CAUSE CELEB

If only John McCain could come up with one plausible reason to elect him, instead of all the crap he spews forth about why you can't elect Obama......I can't wait for the first debate, youthful, Harvard grad Obama against the conservative Alzheimer's patient, McBush. What a mean spirited, lying Keating Five bastard he is. He has completely made his living sucking up to his wife Cyndi, or on the government tit. Yes, he got captured during the war, and that sucked. But, Wesley Clark was right....what does that have to do with anything Presidential? Look at his daily gaffes he makes. No wonder he insists on having a liberal (Lieberman) by his side. He needs someone to clean up his depends when he shits all over himself. And Joe is the perfect ass kisser for the job.

DUBYA THE MOVIE BY OLIVER STONE

After taking a break from making political dramas, Oliver Stone is venturing right back in with W., another bold choice from a director never afraid to make bold choices. And this time, making a biographical film about a President who will still be in office when the movie is released in October. This film was rushed into production at the start of 2008, and dates have already been set for the film to be released in October and be on DVD when George W. Bush leaves office. Much in the same style of Nixon, it appears this film will utilize a narrative that goes back and forth in time to chronicle the life of our current President and his first term in office. And as is typical of any Oliver Stone political film, this one has already garnered controversy. When early pages of the script were leaked to the media, many commented that this would not be a balanced view of a President whose approval ratings as of late have been less than stellar. But Stone has promised a more balanced look at George W. Bush, much in the same way as Nixon managed to humanize a maligned President. Stone has said he is interested in seeing the influences of the man, and how someone like W was able to attain the highest office in the land, and how that first term shaped the conditions that the world finds itself in at the moment.

GOP PLATFORM

STEVENS: indicted to 7 counts of failing to disclose gifts from VECO
LIBBY: obstruction of justice and perjury
RENZI: conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion, money laundering
VITTER: escort service patron
CRAIG: sex sting in Minnesota bathroom
YOUNG: under FBI investigation for changing bill to help fundraiser
DeLAY: jack abramoff scandal
DOMINICI: attorney purge scandal
MARTINEZ: repeat violations to federal election law
WEYHRAUCH: accepting bribes from VECO
WOLFOWITZ: conflict of interest, nepotism World Bank
CUNNINGHAM: 2.4m in bribes accepted
FOLEY: sexually explicit e-mails to former congressional pages
GRILES: lied about abramoff connection

But they are the devout, law and order party (if attending weekly confessionals count for anything). For the record, I deliberately left off John McCain's membership in the Keating Five (not a gospel singing group).

CLASSIC OBAMA AS THE MESSIAH PIECE FROM THE LONDON TIMES

Props to ReligioPolitical talk for the tip

Read it in its entirety here.

Here is a small appetizer of the piece....

He ventured forth to bring light to the world
The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action -

and a blessing to all his faithful followers

Brilliantly written by Gerard Baker of the London Times

"And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.
The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow. "

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”
In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

A POST-IT NOTE TO GOD

A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
"Lord — Protect my family and me," reads the note published in the Maariv daily. "Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."

Troubling is someone who would actually take the prayer from the wall, which is considered private between the person and his God. Even worse is the act of taking it, and publishing it for a buck. Another Israeli paper, Yediot Ahronot, published an article Friday saying it had also obtained the note but decided not to publish it to respect Obama's privacy.
Many visitors to the 2,000-year-old Western Wall leave notes bearing requests and prayers. Obama did so during a pre-dawn visit there Thursday, following a day spent meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs would neither confirm nor deny the note was Obama's.

McCAIN GOES DIRTY IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST OBAMA

We all heard the ridiculous Bush inspired McCain rhetoric months ago "it is very clear who Hamas wants to be President." Now McCain has sunk to new lows, all but calling Obama a traitor...."The difference between me and Barack Obama? Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election."

Now this from McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds....Barack Obama took a premature victory lap today in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a 'citizen of the world,' all the while John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election," he wrote. "Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving, improving and protecting America. Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about it."

John McCain on Friday defended his criticism that Barack Obama would rather "lose a war in order to win a political campaign," saying that to his Democratic rival, the war in Iraq is "just another political issue."
"I am accusing, I am stating the facts. The facts are that I don't question Sen. Obama's patriotism. I'm sure that he's a very patriotic American, I question his judgment because he lacks experience and knowledge, and I questioned his judgment. … Sen. Obama just views this war as another political issue, which he can change positions,” McCain said.
McCain argued that Obama opposed the surge and doesn't “understand the importance of this victory and the consequences of failure and the benefits of success.”

BARACK CIRCA: 1990

Somewhat interesting article from 1990 in Vanity Fair this month, shortly after his election to as President of the Harvard Law review. The most interesting? His quote at the end when asked about his aspirations to run for office....."If I go into politics it should grow out of work I’ve done on the local level, not because I’m some media creation.” Judge for yourselves.

COMING TO A THEATRE, AND HOPEFULLY NOT A VOTING BOOTH NEAR YOU

www.hypemovie.com

DER OBAMINATOR

Being denied the right to speak before the Brandenburg gate, Obama today did the next best thing. He drew over 250,000 people, stretching the mile between where he spoke and the gate itself. Acknowledging America's flaws, he then began chanting his primary stump speech, "people of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment, this is our time."

