"You decide '08" aka pick the lesser of 2 evils you didn't want to begin with '08

[Crazy Gravy 100]

We've known this for years. And still a rush to this technology. Election laws specify updating system but its ass backwards to implement and continue to use a flawed technology. I still love the lever ones, if it aint broke dont fix it, unless the reason was to break the system. Idiots.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

TROOPERGATE INVESTIGATOR: PALIN 'UNLAWFULLY ABUSED HER AUTHORITY'

AlterNet

The news isn't good for the Republican vice presidential

nominee -- and is an unpleasant reminder of the power abuses

of the Bush years.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/102564/

WHY THE GOP IS NUTS ABOUT ACORN

By Richard L. Hasen, Huffington Post

Attacks on ACORN appear to be part of a broader GOP strategy

to shrink the number of Dem voters and sow doubts if the

election turns out to be close.

http://www.alternet.org/democracy/102557/

MEMO TO MEDIA: THE PALIN RAPE-KIT STORY HAS NOT BEEN 'DEBUNKED'

By Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America

The central, undisputed facts of Palin's actions remain

hidden in plain sight for all to see. It's time for the

press to take a closer look.

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/102327/

[Ladywriter 7,783]

World's Largest Food Fishery in Danger of Collapse

Dwindling Food Supply Puts Endangered Steller Sea Lions, Fishing Jobs in Jeopardy

WASHINGTON - A new survey conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service reveals that populations of Alaska pollock, the world's largest food fishery, have dropped 50 percent since last year. Pollock is America's most ubiquitous seafood product, found in McDonald's fish sandwiches, frozen fish sticks, fish and chips, and imitation crabmeat.

The assessment revealed that Bering Sea pollock stocks have declined to their lowest level on record - a startling development for a fishery NMFS' chief scientist recently called "one of the most successfully managed species in the world" and that has earned a Marine Stewardship Council certification.

In December, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will set the new pollock catch limits for 2009. Scientists and conservationists have warned that unless the Council reduces fishing pressure on pollock, a vital forage species for fur seals, whales, and endangered Steller sea lions, the entire Bering Sea ecosystem could be in jeopardy of collapse. This would prove devastating for the state's commercial fishermen and traditional coastal communities that depend on a healthy ocean for their livelihoods.

"Economic pressures to keep on fishing at such high levels have overwhelmed common sense," said Dr. Jeremy Jackson, Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "With the huge uncertainties inherent in fisheries models, a far more precautionary, ecosystem-based approach is required. Otherwise, fisheries managers are gambling with the health of our oceans and coastal communities."

Over the past several years, the pollock fishery has experienced poor juvenile survival rates and dwindling populations, forcing the council to reduce harvests in the past two fishing seasons. But experts say these actions have been inadequate, failing to prevent further declines. In order to restore the fishery's health, the allowable catch must be cut in half, fishing on spawning populations suspended, and marine reserves established to protect critical habitats.

"We are on the cusp of one of the largest fishery collapses in history," said John Hocevar, Greenpeace Oceans Campaign Director. "It may still be possible to prevent disaster, but the North Pacific Fishery Management Council must take swift and decisive action when they meet in December."

For background on the pollock fishery, see our report at: www.greenpeace.org/usa/rethinking

Contact: John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director

[Ladywriter 7,783]

OBAMA TALKS TOUGH ABOUT AFGHANISTAN; HERE'S WHAT HE'S REALLY IN FOR

By Anand Gopal, Tomdispatch.com

Afghanistan is filled with poor, jobless people who have

seen their families blown up by Americans. And they're

itching to get revenge.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/102340/

12 NEW STOMACH-TURNING REVELATIONS ABOUT SARAH PALIN

By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet

Palin has taken to smearing Obama. But it's her own record

that continues to yield alarming information, undermining

her skills and credibility.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/102345/

VOTER PURGES COULD CAUSE FLORIDA-LIKE PRESIDENTIAL RECOUNTS

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet

If the November vote is close, key swing states that have

been illegally rejecting voters could become recount

battlegrounds like Florida.

http://www.alternet.org/democracy/102374/

HOW SCARY THE ECONOMY WOULD BE IN MCCAIN'S HANDS

By Jared Bernstein, Huffington Post

McCain's economic plan contradicts his recently held

fundamental views and is far out of touch with the needs of

the country.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/101895/

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Jesse Jackson Jr. from the Huffington Post What the Republicans are Really Afraid of

The Republicans tried to make fun of Barack Obama as a community organizer at their national convention in Minnesota, which I guess just goes to show how little Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have to fear from right-wing "humor."

