Winning

As soon as Palin was selected I was saying the election was over. The public has begun to catch up, if recent poll results are any indication.

But the Democrats are going to win with the same phony, stupid journalism (is there lipstick on a pig) that brought us George Walker Bush.

I think the corporate media, within reason, gets to pick the President. Not for the real hardcore political junkies, but for a super-majority of voters who rarely get any news except from the mainstream, corporate media.

Wiping the Floor with Them

Bob Somerby, one of Al Gore, Jr's college roommate, is doing his best to make the news based on intelligence and wisdom. Read the Daily Howler.

The Republicans keep bringing up that America has no energy policy, why does the press corps let them get away with it? The GOP Congress passed, and Mush-brains signed, the Cheney Energy Task Force drafted Energy Bill just a few years ago.

Good and Bad with Today's Energy Bill

I'm not sure the Congress needs to do anything about the cost of energy. See, for the last five weeks quite a few Republican Party Grandstanders have been "protesting" Congress's lack of action. During this tie-dyed, acid-induced, feel-good "protest," the price of a barrel of oil has dropped about $50, or 33%.

If just from a paperwork perspective, wouldn't it make more sense not to act in Congress, and just let House Republicans join hands and sing "Drill, Baby, Drill?"

The bad news is that, according to one House Republican, the Democrats gave them this bill less than 24 hours ago, and they are only going to be allowed one chance to offer any amendment.

The Markets

Who is thrilled that Wall St. firms are being bailed out?  That said, I understand that after Bear Sterns, FNMA and FHLMC, there will be no deal on Lehman Brothers that includes taxpayer money.

Considering that the Republican Party's DNA says that they shouldn't take over or bail out firms, and a history of acting that way, I am proud that they have taken some actions.  It is not clear whether former Secretary O'Neill would have done so.  Thomas Mellon, Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury, is infamous for his quips suggesting the markets will just sort themselves out.

As a reminder, though, the one Republican who spoke at the Democratic National Convention was Jim Leach of Iowa.

I just thank goodnessness and graciousness that Bush passed all those tax cuts for the super-wealthy!  That is why our economy is so strong and we are chugging along like gangbusters!

Remain Calm on the Radio

I never mentioned this here before, but, since this is the third time, I'm happy to report I'm going to be on the radio. Sirius Satellite radio has a channel just for "Independent" (rather than Democratic or Republican) voices, and one of the shows, somehow, found my blog. The Channel is 110 and the show is called the Blog Bunker, 5pm-6pm M-F.

The first time I appeared was during the primaries. I had a nice time.

The last time was about the time of the end of the South Ossetian crisis.  We had a couple callers and that part was great.  I was paying close attention to the South Ossetia situation so I hope I sounded well-informed!

Next time will be Tuesday, September 9th, at 5:30pm.

THE SURGE IS A LIE

The most important thing, which for political reasons no one will mention, is that GENERAL CASEY WAS A SOCKPUPPET, a mouthpiece for the White House, not a good General, not a thinker, not smart, and generally WHOLLY INCOMPETENT to manage the war in Iraq.  Commander-in-Chief kept him in charge for years.

General Petraeus isn't perfect, but he isn't stupid, and, from his position managing the Kurdish north, was able to look at what was going on in Iraq and fix some of the problems.

Why are we doing better in Iraq?  Casey was incompetent, Petreaus is not.  I finally saw someone say this last night.  Well, Brian Lamb interviewed Linda Robinson, author of Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq

U Chicago Hospital and Obama, Perhaps Nasty

Michelle Obama was earning about 130K, then started earning 195K more per year when Obama was elected U.S. Senator.  The hospital says the higher salary is "in line" with other V.P.'s salaries.

Less than a year later, Obama tried to insert an earmark to give the hospital where she works a million dollars. 

Sigh.

Language & Conflict In the News: South Ossetia Peace Deal in French

Bad French Prolongs Russia-Georgia Conflict, from the Telegraph, UK. 

Bernard Kouchner told a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the weekend that the ceasefire agreement was written in French before being translated into English and then Russian. Asked what problems surrounded the buffer zones, Mr Kouchner replied: "The translation, as always."