Always one to go to the race card, Obama pointed out very early in his speech that "I know I don't look like the previous Americans who have spoken here before." He declared himself there not as a candidate, but a "citizen of the world."

"There is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one" he spoke, completely forgetting the past three days he spent in the Middle East, three days any fool could recognize that this world is not one, and never will be. Upon his words, some in the audience chanted loudly, "Yes we can!, much like three drunken morons trying to start the wave at Dodger Stadium despire to get others to follow their lead in vain.

Impressive, yes. But the recent polling results have given him nary a bump, nary a single percentage gained. Yes, he has rendered McCain a non factor in Arizona, while Obama hogs the entire media at large. So much so that the McCain pathetically hinted at announcing his running mate while Obama traveled abroad, in a failed attempt at garnering some media attention.

His only gaffe? Saying "America has no better partner than Europe", a statement Israelis will run with, a statement which will fan the flames of mistrust with Obama, raised Muslim or not. A mention that he wants to support the Lebanese didn't help either.

All in all, Obama is having a very, very good week. Only one problem....before long, he has to come off the road, and come back to reality at home. The stark reality that he is mere percentage points ahead of the third term of King George II. The stark reality his campaign has lost its domestic sparkle. The domestic sparkle that once shown brightly, but has been dimming since Super Tuesday, many months ago.

NOW HE'S REPRESENTING

The comments from Jesse Jackson in regards to Barack Obama's genitalia aside, what is so wrong with a black leader bringing up the decaying state of the American family unit, and the black family units he represents in particular? What is wrong with speaking out against those who tell a young black child who is motivated and excelling in school that he is "acting white?" While Jesse Jackson calls it "speaking down to the black folk," the truth is he is looking them eye to eye and telling them what he thinks, and what he knows in his heart is right.

Does he have to target the black community solely with these issues? Absolutely not. He could throw in the Hispanics and Caucasians as well into the mix. We all are somewhat to blame for the decaying American family. But, for a leader of the black community (not to mention a declared "man of God"), to attack Senator Obama for his comments, whether deliberately or unwittingly, is to show a vast and endless supply of stupid. Move over, Jesse, your 15 minutes are up. The spotlight has shown on your "Rainbow Coalition," and instead of a pot o' gold, the only thing at the end of your rainbow is a crock o' shit. And that's the world....According to Kimba. Thanks for reading.

TWO RICH MORONS

Bill Gates and New York's Mayor Bloomberg, two of the richest men in the world, are joining forces to fight against.....no, not illiteracy, not hunger, not homelessness, not even poverty itself. Read the following article from my favorite New York Post and see if you can fathom how they have pledged to squander 500 million dollars, and see if you can keep your lunch down.

"Mayor Bloomberg today enlisted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates -- one of the few individuals in the U.S. wealthier than he is -- to bolster a campaign the mayor launched two years ago to combat smoking around the world.
Gates said he'd contribute $125 million over five years to the global effort and Bloomberg chipped in $250 million on the top of the $125 million he contributed in 2006. "I'm sure it's just the first of many things we can do together," said Gates at a midtown Manhattan press conference. He declined to elaborate, saying "There's nothing concrete at this point." Bloomberg and Gates are worth a combined $70 billion and both lead foundations which are among the largest in the nation.

Yes, although nothing is concrete as of yet, rumors are flying around town that the next big Bloomberg/Gates campaign initiative will be to give a quarter billion each to fight cronic gum chewing in our classrooms. If successful, they will immediately inaugurate their "Floss over Africa" campaign, targeting poor dental hygiene while starving to death, or being raped and hacked to death by machete as their war lord governments (and ours) look on apathetically. $500 million dollars to fight the Marlboro Man. Sometimes the stench of American stupidity boggles the mind.

I look at the world and I notice it's turning

While my guitar gently weeps

With every mistake we must surely be learning

Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know how you were diverted

you were perverted too

I don't know how you were inverted

no one alerted you

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping

While my guitar gently weeps I

look at you all

Still my guitar gently weeps

WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE?

What will it take for Obama to lose the Muslim label?

One quick look at a brief on screen text box, and you might think

MSNBC is reporting that he in fact, is.

Want to report what some stupid Iraqi engineer thinks about Obama?

Say it, don't type it, in a text box or on-screen crawl.

Better yet, get him to drop your blog a comment and be done with it.
This is NOT news.

OBAMA'S NEW COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: JOHN McBUSH

With Senator Obama now in Afghanistan, one might wonder about details of the trip, etc. Here to help is the Obama official travel briefing booklet. Dressed in the usual Obama colors and style, someone would never expect the deviousness with which it was written, published and distributed. The problem is, it was written by the John McCain campaign!!

The briefing book is full of questions the McCain campaign thinks reporters should ask Obama in case he stops in Iraq or Afghanistan anytime soon, such as:
• "Why have you only now decided to visit Afghanistan for the first time after having been in office for more than three and a half years?"
• "What would Iraq look like today if we had implemented your plan, announced in January 2007, to bring all of our troops home by March 2008?"
• "If you think that the surge has failed in Iraq, why are you advocating a surge in Afghanistan?"