Now they've gone further: Now they're attacking ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), one of the strongest, hardest-working, most dedicated community organizations in both Chicago and in 40 states across the U.S.

Why are they after ACORN? Well, I'm sure they're going to come up with a lot of "reasons" in the coming days. But the real reason is obvious: Because ACORN, along with Project Vote, just announced that they had successfully registered 1.3 million poor people this year.

Get that? 1.3 million, including 148,000 in Pennsylvania, 152,000 in Florida, 217,000 in Michigan, and 238,000 in Ohio. No wonder the GOP is up in arms. They're scared of too many poor people preparing to vote this year.

In the last week, the right wing has tried to blame ACORN for the collapse of the globalized financial system--yeah, that's a viable argument. They got excited because they found a some possible fake registration forms in Florida, which predictably led to a bunch of whining from the party that stole an entire presidency from Al Gore by blocking vote counts, mischaracterizing voters as felons, refusing to recount entire counties, sending congressional staff down to riot and intimidate volunteer vote-counters, and topped it all off with the most partisan, badly-reasoned, illegitimate Supreme Court decision since Plessy v. Ferguson. A decision so illegitimate that the partisan majority, to their eternal discredit, themselves damned by writing into their own decision that it should never be used as a precedent for any other court ruling.

This week, the right-wing is hyperventilating because apparently Democratic election officials raided an ACORN office after they found the names of some Dallas Cowboy football players among the 80,000 new registration forms that ACORN helped to get done in Nevada.

Obviously it's not right for a fake "Tony Romo" to be registered in Las Vegas, so someone was probably playing a not-very-funny joke, or trying to pad their registration numbers to get paid a little more money rather than doing the hard work in the hot Nevada sun that helping voters to register requires, or maybe a provocateur was setting up ACORN for some bad press. But remember the basic point--it's not voter fraud unless someone shows up at the voting booth on election day and tries to pass himself off as "Tony Romo." And who would try to do that? No one is going to be that stupid.

The truth is, the main voter fraud efforts going on in my lifetime--and I was born the week of the Selma march in 1965--have been repeated conservative attempts, far too many of them successful, to demonize and suppress the vote of African-Americans and Latinos in election after election, a history for which former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman actually apologized a few years ago, while promising the GOP would no longer engage in such tactics.

So they stole an election from Gore, made the Department of Justice into an outfit for partisan hacks, allowed New Orleans to drown, lied us into a war against a country that did not threaten us, replaced science with bad ideology, indebted our grandchildren to China, and turned our banking system into a deregulated casino--but thank the Lord that "Tony Romo" will not be able to sneak in to vote in Nevada next month.

This time, there are already fake flyers mysteriously appearing on the streets of minority areas of Philadelphia, illegal voter purges in numerous states, "caging" tricks, threats of using home foreclosure lists to strike voters from the rolls, and "black box" electronic vote-counting systems under the control of private companies--and we haven't even gotten to election day!

Meanwhile, I say thank you, ACORN. Thank you, Project Vote, for taking our democracy seriously enough to try to include 1.3 million more poor people in a more perfect union.

Steven Rosenfeld: McCain's Racist ad

John McCain's latest ad attacking Barack Obama and ACORN, the low-income advocacy group whose members mostly are people of color, is not just false on the facts, it may be the most racist ad in presidential politics since 1988's infamous Willie Horton mug shot.

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[Ladywriter 7,783]

John McCain has promised the court to the right wing, and Roe v. Wade is first up on the chopping block.

BOSTON -- I really hate to bring it up. We already have two branches of our national government in full-scale meltdown. The president looks like a guy pleading before the parole board for early release. The Congress makes "dysfunctional" sound like a compliment.

But there is the third branch also in dire need of a rescue operation. Oyez, oyez, or should I say oy vey. I give you the Supreme Court.

When the court opens Monday, it will look like an oasis of calm in the capital. There are no neon-bright cases on the docket this term. Indeed, my personal favorite is the case of the "fleeting expletives," a suit brought against -- and made for -- Fox News, asking whether the FCC ban on dirty words covers the occasional Paris Hilton outburst.

But even the court's routine cases will wrestle with personal injury suits, job discrimination, sexual harassment and the environment. The not-so-fleeting fact is that the court ultimately touches every life. And so I come reluctantly to my quadrennial and usually futile plea to consider the court when you get into the presidential voting booth.

