Chris Matthews Eviscerates Neocon Frank Gaffney: "4,000 People Are Dead Because Of The Way You Feel" (VIDEO)

"January 26, 1998



The Honorable William J. Clinton

President of the United States

Washington, DC



Dear Mr. President:



We are writing you because we are convinced that current American policy toward Iraq is not succeeding, and that we may soon face a threat in the Middle East more serious than any we have known since the end of the Cold War. In your upcoming State of the Union Address, you have an opportunity to chart a clear and determined course for meeting this threat. We urge you to seize that opportunity, and to enunciate a new strategy that would secure the interests of the U.S. and our friends and allies around the world. That strategy should aim, above all, at the removal of Saddam Hussein"s regime from power. We stand ready to offer our full support in this difficult but necessary endeavor."



-SNIP-



"Sincerely,



Elliott Abrams Richard L. Armitage William J. Bennett



Jeffrey Bergner John Bolton Paula Dobriansky



Francis Fukuyama Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad



William Kristol Richard Perle Peter W. Rodman



Donald Rumsfeld William Schneider, Jr. Vin Weber



Paul Wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert B. Zoellick"



http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm



Please ... Enough!
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Iraqi Throws Shoes At Bush During Press Conference (VIDEO)(SLIDESHOW)

A lot of Chicago in the air these days ... Blago ... Obama ... and now, ala the Blues Brothers, Bush gets a chance at being "Sole Man"!
About Slideshows
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Modern-Day Pyramids

But we are thinking small here ... what about Mortgages for everyone with an ID card and the ability to make an "X" on a document? There is a lot of money for the Pyramid there! And if we encourage flipping of real estate and irrational appraisals to insanely inflate the property values, the sky's them limit for CMOs we can generate from that! Brilliant! Factor in home owners tapping into the equity of their over valued homes with loans and there is another CDO opportunity!



It is an AMAZING plan, Mr Franken ,,, and as long as the credit markets don't freeze causing the inflated securities' values to collapse (silly thought) we will be living high on the hog!



Are we good or what? Let's give it a shot!
About Economy
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Modern-Day Pyramids

Agreed, Mr. Franken.



How about this idea? A Pyramid scheme based on taking debt and turning it into securities that are then sliced into derivatives, inflated in value, and pumped into the perpetual motion machines of the World Float Market?



But how to sustain such a money making mechanism? Well first of all ... duh ... you have to get rid of all the regulations you can and compromise the regulatory agencies that remain, not a problem.



Then there is the issue of fresh money coming into the Pyramid at the bottom ... how to do that? Ah hah! Easy credit! Credit Cards for EVERYONE! That'll do it! Who cares if the card holders amass access to credit they could never pay in six lifetimes were they to use it all? it's the CDOs from their debt we want as octane for the Pyramid ... besides, draconian bankruptcy laws will keep them in line, as long as they don't all default at once, but that would require a Crash. No way!



cont ...
About Economy
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Lessons from Bernie

Mr. Solin, I am very weary of the narrative that is developing about Madoff being the "Lone Nut" of Money Managers. Of course someone with such a huge cloud of suspicion becomes a titan of his industry. Everyday, shiesters are accepted into the bosom of their community and are celebrated.



When the ENRON collapse took place everyone was dumbfounded by the irresponsible accounting practices that Arthur Anderson was engaged in ... Shocking! At the time of the scandal I was talking with a colleague whose brother was employed with one of the other "Big Five" Accounting firms at the time. His brother told him that everything that Arthur Anderson was being attacked over was standard operating procedure in the Accounting Industry ... they just suffered from have one of their clients collapse because of it. So Arthur Anderson took a bullet for the Accounting Industry and whether or not the remaining "Big Five" learned the errors of their ways will become more apparent as the economy continues to disintegrate.



I have no doubt that Madoff is a criminal and a scoundrel, but I am not ready to buy there is anything unique about him in terms of his industry.
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Unexpurgated Blago: Barack Obama is a "Motherf**ker" and More

Fast forward to January 19, 2017 ...



Phone rings in the White House ...



ring ... ring ... ring ... ring ...



"Hello, this is President Obama ... Sorry I missed your call, but I am in New Orleans accepting the key to the reconstructed City from Mayor Shearer ... please leave a message of any length and I will get back to you as soon as I can."



BEEEEEEP!!!!!



"Yo President Obama ... this is Blago. I left youse quite a number of messages about the ... you know ... pardon deal. I tink I got about as much rehabilitation as I can from this Prison Establishment ting and I'm ready to do ... ah ... some a dem selfless good works ... I ah ... hears people talking about. I mean, eh, I am very sorry for trying to hock your Senate seat. I mean. dat Fitz is quite a sonofa ... I mean. He's good, very good ... how's da basta .. ah .. gentlemen enjoying being your AG? I new da guy woulda find a way into da slot ... da worm. And, about the past ... it's the past. You know? I mean, so I called you a mutha fuc ... I mean, come on it's Chicago for crissake ... people have been called worser! Listen, the guards giving me the eye ... just get back to me about the pardon ... the hair gel is crap here! ... You der? I tink YOU THERE!!
About Rod Blagojevich
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Saving the Big 3 for You and Me

Mr Moore, I bought my first car used for $1000 with over 100k miles on it, a 1970 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I drove it like Steve McQueen through the Streets of San Francisco. I'd get airborne cresting some of our hills and, with dead shocks and springs, bottom out righteously with a monstrous scrape and a plume of sparks ... it was heaven. I beat it up, rarely changed the oil and lasted far longer than I would have expected. It was a Great American Car.



Years later I got what I thought was a deal when my great aunt sold me her 1992 Mercury Sable LS, with only 16k of miles on it for $7000. The car was only driven from my relatives' home to a supermarket a couple of blocks away. The car was luxurious, with every bell and whistle you could wish for, and was an unadulterated piece of cr#p. I put almost as much money into fixing it as I did buying it. When crossing the Bay Bridge the car's engine would lose compression and cause the thing to shake like a beast was trapped within it. My terrified wife would actually pray the rosary. The Sable cured me of American cars. I haven't owned one since.



My guess is the high quality of UAW labor hasn't changed from 1970 to 1992, but the management philosophy sure did, A government buyout of the Big Three would be the answer, for Corporate Management has failed this industry.
About The Bailouts
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Homeland Security Department In Total Disarray

First thing that is necessary is a renaming of the department. "Homeland Security"? Since when did the United States of America become the "Homeland"?



"My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!"