The 51 pages also include background material on what the McCain team believes are Obama's shifts in thinking about Iraq and Afghanistan. Click here for the booklet in its entirety.

FORGET THE COVER, READ THE ARTICLE

Is it a racial slur, or an attempt at New York high brow humor? The cover of the New Yorker magazine depicts Barack in the usual slanderous Muslim garb and Michelle with a gun strapped to her with an American flag burning in the fireplace. Is it a desperate attempt to sell out this month's copies, or the magazines not so subtle way to be noticed on the national scene?

What it is, is an unfortunate distraction away from a very interesting article by Ryan Lizza (click here). As I have warned you, with an unknown like Obama, the vetting process will continue right up to election day. Here are some quotes to wet your whistle for a very thought provoking and well written article...

“I think he was very strategic in his choice of friends and mentors,” In retrospect, I think he saw the positions he held as stepping stones to other things and therefore approached his public life differently than other people might have.” Obama joined Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ for political reasons. “It’s a church that would provide you with lots of social connections and prominent parishioners,” she said. “It’s a good place for a politician to be a member.” “Can you get where he is and maintain your personal integrity?” she said. “Is that the question?” She stared at me and grimaced. “I’m going to pass on that.”

That should be enough to intrigue to read the article, but let me finish with the articles finish for a great look into Obama....

Obama has always had a healthy understanding of the reaction he elicits in others, and he learned to use it to his advantage a very long time ago. Marty Nesbitt remembers Obama’s utter calm the day he gave his celebrated speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, in Boston, which made him an international celebrity and a potential 2008 Presidential candidate. “We were walking down the street late in the afternoon,” Nesbitt told me. “And this crowd was building behind us, like it was Tiger Woods at the Masters.”
“Barack, man, you’re like a rock star,” Nesbitt said.
“Yeah, if you think it’s bad today, wait until tomorrow,” Obama replied.
“What do you mean?”
“My speech,” Obama said, “is pretty good.”

THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET "AHA" MOMENT

Jack Reed, a Democrat, and Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel will be joining Obama on his upcoming trip to European capitals and U.S. battlefronts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although both have been mentioned as potential Obama vice presidential running mates, Senator Reed has all of the requirements, plus. His only downfall is the state he hails from, Rhode Island, which has all the meaning of winning the Guam primary earlier in the year. He is however, a New Englander, which should be helpful. Take a look at his accomplishments so far, and tell me we aren't staring at the Obama Veep selection (as soon as he assuages the Clinton / PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) sore losers (including me).

Jack Reed, 58 years old. Received his B.S. from West Point, and a Masters from Harvard (JFK school of government, which will definately give barack a "chubby"). He served in the military as an army ranger, a paratrooper, served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an Infantry Platoon leader in the 325th Infantry Regiment, a Company Commander, and a Battalion Staff Officer.

He came back and attended Harvard Law, joined two different law firms, then went back to West Point as an Associate Professor. He served 3 terms as a Rhode Island state Senator, one term in the House of Representatives, and two terms in the Senate, where he currently is a member of the Senate Armed Forces committee, the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee, as well as the Senate Appropriations committee.

He is a Roman Catholic (again, pleasing to JFK crazed Obama), with an extremely liberal voting record, although not quite as liberal as Obama. He married professional Senate staffer Julia Hart in a Roman Catholic ceremony in the Catholic chapel on the United States Military Academy campus on April 16, 2005. On January 5, 2007, Mrs. Reed gave birth to a daughter, Emily (devout family man).

What else do you need? Experience, a veteran, serves on the three most powerful committees in the Senate, attended Harvard, a former educator, extremely liberal to calm down the Obama critics that he is merging towards the center, a devout family man, and a person of faith. Add to this the not so obvious (and continuing) JFK comparisons, and we have our man. The only thing he hasn't done is get captured while commanding a PT boat. And now, he travels to Iraq with Obama, and coincidence (?), he did the George Stephanopolis show today. SLAM DUNK!! It's Obama / Reed 2008. Here is the video....http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5316923

CAPTION CONTEST

My vote:

I guess MSNBC was right, it IS curtains for Hillary

JOIN IN: CLICK ON THE WORD "COMMENTS" BELOW

OBAMA IN NEGOTIATIONS TO SPEAK AT THE BRADENBURG GATE

The Bush administration vehemently hates the idea. John McCain has not come out publically, but should hate the idea. Barack Obama has put out requests to speak before Germany's Brandenburg gate.

What is so important about this gate? Let me give you some history....

When the Nazis ascended to power they used the Gate as their symbol. The Gate survived World War II and was one of the few structures standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945. Following Germany's surrender and the end of the second world war, the governments of East Berlin and West Berlin restored it in a joint effort. Vehicles and pedestrians could again travel freely through the gate, until August 1961 when the Berlin Wall was erected. The wall and its fortified death strip ran just west of the gate, cutting off access from West Berlin and essentially rendering it off limits to East Berliners.
In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large banners across it to prevent him looking into the East (and thus, made this visit very important to Obama, who has a HUGE Kennedy hero worship complex).