Most Americans have some guilty, civics-class understanding that the Supreme Court hangs in the electoral balance. More than 85 percent tell pollsters that the court is either very or somewhat important in how they cast their vote for president. But the court rarely rises to the top of the voting issues.

In support of my plea, take this pop quiz. What are the three longest lasting legacies of the Gerald Ford administration -- and the Betty Ford Clinic doesn't count. The answer? John Paul Stevens, John Paul Stevens, John Paul Stevens -- 88 years old and still on the bench. (OK, Dick Cheney was Ford's chief of staff, but let's not go there.)

George W. Bush's shadow will hover over the country long after he's gone, in the shape of John Roberts and Samuel Alito. In just three years and counting, the Roberts court has chilled desegregation efforts, allowed the first abortion ban with no exception for a woman's health, made it harder to claim employment discrimination, and easier to mix church and state.

In the cold world of actuarial tables, the next president is certain to have one choice and probably more. Candidates for retirement are Stevens, the 75-year-old Ruth Ginsburg and the homesick David Souter. That's three of the four moderate and liberal justices on a bench that has made an art of 5-4 decisions.

You do the math. If Obama is elected, the court will stay pretty much the way it is. If McCain is elected, Katie bar the door.

McCain, who plays a maverick on TV, promised the court to the right wing. He told the women of "The View": "I want people who interpret the Constitution of the United States the way our founding fathers envisioned for them to do so." This prompted Whoopi Goldberg to ask if she should worry about being returned to slavery.

Of course, slavery is not up for review and not every case comes with an ideological amicus brief. But you can count on one more Scalia, one more Alito, one more Roberts to limit or strike down the federal power for things such as cleaning the air and safeguarding workers. And need I remind you, McCain is out to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Pro-choice groups have been crying wolf for so long that it's hard to believe that the wolf is actually at the door. Or at least the border of South Dakota. There a full-tilt abortion ban on the November ballot with high-hurdle exceptions only for rape, incest and the life of a woman is pointed directly at Roe and targeted to arrive at the Supreme Court in time to greet a new justice. If what happens in South Dakota doesn't stay in South Dakota, a woman's right will depend on whether she has enough gas to drive to the next, or the next, or the next state.

Finally, if you want to know which candidate just plain values the Supreme Court, try checking out their first appointments, the vice presidents. Joe Biden has spent a career on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sarah Palin went blank when asked to talk about a single court case beside Roe v. Wade.

Ah yes, remember when only a few Cassandras warned that subprime mortgages and credit derivatives would affect everyday American life? We'll be paying for the next Supreme Court even longer. That's two branches of government down, folks, and one to go.

© 2008, Washington Post Writers Group

[Khellendross 1,260]

MMK! Just some front information, I dislike McCain. He seems fishy and likes flopping around on alot of Issues (Deregulation/Regulation being one of them)

But this just kinda ticked me off. McCain goes out of his way to say he supports the troops and bring up his own P.O.W. past.

This was a vote by the senate on Sept 20th, 2007.

