Obama's earmarks - Proper or Pork?

In 2006, according to an Associated Press report, Senator Obama inserted $400,000 for an unrelated project into an emergency bill for the Iraq war and hurricane relief. Do you want to know more, or will you share McCain's new anti-earmark stand? Earmarks can be abused, yet they can expedite passage of matters needing little or no debate, too.

Obama has pledged to finish construction of an electronic barrier in Chicago to keep the carp from invading Lake Michigan from the Illinois River. That $400,000 earmark from 2006 was targeted for the barrier project. Great Lakes fishing is a $4 billion fishing industry; do you prefer carp to salmon?

I won’t suggest all earmark funding supports projects intended to protect the environment and/or preserve regional jobs and industries; clearly the potential for abuse exists, and doubtless the mechanism is exploited for pork-barrel projects. To my way of thinking, even the “$3 million overhead projector” McCain keeps hammering away at in debates and stump speeches was a reasonable use of the technique: do we really need Congress to hold extended debate on a stand-alone bill about the value of supporting the educational goals of Adler Planetarium in Chicago?

How different are McCain and Bush?

Apart from the economic and ecologic impact of the project in question, clean water is a precious resource, essential in and of itself.

During 2004 George Bush established an inter-agency task force to develop the “Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy.” He hasn't funded it much, the priorities of the Bush administration have not exactly matched the campaign promises, and they certainly haven't focused on research outside the Defense Department. Additional money was included in a 2007 package for water projects ultimately enacted over President George Bush’s veto. Senator McCain sided with the president on that vote as he has on some 90% or so of the opportunities he's had, from Wall Street deregulation to trickle-down tax theories. Obama supported the veto-override.

But back to earmarks:

McCain has decided to take a public stand against earmarks, causing the public to equate them with pork-barrel abuses. It's great for sound-bites on the evening news, but is it tantamount to throwing out the baby with the bathwater?

Introduced to the U.S. in the 1970s to control algae in catfish farms in the South, bighead and silver carp have spread due to flooding into the Mississippi River. They're taking over parts of the Illinois River. Barack Obama used an earmark to try to control this threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem, to protect the people, jobs, and industries that are at risk. Isn't that a textbook example of what a U.S. Senator is supposed to do?

The focus on earmarks distracts both the media and the voters from more significant problems, and Obama was responsible not to rise to the bait when McCain floated the "overhead projector" during the 2008 Presidential debates. The economy is a much more pressing issue, but McCain doesn't want to have to explain how he's going to ramp up some new federal department to handle the 11 million mortgages he proposes to evaluate and take over.

I admit, while I'm not surprised when a Republican claims a Democratic challenger will raise taxes, I don't understand McCain's real priorities, why he's suddenly turned on his old companions at ACORN, or why his voting seems so closely aligned with the current administration despite his mavericky protests to the contrary. If you'd like to read more about the research into and problems of invasive species in the Great Lakes watershed, or contribute to a discussion about earmarks, check the longer article that was the stimulus for this post.

"Joe The Plumber" Lived In Alaska and Worked For Roto-Rooter

I happened by the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska, looking for "Troopergate" updates when I saw this story that , well, was front and center above the fold about how Joe Wurzelbacher AKA "Joe The Plumber" lived in Alaska, and I thought "It figures" because of his seemingly almost anti-tax "leave me alone" views that fit with some of the more extremist Alaskans we've come to know of since the rise of Sarah Palin.


Here's one series of paragraphs:

Alaska records show Wurzelbacher listed a North Pole address in 1992 and 1993, and Eielson Air Force Base address in '94 and '95. He applied for hunting permits, owned an old Ford and a new Dodge, and paid a $76 fine in Fairbanks court for speeding.

It was unclear Thursday afternoon whether Wurzelbacher registered to vote while living in Alaska, and if so with which party, Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai wrote in an e-mail.

Wurzelbacher's son was born in the Fairbanks area in 1995, Morrison said.

"Jennifer had called up to Joe to tell him that she was in labor and Joe made it down the stairs just in time, his baby was delivered on the wooden floor in their home," Morrison said.

"That was a huge thing for us ... We joked with them and said, 'OK, you did it the Alaskan way,' " said Morrison, who was living Outside at the time. She later married an Alaskan and moved here herself.

"I met (Joe) when he was working for Roto-Rooter," said her husband, John.

Morrison said Wurzelbacher served in the Air Force and that as far as she knows, he and her sister never met Gov. Sarah Palin, who is now Sen. John McCain's running mate.

