DON'T TELL ME MY VOTE DOESN'T COUNT !!

click here for a video about your blogmeister, Kimba

I honestly did not know the consequences involved with my not being able to find my polling place. as you will see from the video, I owe a huge apology to you, my reader, my country, and the world. Kimba

IDENTITY CRISIS

Barack Obama. He has been portrayed as the anti-Christ, the Messiah, a radical sympathizer, the next JFK, a tax and spend liberal, a race baiter, a bigot, he's black, he's a dark skinned white, anti-Israel, anti-American, anti-white, a Muslim, a socialist, a hope monger, a liar, a closet communist, a Hugo Chavez junior, a charlatan and a host of other very appealing labels. OK, fine, it was election time, and the opposition desperately looked for something that would stick to Obama's hard Teflon coating.

But how on earth does anyone connect the dots and come up with the inane comparison between Obama and Marx, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Castro (the poster above was found in a McCain campaign office in Florida according to reports)? By appealing to the youth vote to become engaged in the process? For calling for "change? (and at a time when the current administrations favorables were hovering just above 28).

The truth is, even after getting elected, he is still searching....no, the American population is searching for his true identity. And as his administration solidifies, we will begin to see the true measure of this man. And as we do, I for one think America will breathe a collective sigh of relief. Not only Democrats, but Republicans as well. I still think deep down inside, even most moderate Republicans hoped to hell McCain and especially Palin would not be elected.

And so now, the country waits, hopefully with an open mind, and the realization that it took King George II eight years to get us to this precipice, and it will take more than hope and one four year term to get us out of it.

SEATS AVAILABLE NEXT TO BEN AFFLECK

Event: Swearing in Ceremony - E
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Time: 12:00 AM
Day: Tuesday
Section: Reserved Seating
Row: VIP
Qty: 2 x $20095.00
TOTAL: $40190.00

Tickets still available for the Presidential inauguration ceremony

pricing per GoTickets.com

But wait, here is the official version of how the tickets are distributed.....There's actually an office in D.C. that does nothing but prepare for inaugural events. It's called the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. It's the office in charge of tickets for the swearing-in. And it's busy."There's tremendous interest. Our phones have been ringing off the hook," says Carole Florman, the office's spokeswoman. She says her office printed 240,000 inauguration tickets. They're stored away in a locked office. The week before the inauguration, her office will distribute them to Senators and Congressional representatives. And those are the people who actually hand out the tickets.

So, what I want to know is, how is GoTickets.com so sure they can get tickets for the event, yet alone take advance money for them? Do they have Senators and Representatives in the bag? This is just plain wrong, folks.

What on earth will be next, the swearing in ceremony only televised on pay per view?

ELECTION PONDERY

Am I the only one in California agast at the electorates willingness to vote in civil rights for chickens and farm animals, all the while voting to strip the gay community of the right to marry? What were you thinking??? HA!! The jokes on you, California. All chickens are gay, and pigs are the biggest perverts on God's green acres. Live with that, born agains !!

OBAMA ISSUE NUMBER ONE: JOE LIEBERMAN

OK, so Obama ran on a change platform. He promised to reach across the aisle, and end the divide that has infiltrated Congress. He claims to abhor the partisan politics that have marked American government for the past twenty years. Now, the entire platform will come to its first, and ultimate test; the Audacity of a Dope, Joe Lieberman.

Among party leaders (at least publically), they hope he will come back into the democratic fold, albeit with a chilly welcoming party to be sure. Privately, they have held their first meeting with Lieberman and the party leaders, who have assured him they will be glad to have him come back, but there will be punitive measures attached, namely the demotion to Senate committees caring zero clout or prestige. Clearly, the Homeland Security committee is out of the question, as is any committee speakership role.

You see, Lieberman didn't just come to the rescue of his lifelong friend, John McCain. He could have, and should have stopped at campaign stump speeches and his full endorsement for the Dems opponent, and we could have lived with that. What he did was to call Obama on the carpet. For his experience, his abilities, and worst of all (and quite possibly unforgivable), called Obama on his level of patriotism.

"Senator Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead," Lieberman said in a speech at the Republican National Convention. "But eloquence is no substitute for a record — not in these tough times." Later in the same speech Lieberman misleadingly accused Obama of "voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground."

In the past, we could have forgiven Lieberman for the unique power his seat has in a very minute majority in the Senate. Of course, given the success of the democratic push to acquire additional senate seats, Lieberman's seat has far less importance to a party with a much larger majority than ever before.

And there is the rub. Lieberman's blue book value has depreciated over the 2008 campaigns, at least to the liberal base, still reeling at the voracity of his willingness to defeat the Obama / Biden ticket. A voracity that, rumor has it, McCain wanted to reward...with the bottom of the ticket, which would have been a truly "Mavericky" move, to be sure. But when the party elders balked at the VP position going even farther left than McCain himself, McCain threw up his hands and admitted defeat. And onto the scene came one Sarah Palin. And the rest is history.

This week, Lieberman has had audiences with both sides party leaders. Depending on who you talk to, Lieberman is either the ultimate free agent, valued wild card, or damaged goods. And while it may be tempting to listen to both sides, he must move cautiously, as his chances of being re-elected from Connecticut will be greatly enhanced without a conservative moniker. And so, the soap opera that is the beltway continues.

And that is the world...."The World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

HER FUTURE LOOKS BLEAK

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska fired back Friday at the unnamed McCain campaign aides who have been maligning her in recent days, saying that their criticism was “cruel and it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional, and those guys are jerks.”

Fox News, quoted unnamed McCain campaign officials, as saying that Ms. Palin had not known that Africa was a continent, not a country, and claiming that she did not know which countries were covered by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Add this to her incredibly stupid early interviews with Katie Couric among others, and you will get a picture of a political neophyte, and not the "leader of the Republican party" others may try to proclaim her.

And so, we ask the question, does this mean, inexperienced and vapid Alaskan governor have a future on the national stage, or has she received her undeserved fifteen minutes of fame, and must, for the good of the party go gently into the night?

I for one, cannot believe she could be considered for dog catcher, let alone deserve national prominence. Despite making several gaffes on the campaign circuit, she continues to this day, to point the blame elsewhere. Of the press, she has been quoted as saying, “The majority of the press have been fair, but there have been some stinkers, though, who have kind of made the whole basket full of apples, once in a while, smell kind of bad.”

The McCain campaigns efforts to paint her as a hard nosed budget "bull dog" certainly back fired as the press reported on her $150,000.00 wardrobe expenditure, not to mention her love of all things pork barrel earmarked for her state. Even her boasts of selling the executive plane on E-Bay turned out to be a lie, as it was unloaded for a loss in auction.