Alphabetical by Senator Name

Akaka (D-HI), Yea

Alexander (R-TN), Nay

Allard (R-CO), Not Voting

Barrasso (R-WY), Nay

Baucus (D-MT), Yea

Bayh (D-IN), Yea

Bennett (R-UT), Nay

Biden (D-DE), Not Voting

Bingaman (D-NM), Yea

Bond (R-MO), Nay

Boxer (D-CA), Yea

Brown (D-OH), Yea

Brownback (R-KS), Nay

Bunning (R-KY), Nay

Burr (R-NC), Nay

Byrd (D-WV), Yea

Cantwell (D-WA), Not Voting

Cardin (D-MD), Yea

Carper (D-DE), Yea

Casey (D-PA), Yea

Chambliss (R-GA), Nay

Clinton (D-NY), Yea

Coburn (R-OK), Nay

Cochran (R-MS), Nay

Coleman (R-MN), Nay

Collins (R-ME), Nay

Conrad (D-ND), Yea

Corker (R-TN), Nay

Cornyn (R-TX), Nay

Craig (R-ID), Nay

Crapo (R-ID), Nay

DeMint (R-SC), Nay

Dodd (D-CT), Yea

Dole (R-NC), Nay

Domenici (R-NM), Nay

Dorgan (D-ND), Yea

Durbin (D-IL), Yea

Ensign (R-NV), Nay

Enzi (R-WY), Nay

Feingold (D-WI), Nay

Feinstein (D-CA), Yea

Graham (R-SC), Nay

Grassley (R-IA), Nay

Gregg (R-NH), Nay

Hagel (R-NE), Yea

Harkin (D-IA), Yea

Hatch (R-UT), Nay

Hutchison (R-TX), Nay

Inhofe (R-OK), Nay

Inouye (D-HI), Yea

Isakson (R-GA), Nay

Johnson (D-SD), Yea

Kennedy (D-MA), Yea

Kerry (D-MA), Yea

Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea

Kohl (D-WI), Yea

Kyl (R-AZ), Nay

Landrieu (D-LA), Yea

Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea

Leahy (D-VT), Yea

Levin (D-MI), Yea

Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea

Lincoln (D-AR), Yea

Lott (R-MS), Nay

Lugar (R-IN), Nay

Martinez (R-FL), Nay

McCain (R-AZ), Nay

McCaskill (D-MO), Yea

McConnell (R-KY), Nay

Menendez (D-NJ), Yea

Mikulski (D-MD), Yea

Murkowski (R-AK), Nay

Murray (D-WA), Yea

Nelson (D-FL), Yea

Nelson (D-NE), Yea

Obama (D-IL), Yea

Pryor (D-AR), Yea

Reed (D-RI), Yea

Reid (D-NV), Yea

Roberts (R-KS), Nay

Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea

Salazar (D-CO), Yea

Sanders (I-VT), Yea

Schumer (D-NY), Yea

Sessions (R-AL), Nay

Shelby (R-AL), Nay

Smith (R-OR), Nay

Snowe (R-ME), Nay

Specter (R-PA), Yea

Stabenow (D-MI), Yea

Stevens (R-AK), Nay

Sununu (R-NH), Nay

Tester (D-MT), Yea

Thune (R-SD), Nay

Vitter (R-LA), Nay

Voinovich (R-OH), Nay

Warner (R-VA), Nay

Webb (D-VA), Yea

Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea

Wyden (D-OR), Yea

What was the vote for?

"To reaffirm strong support for all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and to strongly condemn attacks on the honor, integrity, and patriotism of any individual who is serving or has served honorably in the United States Armed Forces, by any person or organization."

The vote needed a 3/5ths majority to pass, it failed 50 Y to 47 N.

Library of Congress link here.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Gov. Sarah Palin: I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way that you and I see America, as the greatest source for good in this world. I'm afraid this is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.

Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Pub. L. No. 107-52) expanded the definition of terrorism to cover ""domestic,"" as opposed to international, terrorism. A person engages in domestic terrorism if they do an act ""dangerous to human life"" that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if the act appears to be intended to: (i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping. Additionally, the acts have to occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States and if they do not, may be regarded as international terrorism.

Section 802 does not create a new crime of domestic terrorism. However, it does expand the type of conduct that the government can investigate when it is investigating ""terrorism."" The USA PATRIOT Act expanded governmental powers to investigate terrorism, and some of these powers are applicable to domestic terrorism.

The definition of domestic terrorism is broad enough to encompass the activities of several prominent activist campaigns and organizations. Greenpeace, Operation Rescue, Vieques Island and WTO protesters and the Environmental Liberation Front have all recently engaged in activities that could subject them to being investigated as engaging in domestic terrorism.

One recent example is the Vieques Island protests, when many people, including several prominent Americans, participated in civil disobedience on a military installation where the United States government has been engaging in regular military exercises, which these protesters oppose. The protesters illegally entered the military base and tried to obstruct the bombing exercises. This conduct would fall within the definition of domestic terrorism because the protesters broke federal law by unlawfully entering the airbase and their acts were for the purpose of influencing a government policy by intimidation or coercion. The act of trying to disrupt bombing exercises arguably created a danger to human life - their own and those of military personnel. Using this hypothetical as a starting point, we will go through the USA PATRIOT Act and explore the new governmental powers that could be brought to bear on Vieques Island protesters whose conduct falls within the overbroad definition of domestic terrorism.

Seizure of assets - Sec. 806: Section 806 of the Act could result in the civil seizure of their assets without a prior hearing, and without them ever being convicted of a crime. It is by far the most significant change of which political organizations need to be aware. Section 806 amended the civil asset forfeiture statute to authorize the government to seize and forfeit: all assets, foreign or domestic (i) of any individual, entity, or organization engaged in planning or perpetrating any act of domestic or international terrorism against the United States, or their property, and all assets, foreign or domestic, affording any person a source of influence over any such entity or organization or (ii) acquired or maintained by any person with the intent and for the purpose of supporting, planning, conducting, or concealing an act of domestic or international terrorism against the United States, citizens or residents of the United States or their property or (iii) derived from, involved in, or used or intended to be used to commit any act of domestic or international terrorism against the United States, citizens or residents of the United States, or their property.