On June 12 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke to the West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall. Addressing General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan said, “ General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the Berlin Wall collapsed, the Gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify (get the symbolism?) the City of Berlin. On the 22nd of December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate re-opened when Helmut Kohl, the West German Chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German Prime Minister.
On July 12, 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke at the Gate about peace in post-Cold War Europe.
In July of 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is rumored to make a keynote address on transatlantic relations at the Brandenburg Gate, during his visit to Germany on July 24th. There has been some controversy and disagreements surrounding the details of this visit between Berlin's Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel has stated that, due to the Brandenburg Gate's historical and political significance, the site should only be reserved for very special occasion addresses by politicians, and only by elected American presidents.

The German government, however, is more concerned with other possible side-effects of the speech. An overly warm welcome for Obama could anger the Republican candidate, John McCain, as it would not exactly be a good starting point should McCain be elected this autumn. Furthermore, any indication that Berlin is over-eager to see the end of the Bush administration is not likely to play well in Washington.
Indeed, Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt told the mass circulation tabloid Bild that "it would be nice if the German government would focus on strengthening its contacts to us rather than already beginning to look for our successors." Although officially denying it, rumors circling around Washington are that the Bush administration have used back channels to protest, and circumvent Obama from looking like the President heir apparent while visiting Germany.

PICKENS PLAN: NO SMALL PICKINS'

Let's review the numbers:

We are importing 70% of our transportation fuel to the tune of $700 billion.

This is a radical increase from 1970, when we imported 24%.

Of the 85million barrels the world produces today, we import 21million barrels, or 25% of the world's supply, despite only having 4% of the world's population.

Not hard to see we have developed a serious problem for ourselves.

Not to mention who is profiting from our addiction, the exact people we are at odds with.

We get weaker, they get stronger.

My only question is, where was self described "oilman" T. Boone Pickens ten years ago with this knowledge? Obviously getting rich off the same addiction he professes to fight against today. Getting rich, getting the Bush tax cuts, getting all the benefits of being our petroleum "pusher."

But, I must say he does raise valid points. Why is it, our Ivy leaguers in Washington haven't seen the light years and years ago? Would it be cynical to think they didn't want to bite the hands that feed them with campaign financing at election time? Why is it the Bush family, oilmen themselves (and on very good terms with the Saudis and the Bin Laden family), not raised this specter 25 years ago?

Please watch this very short video, and it will make sense to you.

A POLITICAL BLOGGER'S DREAM WEAK

Jesse Jackson

In a shocking blast at Barack Obama that was caught on tape, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, “I wanna cut his nuts out.” He made the astonishingly vulgar remark as he accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of giving moral lectures to African-Americans.“See, Barack [has] been talking down to black people . . . I wanna cut his nuts out,” Jackson said.His whispered comments - accompanied by his hand-miming a cutting motion - were picked up by a live mike before an interview on health care in Fox News Channel’s Chicago studio Sunday.

Phil Graham, Senior Campaign Advisor to McCain

John McCain economic adviser Thursday who said the United States has become a “nation of whiners” suffering from a “mental recession,” as McCain distanced himself from the remarks. Phil Gramm, who now is the No. 2 at the Swiss bank UBS, told The Washington Times the U.S. has benefited from globalization but most Americans are misguided by constant reports that the economy is at its worst in 30 years.
“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” Gramm, a former Texas senator, told the newspaper, adding that the presumptive Republican nominee will face an uphill battle fighting those perceptions.“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in ‘decline’ despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy.”

Carly Fiorina Senior Advisor to McCain, and thought to be on a Veep short list

"There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth control medication. Those women would like a choice." She also told women in Ohio that McCain "has never signed on to efforts to overturn Roe vs. Wade."

John McCain, in response to Ms. Fiorina

Talk about a deer caught in the headlights....what haven't you thought much about....birth control coverage by insurance, or Viagra? He doesn't know how he voted on it? He is an old, old man with a smoking hot wife....and he hasn't thought about Viagra? That is a shame on many, many levels. When I see John McCain, I think of medical opinions that former President Reagan was in the beginning of Alzheimer's during his second term. Scary.

ANOTHER BILL OF RIGHT GOES INTO THE GOP SHREDDER

Did you really expect to be granted your constitutional rights by the Republican party?

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was in Denver, CO, today for a town hall meeting. The event, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, was billed as “open to the public.” Yet Carol Kreck, a 61-year-old librarian carrying a “McCain=Bush” sign, was taken away by police for trespassing. A police officer told Kreck: You have two choices. You can keep your sign here and receive a ticket for trespassing, or you can remove the sign and stay in line and attend this town hall meeting.

She asked a very good question...."Why would Republican's consider a sign that said...McCain=Bush ...offensive?" Are they ashamed of their supreme leader? Or did her right to free speech go into the GOP shredder?

DNC ATTEMPT TO FILL 75,000 SEAT STADIUM FOR OBAMA....NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH WILL BE THE MEMORIES OF KENNEDY AND KING, JR.

According to a DNC memo on their web site.....