Worst of all for the Palin reputation were the constant and persistent reports of her rogue-like behavior, described as "diva like" by campaign staffers, causing an enormous rift between her and Senator McCain through the final month of the campaign.

Did she cost McCain a considerable number of votes as speculated? I say yes, although with her or without her, McCain would have lost the election. The final analysis will show the ultimate causes of the McCain near landslide defeat to Obama was an economic downturn, the George Bush record / administration, the Barack Obama change message, Sarah Palin and McCain himself, in that order.

There are, of course, desenting views of Ms. Palin's future. Katherine Berry, in the right wing blog, Pajamas Media writes...."the continued inability of McCain’s staff to recognize that Sarah Palin could — indeed, should — have been the GOP’s Obama. Her folksy, “hockey Mom” persona was the perfect foil to Obama’s claim that he was a relative Washington outsider, just as her from-the-hip speaking style was the mirror image of Obama’s soaring, lofty rhetoric. Where Obama sought to break the racial barrier as a harbinger of change and reform, Palin as the vice president would have broken the gender barrier, accomplishing the same goal. Yet despite the huge surge in the GOP’s favor after naming Palin to the ticket, the McCain campaign squandered away her appeal. Some wonder now, in hindsight, whether this waste was intentional."

As to Palin's future, she, as always, has the last word....“I don’t have any idea of what the next chapter of life is going to open up into, and I look forward to just the surprises that life offers.” Pithy, as always Governor. Your fifteen minutes of fame are up, and you have been relegated to a very small asterisk in history. Go live your Alaskan life Grandma, and leave us alone.

MY 357 PREDICTION FOR OBAMA ALMOST CAME TRUE

YES HE CAN

PROPOSITIONAL INTRIGUE

While all eyes will certainly be on the race for the White House, their are some very interesting propositions on state ballots across the country, which could explain the record turnouts many states are experiencing, and straining to control.

California has two propositions with nationwide attention, one involving same-sex marriages, which are currently legal since a state Supreme Court decision in May and thousands of gay and lesbian couples already wed. Florida and Arizona also have constitutional amendments on their ballots that would limit marriage to a man and a woman. More than two-dozen states have previously approved such amendments.

San Francisco has proposition K, which will decriminalize prostitution. An Oregon initiative would tie any merit pay for teachers to "classroom performance." Colorado and Nebraska have proposals that would ban race-and gender-based affirmative action, similar to measures previously approved in California, Michigan and Washington.

In Washington, voters will decide whether to join Oregon as the only states offering terminally ill people the option of physician-assisted suicide. Massachusetts has three distinctive measures on its ballot — to ban dog racing, ease marijuana laws and scrap the state income tax, a step that could unleash budgetary tumult.

Of course, the true hot button issue is abortion. California, a very liberal state, votes on whether to require a 48-hour waiting period and parental notification before a minor’s abortion. Much to the opposite of California, Colorado has a "person hood" amendment on its ballot that would define human life as beginning at fertilization. A South Dakota initiative would outlaw abortions but includes exceptions for rape, incest and pregnancies that threaten a woman's health.

An interesting potpourri of issues out there. One state wants to legalize assisted suicides, one wants to allow minors to have abortions without the knowledge of their parents, and at the same time, two move forward to ban abortion altogether. In other states, propositions seek to allow gambling casinos, decriminalized prostitution and the easing of marijuana penalties. Oregon wants to tie performance based merit increases for their educators, and has another proposition to limit teaching of students in languages other than English to no more than two years in Oregon.

Just looking at the nation's statewide propositions underscores what we already know, this nation has become a red / blue nation, a strict dichotomy of people and beliefs, not the least of which are our moralistic views on allowing any governmental influence on our individual rights and behaviors.

THE BALLOT ACCORDING TO KIMBA

I am about as comfortable telling someone who and what I will be voting for as I am when someone at work asks me where I have my 401K money invested in (I moved my money into a mutual fund over six months ago, thus saving a down market). But, I have had a sufficient amount of people asking me, and I am assuming if I don't give them my positions, they will get their info from someone else, so here goes. My hope is that they will read my positions and do a little research on their own prior to going into the voting booth.

President: a true no-brainer. OBAMA / BIDEN

1 high speed rail project ...................NO

2 animal rights ..................................NO

3 childrens hospital bond .................NO

4 parental abortion notifications .....NO

5 non violent crimes / parole.........YES

6 criminal penalties .........................YES

7 renewable energy ..........................NO

8 eliminate gay marriage ................NO

9 victims rights ................................YES

10 alternative energy ......................NO

11 redistricting ...................................NO

12 veterans bond .............................YES

S salt water system ban ..................NO

Needless to say, I am in favor of the straight Democratic ticket.

And, for everyone living in the Bay Area, please vote YES on Proposition K (You rock).

BUT without doubt, no matter who you vote for, VOTE.

It amazes me how few citizens do.

The same citizens who have an opinion on friggin' everything the rest of the year.

Be a patriot and vote.

LATEST GOP AD RUNNING IN THE BATTLEGROUND STATES

As the McCain campaign starts to get some traction with a message on taxes and moves away from Ayers/Wright, the 527s pick up the slack. This morning on Fox News Sunday, a group called the National Republican Trust PAC ran an ad linking Obama to Jeremiah Wright. They will put $2.5 million into running the ad in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio in these last desperate days.

Needless to say, the issues are not even on the GOP radar screen as they seek to continue painting a very ugly, scare campaign against Obama. He is a socialist, terrorist, Palestinian sympathizer / enemy of Israel, radical, Muslim, anti-American son of a bitch. He wasn't native born, he spent his entire college career being guided by the PLO, post college, he freely associated with radical enemies of the state, he is risky, scary, inexperienced, and Black. Watch this nostalgic ad and tell me they aren't the swift boat party.

The National Republican Trust PAC also ran a campaign against Obama over drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, with a blast email entitled "Obama’s Plan: Mohamed Atta Gets His Driver’s License." FactCheck.org said that the Atta ad "mixes a pile of false claims and the image of 9/11 mastermind Mohammed Atta to create one of the sleaziest false TV ads of the campaign." They indicate that the NRT PAC is run by a former writer for the Moonie Insight magazine:

OBAMA 357, McCAIN 181

Make your prediction at http://www.cnn.com/

APPREHENSION, APPLIED LIBERALLY

We have waited nearly eight years for next Tuesday to come. Eight brutal, inept years, marked with an illegal occupation of a country that did nothing to us, and posed no threat. A nation so weak the administration needed to invent and deliberately mis-characterize the intelligence reports to the American people to prevent an uprising.