This language is broad enough to authorize the government to seize any assets of any individuals involved in the Vieques Island protests or of any organization supporting the protests of which the person is a member, or from any individuals who were supporting the protesters in any way. Possible supporters of the protesters could include student organizations that sponsored participation in the demonstration, the Rainbow/Push Coalition, the Rev. Sharpton's National Action Network, and religious or community organizations that provided housing or food to the protesters.

The civil asset forfeiture power of the United States government is awesome. The government can seize and/or freeze the assets on the mere assertion that there is probable cause to believe that the assets were involved in domestic terrorism. The assets are seized before a person is given a hearing, and often without notice. In order to permanently forfeit the assets, the government must go before a court, but at a civil hearing, and the government is only required to prove that the assets were involved in terrorism by a preponderance of the evidence. Because it is a civil proceeding, a person is not entitled to be represented by an attorney at public expense if they cannot afford to pay an attorney. The time between seizure and forfeiture can sometimes be months; meanwhile, organizations or individuals whose assets are seized are forced to make do without the assets. Only the most financially flush non-profit organizations would be able to successfully defend themselves against government forfeiture. In short, without the full due process afforded in criminal cases, the U.S. government can bankrupt political organizations it asserts are involved in domestic terrorism.

Disclosure of educational records - Sec. 507 This provision of the USA PATRIOT Act requires a judge to issue an order permitting the government to obtain private educational records if the Attorney General or his designee certifies that the records are necessary for investigating domestic or international terrorism. No independent judicial finding is required to verify that the records are relevant. This means that the Attorney General may obtain the private educational records of a student involved in the Vieques protests by asserting that the records are relevant to a domestic terrorism investigation. These records may include information such as a student's grades, private medical information (counseling, abortions), which organizations the student belonged to, or any other information that the educational institution collects about its students.

Disclosure of information from National Education Statistics Act - Sec. 508 This provision of the USA PATRIOT Act requires a judge to issue an order for the government to obtain educational records that have been collected pursuant to the National Education Statistics Act. NESA includes a vast amount of identifiable student information from academic performance to health information, family income, and race. Until now, this information has been held to strict confidentiality requirements without exception. Again, all the government needs to certify is that the information is relevant to a terrorism investigation and the court has no choice but to issue the order.

Single-Jurisdiction Search Warrants (Sec. 219) This section of the USA PATRIOT Act amends Rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize the government to go before a singe Federal magistrate judge in any judicial district in which activities relating to the terrorism may have occurred, to obtain a warrant to search property or a person within or outside the district. This means that the government could go to a single judge to get a warrant to search the property or person of the Vieques activists in New York, Chicago, California, or wherever else the protesters were from. If the government chose to go before a magistrate in New York, a person in California, who wished to seek to have the warrant quashed because he or she believed it was invalid, would have to find a way to appear before the New York court that issued the warrant. This would be a daunting task for most.

Post-PATRIOT Act Laws

Since passage of the PATRIOT Act, two other new laws have passed that implicate domestic terrorism.

Taxpayer Information - 26 U.S.C.A. Sec. 6103(i)(3)© requires the Secretary of the Internal Revenue Service to provide taxpayer information to the appropriate Federal law enforcement agency responsible for investigating or responding to the terrorist incident. If abused, this provision could be used by law enforcement to gain access to confidential taxpayer information of political protesters.

Regulation of biological agents and toxins - 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 262a and 7 U.S.C.A. Sec. 8401 regulate biological agents and toxins. If a person is involved with an organization that engages in domestic or international terrorism, he or she is not permitted to gain access to these regulated agents. Under the law, the Attorney General identifies individuals involved in ""terrorism"" to the Department of Agriculture. Once the person is listed, he or she cannot get access to any of the regulated agents or toxins. This provision will probably not impact most people, however, it might impact someone such as a scientist who might regularly use biological agents or toxins in their work.