Where does it say "Homeland" in that stanza? How about we dispense with the Richard Wagnerization fo the US Government and rename DHS the Department of Domestic Security? We have a precedent ... The War Department became the Department of Defense.



I hear Homeland Security and the Darth Vader theme comes to mind.
About President Obama
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The <em>New Yorker</em> "Vets" Obama

I mean, it's bad enough to have the President-Elect sitting on the commode talking to a dog, but why in the world is Axelrod in the CR with him? Is this some sort of subliminal LBJ reference?



(Actually I'm kidding, but it does strike me as though the drawing represents the Presidential Throne on Air Force One for some reason.)
About Barack Obama
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Paul Krugman: Why We Didn't See The Economic Crisis Coming

In a previous employment incarnation I worked in a high security cash handling unit for a major financial institution. The environment had guards, team custody, double custody, pocket-less uniforms and full coverage surveillance via banks of videotaping cameras. In short, security was intense ... and yet, employees continued to attempt defalcation. Stealing. I saw cash handlers, managers, and even guards caught for ripping off the bank. And each one of them knew that every move they made was being watched.



Now look at the current mayhem in our economy ... what caused it? Why didn't the experts see the crisis coming? Well, let's see. The banks were allowed to merge their commercial and investment sides for the first time since the Great Depression in 1999 with the vacating of Glass-Steagall. Then the Banks were deregulated, and the Hedge Funds were deregulated, and Commodities Trading was deregulated ...



Hmm, if human beings are willing to engage in theft of money when they KNOW they are under surveillance, how would they behave with none?



All of these great economic minds are pulling their hair out trying to determine how this mess snuck up on them, but the one overriding factor at the heart of the matter is not to be found in any of their graphs, charts, or spreadsheets. ...



Human Nature.
About Economy
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Fox News Shut Out At Obama's Pressers

Fox News has had its back rubbed and feet massaged by the Bush/Cheney Administration for the last 8 years. Talk about access, when one of your anchors becomes White House Press Secretary ... well, you don't get much more insider than that.



Had Fox News actually lived up to their slogan "Fair and Balanced" instead of making it an obvious punchline ... maybe the incoming Administration would treat the organization as credible.



Here's an idea, why doesn't Fox News send one of its less compromised talents to cover the White House? ... or better yet, hire someone new without all the propaganda baggage .. then when a Fox News representative raises a hand someone may take actually notice.
About President Obama
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Obama's Treasury Secretary A Cursing, Skateboarding "Hipster-Wonk"

"In temperament he seems similar to Mr Obama: he is suspicious of ideology, questions received wisdom, likes a competition of ideas and is keenly aware of how uncertain the world is."



In short, he, like Obama, is a member of Generation Jones ... the generation at the end of the Baby Boom who have quietly played cleanup for their highly publicized predecessors.



Where as the theme song for the Baby Boomers may have been "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow", Generation Jones tacks more for "Don't Fear the Reaper"... or "Bat Out of Hell"



" ... I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram



On a silver black phantom bike



When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry



And we're all about to see the light



Nothing ever grows in this rotten old hole



Everything is stunted and lost



And nothing really rocks



And nothing really rolls



And nothing's ever worth the cost



And I know that I'm damned if I never get out



And maybe I'm damned if I do



But with every other beat I got left in my heart



You know I'd rather be damned with you"



(Gotta love Jim Steinman)
About Obama Transition
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Kinsley Warns Of Coming Blogopocalypse

Well that puts a cloud over my plans for a ZiraGlam Blog. I was thinking a site that was devoted to my Zira Planet of the Apes action figure posing in knockoffs from Project Runway would be a certain hit generator.



Zira does have an remarkable figure for a 6 inch plastic toy.



Oh well, another dream shattered,



(Oh, that would be the Original Zira poseable action figure, not the more recent "re-imagined" Zira from Tim Burton's massacre. Even Versace himself couldn't dress that Zira successfully.)
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Study: "Center-Right Nation" Narrative Spiked Immediately After Election Day

Many Americans are very much like the old man in whorehouse from Catch 22:



"Capt. Nately: Don't you have any principles?

Old man in whorehouse: Of course not!

Capt. Nately: No morality?

Old man in whorehouse: I'm a very moral man, and Italy is a very moral country. That's why we will certainly come out on top again if we succeed in being defeated.

Capt. Nately: You talk like a madman.

Old man in whorehouse: But I live like a sane one. I was a fascist when Mussolini was on top. Now that he has been deposed, I am anti-fascist. When the Germans were here, I was fanatically pro-German. Now I'm fanatically pro-American. You'll find no more loyal partisan in all of Italy than myself.

Capt. Nately: You're a shameful opportunist! What you don't understand is that it's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

Old man in whorehouse: You have it backwards. It's better to live on your feet than to die on your knees. I know.

Capt. Nately: How do you know?

Old man in whorehouse: Because I am 107-years-old. How old are you?

Capt. Nately: I'll be 20 in January.

Old man in whorehouse: If you live."



Many Americans will be fanatically center-right until they're not.
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O'Reilly, Ingraham Stoke Fairness Doctrine Paranoia

Reinstating the Fairness Doctrine would be a good thing. Anything that dilutes the right wing rhetoric that has been allowed to brainwash vast regions of the United States for the last 20 years is of benefit to a nation that aspires to move forward and not backward. I do not see the reason to retreat from reinstatement of balanced exchange of ideas on the Nation's Airwaves.



And a bit of trivia on the murder of the Fairness Doctrine in the first place. Our friends on the Right were so thrilled with the success of the killing of the FD that they rewarded the Judges that rendered the judgment that hastened its demise with a shot at the Supreme Court.



"In 1986, Judges Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that the Fairness Doctrine did apply to teletext but that the FCC was not required to apply it."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine
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Stocks tumble for second day; Treasurys surge

The possible collapse of the auto industry is a tangential reason for what is occurring on Wall Street. None of the fat cats are going to mouth these words:



"We spent the last 9, unregulated, avarice driven, years creating a monstrous financial pyramid scheme, designed to produce massive short term quarterly profits at the expense of long term economic stability and solvency, and that pyramid has sucked in capital from throughout the world economy, and that pyramid is in the process of rapid collapse, and we have no strategy, tools, or ability to stop it."



You won't hear those words from anyone of authority in Business or Government ... but that doesn't mean they aren't thinking it every day.
About Financial Crisis
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World Leaders Don't Shake Bush's Hand At G20 Summit (VIDEO)

I think we are misinterpreting what we are seeing here. I would love to kick Bush while he's down as much as anyone else here, but I think I would be missing the true, important message of this snub.