Our economy has finally gone from the surpluses of the Clinton administration to the rock bottom we experience today. No job creation, rising unemployment levels and record home foreclosures. The public confidence in our representatives at every level, is at an all time low. You would need a micron telescope in order to find one thing, one particle of minutia that could be called a positive result of the incredibly stupid public exercise that was electing George Bush and Dick Cheney, not once, but twice.

So, three days before our next election, the question deserves asking....Why on God's earth is the election so tight? How can the McCain campaign find a group of citizens so unintelligent, so misinformed that they would possibly want to risk four more years of arguably the worst administration in our lifetimes?

Given that Obama has made the case for McCain's love of all things Bush, and given that McCain has put an absolute political incompetent on his ticket, a woman whose candidacy has been marked by daily examples of her ignorance in almost every possible area, we should be up by twenty, no, thirty points in the polls. And yet, we are sweating this one out, and will be to the very end of November 4th.

This should be a landmark decision. A landslide, a clear mandate that the American populous have finally awoken, and we will tolerate this no more. We can't afford to squeak out a victory. We need an overwhelming and distinct victory on Tuesday.

We need a victory the size that rocks the Republican party by the foundation, a true cataclysmic event. We need to declare November 4th forever more as Republican epiphany day, a national holiday that marks the power of the people, and gives a glimmer of hope that the moderates of each party might band together and give rise to a third party.

We can't afford overconfidence, or hubris today or tomorrow. We can't look past this Tuesday, and pick our cabinet, our chief of staffs, or request the health information on all of the Supreme Court Justices. We need to make sure we get this done.

There is a reason why John McCain is spouting off about a possible victory next Tuesday. His base sincerely believes God wants them to show up at the polls and in doing so, will help to ban baby killing and inhibit the sin of homosexuality.

Our base is currently hanging streamers and planning victory party menus.....for a victory that could be circumvented by our arrogance and belief that this is inevitable. So inevitable that our votes are not critical. So, we sweat it out, pace the floors, and continue to check the Weather Channel in fear that bad weather might inhibit the liberal turn out at the polls.

Our reticence is justified, we have seen this movie all before. 2000 and 2004. and, as devastating as those two ill fated Democratic efforts had on our country, they will be nothing compared to the devastation that will be caused by the old man and the hockey mom.

So, mark your calenders, call all of your friends, drink a glass of warm milk before retiring for the evening, and double up on your Prozac dosage for the next few mornings. This is going to be a rough few days to come. And, in one last bit bit of irony, with the time change which occurs Sunday Morning, we get an extra hour to sweat it out...

And that is the world...."The World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

LETTER 2012: BECAUSE A VOTE FOR OBAMA IS A VOTE FOR PORNOGRAPHY FOR KIDS, AND A GAY IN EVERY BOY SCOUT PUP TENT

The right-wing religious group "Focus on the Family Action, Inc." has published its last minute "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America", in a further attempt to scare Americans from voting for Barack Obama. You can use the link (previous) and read the letter, or I have picked through and taken out their major points of what will/or may happen if we elect Obama...namely......

Porn for children, Iran nukes Israel, The Boy Scouts no longer exist, No more guns for self defense, Russia occupies Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech republic, and It will be unlawful to discriminate against homosexuals anymore, and oh so much more.

So, without further ado (does using that word make me sound gay?), here are some excerpts from the "Letter 2012 in Obama's America. Good Lord help us all.

"So here is a picture of the changes that are likely or at least very possible if Senator Obama is elected and the far-Left segments of the Democratic Party gain control of the White House, the Congress, and perhaps then the Supreme Court.

Homosexual “marriage” is a “constitutional” right that had to berespected by all 50 states because laws barring same-sex “marriage” violated the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Suddenly, homosexual “marriage” was the law of the land in all 50 states, and no state legislature, no state Supreme Court, no state Constitutional amendment, not even Congress, had any power to change it.

The Boy Scouts no longer exist as an organization. They chose to disband rather than be forced to obey the Supreme Court decision that they would have to hire homosexual scoutmasters and allow them to sleep in tents with young boys.

Elementary schools now include compulsory training in varieties of gender identity in Grade 1, including the goodness of homosexuality as one possible personal choice. Many parents tried to “opt out” their children from such sessions, but the courts have ruled they cannot do this, noting that education experts in the government have decided that such training is essential to children’s psychological health.

There are no more Roman Catholic or evangelical Protestant adoption agencies in the United States. Following earlier rulings in New York and Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 ruled that these agencies had to agree to place children with homosexual couples or lose their licenses. Just as the Catholic Charities adoption agency had closed down for this reason in Massachusetts in 2006,9 so all similar agencies across the United States have now closed down rather than violate their consciences about the moral wrong of homosexual behavior.

All businesses that have government contracts at the national, state or local level now have to provide documentation of equal benefits for same-sex couples.

The Bible can no longer be freely preached over radio or television stations when the subject matter includes such “offensive” doctrines as criticizing homosexual behavior. The Supreme Court agreed that these could be kept off the air as prohibited “hate speech” that is likely to incite violence and discrimination.

Physicians who refuse to provide artificial insemination for lesbian couples now face significant fines or loss of their license.

Professionals who are licensed by individual states are also prohibited from discriminating against homosexuals. Social workers and counselors, even counselors in church staff positions, who refuse to provide “professional, appropriately nurturing marriage counseling” for homosexual couples lose their counseling licenses.

Churches and parachurch organizations are no longer free to reject homosexual applicants for staff positions such as parttime youth pastor or director of counseling.

President Obama invited homosexual rights leaders from around the United States to join him at the White House as he signed an executive order directing all branches of the military to abandon their “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and to start actively recruiting homosexuals.

Tens of thousands of young churches suddenly had no place to meet when the Supreme Court ruled that public schools in all 50 states had to stop allowing churches to rent their facilities — even on Sundays, when school was not in session.

Public school teachers are no longer free to lead students in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States

Nurses are no longer free to refuse to participate in abortions for reasons of conscience. If they refuse to participate, they lose their jobs.

It will be almost impossible to keep children from seeing pornography.

It is illegal for private citizens to own guns for self defense in eight states, and the number is growing with increasing Democratic control of state legislatures and governorships.