"Breaking the mold of traditional political Conventions, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today announced that Senator Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States at Denver’s INVESCO Field at Mile High. INVESCO Field can accommodate more than 75,000 people and will be the site of the 2008 Democratic Convention’s final day of programming on Thursday, August 28, 2008." The Pepsi Center, the sight of the first three days of the convention, has room for about 21,000 people.

"When we said we wanted to 'bring down the walls,' open up this convention like never before and truly speak to the American people, we meant it," said Leah D. Daughtry, chief executive officer of the Democratic National Committee Convention. "On Aug. 28, we will offer grassroots Democrats, who have turned out in record numbers this year, the opportunity to witness history shoulder to shoulder with thousands of Americans standing up for the change our country desperately needs."
A special block of "community" credentials will be reserved for Colorado residents for Thursday night's program at INVESCO Field. Details about how to sign up and receive a "community credential" for the last night of the convention will be released in the coming weeks.

Aug. 28 also happens to be the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, given to tens of thousands at The Mall in Washington, D.C.
Although it is a surprise to move Obama's acceptance speech to the football stadium -- versus the more traditional, indoor arena setting -- it is not unprecedented. In 1960, the Democratic National Convention was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena but nominee John F. Kennedy delivered his acceptance speech next door at the Memorial Coliseum.

And, lets face it, Obama does suffer from extreme hero worship when it comes to JFK. He has openly embraced the Kennedy family, right down to asking Teddy and Caroline to campaign for him, although their efforts were largely in vein in Massachusettes.

"I hope that no American -- I hope that no American, considering the really critical issues facing this country, will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me because of my religious affiliation (Race) . It is not relevant. "

"I am telling you what you are entitled to know: As I come before you seeking your support for the most powerful office in the free world -- I am saying to you that my decisions on every public policy will be my own, as an American, as a Democrat, and as a free man."

"We are not here to curse the darkness; we are here to light a candle. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: If we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. Today our concern must be with that future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. "

John F. Kennedy July, 1960

CLINTON FOLLOWERS STILL UNDETERED ONE MONTH LATER

A growing number of Clinton supporters polled say they may stay home in November instead of casting their ballot for Obama, an indication the party has yet to coalesce around the Illinois senator four weeks after the most prolonged and at times divisive primary race in modern American history came to a close.
According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Friday, the number of Clinton supporters who plan to defect to Republican Sen. John McCain's camp is down from one month ago, but -- in what could be an ominous sign for Obama as he seeks to unify the party -- the number of them who say they plan to vote for Obama is also down, and a growing number say they may not vote at all.

In another sign the wounds of the heated primary race have yet to heal, 43 percent of registered Democrats polled still say they would prefer Clinton to be the party's presidential nominee.

That number is significantly higher than it was in early June, when 35 percent of Democrats polled said they preferred Clinton to lead the party's presidential ticket. Obama won 59 percent of support from registered Democrats polled in June; now he garners 54 percent.

THE BEJING OLYMPICS: A CRUMMY PLACE TO BUY CHINESE FOOD

Chinese Olympic organisers yesterday criticised US athletes who are bringing their own food to the Games in Beijing this summer instead of trusting local cuisine. Competitors are banned from importing their own food into the athletes' village under rules drawn up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that are designed to protect the rights of sponsors such as McDonald's and to police the use of illegal substances.
The United States Olympic Committee, which will have more than 600 people in its delegation, is planning to transport its own produce because of fears about public health and food standards in China. The athletes will eat their three daily meals at their training camp at a local university, which is outside the official confines of the Olympic Park.

Other countries are understood to be considering plans to cater their own food after a series of public health scares in China. Chinese-made dumplings contaminated by pesticides made thousands of Japanese ill last month. Tang Yunhua, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Municipal Office for Food Safety, said: “The standards for Olympic food safety are much more strict than international standards.”

When a caterer working for the United States Olympic Committee went to a supermarket in China last year, he encountered a piece of chicken -- half of a breast -- that measured 14 inches. “Enough to feed a family of eight,” said Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues. “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

LET'S ALL EVESDROP ON THE FISA VOTE TOMORROW

FISA. Everyone talking about FISA. Just what is FISA, you ask? FISA stands for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. In essence, this bill will determine the ability, and legal standards by way the federal government can gather information through wiretapping. This has raised numerous privacy issues on the left, which are being countered by the usual scare tactics of the right. It should be noted, although the conservatives insist that they need warrant less wiretapping abilities as an integral part of Homeland Securities, the present law already allows them to immediately begin wiretapping, and secure the subpoena later. It should also be noted, there are almost no precedences of a wiretapping subpoena ever being denied.

Here are the basics, told from the liberal point of view...

The purpose of the bill is to address a problem that everyone agrees should be fixed – namely, making clear that the government does not have to get a warrant for foreign-to-foreign communications that happen to pass through the U.S. The new bill goes far beyond this narrow fix, however. It allows the government to listen in on international communications to and from law-abiding Americans in the U.S. who have no connections to terrorism, and the checks on this international dragnet authority are entirely inadequate.