These are highly choreographed events. These are World Leaders representing 20 key Nations on earth. These aren't low level Foreign Ministers.



What we have here is a repudiation of the United States of America's economic leadership. Bush just happens to be the current President. The US strong armed the World into severe market liberalization at the cost of domestic economies and hardship for the citizens of these nations. The United States promised a pot of gold at the end of Milton Friedman's Rainbow, and the pot of gold turned out to be a chamberpot of dross.



There isn't a World Leader on that stage who isn't suffering tremendous political damage at home for the state of the World Economy ... and the US, in cahoots with the World Bank and the IMF, led the world to this misery.



So we shouldn't get too giddy about Bush being dissed ... the message sent, loud and clear, to the entire World was ... "the United States did this to us."



And that doesn't make Obama's job any easier.
About George Bush
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Dow 8000: Markets Plummet Again

Oh, this is nothing ... the Markets are going to head south Big Time. We haven't experienced the crash yet. We have been bumping along the rapids on the way to the falls, but we aren't to the falls yet.



This is what people have to remember ... this is key. We are where we are because the Banks were allowed to consolidate their commercial and investment wings thanks to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. Then on top of that all banking was deregulated, the SEC was de-fanged, Hedge Funds were deregulated and Wall Street was allowed to do pretty much anything they wanted, as irresponsibly as was possible in a highly competitive way,



So what was done was massive fraud and manipulation of float and leveraging to the tune of trillions upon trillions upon trillions upon trillions upon trillions. Now the cute thing about this fraudulently generated wealth is it is intermingled with REAL wealth. So, as this massive fraudulent wealth bubble collapses it evaporates the real capital with the fake. Oh, and just for giggles, lets remember since every bank in America became an investment Bank, every depositor became an investor ... so when you look at the corporation's predicament today ... it is due to the bulk of their wealth being tied up in the collapsing bubble too ... The Corporations have invested all of their savings and are watching it go up in smoke.



Some say Dow 5000? I say DOW 1900 ... it's over.
About Financial Crisis
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WTF? Lieberman? Clinton? That's EXACTLY The Obama I Voted For

Mr Stranahan, I will limit my criticism until I see what concrete results the Obama Administration delivers. Currently there is a grace period, but I'm not one to make excuses for Obama if he starts screwing up. Whether or not Obama is a transformational candidate in anyway other than diversity awaits to be seen.



I will say this, however, if the Democratic Party wants to use The Left to win power and then marginalize The Left once it attains it, then l think The Left needs to develop an alternative to to the current two party dynamic in order to get its needs met. If the Democrats take The Left for granted they should be made to pay for it. It wasn't the centrists that drove this last election cycle dynamic. I'm all for Netroots using the tools of the Internet to develop a vibrant Left coalition that can then leverage the power of its voting block to get its way. I would use the Iglesia Ni Cristo voting block model in the Philippines (sans the religion), for in a predominantly Catholic Country like the Philippines the Politicians know if they don't get the support of the independent Christian InC, they will likely lose the election. That's the true political power The Left needs to develop, Obama or not.
About Barack Obama
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Obama Advisers: Torture Prosecutions Not Likely

It would go a long way to rehabilitate the image of the United States if the Obama Administration were to prosecute domestically or aid in the prosecution, in an International Forum, the Americans guilty of crimes against humanity. Most Americans are so poorly educated they can't comprehend how far America's star has fallen in the eyes of the world. and contrary to domestically cultivated hubris, there are many areas of the world that would be more than happy to go about their business without being in the hammerlock of American influence.



Prosecuting villains from the Bush Administration would be a patriotic act that would aid the United States in recovering some of its lost credibility.
About President Obama
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Hank to Homeowners: Drop Dead!

Representative Harman, pity poor Hank Paulson. He's completely over his head and doesn't know which way is up. Remember, Paulson got rich off the very financial mysticism that is in the process of transforming itself from Prince Charming back to into a wart covered toad.



Of course stabilizing the mortgages is the way to address the problem of collapsing leveraged mortgage securities, but Paulson and Co are straitjacketed by their economic ideology. They see helping mortgage holders as some sort of socialist handout, where in actually it would be an act of capitalistic self preservation. Paulson, and Bernanke are trapped in the contracting box of Milton Friedman's failing economic model and they can't imagine a way out ... they're doomed.



But we aren't ... all it requires is a reevaluation of the current economic reality. If you look at the trillions upon trillions of leveraged CDS and derivatives as what it truly is ... fraudulent wealth ... we can use all manner of unique approaches to solve the problem. In the case of the collapsing CDS contracts due to counter party failures, how about this? Create Virtual counter party banks to replace the collapsing ones. In essence, pretend the banks didn't fail and use virtual banks as a stalling mechanism to buy time to reasonably unravel the contaminated contracts over a prolonged period of time at lesser impact to the greater economy. Remember, this is fraudulent wealth so why pretend we have to address its deflation?



The businessmen failed, lets
About Henry Paulson
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Obama's Team of Rivals

Excellent observations Jacob. We have to remember that Secretary of State is, by far, the most important Cabinet position at this time in our history. With all the damage the Bush Administration has done to the United State's international image and the ineptitude displayed by Rice, due in part to Cheney's interference, Obama can not afford to turn the office of Secretary of State into a Ceremonial position. I have no problem with the "Team of Rivals" dynamic, but they need to be Highly Qualified Rivals.



Also, I don't think the DLC should be allowed a return to power in the Obama Administration, for many of the reasons you point out, but also because the Clinton Administration ( that gets credit for a booming economy that was based on the DotCom fraud and the Sunbeam model) with the DLC at the helm, wasn't a departure from the Reagan-Bush41 agenda but, in very real terms, a "New Democrat" version of the same agenda.



We need to navigate our current troubles with both eyes open and dispel the myth that Bush43 is responsible for all ill. The DLC, despite its entrenched infrastructure, is not the solution, it's part of the problem. Putting the DLC in back in power would be like following the authoritarian Doctor to the submerged bow of the capsized Poseidon. Obama needs to be careful.
About Barack Obama
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While Paulson Waffles, the White House Dawdles, and Congress Dithers, the Economy Continues to Burn.