The Supreme Court declared that home schooling was a violation of state educational requirements except in cases where the parents (a) had an education certificate from an accredited state program., (b) agreed to use state-approved textbooks in all courses, and (c) agreed not to teach their children that homosexual conduct is wrong, or that Jesus is the only way to God, since these ideas have been found to hinder students’ social adjustment and acceptance of other lifestyles and beliefs, and to run counter to the state’s interest in educating its children to be good citizens.

Since 2009, terrorist bombs have exploded in two large and two small U.S. cities, killing hundreds, and the entire country is fearful, for no place seems safe.

In early 2009, Russia follows the pattern they had begun in Georgia in 2008 and sent troops to occupy and re-take several Eastern European countries, starting with the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Then in the next three years, Russia occupied additional countries that had been previous Soviet satellite nations, including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

In mid-2010, Iran launched a nuclear bomb that exploded in the middle of Tel Aviv, destroying much of that city. They then demanded that Israel cede huge amounts of territory to the Palestinians, and after an anguished all-night Cabinet meeting, Israel’s prime minister agreed.

STEVENS FOUND GUILTY ON ALL 7 COUNTS

Ted Stevens, Alaska senior Senator has been found guilty of all seven counts of lying to congress on financial disclosure documents in regards to free home renovations rendered to his Alaskan residence, and gifts received from a wealthy oil contractor.

The longest serving Republican in the Senate is fighting off a challenge from Democrat Mark Begich and must now either drop out or continue campaigning as a convicted felon. The trial hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, Stevens long time fishing and drinking buddy, who testified that his employees dramatically remodeled the senator's home. Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but, under federal sentencing guidelines, will likely receive much less prison time, if any.

Stevens is charged with lying on Senate financial forms about $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts he received from an oil contractor. Stevens spent three days on the witness stand, vehemently denying that allegation. He said his wife, Catherine, paid every bill they received. Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count, but under federal sentencing guidelines, he would likely receive much less prison time, if any.

GOP PUNDITS AGREE:WE HAVE LOST THE OVAL OFFICE; WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON THE CONGRESSIONAL SEATS

David Frum, in the Washington Post "Let's Salvage What We Can"

"McCain's awful campaign is having awful consequences down the ballot. I spoke a little while ago to a senior Republican House member. "There is not a safe Republican seat in the country," he warned. "I don't mean that we're going to lose all of them. But we could lose any of them."

"In these last days before the vote, Republicans need to face some strategic realities. Our resources are limited, and our message is failing. We cannot fight on all fronts. We are cannibalizing races that we must win and probably can win in order to help a national campaign that is almost certainly lost. In these final 10 days, our goal should be: senators first. "

What should Republicans be doing differently? Two things:
1. Every available dollar that can be shifted to a senatorial campaign must be shifted to a senatorial campaign.

2. We need a message change that frankly acknowledges that the Democrats are probably going to win the White House -- and that warns of the dangers of one-party, left-wing government.

From the Sunday Telegraph:

Aides to George W. Bush, former Reagan White House staff and friends of John McCain not only expect to lose on November 4, but also believe that Mr Obama is poised to win a crushing mandate.
They believe he will be powerful enough to remake the American political landscape with even more ease than Ronald Reagan did in 1980. The prospect of an electoral rout has unleashed a bitter bout of recriminations both within the McCain campaign and the wider conservative movement, over who is to blame and what should be done to salvage the party's future.
Mr McCain is now facing calls for him to sacrifice his own dwindling White House hopes and focus on saving vulnerable Republican Senate seats which are up for grabs on the same day. Their fear is that Democrat candidates riding on Mr Obama's popularity may win the nine extra seats they need in the Senate to give them unfettered power in Congress.
If the Democrat majority in the Senate is big enough - at least 60 seats to 40 - the Republicans will be unable to block legislation by use of a traditional filibuster - talking until legislation runs out of time. No president has had the support of such a majority since Jimmy Carter won the 1976 election.

PALIN OUT OF CONTROL

With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say. Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue." A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign. "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. "Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/25/palin.tension/index.html#cnnSTCText

THE AUDACITY OF AN OBAMA DEFEAT

We are rapidly coming to the end of a history making electoral process, one which has been marked by hotly competitive contests not only between candidates, but candidates who symbolize and represent entire factions of the American electorate; gender, race, age and social status.

Never before in the nation's history has a Presidential campaign season been so defined by dirty politics, race baiting, economic class warfare, the manipulation by an increasingly biased and overzealous press corps, the evolving role of the blogosphere (and the thousands of voices it has created, and legitimized to a certain extent), and an ever increasing sense that the Presidency can be bought and paid for.

In looking back on the 2008 election, historians and researchers will focus and examine every nuance of the process from Iowa to the swearing in ceremony. In the words of William Bennett, "they will have to cut down two forests just to have enough paper to write about this amazing campaign cycle."

As of this writing, depending on which polling data you might prefer, Barack Obama seems to be enjoying the benefit of a double digit lead nationally, and an almost deathlike stranglehold on the electoral process, in which the nation is carved into red, blue and battleground states. Clearly, many political pundits are expecting, and near guaranteeing an Obama/Biden win November 4th, a huge increasing in democratic seats in the House, and a possibility of the liberals gaining enough Senate seats to be filibuster proof (60).

So, having said all of that, what if the inconceivable happens? What if the John McCain and Sarah Palin ticket somehow resurrects itself in the next two weeks and wins the election?

Let’s start with Philly Daily News columnist Fatima Ali, who wrote: "If McCain wins, look for a full-fledged race and class war, fueled by a deflated and depressed country, soaring crime, homelessness and economic despair."

I see more, coupled with this, we may see an already fractious nation split in a thousand different ways; urban vs. heartland, rich vs. poor, liberal vs. conservative and the "Joe plumbers" of the country vs. the educated elitists.

It isn't just me. Let's take a look at what James Carville said to Anderson Cooper after the last debate: "Now let me be clear here, if Obama goes in this race with a 5- point lead and losing this election, the consequences are—bull, man. I mean I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I think David it’s a point to bring up. But you stop and contemplate this country if Obama goes in and he has a consistent five point lead and loses the election, it would be very, very, very dramatic out there.
“Very, very dramatic out there,” seeming to mean “urban black people taking to the streets in protest, one thing leading to another, and all hell breaking loose. A bigoted, racist comment / interpretation? Yes. Truth is, there will be demonstrations everywhere, especially in the poorer, more urban areas and inner-cities.