(Early?) (Draft?) Iraqi SOFA Agreement Leaked

Raed Jarrar has information on how unlikely it is to pass here, which is valid for any official treaty between Iraq and the U.S.  The American Friends Service Committee and Raed did a translation which is available in PDF here.

More Palin Family Vindictiveness

Palin's biggest scandal so far has been firing someone who wouldn't fire the man who spurned her sister.

Apparently, this sort of personal vindictiveness is not a one time thing with the Governor of Alaska.  This article, from the crypto-right-wing Politico website says Palin cuts off people who displease her:

Palin has unceremoniously ended relationships with an aide who was dating a family friend's soon-to-be ex-wife, a campaign adviser whose mother-in-law fought Palin's legislative agenda, a local political mentor who she felt represented the "old boys' network," a police chief who she said tried to intimidate her with "stern look[s.]"

Now, I do this to some degree.  I have a billion people to choose from for friends, 10,000,000 in the city alone, so if someone repeatedly acts daft, I just stop talking to them... but that is not how someone behaves on the job.

This inability to distinguish between the personal and the professional sounds relatively unimportant... but what about foreign policy?  Will she cut off Germany if they disagree over Creationism?  Will she alienate Japan because they are not Christians? 

Protester

How come everyone is talking about the Code Pink protesters instead of the guy in black shirt that said "Iraq Veterans Against the War" with a sign that said, on one side "John McCain Votes Against Vets" and on the other said "You Can't Win An Occupation"

He wasn't even thrown out.  Very cool.

More Palin Links?

She's not going to make it to the election.

Video of Palin saying Iraq is a task from God (Duck Cheney is God?)

Audio of Peggy Noonan calling the Palin selection "gimmicky" and "cynical"  In McCain's defense, Noonan is a nut and a Reagan person, she is not an enthusiastic McCain supporter.

Cindy McCain attacks John McCain?

Cindy said Obama never mentions his P.O.W. experience in one speech.

In the next John McCain speech, he talked about his P.O.W. experience.

GOP Convention: Fah

Everyone says McCain never talks about his POW time or his service, but every single damned one of his commercials seems to bring it up, and that fawning RNC video before his speech tonight brought it up.  Are we supposed to believe that he didn't approve the video?  We know darned well be approved the advertisements.

Today's Must Read

Bob Somerby discusses Palin, defeat of the Dems and Gennifer Flowers.

RNC FearMongering

RNC produced a video about terrorism.  They started with a clip of the Iranian revolution and the hostage crisis.  Since when was that "terrorism?"  Just a way to get the war with Iran McCain has sung and joked about.  The clip also said "the day was September the 11th, 9/11."  Twice, or were they just defining it for us?

Before the video was Rep. Mary Fallin (OK-5), who is looney tunes.  Someone should really work on the education system in Oklahoma.

Marsha Blackburn has been all over the airwaves for the last few days.  Fire breathing squirrel.  Tonight she said the TV only provides talk, never provides answers.  John Sidney McCain III has appeared, over the last decade, more times on the TV news than anyone else.  More than twice as much as his nearest competitor, Tom Daschle.  Daschle was the leader of a party in Congress, a position McCain has never held.

Blackburn also Palin would make the best Vice President ever, better than Jefferson, Adams, or T Roosevelt, although she didn't name them by name.

GOP Convention, Final Night's Notes 3

Bill Frist is???  On Drugs?  Hates John McCain?  Worst speaker so far.  And he's gained weight, too

GOP Convention, Final Night's Notes 2

Rep. Tom Cole criticized Obama's experience.

GOP Convention, Final Night's Notes

It starts with the biggest gip/jip for the conventioneers.  They announced Olympic medal winners would be coming on stage.  Who did every Conventioneer want to see? Michael Phelps, of course.  They didn't have him.

Daily Show Covers Non-Hypocrisy

The Penultimate Convention Night: American Totalitarianism's Face

What ideas founded America?  Of course, the American Revolutionaries didn't agree amongst themselves, and they likely didn't even have a consistent view of history.  One important source that all sides favored was Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, this includes Washington, Hamilton, John Adams, John Jay and Madison.  Another important work was the Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  They both said that the military was often the destroyer of liberties.  James Madison, in the Federalist Papers, wrote the same thing. 

Why does America have freedom?  If you ask Mike Huckabee or Sarah Palin, our freedoms come from our military.