Arianna, CNBC had a heartwarming article on their site earlier today:



"Consumers Teetering on 14 Trillion Dollar Debt Pile"

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27716231



(They changed the title of the post to a less inflammatory "US Consumers Hit by Credit Crisis, And Everybody Pays")



14 Trillion is probably just the tip of the iceberg if the Wizards of Wall Street sliced and diced and securitized, and resold, and leveraged credit card and auto loan debt as they did mortgages. The thing is, Wall Street had nearly a decade of unregulated play at our, and by extension, the world economy's expense. The American version of Columbia's recent "Dinero Rapido Facil Efectivo" disaster.



I don't have a clue what the way out of this is because it seems America's Golden Goose has been cooked, but I am fairly confident that the 700 billion bailout, coupled with the trillion of dollars the Fed has offered up behind the scenes will have little effect on the Frankenstein's Monster of Float Fraud that Wall Street and its Washington enablers have created.
About Financial Crisis
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Palin Keeps Attacking Obama: "No Present Button"

Since Palin is relying on oldies but goodies I wanted to offer some up for her repertoire ...



Getting on a plane, I told the ticket lady, "Send one of my bags to New York, send one to Los Angeles, and send one to Miami." She said, "We can't do that!" I told her, "You did it last week!"



or ...



If my mother knew I did this for a living, she'd kill me. She thinks I'm selling dope.



or maybe ...



A priest is sent to Alaska. A bishop goes up to visit one year later. The bishop asks, "How do you like it up here?" The priest says, "If it wasn't for my Rosary, and 2 martinis a day, I'd be lost. Bishop, would you like a martini?" "Yes." "Rosary, get the bishop a martini!"



No charge, Sarah (gotta love Henny Youngman!)
About Sarah Palin
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Which Obamanomics?

Dr. Atkinson, I think Obama needs to consider a Neo-Keynesian approach in order to stabilize the economy then the Innovation Economics approach can be explored. I don't feel that Rubinomics has a place in the current economic dynamic, it is much better suited for when there is economic expansion taking place, not contraction.



I think for the self preservation of the US Economy the Government needs to be the economic referee. I don't think we ever get comfortable results when business is left to its own devices, for there is an inherent arrogance cultivated within the business psyche which, when combined with willful blindness and lack of self scrutiny, robs the private sector of the required tools of responsible economic stewardship.



I also don't think that the form of Government oversight needs to be necessarily draconian ... Government regulation should be more like a condom, allowing for economic intercourse between willing partners, but preventing unwanted byproducts and contamination that may spread detrimentally throughout the greater economy.
About Barack Obama
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I Was Wrong

"Fortunately, Obama and his Davids knew better. They knew there were plenty of rabid lunatics like me blogging away out there, desperate for the candidate to give voice to our indignation and revulsion. And they knew they didn't have to waste a nanosecond worrying about keeping us happy, because what were we going to do, vote for Nader? They knew that what people were starving for after the past decade was not more rage."



Um, I respectfully disagree, Paul. Obama's Campaign didn't have to climb into the mud because the blogosphere was doing it for them, and providing plausible deniability. For certain the withering attacks coming from the net to McCain's Campaign had an impact ... do you really think that McCain's Campaign wasn't trolling HuffPo, TPM, DailyKOS, etc, for what was being said? Come on, these campaigns are always in a paranoid state ... look how the bittergate post by Fowler, here on HuffPo, knocked the Obama campaign off center for a good period of time.



McCain himself said "I hate bloggers" ... because if you are a man with a lot of uncomfortable secrets a multitude of internet fanatics trying to sink your campaign are a very real threat. So the Obama campaign could keep its skirts clean while the blogs kept the McCain Campaign off balance, and fending off mirages. Anyway, that's my take on it ... the 4.7 million independent hits that HuffPo received in Sept is proof positive that blogs are drawing eyes and having
About Barack Obama
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California Gay Marriage Banned As Proposition 8 Passes

This disgusts me.



Two Religions, one that condones polygamy and child brides the other that provides safe haven for pedophile priests is operating under the misconception that they occupy some moral high ground from which they can attack the choice of consenting adults in the State of California.



In addition to yanking the nonprofit status of the churches involved (which should be the focus of a future California Proposition) for engaging in politics, these esteemed organizations should meditate upon the concept of addressing the moral plank in their own eye before worrying about a spec of sawdust in the eyes of others.



This isn't over ... not by a long shot.
About Gay Marriage
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Obama Wins: How He Did It

I wanted to invoke the name of a forgotten hero of the Civil Rights Movement ... Assistant Attorney General of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations ... Norbert Schlei.



From Schlei's April 21, 2003 Obit in the LA Times:



"Schlei was the principal draftsman of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Immigration Reform Act of 1967.



"I felt I was lucky," Schlei told the New York Times in 1995, "because I was able to turn what ability I had to something important."



Schlei had barely moved into his quarters in August 1962 as head of the office of legal counsel just vacated by Katzenbach, when he was put to work. The University of Mississippi had refused to allow James Meredith, a black student, to enroll that fall, and Kennedy sent Schlei to Oxford, Miss., to get Meredith into the school."



There were many heroes that paved the way for Obama's (and America's) Victory tonight ... Norbert Schlei should be remembered for his role.
About Barack Obama
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Obama Wins: Why All Americans Have a Reason to Celebrate

Ah ... sweet, sweet VICTORY!!!



Thank you Arianna for creating a platform here for ideas to be argued and shared, and most importantly, for providing a place where millions could overcome the fear and isolation of the Bush years and rediscover their voice.



NOW ... the fun begins!
About Election Reaction
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MSNBC Live Feed

Murdoch: China, India Will Reshape The World

Let's see how China and India weathers the the current financial maelstrom ... both nations are resource nations to the western economies and are therefore are very sensitive to their partners economic health. In addition, both India and China are susceptible to internal instability. India recently had bombings with many fatalities and also India, which is not widely known, has a larger muslim population than Pakistan. If fundamentalist islam has an upswing within India then being happy capitalists will be the least of India's concern. Pakistan's instability doesn't help India either. In terms of China, not all chinese are enjoying the benefits of the country's new found economic muscle. There is still a vast peasantry in China that is in no better shape now than they have been in the last thousand years. The Three Gorges Dam project has dislocated millions of Chinese and thrown them into the ghettos of newly built cities, completely divorced from their traditional lifestyles. Not a recipe for stability either.



In short, rich men like Murdoch, often think that success in one area of life grants them some super human perception of reality generally. Thinking that India and China will reshape the world is wishful thinking on the part of a Mega Capitalist who is watching his traditional markets shrink. There is as much evidence that India and China will retreat from a world role in order to address internal issues is there is of those nations taking a lead in international events at all.
About China
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Barack Obama's America

Come into the light, Lady Rothschild, don't be fearful ... you're loved! Together we can build a better tomorrow, we shouldn't react to shadows on the cave wall, we are meant embrace the light of day!