David Corbin, a politics professor at The King’s College, contends there is potential for public riots the night of or after the election, if Obama’s lead in the polls does not translate into victory.
“I don’t think that’s something that we’ve looked at very closely, and I think that this could be a powder keg here as we get towards that day, given that Senator Obama is an African-American and given that there might be some backlash if he actually loses,” Corbin explains.

Not looked at very closely? Not so, say many senior members of urban police forces, who are gearing up for every possibility. Law enforcement officials say the intense public interest and historic nature of the vote could lead to violent outbreaks if people are unhappy with the results, encounter problems casting their ballots or suspect voting irregularities. Police departments say they cannot rule out disorder and are mobilising extra forces and putting SWAT teams on standby.
In Oakland, near San Francisco, police will have tactical squads, SWAT teams and officers trained in riot control on standby. "We always try to prepare for the worst," said Oakland police department spokesman Jeff Thomason.

Right-wing websites and blogs have been fuelling speculation about election unrest with unconfirmed reports of an online petition that pledges "civil disobedience" if Mr McCain wins.
Meanwhile, in a blog posting entitled 'A McCain "Win" Will Be Theft, Resistance Is Planned', David Swanson, Washington director of Democrats.com and a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, writes: "If your television declares John McCain the president elect on the evening of November 4th, your television will be lying.
"You should immediately pick up your pre-packed bags and head straight to the White House in Washington, DC, which we will surround and shut down until this attempt at a third illegitimate presidency is reversed.
"We may be there for days or weeks or months. But we must be there. We must be there by the millions. We must show each other, and the nation, and the world that we have had enough, that we will not stand for one more stolen election, that we will not give in to fear, lies, theft, and intimidation."
Mr Carville told The Hill that "a lot of Democrats would have a great deal of angst and anger," if Mr Obama lost. He predicted that on November 4, "the voting system all around the country is going to be very stressed because there's going to be enormous turnout."

Many will see a McCain victory as proof positive of a racist America, a nation so mired in racial hatred that it took them almost two hundred years to create a civil rights act. A nation with an electoral process so biased, so rigged against anyone other than a white man, that the so called "Bradley Effect," will hereafter be know as the "Bradley Promise." A system so slanted that it validates the race baiting sermons of Reverend Wright, the anti-everything rantings of Louis Farrakhan, and will almost certainly guarantee a large portion of the disenchanted black voters, currently engaged to a large extent, will divorce themselves of the entire political process.

Am I one of many over dramatising the potentials in a defeat of the Obama nation? I don't think so. This is more than the crushing of the hopes and fears of a large group of Americans. This is about faith in our nation, faith in the legitimacy of the election process and the crushing of yet another Black leader in our lifetime. A leader who has instilled a sense of hope and change in the hearts of half of our nation, especially minorities. Especially Black America.

What happens if McCain, an established example of old school white dominance, wins? It will mean to many that "the man" has won again, and blacks have been put back in their place, yet again.

What will a McCain victory mean in two weeks? It will put a racial spotlight on everything in this nation; a nation currently just scratching the surface of the effects from the dismal failure of an eight year Bush Presidency. An nothing, absolutely nothing inflames a political situation in this nation than economic strife.

Am I predicting an Obama defeat? NO, but I am a veteran of the last two election cycles. Am I predicting wide spread riots, enforcement of curfews in our cities, news reports of cops in riot gear seemingly out of control on our streets as they beat back angry crowds of demonstrators? NO. All I am saying is the possibility exists. And all too recent memories of this Los Angeles based blogger bares it out.

And that is the world...."The World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

HOW MUCH TO PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG?

Amy Strozzi, who works on the reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" and has been Palin's traveling stylist, was paid $22,800, according to campaign finance reports for the first two weeks in October. In contrast, McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was paid $12,500, the report showed. This is patently unfair, since they both perform similar functions. Strozzi tries to make Palin look prettier, and Scheunemann tried to make McCain look smarter (a much more difficult task). Either way, they both dress mannequins.

In recent days, McCain and his running mate have tried to douse a furor over how their side spent their money. The Republican National Committee came under scrutiny after the party committee reported earlier this week that it had spent about $150,000 in September on wardrobe and cosmetics from high-end department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus after Palin joined the Republican ticket.
The purchases offered a stark contrast to Palin's image as a "hockey mom" who calls herself part of an average, middle-class American family. In one shopping spree for Palin, the RNC spent $75,062 at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis. It also spent $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue and $4,902 at Atelier, a stylish men's store, and paid $92 for a romper and matching hat with ears for her infant son, Trig, at Pacifier, a Minneapolis baby store. She said they will be given back, auctioned off or sent to charity. Most of them, she said, haven't even left the belly of her campaign plane. Maybe she can put them on E-Bay like that plane she lied about.......

In response, Palin was quoted as saying....."If people knew how Todd and I and our kids shop so frugally." My favorite clothing store is a consignment shop (used clothing) called "Out of the Closet." Yeah, like the used condoms you buy for the family, right, Governor???

It should be noted that this overwhelmingly idiotic fashion expenditures are not limited to Palin, it has been estimated that Cindy McCain's RNC convention opening night outfit cost $300,000.00 (including jewelry), of course Mrs. McCain pays her own way, Palin's came out of the public financing money the taxpayers put up.

Sarah is not the only Palin who got an upgrade. Almost $5,000 was spent on clothing for her husband, Todd, and more on the Palin children. Now, that's just one scandal. Palin has also charged the Alaska state government for over $21,000 of airfare for her daughters and $700 hotel rooms and went back and amended the expense reports to justify the payments, not to mention $17,000 in per diems she was paid to live in her own home.

IF ONLY THE FRAMERS HAD KNOWN

WASHINGTON POSTS ANOTHER NAIL IN THE McCAIN CAMPAIGN COFFIN

This weekend has been marked with numerous Obama endorsers (major newspapers, Colin Powell, among others), and each one has, in part contained explanations, some bordering on merciless, for why they could not endorse McCain, and in extremely unflattering terms.

While more conciliatory than most, here is the Washington Post's endorsement......"Not even his fiercest critics would blame President Bush for all of these problems, and we are far from being his fiercest critic. But for the past eight years, his administration, while pursuing some worthy policies (accountability in education, homeland security, the promotion of freedom abroad), has also championed some stunningly wrongheaded ones (fiscal recklessness, torture, utter disregard for the planet’s ecological health) and has acted too often with incompetence, arrogance or both. A McCain presidency would not equal four more years, but outside of his inner circle, Mr. McCain would draw on many of the same policymakers who have brought us to our current state. We believe they have richly earned, and might even benefit from, some years in the political wilderness.