Conclusion - The ACLU does not oppose criminal prosecution of people who violate the law, even if they are doing it for political purposes. However, we do oppose the broad definition of terrorism and the ensuing authority that flows from that definition. One way to ensure that the conduct that falls within the definition of domestic terrorism is in fact terrorism is to limit the scope of the conduct that triggers the definition. Thus, domestic terrorism could include acts which ""cause serious physical injury or death"" rather than all acts that are ""dangerous to human life."" This more narrow definition will exclude the conduct of organizations and individuals that engage in minor acts of property damage or violence.

ACLU

[Ladywriter 7,783]

If you have looked in this thread

If you laid eyes on my Palin sig

or

Dx's current sig

if you participated in any of those campaigns in Take Action

If you or someone on your buddy list has posted in 1408

If you have been within 25 feet of a computer viewing AC

you might be a domestic terrorist

[Myk JL 1,730]

If you have looked in this thread

If you laid eyes on my Palin sig

or

Dx's current sig

if you participated in any of those campaigns in Take Action

If you or someone on your buddy list has posted in 1408

If you have been within 25 feet of a computer viewing AC

you might be a domestic terrorist

BUT if you watch Fox News you might be a Redneck...

[Ladywriter 7,783]

I was wondering who'd catch that X'D

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Backlash: Six Challenges to McCain's Racist Fearmongering

_LXMMmfd1lw

[Ladywriter 7,783]

VZu3wOhsvXs

[Ladywriter 7,783]

AlterNet readers respond to the latest evidence of just how bad Sarah Palin is for an office that puts her a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Bgroat makes the point that by McCain and Palin's standards, McCain would be considered a "terrorist":

... the fact that McCain has worked with Obama for the past four years puts him in the same boat. In other words, they can't paint Obama as a terrorist using their logic without simultaneously painting McCain as one, as McCain, through working in the Senate with Obama, has done exactly the same thing they accuse Obama of doing (associating with former member of the Weather Underground Bill Ayers).

Waimea Witch agrees, pointing out that if we judge politicians by their "associates," we should be deeply concerned that every Washington senator is on the verge of lobbing bombs at federal buildings:

... Senator Robert Byrd is an ex-KKK member, so, does that make every member of the Senate a domestic terrorist by association?

Purple Girl invokes yet another fine illustration of the maxim about stones and glass houses, pointing out that unlike Barack Obama, Sarah Palin actually shares the ideologies of many domestic terrorists:

Sarah has some Ideologies which are akin to some rather notorious Domestic Terrorists -- McVeigh (hated U.S. Govt too), Charlie Manson (End Of Dayer, with Death Valley as the "Refuge"), and of course the "Pro Lifers" who thought nothing of Bombing Planned Parenthood Clinics, assassinating MD and Blowing a Pipe bomb Off in the middle of the Atlanta Olympics. Strike 3 Sarah, YOU ARE A BONAFIDE SOCIOPATH. Terrorist Doctrines spew out your mouth, and have been unearthed from your Recent History.

Jest2007 highlights another worrisome aspect of Palin's history: her connection to the Alaskan Independence Party, a radical organization that calls for Alaska's succession from the United States:

Maybe this would be a good time to examine Palin's association with the AIP. The AIP's creation was inspired by the rabidly violent anti-Americanism of its founding father Joe Vogler. The central purpose of the AIP is to drive Alaska's secession from the United States. In 1992 Vogler renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He cursed the stars and stripes, promising, "I won't be buried under their damned flag ... when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism.

dayahka

optimistically argues that all the recent revelations about Palin are essentially irrelevant, since soon enough the Alaska governor will disappear from the national spotlight:

Palin will shortly return to Alaska and will probably be recalled, impeached, censured, and/or jailed. But what of the reckless fool who put this scum on the national scene?

But

Truthteller

is less optimistic, writing that despite Palin's recent embarrassments, she could still help the Republican ticket pull in a last-minute win:

I've been saying for a long time that I believe the fix is in and McCain is going to "win" another stolen election. I just couldn't see how they could get it close enough to steal before the Palin selection. Now, I can. All the arguments are in place to explain away the theft like they were four years ago -- religious voters make last-minute turnout surge, they don't like talking to exit pollers, or lie to them to fuck with the results.

Tom Degan

agrees, pointing out that there's nothing new about Republicans appealing to their base with incompetent candidates:

Twenty years ago, Poppy Bush nominated a man who had all the substance of a department store mannequin -- and yet the GOP won that election! The Democrats have every reason to be cautious. Given the American people's absolute genius for doing the wrong thing in the voting booth, anything can happen between now and Election Day -- and probably will.