(Lady R, I must admit, there was a time I carried an umlaut in my name too, but I have released myself of the burden and now stride amongst the great unwashed with a new found joy ... yours sincerely, the former FögBelter)
About Barack Obama
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Obama Girl Robocalls

Whenever Obama Girl appears the Fog begins to lift so posting this is environmentally dangerous for me ... but, what the Hell?

Rove On McCain: "Very Steep Hill To Climb"

Also, I got some sadistic pleasure reading Frum's piece (it's obvious he is still smarting from his encounter with Maddow) but his advice to the GOP is a cowardly act of surrender. If the GOP were to redirect their funds to Senatorial races this late in the game they wouldn't have the time to develop a cohesive strategy before the clock runs out November 4th. The only way Republicans can sell the dangers of single party rule is to say "Look how bad WE did!" ... is that a winning strategy?



Frum has revealed he is as lost as the rest of his Party.
About John McCain
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Rove On McCain: "Very Steep Hill To Climb"

Rove's observations of individuals within the McCain Campaign being "undisciplined people who do not have the loyalty that they ought to have to the candidate whom they're serving", in addition to the revelations that Palin has gone off the Reservation and is not taking direction demonstrates a key weakness in the Candidate, John McCain ... he is simply NOT a leader. He may have been a Maverick during his flying days (possibly to his own detriment on a few occasions) but anyone familiar with the Military realizes that not all personnel are suited for leadership roles despite their rank.



You can't blame the McCain Campaign for lacking a rudder until you verify there is someone issuing appropriate orders from the bridge. McCain, despite his sterling biography, is not a leader, he is and has always been a follower ... anyone who looks at the state of his campaign can see a similarity to the fate that befell Hillary. Bottom line, if the candidate can't control and direct the strong personalities tasked with running the race, how can they command the ship of state?
About John McCain
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Sunday Roundup

Arianna, I hate to be a wet blanket but I have a major concern as it relates to California. I know the polls show Obama way up in the Golden State, but this Prop 8 measure, and more importantly the enthusiasm I am witnessing by Prop 8 proponents is underreported.



I went out to Tanforan Shopping center recently, which is south of San Francisco, and I was shocked to see a large number of Yes on Prop 8 supporters demonstrating with signs along El Camino and cars honking in support of them. This Anti-Gay Marriage Proposition, that is being advertised with a sound bite of Mayor Newsom's taunting "the door is wide open now!", should not be underestimated for its benefit to McCain/Palin come November 4th.



Remember, a lot of California is DEEP RED, and this Anti-Gay stuff is like blood in the water for them.



If I were the Obama Campaign, I would really spend a bit more time talking with California Supporters and telling them that things look good in the State, but it's not in the win column unless they show up to the Polls and vote on November 4th.



I may just be paranoid, but stealing California from Obama would be just the stealth maneuver, the Hail Mary pass, I would expect from the Rove Team ... let's not be complacent so we can avoid later regrets. This Prop 8 deal is poison.
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Wassup 2008

Ah, everything old is new again! ... but better.

Ashley Todd Story Pushed By McCain Campaign Aide, Say Reporters

Waterloo.



Had the McCain Palin Campaign not been so desperate for this story to be true, and had they waited for law enforcement to do its job and determine the legitimacy of Todd's claim, then maybe they could have brushed this off as the tragic story of a deranged person ... no foul.



But no, they rush to this woman's support without having the full story. Both McCain and Palin personally call this woman, who is now found to only be superficially involved with the campaign, to lend their moral support. PERSONALLY, not a representative.



You can see what attracted McCain/Palin to this story like a moth to a flame. A large Black man, assaults and robs a white woman ... scars her ... molests her ... terrorizes her ... in the name of Barack Obama. The McCain Campaign must have thought it was Christmas ... Then, on top of it, a McCain Campaign aide, embellishes the story to increase its incendiary nature. The McCain Campaign has no separation on this ... they tried to exploit this sad, sad story for their own selfish purposes and it backfired ... Even Michelle Malkin smelled a rat ...



This is BAD, very, very BAD ... even if they had a month they couldn't walk this back, but they only have 12 days,



The McCain Palin Campaign felt they had completed on a Hail Mary, but discovered it to be a Susan Smith.



Like I said, Waterloo.
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Ron Howard's Call to Action

Al-Qaeda Supporters Endorse McCain

In Ron Suskind's book "The Way of the World" he describes the game plan Al Qaeda has adopted to topple the US, from the point of view of an Al Qaeda affiliate in the UK, and it requires an American President who will respond with a massive attack against the Muslim World for any terrorist action against the US. The goal being to further drive a wedge between the Islamic moderates and the West and allow for the radicals, like Al Qaeda, to expand their influence in the Muslim world, while causing more of the curtailing of civil rights, driven by paranoia, within the United States. The assumption being that ultimately Americans will react harshly against the US Government's abridgment of civil rights, resulting in a further destabilizing of American society which would cause the Government to become more domestically focused in order to deal with the unrest, and less likely to be involved in foreign engagements.



So, I wouldn't view this endorsement of McCain by Al Qaeda supporters as an case of reverse psychology, I think they have reasoned that McCain, as erratic and hawkish as he is, would play right into their hands, and aid them in furthering their goals.



I would take this McCain endorsement as credible under the circumstances.
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Olbermann "Special Comment" On 'Real America,' Palin, Bachmann

Bravo, Mr. Olbermann ... on target as always.



It's funny how as the Right become more desperate they become more stupid ... if that even seems possible. Watching them scurry about as they do with their vitriol reminds me of the flight of the cockroaches that occurs when you turn on the bathroom light in a flea bag motel. These people have exposed themselves. What these McCain surrogates are spouting is being viewed worldwide, and once this campaign is over, though they may not recognize it now, they will find they have made themselves toxic within the very circles of influence they so crave to be a part of.*



*see Katherine Harris
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Racist Obama Effigy Hung In Ohio (VIDEO)

People need to recognize that if they don't evolve beyond their racism the United States will not be able to compete in a World that is multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and multi-religious. The United States is not needed by the rest of the World, and after the way Washington and Wall Street have botched their stewardship of the US, and by extension the World, economies, there will be far fewer nations on Earth willing to cut the US a break for its primitive, back-water ways.



If people aren't willing to surrender their affection for racism for moral reasons, they should instead think in terms of their bottom line, should the rest of the world decide to go about their business with less inclusion of our small minded population.
About Barack Obama
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If you can't take the heat "Joe the Plumber" ...