Under the new FISA bill, H.R. 6304, the immunity outcome is predetermined. A federal district court could review in secret the letters to companies to determine whether ‘substantial evidence’ indicates that they received written requests stating the activity was authorized by the President and determined to be lawful. But information declassified by the Senate Intelligence Committee already indicates that the companies got such written requests – meaning immunity is virtually guaranteed.

The bill prohibits intentionally targeting a person outside the U.S. without an individualized court order if “the purpose” is really to target someone reasonably believed to be in the U.S., and it requires the executive branch to establish guidelines for implementing this requirement. But the guidelines are not subject to judicial review, and the bill does not include provisions approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee bill that would require the government to obtain a court order whenever a significant purpose of the surveillance is to acquire the communications of an American.

The bill does not include a prohibition on bulk collection – the collection of all international communications into and out of the U.S. to a whole continent or even the entire world. Such collection would be constitutionally suspect and would go well beyond what the government has says it needs to protect the American people.

If the government goes forward with surveillance before obtaining court approval, and the court subsequently determines that the government’s surveillance violated the law, the government can nonetheless keep and use any information it obtained.

McCAIN: OLD OBAMA: OUTSIDER

The top 10 answers people volunteered when asked to describe presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll released Monday. Included is the percentage of people who gave each answer. More than one response was allowed.
John McCain:
1. Old, 19 percent
2. Military service, 9 percent
3. Record, qualifications, 8 percent
4. Bush, 7 percent
5. Strength, 7 percent
6. Insider, politician, 7 percent
7. Iraq, terrorism, 6 percent
8. Honest, 5 percent
9. Republican, 5 percent
10. (tie) Moral/good and dishonest, 4 percent
Barack Obama:
1. Outsider, change, 20 percent
2. Lack of experience, 13 percent
3. Dishonest, 9 percent
4. Inspiring, 8 percent
5. Liberal, 6 percent
6, 7 (tie). Obama's race, young, 6 percent
8. Not likable, 5 percent
9. Intelligent, 4 percent
10. Muslim, 3 percent
The AP-Yahoo! News poll of 1,759 adults was conducted from June 13-23 and had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews.

Take the poll yourself

CLICK HERE

THE LIBERAL POINT OF EPIPHANY

As the process of electing our next President rolls into July, has the liberal base of the Democratic party come to the conclusion that the Obama campaign has, in effect pulled the wool over their eyes, and can no longer be trusted on any of the positions they have taken in order to win the primary?

As much as I detest the term "flip flop", it is an undeniable fact that the person Obama characterized himself to be, and eventually stand for, no longer exists. He once described the taking of union campaign funds as special interest money (especially when Clinton and Edwards garnered most of it). He now claims it is nothing more than a 527 for the working class. Of course, early on he pledged to take public financing if he became the Democratic nominee. Now that he is leading the way in campaign financing, he no longer wants any part of it.

But it doesn't end there. His positions on a Cuban embargo, FISA, supporting the death penalty in certain cases, and now, he is back peddling SLIGHTLY on his Iraqi timetable for withdrawal. He has even gone so far as to "redefine" his position on some late term abortion criterion. He once told us there were debates with John McCain he was "looking forward to having." He now avoids even the slightest mention of debates, town hall meetings and the like. These are not minor changes. These are wholesale changes on major issues, a definitive movement to the center, politically speaking from a Senator with the most liberal voting record in Congress. A movement which draws him closer to independent voters, yes. But in doing so, he also is moving closer to John McCain, and the Bush administration he so vehemently opposed in defeating Hillary Clinton.

The Illinois senator has excited many with the notion that he is a new, transcendent type of politician. General election campaigns invariably find candidates fine-tuning what they said during primaries. When politicians compete against others in their party, they must appeal to the most partisan, who tend to make up the majority of enthusiastic voters at that stage. But general elections require a broader appeal, particularly to the vast center of the nation's electorate. So it's not uncommon as spring fades and November approaches to see candidates de-emphasize or even cast off some of their most extreme positions in favor of policy more palatable to the middle.

Obama said his overall problem is that he was incorrectly tagged to begin with as being a product solely of his party's left wing, so that statements displaying a broad ideological range are portrayed as shifts when they are not. "When I simply describe what has been my position consistently, then suddenly people act surprised," he lamented earlier this week. The same people who are now surprised at what their messianic candidate has turned into.

With the results of the past month behind us, is it now fair to say that the Obama liberal base has soured at the Obama du jour? Have they indeed, reached an epiphany? The epiphany that they were sold a bill of goods AGAIN, and have consorted to enable the conservatives to stay in the White House, namely by voting down the one true candidate (Clinton) who would have a chance for election in November?

There is an elephant in the room, that being a larger number of liberal politicos by the week who (quietly) are increasingly aware that perhaps their golden child may in fact, be unelectable?

Let's face it. Obama is running against a candidate who represents an extension of an administration with a favorability rating just under the freezing point....in Celsius. Yet, he is neck and neck with their heir apparent.

I believe the true liberal base has been quietly concerned, and yes, appalled by the Obama shift away from their core beliefs. Trouble is, in their rush to hold a coronation for someone fresh on the scene, they have in effect, cast their votes for Bush yet again. And they know it. Towards the end of the primary season, Clinton was kicking Obama's ass like a drum. Only Michigan and Florida's unique brand of stupidity kept Clinton from winning, despite running a campaign out of the 80's.