IT GIVES US no pleasure to oppose Mr. McCain. Over the years, he has been a force for principle and bipartisanship. He fought to recognize Vietnam, though some of his fellow ex-POWs vilified him for it. He stood up for humane immigration reform, though he knew Republican primary voters would punish him for it. He opposed torture and promoted campaign finance reform, a cause that Mr. Obama injured when he broke his promise to accept public financing in the general election campaign. Mr. McCain staked his career on finding a strategy for success in Iraq when just about everyone else in Washington was ready to give up. We think that he, too, might make a pretty good president.
But the stress of a campaign can reveal some essential truths, and the picture of Mr. McCain that emerged this year is far from reassuring. To pass his party’s tax-cut litmus test, he jettisoned his commitment to balanced budgets. He hasn’t come up with a coherent agenda, and at times he has seemed rash and impulsive. And we find no way to square his professed passion for America’s national security with his choice of a running mate who, no matter what her other strengths, is not prepared to be commander in chief."

IT'S TIME TO CLEAR THE AYERS

Thanks to www.factcheck.org.

In a TV ad, McCain says Obama "lied" about his association with William Ayers, a former bomb-setting, anti-war radical from the 1960s and '70s. We find McCain's claim to be groundless. In a Web ad and in repeated attacks from the stump, McCain describes the two as associates, and Palin claims they "pal around" together. But their relationship was never very close.

McCain says in an Internet ad that the two "ran a radical 'education' foundation" in Chicago. But the supposedly "radical" group was supported by a Republican governor and included on its board prominent local civic leaders, including one former Nixon administration official who has given $1,500 to McCain's campaign this year. Education Week says the group's work "reflected mainstream thinking" among school reformers.

Fact Check Conclusion: "What we object to are the McCain-Palin campaign’s attempts to sway voters – in ads and on the stump – with false and misleading statements about the relationship, which was never very close. Obama never “lied” about this, just as he never bragged about it. The foundation they both worked with was hardly “radical.” And Ayers is more than a former "terrorist," he’s also a well-known figure in the field of education. "

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign compaign is continuing to bring up William Ayers' name in automated calls to voters in swing states. A recorded voice in the automated call says Obama "worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers."

It's amazing to me that McCain/Palin keep driveling on about this. Over the past 40 years Ayers has become a distinguished university professor. He has dedicated himself to the issue of education all of his life, even when he was a 60's radical violently opposed to the Vietnam War. Back then he was helping to launch Head Start.

People make mistakes, and Bill Ayers has made some big ones. Only court exclusionary findings towards the legality of wiretapped evidence amassed against him saved him from a much worse punishment and fate. But you must ultimately judge a person based on his whole life, and at the end of the day, Bill Ayers has gone far in not only making amends for his past crimes, but build a positive and productive life, his recent ignorant comments to the press not withstanding.

ENDORSEMENT A POWELL PLAY FOR OBAMA

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, describing the Illinois senator as a "transformational figure." Although Powell says both Obama and Republican John McCain are qualified to be commander in chief, in an interview Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, he said Obama is better suited to handle the nation's economic problems as well as help improve it's standing in the world.
Powell expressed disappointment in the negative tone of McCain's campaign, as well as in his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Powell says he does not believe Palin is ready to take over as president, if necessary. He also said he was disappointed with some of McCain's campaign tactics, such as bringing up Obama's ties to former 1960s radical Bill Ayers.

"I will ultimately vote for the person I believe brings to the American people the kind of vision the American people want to see for the next four years," he said. "A vision that reaches out to the rest of the world, that starts to restore confidence in America, that starts to restore favorable ratings to America. Frankly, we've lost a lot in recent years."
Powell also said that the vice presidential picks for both candidates was a major factor in his decision, both for the quality of each man's running mate and for what sort of "signal that choice sends about the character and judgment of the candidate."

THE GOP HAS ITS OWN LITTLE ACORN GOIN' ON

So, all the while the Republicans have been going on and on about some registration irregularities with a few over zealous ACORN community organizers in the registration of ficticious names into the voting pool, they have been playing their own dirty tricks as well. Only, theirs is much more destructive. The ACORN registration of the deceased and fictional names can't effect the voting tallies, as they obviously cannot vote. But as for the Republican dirty tricks, well that's another story entirely, at least come next primary season.

It seems that dozens of newly minted Republican voters say they were duped into joining the party by a GOP-hired contractor with a trail of fraud complaints stretching across the country. Voters contacted by The Times said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed.

It is a bait-and-switch scheme familiar to elections experts. The firm hired by the California Republican Party -- a small company called Young Political Majors, or YPM, which operates in several states -- has been accused of using the tactic across the country. Elections officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM staff in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties say they are investigating complaints about the company.The firm, which a Republican Party spokesman said is paid $7 to $12 for each registration it secures, has denied any wrongdoing and says it has never been charged with a crime. The 70,000 voters YPM has registered for the Republican Party will help combat the public perception that it is struggling amid Democratic gains nationally, give a boost to fundraising efforts and bolster member support for party leaders, political strategists from both parties say. Those who were formerly Democrats will stop receiving phone calls and literature from that party, perhaps affecting its get-out-the-vote efforts. Those voters also will be given only a Republican ballot in the next primary election if they do not switch their registration back before then.

It all sounds familiar to Beverly Hill, a Democrat and the former elections supervisor in Florida's Alachua County. About 200 voters -- mostly college students -- were unwittingly registered as Republicans there in 2004 by YPM staffers using the same tactic, Hill said. "It is just incredible that this can keep happening election after election," she said. YES, INCREDIBLE.

L.A. TIMES JOINS A SLEW OF NEWSPAPERS IN ENDORSING OBAMA

It is inherent in the American character to aspire to greatness, so it can be disorienting when the nation stumbles or loses confidence in bedrock principles or institutions. That's where the United States is as it prepares to select a new president: We have seen the government take a stake in venerable private financial houses; we have witnessed eight years of executive branch power grabs and erosion of civil liberties; we are still recovering from a murderous attack by terrorists on our own soil and still struggling with how best to prevent a recurrence. We need a leader who demonstrates thoughtful calm and grace under pressure, one not prone to volatile gesture or capricious pronouncement. We need a leader well-grounded in the intellectual and legal foundations of American freedom. Yet we ask that the same person also possess the spark and passion to inspire the best within us: creativity, generosity and a fierce defense of justice and liberty.