Countdown: Republicans Attack 12 Year Old Boy

Obama Rally In St. Louis Draws 100,000

Whoa ... if this is not an example of supporting a candidate I don't know what is.



Reminder: Be sure to vote.
About Barack Obama
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Kristol: McCain Needs To "Fire His Campaign"

Who do you want to replace them, Kristol? Penn? Ickes? Wolfson?



Maybe McCain should just be a "Maverick" and adopt some hybrid Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski style of campaigning ... free from and semi psychotic ...



McCain should appear at a campaign event nude, smeared in strawberry jam, and ranch dressing, wearing a tricorne hat, and recite the Gettysburg Address in pig latin.



That'll get it done.
About Bill Kristol
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Manila Building Collapse - A Metaphor

Whether a visual representation of the McCain Campaign, the World Economy, or the Republican Party in General ...

This video covers the situation quite nicely!

Watch the W. Extended Trailer. In Theaters Friday.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Christmas comes early this year!!!

Investors: Morgan Stanley Won't Be Another Lehman Brothers

click ... click ... click ... click ... click ... the dominoes fall.



Iceland .... click ... click ... click ...



Say, Hedge Funds have been very quiet. Then again, they would be, being that they are unregulated as well ... click ... click ... click ...



Then there are Sovereign Wealth Funds ... click ... click ... click ...



Is there any uncontaminated wealth left on earth? click ... click ... click ...



68 trillion in Credit Default Swaps .... click ... click ... click ...



Notational value of outstanding derivatives = $1.144 Quadrillion? ("Derivatives typically have a large notional value. As such, there is the danger that their use could result in losses that the investor would be unable to compensate for.") ... click ... click ... click ...



... and the Scarecrow sings "If I only had a brain ..."



click ... click ... click ...
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Begala Previews Potential Obama Ayers Counterattack

"Normally," Singlaub said, "I would not have been interested in buried-treasure schemes, but the Nippon Star group were not naïve beachcombers. And I knew from past experience that stories of buried Japanese gold in the Philippines were legitimate." He added: "Marcos's $12-billion fortune actually came from [this] treasure, not skimmed-off U.S. aid. But Marcos had only managed to rake off a dozen or so of the biggest sites. That left well over a hundred untouched." Singlaub would be the security advisor, in return for Nippon Star giving a percentage of the take to his U.S. Council for World Freedom.



Loose Cannons p204 - "Gold Warriors" Seagrave
About Barack Obama
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Palin Misquotes Albright: "Place In Hell Reserved For Women Who Don't Support Other Women"

"The statement came after Palin had recounted a "providential" moment she experienced on Saturday: "I'm reading on my Starbucks mocha cup, ok? The quote of the day... It was Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State [crowd boos] and UN ambassador. ... Now she said it, I didn't. She said, 'There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women.'"



Governor Palin misquoting a 14 word quote off a disposable coffee cup is quite an achievement. I wonder how she does with fortune cookies?



(A note to Governor Palin's handlers, if you observe her jotting down notes from the wall of a Denny's restroom for her next speech you might want verify she captured the information accurately)
About Sarah Palin
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AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka on Racism and Obama

This is an example of America at its finest.

David Letterman-Brian Williams-1of2-Oct-3rd-2008

Had John McCain slapped an invalid, wheelchair bound child on national television he would have done less damage to his campaign than bailing on Lettterman. HUGE Mistake.

Harrison Ford: George Lucas In "Think Mode" About Indiana Jones 5

Hey George, how about this story idea?



Indiana Jones comes upon a plot by which Right Wing American Neo-Fascists, in business and military, intend on using a vast hoard of gold they discovered in the Philippines, that was plundered from the whole of WWII occupied Asia and SEA by the Imperial Japanese and hidden there in elaborately protected vaults, to fund the overthrowing of the United States government in order to establish a New World Order based on elitist, white supremacist messianic principles.



You could call it "Indiana Jones and the Broken Trust" .... sound farfetched?
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Campbell Brown Shifts Towards Commentary

"As journalists, and certainly for me over the last few years, we"ve gotten overly obsessed with parity, especially when we"re covering politics," Ms. Brown said. "We kept making sure each candidate got equal time " to the point that it got ridiculous in a way."



The Right eliminated the Fairness Doctrine in order to do away with parity in the media, and for years they benefited from that by pushing partisan propagandists on television and radio from their side while attacking the MSM's "Liberal Bias".



Now we have Olbermann and other Journalists on the left recognizing that turn about is fair play and the Right is livid that the Left has caught on. Brown is absolutely correct, one doesn't need to necessarily be a partisan in media to push back against artificial and illogical attempts at balancing issues that have an obvious Right and Wrong side. Pushing artificial parity actually undermines fairness, as opposed to promoting it.
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Humpty Dumpty 2.0

Something to think about ... what if the world economy is so far gone that this bailout wouldn't have worked to begin with? When ponzi schemes unravel a little cash infusion may slow down the scams collapse long enough for a few important people to get their money out, but it won't change the death spiral of the unravelling process.

When Bernanke rushed to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into global liquidity this morning before the vote even occurred it pulls back the veil on the nature of the credit collapse ... it is in a state of perpetual motion downwards. This bailout bill may have stalled the inevitable until after the election, but the outcome for the ponzi world economy can be summed up thus ...

Humpty Dumpty sat on a Wall
Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall
All the King's Horses and All the King's Men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

The Congress should sit on its hands and wait for when Obama is President and they have the chance to vote for FDR's New Deal 2.0

$700B rescue plan finalized; House to vote Monday

Let's see when this $700 billion bailout bill passes whether or not we find ourselves in the same situation again next month. There is a lot of assumption associated with this bill. like



- We allow the banks to dump the bad securities, and they will, in turn use the liquidity to reinvigorate lending.-



Why is that true? What if the financial institutions use these funds to cover undisclosed areas of internal liquidity problems and don't use it to lend? Is there anything in the bill that mandates the Banks lending if they get relief? If not, then the $700 billion dollars will evaporate as quickly into the credit market sink hole as the $200 billion that was pumped into the credit market the week AIG was bailed out.



I don't think Congress knows the whole story yet and the result of this $700 billion infusion might be nothing but a rude awakening and more of the same.