But what also caught me was what he did while he lived in Alaska...

"I met (Joe) when he was working for Roto-Rooter," said her husband, John.

John McCain Gags On Mistaken Debate Direction Behind Obama

This is a funny John McCain photo that just may sum up his campaign. It's from Yahoo and  Reuters and has this caption:

US Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reacts to almost heading the wrong way off the stage after shaking hands with Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at the conclusion of the final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, October 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008

Sarah Palin To Appear On Saturday Night Live - Will They Boo?

It's reported on CNN.com Alaska Governor and GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin is to appear on Saturday Night Live this weekend.  But my question is this:  Will they boo her?  


Palin was recently booed at a Phili Flyers game last week, so we have precedent here.  


Stay tuned. 

SF Prop H "Cake Band" Party with Mary The "Clean Energy Gal"

This video takes us into a great "VIP Party" held for the band "Cake" (http://www.cakemusic.com) and the San Francisco Prop H Campaign for Clean Energy. It features Mary, The Clean Energy Gal.

The Emerging NFC East

The Emerging NFC EAST- By Michael Porpora for Football Reporters online

The NFC East has emerged as undoubtedly the best and most competitive division, top to bottom, in football. One could argue that it might be the toughest division in all of sports (although the AL east may have something to say about that). Lets not forget the NFC East sent three teams to the playoff a year ago (Giants, Cowboys, and Redskins), and I would be shocked if that changes this season.

The defending world champion New York Giants are surely one of the best teams in the NFL. Although though they lost their first game of the season this past Monday night to the Cleveland Browns, they still remain one of the best in the game. They are the true definition of team, with Eli Manning emerging as one of the premiere quarterbacks in the league; gaining confidence by the minute. The offensive line has been together for more than two full seasons and seems to get stronger with every game. Let’s not forget to mention the rushing attack of the human bulldozer, Brandon Jacobs, and the speedy Derrick Ward, a powerful one-two punch.

The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand have just acquired Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions, and now have the most powerful WR combo in the game. The Cowboys were the early odds on favorite to win it all this year with the season ending injury to Tom Brady, and that was before the acquisition of Williams. Although they have had their issues thus far this season with injuries to Tony Romo and Felix Jones, (and let’s not forget the mayhem that always revolves around Pacman Jones) I would love to see the damage they can do with their full squad in mid-season form.

The Washington Redskins are also looking like the playoff team from a year ago, winning four straight games against tough opponents to the likes of the Cowboys and the Eagles. The Redskins had a shocking loss to the winless Rams this past week, but they are a resilient team who will surely bounce back.

The Eagles have the longest tenured head coach in the game, in Andy Reid, who has proven to be one of the best head coaches in the league. With the addition of Asante Samuel and the receive DeSean Jackson they are an extremely skillful team with great experience to go along with it. As long as McNabb and Westbrook can stay healthy, they can play with anyone in the League.
The other night I heard Osi Umenyiora say on Monday night countdown that the team he fears the most in the NFC East is “the Philadelphia Eagles,” who have a 3-3 record and are currently last in the division. If that doesn’t explain how competitive this division is, I don’t know what does.

In short, these four teams are stacked among all facets of the game. They are great defensively and offensively with outstanding running attacks. The NFC East teams also have Pro Bowl quarterbacks with tremendous upside and if you ask me, the Super Bowl champions will once again come out of the NFC East.

Eds. Note Michael Porpora is the newest addition to the staff at Football Reporters Online. This is his first submission.

Joe The Plumber Refers To Obama As "Sammy Davis"; Another Racist For McCain?

Ok, so it seems like this "Joe The Plumber" Guy that John McCain's hitched his star to is turning out to be a conservative and now a racist.  According to TalkLeft and Politico ...

"McCain was solid in his performance," he says. "I still don't know where he stands," he says of Obama. "I'm middle class. I can't have my taxes raised any more."

He also says he actually isn't in the bracket where Obama would raise his taxes -- but he's worried that Obama will shift the bracket down.

He also said that, in his encounter with Obama, the Illinois Senator [has] "a tap dance...almost as good as Sammy Davis, Jr."

Okay! So Senator McCain's dug up another racist! What else is new!  

Football Reporters Online Show

It's Thursday, and that means it's another episode of the Football Reporters Online Show On BlogTalk Radio. Joining us Tonight will be Jennifer Smith, The Executive Director of the Gridiron Greats Assistance fund. We will Discuss the Ongoing Health Care Crisis among Senior retired NFL Players, and what the Fans can do to support this worthy cause.
The show can be heard at 9pm eastern at;

McCain is not Bush.