The Times without hesitation endorses Barack Obama for president. We may one day look back on this presidential campaign in wonder. We may marvel that Obama's critics called him an elitist, as if an Ivy League education were a source of embarrassment, and belittled his eloquence, as if a gift with words were suddenly a defect. In fact, Obama is educated and eloquent, sober and exciting, steady and mature. He represents the nation as it is, and as it aspires to be.

MUST HAVE BEEN A GRAND OLD PARTY

A Republican women's club in San Bernardino County sent out a recent newsletter with a photo of Barack Obama surrounded by fried chicken, watermelon and ribs, sparking widespread outrage and rebuke from GOP leaders and Democrats. The illustration shows the Democratic presidential candidate's head atop a donkey's body on a bogus $10 bill referred to as "Obama Bucks." Inscribed on the money are the words "United States Food Stamps" surrounded by stereotypical African American food. "I apologize to anyone who was offended because that was not my intent," said club President Diane Fedele. "It was poor judgment on my part. It was strictly an attempt to point out the outrageousness of Obama's statement that he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."

"I AM NOT PRESIDENT BUSH"

"Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." And with that remark, Senator McCain threw another batting practice pitch for his Harvard grad opponent to hit unmercilessly out of the park.

One can only speculate what Obama might have accomplished in the last four years, and thus avoiding the second of two dismal terms that will forever be the Bush II legacy. In fact, had McCain been able to avoid the major drubbing of his campaign four years ago by George W. Bush, it might have been surmised that there would have been no change at all, since McCain is the absolute embodiment of every major failed policy of King George II.

For the entire ninety minutes, McCain did his best to trap, corner and trick his younger opponent, and Barack proved too venerable to be a victim. The best McCain could do was to praise his opponents "eloquence", despite promising his supporters to "kick his you know what."

The bottom line is, when all the spin has spun, and the polls have been taken, my gut feeling is they will see McCain as a desperate, negative old prizefighter, down on points in the last round, flailing away at his opponent trying to land a haymaker, but coming up with nothing but air time after time.

Is McCain indeed, President Bush? No. At least he got that one right. He is not President Bush. President Bush ran for the Presidency and won both times. McCain? Three strikes and you are out. Mighty Casey has struck out, and once again, there will be no joy in McCainville...no matter which of his seven homes he watches the election returns from.

And that is the world..."The World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

REAL CLEAR POLITICS POLL RESULTS MAKE IT VERY CLEAR

Obama....McCain......Poll
49.9% .........42.2%.......National
277 ...............158.......Delegates

SWING STATES
Colorado.....Obama + 4.0%
Ohio............Obama + 2.7%
Florida........Obama + 3.8%
Nevada.......Obama + 3.0%
Virginia.......Obama + 6.3%

SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT, AND IT COULDN'T BE OBAMA

Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, who has been praised by McCain in the past, issued his statement after several days of headline-grabbing anger aimed at Democratic nominee Barack Obama from some attendees at campaign rallies of McCain and running mate Gov. Sarah Palin.
"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse," Lewis said in a statement.
"George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama," wrote the Democrat.
Comment from the McCain camp......."The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama's record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.
Comment from the Obama camp....."Sen. Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies," Burton said. "But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for president of the United States 'pals around with terrorists.' "

LET THE ELECTION DAY CRAP BEGIN

Barack Osama?

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's last name is spelled "Osama" on hundreds of absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County. ''This was a typo,'' Rensselaer County (N.Y.) Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee tells the Albany Times Union in one of the biggest understatements of the campaign.

LATEST EXAMPLES OF McCAIN SLIPPAGE

"My fellow prisoners"

"You do not have to be afraid of an Obama presidency"

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: MORE THAN ENOUGH BLAME TO SPREAD AROUND

TIP OF THE HAT TO MEDIA MATTERS

The suggestion that the financial crisis was caused by banks lending irresponsibly to comply with the CRA is widely discredited. According to housing experts, a large number of sub prime loans were not made under the CRA, which applies only to depository institutions. A study released earlier this year by a law firm specializing in CRA compliance estimated that in the 15 most populous metropolitan areas, 84.3 percent of sub prime loans in 2006 were made by financial institutions not governed by the CRA. Moreover, Janet Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, stated in a March 2008 speech that "studies have shown that the CRA has increased the volume of responsible lending to low- and moderate-income households".

In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, University of Michigan law professor Michael Barr stated: "Despite the fact that CRA appears to have increased bank and thrift lending in low- and moderate-income communities, such institutions are not the only ones operating in these areas. In fact, with new and lower-cost sources of funding available from the secondary market through securitization, and with advances in financial technology, sub prime lending exploded in the late 1990s, reaching over $600 billion and 20% of all originations by 2005. More than half of sub prime loans were made by independent mortgage companies not subject to comprehensive federal supervision; another 30 percent of such origination's were made by affiliates of banks or thrifts, which are not subject to routine examination or supervision, and the remaining 20 percent were made by banks and thrifts."

Investment banks created a demand for sub prime loans because they saw it as a new asset class that they could dominate. They made sub prime loans for the same reason they made other loans: They could get paid for making the loans, for turning them into securities, and for trading them-frequently using borrowed capital.

TROOPERGATE REACHES IT'S INEVITABLE CONCLUSION

The Branchflower report to the Legislative Counsel is in, and it does not look good for Governor Palin (wink, wink), or for John McCain, as it reveals what we had known all along....he has been consorting with a criminal (well, OK, it is only a misdemeanor, but upholding the constitution is sticky business).

Here are the findings...

" I find that Governor Palin has abused her power by violating the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, namely: that any officer that holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal, or financial interest through official action violates that trust."

Here is the link to the official report.

DUBIOUS CANDIDATE RELATIONSHIPS

OK, lets get these names out into the open so we can go back to talking about the issues plaguing this nation...
Barack Obama
Reverend Wright (race-baiter)
Tony Rezko (Chicago influence peddler)
William Ayers (Weather Underground)
Harold Raines (CEO: Freddie / Fannie)
John McCain
Jack Abramhoff (lobbyist / convicted felon)
Rick Davis (campaign manager / lobbyist for Freddie / Fannie, Marcos, Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich, Myanmar junta, etc.)
Charles Keating (real estate swindler)
Raffaello Follieri (posed as Vatican CFO / numerous felony counts fraud, money laundering)
Phill Gramm (nation of whiners)
Fife Symington (convicted bank fraud)
Oleg Deripaska (Russian mobster)

THE COOKIE JAR IS FULL OF McCAIN'S STAFFERS FINGERPRINTS

Senator John McCain's campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say. Mr. McCain, the Republican candidate for president, has recently begun campaigning as a critic of the two companies and the lobbying army that helped them evade greater regulation as they began buying riskier mortgages with implicit federal backing. But last week the McCain campaign stepped up a running battle of guilt by association when it began broadcasting commercials trying to link Mr. Obama directly to the government bailout of the mortgage giants this month by charging that he takes advice from Fannie Mae’s former chief executive, Franklin Raines, an assertion both Mr. Raines and the Obama campaign dispute. The only facts uncovered so far to substantiate the McCain claim are two meetings between Obama and Raines, while discussing general economic topics.