Think in terms of this ... for nine years Credit Default Swaps have built, unregulated, to 68 trillion dollars. Every major financial institution is heavily leveraged in this CDS kited float cloud, if this is the root area of credit collapse, all bets are off any successful bailout implementation. I hope Credit Default Swaps are not the root cause if what we are seeing, but time will tell.
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S.E.C. Chairman: Oversight Failures Fueled Collapse

If Credit Default Swaps aren't addressed even $10 trillion dollars of Taxpayer money won't correct the underlying economic problem. CDS is a runaway freight train of liquified natural gas barreling down the tracks toward America's Minivan, stalled on the railroad crossing of history.
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Ringside

I would argue that to a lot of America, McCain lost, and it had nothing to do with a word he said. The visual was devastating and that is not a superficial point. What you had on stage was an old man and a young man. Not the same as Reagan versus Mondale, where they were both seen as elders to start with.



Most Americans don't know a thing about the issues, except for they bore them. Ask yourself this, Nora, do we use old men to sell products in the US? Not even Viagra. Anyone on Madison Avenue will tell you that youth sells, we have millions of dollars of examples of that assumption crossing our visual path everyday.



I think we will see a pattern emerge where every time McCain appears on stage next to Obama he will lose support, regardless of the salient points of the debate. Humans think in terms of archetypes, and Americans see themselves as youthful, not old ... that will play a part in the outcome of this race.



Remember, there was a reason that Reagan inserted a joke about his age into the debate with Mondale, and McCain isn't likely to joke the issue off with the same finesse.
About Presidential Debates
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McCain Claimed "Privatization" Was Necessary For Social Security

"You kids! ... you damn kids and your filthy mutt! Dammit, I know I don't know what I'm saying, and you know I don't know what I'm saying, so why push me? You're pushing me! My FRIENDS, you need to vote for me and otherwise SHUTUP!!! Who do you think I think I am, anyway!?! Stop agitating me and remember to vote for me on November 4th! DAMMIT!!!!"
About John McCain
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Time to Take a Second Look at Our "Free Trade" Agreements

Free Trade only works if everyone is on the same page with labor and environmental rights and the current Global paradigm means little more than resource rape, worker exploitation, and environmental degradation.



WTO is floundering, as well it should, for it is being revealed to be the same type of poison pill as the IMF and the World Bank. It's a neocolonial trojan horse and many nations on earth would rather retain the subtle, remarkable qualities of their cultures rather than trashing it all to be an economic resource for an ill designed International Economic Philosophy that will overheat and collapse within 50 years anyway.



China and India are correct to have their protectionism and tariffs, it makes their societies thriving and robust, unlike the United States.



I have nothing against the people of the world, but my loyalty is to the American people. They deserve jobs, they deserve savings, they deserve to be living on sound wages not credit cards.



To bring health and jobs back to the United States economy we need to dump these foolish trade policies, reinstate tariffs against all goods and services provided from abroad, even by foreign operations of American companies, and worry less about keeping a small ultra wealthy subset of the American people happy at the expense of the rest of us.
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Denial is Not An Economic Recovery Plan

Speaker Pelosi ... I feel the Democrats ( that would be, we, the Opposition) need to hammer two things home.



First, that the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was a miserable piece of legislation that has critically undermined the US Economy and needs to be repealed and the Glass-Steagall Act reinstated until such time, as a responsible replacement is arrived at. In addition, all of the companies that have benefited from the GLBA and consolidated be broken up. Sanity before Profit; Stability before Market Fantasy.



Second, it must be declared that the Chicago School of Economics (Milton Friedman) has proven a failure and must be replaced with the Keynesian approach of balanced economy which has proven successful for the US in the past. It is the duty of the US Government to ensure a stable economy for all Americans, and not engage in farcical perpetual wealth schemes that are as self defeating for the United States as notions of Social Darwinism.



These are tough times that require spine, not hedging ... SPEAK OUT! The Dems and Obama need to declare Friedman a farce in order to get the economy back on track. Resurrect Keynes Speaker Pelosi!!!
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Racism Hurts Obama In Michigan

"ST. PAUL " The "Bubba vote" and underlying racism will hurt Democrat Barack Obama in key battleground states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, former House majority leader Dick Armey said Wednesday.

"The Bubba vote is there, and it's very real, and it is everywhere," Armey told USA TODAY and Gannett News Service. "There's an awful lot of people in America, bless their heart, who simply are not emotionally prepared to vote for a black man."



The headline I would like to see in foreign newspapers is this:



"Racist Vote Key to McCain Win"



I say foreign newspapers, because the American Press would never make such an honest statement and even though the American people at large care little about the US image abroad the corporate leaders and members of the ruling class would be highly disconcerted to have such domestic dirty linen aired abroad after all the time and energy they have put into cultivating America's "Good Guy' and yes "Progressive" image.



Some important people would find such a foreign headline devastating.
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Greenspan: This Is The Worst Economy I've Ever Seen

Milton Friedman and his economic theories are a fraud, and his followers, who anointed him as their Jim Jones or David Koresh, have cost the United States the international economic leadership role it has enjoyed since the end of WWII.



We should have stuck with Keynes:



"Keynesian economics (pronounced /ˈkeɪnzi�"n/, also Keynesianism and Keynesian Theory, is an economic theory based on the ideas of twentieth-century British economist John Maynard Keynes. The state, according to Keynesian economics, can help maintain economic growth and stability in a mixed economy, in which both the public and private sectors play important roles. Keynesian economics seeks to provide solutions to what some consider failures of laissez-faire economic liberalism, which advocates that markets and the private sector operate best without state intervention. The theories forming the basis of Keynesian economics were first presented in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian
About Federal Reserve
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Olbermann Slams Republicans For Exploiting 9/11 In Special Comment

I wonder what MSNBC management is trying to prove by having Olbermann's show replaced in the 11pm PDT time slot tonight with Brokaw's blow by blow replay of the September 11th atrocities? Is this rubbing Keith's nose in it for his Special Comment last night?



Just a clue to MSNBC management ... there is nothing NEW to be learned from watching those poor people die in slow motion all over again ... it isn't respectful ... it is simply gratuitous.



Unless Brokaw and MSNBC management are trying to inspire the same feeling of horrified awe one experiences when seeing the Hindenburg Disaster ... in which case they are beneath contempt, like the Republicans, for what they pulled at their Convention.



Here's a hint, if you are actually running a news organization, why not point out that in the seven years since the 9/11 murders the victims have yet to receive justice instead of punishing us and Keith by giving Bin Laden's a victory lap.
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Palin's Dangerous Saber Rattling on Russia

Mr Goldenberg, if you tilt your head in the direction of Washington DC you may hear a distant, muffled, moan. No, it isn't a moose mating call ... it is dozens of State Department officials dry heaving into their waste baskets.