My opinion? If we were to hold a national Democratic referendum as to who will represent the party....Clinton would win hands down.

So where do we go from here? No where. We are absolutely stuck with Obama, and hopefully a semi intelligent choice for a running mate. For all of the talk of the "One America" may have worked with the libs in the primaries, but right now, they would settle for "One Obama."

The shifting right by Obama is troubling. The lack of momentum is disheartening. The side stepping, the denials, the "mulligan" press conferences to correct gaffs spoken hours before........they are scary. While Obama played the primaries to win, he is starting to play the general election not to lose. And it isn't working.

And in my opinion, the liberal voting base is beginning to have buyers remorse. That is the World ....."According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

OBAMA HAS NO COKE PROBLEM

Announcing a campaign where you can actually buy your candidate into office. The Jones cola company is selling...no, hawking four different 6 packs, each baring a different candidates likeness, and posting the "election" results on its web site.

Each 6 pack, presumably a collectors item in the year 2050, goes for $15 each plus shipping and handling.

Just for the record, the voting so far is like this.

Obama, 6408,

McCain 1926,

Clinton 1686

and Paul 204.

I can only assume that Clinton supporters are either too busy working hard, or think coke will stain their dentures.

Obama supporters clearly are the least apprehensive to support their candidate, especially when it comes to purchasing coke.

A FELLOW P.O.W. TAKES DEAD AIM AT McCAIN'S PRESIDENTIAL RUN

From www.military.com, the truth about John McCain's military service from a man who knows, someone who was a POW right beside McCain. Phillip Butler was shot down in 1965 over North Vietnam where he spent eight years as a prisoner of war. He is a highly decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.
Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain by Phillip Butler

"People often ask if I was a Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is always "No - John McCain was a POW with me." The reason is I was there for 8 years and John got there 2 ½ years later, so he was a POW for 5 ½ years. And we have our own seniority system, based on time as a POW. "
John's treatment as a POW:
1) Was he tortured for 5 years? No. He was subjected to torture and maltreatment during his first 2 years, from September of 1967 to September of 1969. After September of 1969 the Vietnamese stopped the torture and gave us increased food and rudimentary health care.

2) John was badly injured when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and he had other wounds from his ejection. Because John's father was the Naval Commander in the Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV interviews while wounded. These film clips have now been widely seen. But it must be known that many POW's suffered similarly, not just John.

3) John was offered, and refused, "early release." Many of us were given this offer. It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your treatment to the press. You had to "admit" that the U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was "lenient and humane." So I, like numerous others, refused the offer. This was obviously something none of us could accept.

4) John was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in combat. This heroism has been played up in the press and in his various political campaigns. But it should be known that there were approximately 600 military POW's in Vietnam. Among all of us, decorations awarded have recently been totaled to the following: Medals of Honor - 8, Service Crosses - 42, Silver Stars - 590, Bronze Stars - 958 and Purple Hearts - 1,249.

"Furthermore I believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate. I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button.

It is also disappointing to see him take on and support Bush's war in Iraq, even stating we might be there for another 100 years. For me John represents the entrenched and bankrupt policies of Washington-as-usual. The past 7 years have proven to be disastrous for our country. And I believe John's views on war, foreign policy, economics, environment, health care, education, national infrastructure and other important areas are much the same as those of the Bush administration. "
"I'm disappointed to see John represent himself politically in ways that are not accurate. He is not a moderate Republican. On some issues he is a maverick. But his voting record is far to the right. I fear for his nominations to our Supreme Court, and the consequent continuing loss of individual freedoms, especially regarding moral and religious issues. John is not a religious person, but he has taken every opportunity to ally himself with some really obnoxious and crazy fundamentalist ministers lately. I was also disappointed to see him cozy up to Bush because I know he hates that man. He disingenuously and famously put his arm around the guy, even after Bush had intensely disrespected him with lies and slander. So on these and many other instances, I don't see that John is the "straight talk express" he markets himself to be."

FROM THE "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" FILE

Bill still fuming over Hillary's loss in the primaries....

The former president's rage is still so great that even loyal allies are shocked by his patronising attitude to Mr Obama, and believe that he risks damaging his own reputation by his intransigence. A senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton has revealed that he recently told friends Mr Obama could "kiss my ass" in return for his support.

It has long been known that Mr Clinton is angry at the way his own reputation was tarnished during the primary battle when several of his comments were interpreted as racist. But his lingering fury has shocked his friends. Bill Clinton knows the party will unite behind Obama, but he is telling people he doesn't believe Obama can win round voting groups, especially working-class whites, in the swing states.

How does this play out considering it has become increasingly clear that he cannot win without his spouse, Hillary? He is failing to make the "four more Bush years" persona stick to McCain in any appreciable way, and the tight polling shows it. He will have an extremely tough time drawing out the youth vote, or working class white vote he will so desperately need to get the necessary electoral votes.