Mr. McCain portrays himself as a Washington maverick unswayed by special interests, referring recently to lobbyists as “birds of prey.” Yet in his current campaign, more than 40 fund-raisers and top advisers have lobbied or worked for an array of gambling interests — including tribal and Las Vegas casinos, lottery companies and online poker purveyors.

As factions of the ferociously competitive gambling industry have vied for an edge, they have found it advantageous to cultivate a relationship with Mr. McCain or hire someone who has one, according to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents. Only six members of Congress have received more money from the gambling industry than Mr. McCain, and five hail from the casino hubs of Nevada and New Jersey, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics dating back to 1989.

For much of his adult life, Mr. McCain has gambled as often as once a month, friends and associates said, traveling to Las Vegas for weekend betting marathons. Former senior campaign officials said they worried about Mr. McCain’s patronage of casinos, given the power he wields over the industry.

In 1994, Mr. McCain pushed an amendment that enabled dozens of additional tribes to win federal recognition and open casinos. And in 1998, Mr. McCain fought a Senate effort to rein in the boom. He also voted twice in the last decade to give casinos tax breaks estimated to cost the government more than $326 million over a dozen years. It should be noted that the recent bailout package, the same one he literally ran to Washington to become involved in, is heavily laced with Indian casino tax initiatives, as well.

SNL TREATMENT OF THE VP DEBATE

To review, here is the Palin debating strategy: say the following as much as possible...... maverick, change, Joe Six-pack, hockey moms, John McCain and America. Then wink a lot, refuse to directly answer any given question, and inexplicably give a "shout out" to a third grade classroom.

NO ONE IS DEBATING AFTER THE DEBATE

CNN-TV released their poll of debate watchers, here are the highlights:
Who Did the Best Job in the Debate? Biden 51% Palin 36%
Who Was More in Touch with the Problems of People Like You? Biden 50% Palin 44%
Who is More Likely to Bring Change? Biden 53% Palin 42%
CBS Poll of undecided voters: Biden 46% Palin 21%
Is Gov. Palin Qualified to Serve as President?
Before the debate: Yes 42% No 54%
After the debate: Yes 46% No 53%
Is Sen. Biden Qualified to Serve as President?
Before the Debate: Yes 78% No 19%
After the Debate: Yes 87% No 12%

5 REASONS WHY OBAMA IS WINNING

Courtesy of True Blue Liberal
(1) the country is in total shambles — possibly far worse than what people even realize;
(2) we have lived for the last eight years under virtually absolute GOP rule;
(3) the public knows this;

(4) the Republican President and his party are therefore intensely — historically — unpopular; &

(5) the voting public doesn’t want to continue living under the rule of the same faction and same political party that has driven the country into the ground.

Any attempt by the Republicans to paint Obama as an anti-American, socialist, radical Muslim isn't getting traction. Any attempt by the Republicans to paint Palin as anything but a political neophyte is not getting any play (wink, wink).

O.J. GETS TIME TO WRITE "IF I DID IT 2"

O.J. Simpson found guilty of, among other lesser counts, two felony counts normally deserving of prison terms in a maximum security prison of fifteen years to life. Although these sentences would be served concurrently, at the age of 62, Simpson would more than likely be receiving a life sentence, a sentence many thought he deserved so long ago in an L.A. courtroom for the murder of his estranged wife, Nicole Simpson.

Given every advantage, a highly successful career in athletics, followed by a highly successful career in broadcasting and film, not to mention untold riches, where did this man go wrong? The answer in my mind, is jealousy and arrogance. Although one may debate (as many have) the guilt or innocence of O.J. in the murder of his wife, Nicole, one thing is for certain, he could not stand the thought of the woman once his in marriage running around with a younger man.

In Las Vegas, whether true or not, he claims to have entered his way into a Las Vegas hotel room with armed "friends" with the purposes of retrieving the Heisman award taken from him long ago (amongst other memorabilia). And for trying to recover that trophy, he will spend the remainder of his life in a maximum security cell, alone for his protection, for the rest of his days.

Personally I think part of his sentencing should be to place the Heisman trophy outside of his prison cell so he can look at it 24 hours a day, placed three inches beyond his reach. O.J. Simpson, never before has someone been given and acheived so much, only to throw it all away in multiple fits of jealousy, arrogance and anger.

H.R. 1424 A HOT DOG BILL. IT WILL CURE THE HUNGER, BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT ALL IS IN IT

After much wrangling, political posturing, finger pointing, grandstand playing, and a failed version / vote in the House, the Senate passed H.R. 1424, their 451 page version of the economic bailout bill. One first glance, the bill will bolster the economy, free up loan capacities, prevent many financial institutions from going under, and hopefully, regain some stability and consumer confidence.
On second glance, it will extend many tax initiatives and incentives, especially with an eye towards our energy independence. All good things. But, in their usual legislative fashion, nothing is as initially billed.
The bill, H.R. 1424, which passed by a near two thirds margin (only Kennedy's not voted prevented it) was billed as follows... "to provide authority for the federal government to purchase and insure certain types of troubled assets for the purposes of providing stability to, preventing disruption in the economy and financial system, protecting the taxpayers, and to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986." Now here is the kicker......."to provide incentives for energy production and conservation. to extend certain expiring provisions, to provide individual tax relief, and for other purposes."

What are the "other purposes?" among other things...........

section 316 railroad track maintenance

section 319 extension of work opportunity tax credits for Hurricane Katrina employees

section 322 tax incentives for D.C. investments

section 325 duty suspension on wool products, and the wool research fund

section 502 provisions related to film and tv productions

section 503 exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children

section 601 the rural schools and community self-determination program

The Wellstone and Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

Heartland Disaster Relief and Hurricane Ike Disaster Relief funding

Temporary tax relief bond financing and low income housing tax relief

for areas damaged for Hurricane Ike

Although I am not opposed to the majority of the provisions in this bill, I can't help but wonder which Senators demanded the fluff listed above in exchange for their votes while the country held its collective breaths over the wellbeing of our economy. Isn't anything given a straight up and down vote any more?