You have to hand it to Governor Palin, her first time without training wheels she accomplished so much! The operative word in her comment about defending Georgia is key ... "IF" ... IF Georgia were to be a member of NATO we might have to go to war with Russia to defend them ... that could go for Ukraine too ... IF Ukraine were a member of NATO ... etc, etc,etc.



Maybe someone should have mentioned to Sarah that there are other members of NATO besides the US, and they live a whole lot closer to Russia than Alaska is. My guess is the reason that Georgia and Ukraine haven't been embraced by NATO relates to their concern of being drawn into a war with Russia over the former Soviet Satellites. But Sarah, reassured them ... "SURE NATO will go to war against Russia to defend Georgia! yup! yup! yup!"



My guess is now the other NATO members will table discussion of Georgia, and Ukraine joining pending the outcome of ther US elections ... I mean NATO has had so much fun in Afghanistan, war with Russia would just be the cherry on top!



Sarah you sure put the puck in the net this time! Yup! Yup! Yup!
About Sarah Palin
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Olbermann Slams Republicans For Exploiting 9/11 In Special Comment

An excellent Special Comment, but I never interpreted the 9/11 video as anything but the GOP paying homage to the single event that saved the Bush Presidency and provided all those wonderful opportunities for the NeoCons, Friedmanites, and New World Order fanatics for the past eight years.
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I'm Officially Shutting Down This 'Lipstick On A Pig' Discussion

As idiotic as this "Lips on a Pig" nonsense is, I recall another incident that was equally absurd.



When Bob Dole was running for President there was a public event he was was due to appear at that was being covered by CNN. Candy Crowley was the reporter and she was having a back and forth lead in to Dole showing up with the CNN Anchor. Suddenly there is a roar of the crowd behind Candy when Candidate Dole arrived and she interrupted her discourse with the anchor to say ...



"Speak of the devil ... here he is!"



A bit of Dole's speech was aired and then Candy reappeared on the screen, looking rather dour, and at this point she APOLOGIZED for using "Speak of the devil" in reference to Senator Dole.



It was one of the stupidest acts of political correctness I have ever seen,
About Sarah Palin
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Mavericks?

If America puts this dynamic duo in the White House it deserves its misery.

Barack Obama is the Nominee -- Why are Black People Still So Mad?

Devastating. To say that this is an unacceptable trend is a grave understatement. I feel ashamed for the SFPD, and I also see a far greater problem because this is obviously not unique to San Francisco.



Anyone in the United States who thinks that we can successfully compete in the world while at civil war with ourselves is fooling themselves. If we are the UNITED States of America we have to be a UNITED people. We need to aggressively address racial profiling and the habit of divesting minority groups of their rights. In a World of mainly racially, culturally, and religiously homogeneous competitors America's diversity can either be its greatest strength or its Achilles Heel.



America HAS to evolve beyond this oppressive tendency for, beyond its criminal unfairness, it only undermines the Nation's future. Let's not kid ourselves.
About Civil Rights
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Campaigns Begin Dash To Election

The next 60 days will be possibly the ugliest campaign for the Presidency we have ever experienced as Americans. The Rove machine is going to throw everything it has at Obama/Biden. Every Poll and negative MSM story that comes out about Obama/Biden needs to be vetted thoroughly and viewed as propaganda until proved otherwise. We, supporters of Obama, have to give worse than we get in order to win this battle, and we CANNOT SHRINK from adversity ... we must Win!



Something to keep in the back of your minds as well, I have a sense that the viciousness we will be seeing from the McCain/Bush camp derives from the Bush Administration not getting assurances that an Obama Administration would forgo criminal investigations of them, as Clinton agreed to in the case of Bush 41. Biden has alluded to the possibility of Bush Administration investigations and that makes it all the more crucial for the Republicans for McCain to win, whether they like him or not.



Folks, this election will be brutal like the fight for Iwo Jima and only one side will prevail and hoist the flag on Mount Suribachi.



We can't afford to lose and neither can they ... so to Fight is to Win. WE MUST FIGHT!!!
About John McCain
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No Questions: Palin Won't Talk To Press

Of course no questions ... she is only model, not an actual candidate. Her requirement is to look good in ads, PERIOD.



I expect the McCain campaign to keep her under wraps for the next two months. And I will tell you exactly the argument to be used:



'As everyone understands Sarah has a special needs infant and a daughter whose wedding needs to be planned, certainly no reasonable person would begrudge her that.'



... and if the McCain campaign is pressed on her lack of availability the response will be:



'Clearly the liberal media is picking on Sarah, our fine VP candidate, because she is a responsible mother ... For SHAME!'



This Republican miscreants telegraph their political perversions.
About Sarah Palin
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Palin's Lawyer Works To Undermine Trooper Scandal

The problem for Palin is she was involved directly in this attempt to fire her estranged brother-in-law and the intimidation, and ultimate removal of the Alaska State Security Official who stood in her way. Also, Palin has evidently left a trail of emails documenting her actions and has made so many political enemies in Alaska through her governing methods, at both the local and state level, that there are political and personal adversaries that would love to expose her shortcomings and abuses to the courts or even the media.



There are good lawyers that can argue a blue sky is actually puce, to be sure, and with as sloppy as Palin has comported herself in this matter that is exactly what she will need.
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Huckabee Slags Media In Off-Script Remarks

You know Jason, I was thinking, if things don't pan out for Palin and the VP spot and Fox News gets tired of Huckabee's HeeHaw routine ... I can see a fast food franchise in their future!



What with Palin's recipe for Moose and Huckabee's for Squirrel ... they could have an amazing restaurant ...



Rocky and Bullwinkle's
About John McCain
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Former POW says McCain is "not cut out to be President"

Life isn't a cartoon so we shouldn't allow the spin on John McCain to go unverified. Here is the first hand account of a fellow POW that shouldn't be ignored.

McCain More Likely to Drop Palin, Bookmakers Say

I doubt the Republicans intend on dumping Caribou Barbie (as Stephanie Miller calls her) ... the GOP is counting on the stupidity of the American public to win the day for them as it has for the last 28 years.
About Sarah Palin
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<i>TNR</i>: GOP Convention Will Get Racist

Racism, Ignorance and Hate is all this generation of Republicans has to offer. The Republican party isn't the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, or Eisenhower any longer.



The GOP has become a synthesis of Reagan's degenerative economic policies, Nixon's morality, and the Bush Klan's skullduggery.
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