especially when it's not true.

#23: John McCain wants to destroy health insurance for non-elderly Americans.
He plans to eliminate tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, which would cause 20 million Americans to lose their coverage.

#24: John McCain originally voted against supporting the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
It wasn't until he had presidential ambitions that he supported it.

#25: John McCain's tax plan helps the rich.
He is only looking out for himself because he and wife Cindy would save $373,429 if his tax plan were enacted.

#26: John McCain has a gambling problem.
He freely throws around chips at the table and has done it for years...he'll probably do some gambling in the government if he were to be elected!

#27: John McCain tried to blame Barack Obama for the financial crisis and the bailout failure.
Actually, plenty of his own GOP friends voted to can the bill!

#28: John McCain showed a poor performance in the first one-on-one debate.
He was mean and never looked Barack Obama in the eye, not to mention having poor answers to questions.

#29: John McCain grandstanded during the financial crisis.
He played the card going into Washington like "Arizona Jones" to save everything...yet he's got nothing to do with the crisis, which may be a major part of the reason why the bailout fell apart.

#30: John McCain can't the handle the pressure.
He suspended his own campaign when he fell behind in the polls and the going got tough - will he just suspend the presidency if he gets in a tough spot?

#31: John McCain is two-faced when it comes to lobbyists.
He attacks Barack Obama for having ties to lobbyists. McCain's own campaign manager, Rick Davis, is a lobbyist - he was paid by Freddie Mac through August of this year!!!

#32: John McCain wants to deregulate the health insurance industry like they deregulated Wall Street.
He is against universal health care, which would give health insurance companies much more power than they already have.

#33: John McCain thinks he has oversight over the SEC.
He said he would fire the SEC Chair...but he can't constitutionally do that.

#34: John McCain Knows Nothing About Spain.

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Registered: 09-08-2008
Wed, 10-15-2008 - 2:46am

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2008
Wed, 10-15-2008 - 4:16am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/sam-stein
Ickes: "Undercurrent Of Racial Implications" Coming From GOP

October 13, 2008 06:06 PM







One of the chief strategists of the modern Democratic Party criticized the McCain campaign and its crowds on Monday for fostering an "undercurrent of racial implications."


In a discussion at the Time Warner Summit conference on the 2008 election, Harold Ickes, who played a high-ranking role on Hillary Clinton's primary campaign, scoffed at the notion that this election was any tougher than those past. As evidence, he point to the "real fist fights" that occurred during the Democratic primary in 1980, and the disdain for Lyndon Johnson within his own party in 1968.


Nevertheless, he had some harsh words for the Republican ticket. In addition to highlighting the emergence of race as a political issue, Ickes declared: "I abhor some of the remarks that Palin has made and some of the things that McCain should have said more about. I think there is some malice involved in that. But having said that, this is not that tough a campaign."


"You have to defend yourself and sometimes in a campaign you go overboard," he added. "But I do think that there has been an undercurrent of racial implications coming out on the Republican side that I do think is deplorable. But having said that, I think Obama is going to win this campaign hands down."


It was a candid remark from an individual who is well-versed in sharp-elbowed (sometimes racial) politics. Ickes took part in Mississippi Freedom Summer, helping the state send a primarily black delegation to the National Convention in 1964. The next year, he lost a kidney when, doing civil rights work, he was beaten by a gang of white people in Louisiana. He has, since then, worked for a candidate in every Democratic primary, as well as in the Clinton White House.


With history as his guide, Ickes had an acute diagnosis for why he thought John McCain was trailing in the polls: the contest had become a referendum on the Arizona Republican. "He has sold his soul to Atwater," said Ickes.


During an interview with CNN on Monday, McCain defended both his campaign style and the rhetoric of his crowds, arguing that fringe elements could be found in all walks of politics and that it would be unfair to insinuate that they represented the views of his candidacy.


"The overwhelming majority of the people that come to my rallies are good and decent and patriotic Americans, and if they are worried about this country's future, that's correct," he said. "But to somehow, to somehow intimate that of the thousands people -- 17,000 people were just with us in Virginia -- and to somehow intimate that the overwhelming majority of those people, with rare exception, are somehow not good Americans or are motivated by anything but the most patriotic motives is insulting. And I won't accept that insult."


The racial issue aside, Ickes and his conference counterpart -- Republican Ralph Reed -- both spoke skeptically of McCain's chances for the White House.


"The fact that our party has nominated a black man who I think will be the next president of the United States is quite breathtaking, when you think about it," Ickes said.


"If the markets can recover, I still think this thing can close to the low single digits," Reed declared. He noted that spirits in McCain headquarters must undoubtedly be low.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2008
Wed, 10-15-2008 - 4:43am
McCain Transition Chief Aided Saddam In Lobbying Effort

October 14, 2008 02:49 PM


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/mccain-transition-chief-a_n_134595.html


William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.


The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.


During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.


Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism. His dealings on behalf of the deceased Iraqi leader stand in stark contrast to the views his current employer held at the time.


John McCain strongly supported the 1991 military action against Iraq, and as recently as Sunday described Saddam Hussein as a one-time menace to the region who had "stated categorically that he would acquire weapons of mass destruction, and he would use them wherever he could."


Timmons declined to comment for this story. An office manager who works for him said that he has made it his practice during his public career to never speak to the press. Timmons previously told investigators that he did not know that either Vincent or Park were acting as unregistered agents of Iraq. He also insisted that he did not fully understand just how closely the two men were tied to Saddam's regime while they collaborated.


But testimony and records made public during Park's criminal trial, as well as other information uncovered during a United Nations investigation, suggest just the opposite. Virtually everything Timmons did while working on the lobbying campaign was within days conveyed by Vincent to either one or both of Saddam Hussein's top aides, Tariq Aziz and Nizar Hamdoon. Vincent also testified that he almost always relayed input from the Iraqi aides back to Timmons.


Talking points that Timmons produced for the lobbyists to help ease the sanctions, for example, were reviewed ahead of time by Aziz, Vincent testified in court. Proposals that Timmons himself circulated to U.S. officials as part of the effort were written with the assistance of the Iraqi officials, and were also sent ahead of time with Timmons' approval to Aziz, other records show.

Moreover, there was a major financial incentive at play for Timmons. The multi-million dollar oil deal that he was pursuing with the two other lobbyists would only be possible if their efforts to ease sanctions against Iraq were successful.