Lreal

also argues that while Palin's methods are detestable, they may turn out to be effective:

The history books of the future will show that the Republicans from 1980 to present and probably at least 10 years into the future is a party of dangerous demagoguery. Sarah Palin, and the acceptance by the majority of people in her own party shows that a demagogue mentality can get you far within this sector of the population no matter your true and obvious intellect. This also shows that if you can magnify this demagogue quality, then it can replace intelligence as a matter of accepted quality; and any opponent with a bit of intelligence is a liberal elite, no matter how much more humble they are than the subject.

Spritgirl

writes that McCain and Palin are resorting to the usual Republican tactics: using Rovian character assaults to get bad candidates into office:

... the McShame/Failin ticket should not be rewarded for their efforts! These tactics of appealing thru peoples fears are straight out of the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove book, they are despicable and dangerous! Since they cannot run on the issues, they should both just sit down and shut up!!! These are extremely desperate attempts by two very unqualified individuals to get into the Oval Office! Their theory of divide (the body politic) and conquer appeals to those sheeple that want to be led around, and hopefully they will lead themselves and their sheeple off a cliff!

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Obama/Biden

McCain/Palin

official campaign websites

[Ladywriter 7,783]

McCain, the son and grandson of four-star Navy admirals, was nearly a decade into a rather undistinguished career as a Navy pilot when he was shot down over North Vietnam in October 1967, landing him for the next five and a half years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp.

Before his plane went down, he had spent about 20 hours in combat in the skies over Vietnam, dropping high explosives on the towns and people below during short flights from an American aircraft carrier parked in the South China Sea.

He had volunteered to participate in an operation known as “Rolling Thunder” launched by the Democratic administration of President Lyndon Johnson in an attempt to break the will of the Vietnamese people. The aim was to use sustained bombing to destroy the country’s economy and infrastructure and kill or maim large numbers of its citizens.

Before the war was over, US warplanes dropped close to eight million tons of explosives—four times the bombs dropped in all of World War II—on a country roughly the size of New Mexico. This, the most intense and sustained bombing campaign in history, devastated Vietnam’s cities and destroyed its industrial, transportation and communications infrastructure.

Before the war was over, some five million Vietnamese were killed, many of them victims of US aerial bombardments.

In his book Vietnam: A History, veteran journalist Stanley Karnow presents the account given by a Vietnamese peasant of one bombing raid: “The bombing started at about eight o’clock in the morning and lasted for hours. When we first heard the explosions, we rushed into the tunnels but not everyone made it. When there was a pause in the attack, some of us climbed out to see what we could do, and the scene was terrifying. Bodies had been torn to pieces—limbs were hanging from trees and scattered around the ground. The bombing began again, this time with napalm, and the village went up in flames. The napalm hit me. I felt as if I was burning all over, like a piece of coal. I lost consciousness. Friends took me to the hospital, and my wounds didn’t begin to heal until six months later. Over 200 people died in the raid, including my mother, sister-in-law and three nephews. They were buried alive when the tunnel collapsed.”

What is described here is not an act of heroism, but a war crime carried out by what was militarily the most powerful nation on earth against an impoverished and historically oppressed country.

When McCain was shot down, he was completing such a bombing run against a power plant in a heavily populated area of Hanoi.

McCain’s survival after parachuting into Hanoi is testimony to the humanity of the Vietnamese people and was owed in particular to one Vietnamese worker who swam into the lake where the wounded pilot had landed, pulled him out before he drowned and then protected him from an enraged crowd.

One can only imagine the reaction if a foreign pilot—whose own country was never attacked—were to parachute into Phoenix or any other US city or town after bombing raids that had torn men, women and children to pieces and reduced homes to rubble.

more

[Crazy Gravy 100]

Mcains campaign is putting out automated phone ads declarying Obama as currently talking to and working with anti american terrorists. Lie, but thats where Mcain is now. Mcarthhyism, commie, damn cant they just call him black. Obama was in his teens when he met with the american terroist and that was in the 60's everyone against war was a terrorist, sound familiar. But mccains ad says obama is in talks now with terrorists, and the phone ad was approved by mccain. WTF, Lady. sorry to step on your toes but this is important. Mccains and rep need another 9/11. Get it fuckers, vote Obama, No more fear based rep support.

Edited October 17, 2008 by Crazy Gravy

[Ladywriter 7,783]

McCaines and the like are responsible for 9/11; not foreign terrorists

I say we bomb their houses instead of public places, too bad we don't know which house McSame prefers

Funk post lots more stuff! woot!