It's true. For one thing, Bush is considerably younger.

However, when it comes to their policies and views on taxes and the economy? If you just read a transcript of the debates you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish Bush from McCain.

Another striking similarity: both McCain and Bush seem more interested in holding the office than in acting presidential.

McCain distancing himself from G.W.Bush

McCain Claims He's Not George Bush...

...But the facts prove otherwise. At last night's third and final debate, John McCain turned to Barack Obama and said "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." Barack Obama - wisely, as the polls seem to be bearing out - chose not to respond to that comment.

The full story discusses a hypothetical response Obama could have given to shut McCain down. McCain is so vulnerable on this issue that making such a statement may prove to be a liability for him.

Rob J

Can you explain McCain’s goals and priorities?

McCain’s a fine man; his record shows he’d be an adequate President for those who are so wealthy that taxes are just a nuisance handled by an accountant - a number that never impacts their daily spending decisions.

The rest of us, the folks on Main Street still waiting for Bush’s economic policies to trickle down some personal prosperity or create jobs, need Obama~Biden. We don't understand why McCain wants the government to administer 11 million mortgages but says health care should be as deregulated as Wall Street has been - we think bureaucrats already impede our access to health care, and we haven't lost faith in the power of the Government to be a positive force.

In some ways, if you don't try to get inside McCain's head or worry about which of Bush's fiscalor tax policies are to blame for the sub-prime mortgage crisis, it's really a pretty simple choice.

You can choose between:
1) a guy who wants government to do less because he doesn't trust the competence of anybody and everybody below him - except evidently in areas it's politically expedient to say government must intervene like the mortgage mess - or
2) the guy who wants to make health care universally affordable and available while extricating us from Iraq, fixing some inequities in the tax policies Bush has established, and bringing a unified vision to our energy and environmental policies that he sees dovetailing with national security.

One of these guys is going to run the country, taking over the government in the midst of profound economic turmoil. If you're rich, and have no kids, you may pick the former if you so desire. After watching the final 2008 Presidential debate, I prefer the vision of the latter, and I'm voting for "that one."

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"Joe The Plumber" Makes Less Than $250,000 - Didn't Tell Obama

According to this Yahoo article, "Joe The Plumber" or Joe Wurzelbacher, the man featured by Senator John McCain, doesn't even make $250,000 according to his own statements.  Joe comes off as a kind of suburban Ohio hick with a past, and this level of attention may not be what he wants.  But he's got it and really in fairness he didn't ask for it.

This all could blow up in McCain's face if he gets too close to Joe.  McCain, desperate for a better performance than he's shown thus far, may very well be inclined to hitch his star to Joe as  he did Sarah Palin: without proper vetting.

Plus, there are other "Joe The Plumbers" who are also benefiting from this publicity and are not as conservative as Joe Wurzelbacher, just consider this Texas man who has a website called "Joe The Plumber".  

Moreover, Wurzelbacher may -- and I stress may -- be a close relative of, drum-roll please, Charles Keating, according to the blog "The LitterBox", which has an extensive post devoted to Mr. Wurzelbacher.  Here's what was written:

And then there are some other questions.

Is Joe the Plumber’s real name Joseph Wurzelbacher or Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher?

According to some sources, including the Politicoblog, which claim to have already checked voting records, Joe the Plumber is NOT registered to vote in Ohio.

Joe the Plumber appears to have multiple addresses, including the one at which he gave the media a short interview this morning.  He is not registered to vote from that particular address.  It is not clear if he is the owner of that address (curious given his claim to an income of over $250,000).  Of the other given addresses for Joe the Plumber, his parents are registered to vote on one, but none are listed for him.  Which means he is either more than just an undecided voter.  Or less, since non-registration means he’s not eligible to vote!

He has an open unpaid income tax tax lien case against him in Lucas County, Ohio.

Twice married, with the public records of those cases available at:
http://apps.co.lucas.oh.us/onlinedockets/Default.aspx
Just type his name into the search box to bring up both divorce cases.

There are some suggestions that he does not own his own business but may be related to another Joseph Wurzelbacher who does run a septic tank company.  Ironic that Joe the Plumber may be full of shit, eh?

Wow.  Well, perhaps this exposure's good for Joe in some strange way, but if I were McCain, I'd be real careful in how I associate myself with Joe The Plumber.  He has a tax lien but claims to make money -- not good.  I could understand it if he was poor -- different story.  Let's see what McCain does with this.