Obama, once considered to be of a messianic status, is not drawing crowds like he used to. His campaign, once seemingly inevitable, has reached near normalcy, as McCain's charges of "flip-flopping" has stuck, and hurt him badly. Today, the media is all over his apparent back stepping on his Iraqi withdrawal time table, a bedrock position, as important as being pro-choice.

Stupid stupid move.
For him to allow the voters to consider him less than honest and forthright with his original platforms will be an absolute deathblow.

The American public has had his "change" mantra driven down their collective gullets, and he must show that he can indeed be the person we need to "turn the page" on the American political past. As he continues his John Kerry like saunter from his liberal beliefs to the middle ground, people are seeing politics as usual. If this is allowed to continue, people will start to question the unknown, which he largely is..........if the voters begin to become apprehensive towards him, they will either stay home, or go with the "devil they know", John McCain.

HOUSE OF CARDS

From the American Thinker.....How could any politician rise so quickly on the legendarily corrupt Chicago political scene and be as pure as Obama's devoted followers were purporting him to be?
Well now we're beginning to find out and it ain't pretty. In a lengthy, and amazingly frank, Boston Globe article depicting the dismal results of Chicago's attempt to develop and manage low income housing through private developers, we see that the candidate of change is nothing more than another Chicago machine-generated pol with his feet firmly mired in the muck of corruption of the city he chose to make his political base.

From the Globe article we learn that Tony Rezko, FOB, (Friend of Barack's) whom we have known up to now only as a corrupt developer, was and is, in fact, a slum lord, although on a much grander scale than what we usually associate with that term. Using government subsidies which Obama helped them obtain, Rezko and other FOB's, some now actively associated with his campaign, developed low income housing with fancy sounding names and substandard construction within Obama's state senatorial district.

The article points out that it was Obama's law firm and Obama himself that represented these slum lords when angry tenants complained about overflowing sewage, inoperable heating units and rat infestations. And guess what? Just as we're expected to believe that Obama sat in his church for twenty years and never heard any of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's racist diatribes, now we're told Obama was unaware of the slum-like conditions his constituents were living in, conditions directly attributable to the thievery from public coffers of his political cronies like Rezko.

Thirteen years later, the now out-of-business slum lord, Tony Rezko, is a convicted felon and on his way to federal prison, while his political protégé is trying to become the head of the federal government. Do you suppose foreign-born Tony understands irony?
So what at first seemed nothing more than tainted whiffs of unwise political and religious associations by Obama are growing into a stench of ordinary political corruption that may very well be more than many moderate voters, even Democrats, can stomach.

CLARK WAS WRONG, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS RIGHT

Retired General Wesley Clark, speaking to Face the Nation on Lieberman's quote that McCain is much more ready to be Commander in Chief......

"He was untested and untried." "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war."
That was where Clark should have zipped his lips. But, as if he couldn't hold back some raging impulse, he went on:
"He hasn't held executive responsibility. … I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."
In a sense, of course, Clark is right. There's nothing about flying a plane—or, for that matter, driving a tank or shooting a rifle—that indicates a talent for high office. Nor does being a Prisoner of War. Although we certainly get somewhat of a picture and testament of McCain's inner qualities, this, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily make him the ultimate candidate for the position of Commander of Chief. There were well over 19oo soldiers who were either POWs or MIAs. No one could argue that all 1900 would make a slam dunk candidate to run our entire military forces.

As ill advised as the statements were from Clark, he is one of a handful of military men with the absolute right to look down his nose at the military career of anyone, including John McCain. Look at the facts.....

In 1967, Navy Lt. Commander John McCain was flying A-4E Skyhawk attack planes off the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier. He was on his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when an air-defense battery shot him out of the sky. He crashed into Hanoi's Truc Bach Lake (where a statue of him was erected, in celebration of the event) and was held prisoner for the next five years.
In 1970, Army Capt. Wes Clark was commanding the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, of the 1st Infantry Division ("the Big Red One"), when a Viet Cong soldier shot him four times. Though seriously wounded, he ordered his men to fight back, and they won the skirmish. Clark was hospitalized and awarded a Silver Star.

CARLIN ON POLITICS

In 1941, the editor Edward Dowling wrote: "The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it."

George Carlin, recently passing away, put this viewpoint in his own, inimitable style. So, as a tribute to one of the great social commenter's and observers of our generation, here is George Carlin's take on politics. Hold onto your hats (and sorry for some of the less than socially acceptable language, however I didn't feel worthy to paraphrase Mr. Carlin).......

"The politicians are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets, and they own all the big media, so they control just about all the information you get. They've got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying to get what they want.

Well, we know what they want."They want more for themselves, and less for everybody else. But I’ll tell you what they don’t want: they don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that, that doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. They don’t want people that are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting screwed by a system that threw them overboard 30-fucking-years ago. They don’t want that.

"You know what they want? Obedient workers. Obedient workers: people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly-shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime, and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And now they’re coming for your social security money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And they'll get it, because they own this fuckin' place. It's a club, and you ain't in it, and I ain't in it..."...Good, honest, hard-working people -- white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on -- good honest hard-working people continue, people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t care about you at all...at all...at all. And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care."That’s what the owners count on."