[Ladywriter 7,783]

From the editors:

Voting: All the Help You Need

We're going to make voting easier for you, your family and friends. Voting should be simple, but sometimes it isn't. So you have to be on your toes and help others who aren't as focused. If possible, vote early or absentee. This decreases crowds and frees you up to help others on election day. All voters should check to make sure they are registered. And confirm your voting locations -- especially early voting. Go to this great new service at www.GoVote.org and find out how to vote early, where to go, and if you are registered.

The site has Google maps, polling locators, campus info., the works: check it out!!

___________________________________________________________

THE 10 BIGGEST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OBAMA AND MCCAIN THAT WILL AFFECT YOUR DAILY LIFE

AlterNet

The next president will influence everything from your

Internet access to your ability to pay medical bills.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/103387/

CAN OBAMA TURN THE ECONOMY AROUND?

By Mike Davis, Tomdispatch.com

The Obama campaign's national security priorities may be at

odds with its domestic policy goals, namely the financial

crisis.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/103395/

REPUBLICANS ABUSE PROSECUTORIAL POWERS TO INTIMIDATE VOTERS

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet

From the FBI to Ohio county prosecutors, GOP-connected

lawmen are seeking to scare new voters.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/103398/

PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTORS WRITING THE NEWS? THE PENTAGON'S PROPAGANDA AT ITS WORST

By Liliana Segura, AlterNet

Months after the Pentagon pundits flap, the Department of

Defense continues to hand down contracts for propaganda in

Iraq and beyond.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/103345/

MCCAIN WAS NOT TORTURED, POW GUARD CLAIMS

By John Hooper, The Guardian

An interview with the chief prison guard of the North

Vietnamese jail in which McCain was held claims, "We never

tortured McCain."

http://www.alternet.org/election08/103233/

MCCAIN MOCKS WOMEN'S HEALTH

By Peggy Simpson, The Women's Media Center

McCain showed in Wednesday's debate that he doesn't value

women and will gladly belittle anyone who does.

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/103392/

___________________________________________________________

AlterNet Blogs:

MCCAIN 'CATEGORICALLY' PROUD OF HATEFUL RALLY ATTENDEES

By ZP Heller, Brave New Films

Watch McCain weasel out of accountability for his own

bigoted supporters.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/103346/

JOE THE PLUMBER: NOT A TAX EXPERT

By Sam Stein, Huffington Post

A representative at the court explained that Wurzelbacher

had not paid $1,182.98 of personal income tax.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/103361/

THE SLEEPING GIANT AWAKES: LATINOS ARE READY TO VOTE

By Duke1676, Daily Kos

Recently released data on voter registration points to the

dawn of a new political reality.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/103403/

UNACCEPTABLE GOP MAILING PROJECTS RACIST STEREOTYPES ON OBAMA

By Amanda Terkel, Think Progress

Despicable.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/103322/

___________________________________________________________

These stories, videos, blog posts, and more are available on

AlterNet.

http://www.alternet.org/

[Myk JL 1,730]

McCaines and the like are responsible for 9/11; not foreign terrorists

I say we bomb their houses instead of public places, too bad we don't know which house McSame prefers

Funk post lots more stuff! woot!

At the rate people are losing houses with McCain buying houses the answer won't be long that it will be "All Of Them"... Who knows... We might find Osama in one of McCain's houses too...

[Ladywriter 7,783]

X'd

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Powell endorses Obama for president

Republican ex-secretary of state calls Democrat ‘transformational figure

Sarah Palin On SNL With Tina Fey, Weekend Update's Alaska Rap, Baldwin And Wahlberg (VIDEO)

[Crazy Gravy 100]

Republicans call Dems Traitors for wanting to set up a madatory pullout date because it doesnt address conditions on the ground. What they're not saying and is the plan now with Iraq. No pull out til 2013, after the next presidential election, because they dont want it to interfere with politics. This plan also has no determination of conditions on the ground. Again republican hypocracy. Lets just go ahead and continue to waste trillions of dollars. No matter when we leave, the conditions in Iraq will be the same. This has been reported on msnbc but nowhere else. Republicans are gonna pay, There will be a one party in office and congress. The dems, and their job again, after another bush. Fix the damage the republicans caused.

[Inuyasha88 66]

Bob Avakian for GLORIOUS PROLETARIAT LEADER, '08

[Ladywriter 7,783]

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