McCain linked to private group in Iran-Contra case (AP)

McCain supported the shadowy group that secretly sold arms to the terrorists and ayatollahs in Iran in the 1980s and illegally funneled the proceeds to the Contras in Nicaragua. The Iranians kept kidnapping US citizens in the Middle East, but this group kept selling them arms anyway.

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How To Pay Off $14,330 In 20 Months

Stuck in a $14,300 debt hole, reader Trixare4kids was able to dig herself out using tips she learned about on Consumerist.com. Let's learn how she attacked her personal finances and learned to live frugally, and did it all in just 20 months. "As of today I am debt free...My spirit feels lighter. I am free. I am doing a happy dance."

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The Cult of Tina Fey

Tina Fey —nerd-girl hero, Saturday Night Live alum, 30 Rock writer/actor—just signed a book deal.

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Hooking Young Readers...Using Video Games

“I think we have to ask ourselves, ‘What exactly is reading?’ ” said Jack Martin, assistant director for young adult programs at the New York Public Library. “Reading is no longer just in the traditional sense of reading words in English or another language on a paper.”

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Why McCain's Time With Council Of World Freedom Matters

Since Sunday, Democrats have been buzzing about the re-revelation that during the 1980s, Sen. John McCain served on the board of a far-right conservative organization that had supplied arms and funds to paramilitary organizations in Latin America.

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People Love Angry-Faced Cars

If a Toyota Prius just looks too friendly for your tastes, you’re not alone. People readily see faces and traits in cars, and a new study suggests that they prefer cars to appear dominant, masculine and angry.

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Man shot three times for wearing an Obama T-shirt

A man told today how he was shot three times in the street for wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt.

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Unleashed, Palin Makes a Pit Bull Look Tame

FORT MYERS, Fla., Oct. 6 John McCain is collapsing in the polls in Florida and other swing states, but Sarah Palin, God bless her, has a solution. Inciting racism..

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CNN Fact Checks Obama's "Keating Economics" Video

The Verdict: True. McCain did push to delay regulations that would have cracked down on savings-and-loans practices and intervened on Keating's behalf, although he was cleared of wrongdoing in the 'Keating Five' case.

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Julian Davis Talks About "Yes On H" The SF Clean Energy Act

Julian Davis is the Chair of the "Yes on H" San Francisco Clean Energy campaign. He sat down to talk with me about the measure, which is on the San Francisco Ballot. The website is http://www.sfcleanenergy.com

3-way Senate Debate in MN: battleground Republican incumbent falling behind in polls

If you don't think Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) is in trouble defending his Senate seat, you probably don't think it snows in Minneapolis in the wintertime. He's in danger of losing to a comedian turned author/activist... Coleman's ads may be almost as negative than McCain's, but then Franken's path is almost as improbable as Obama's. Analysis and reactions after the debate Sunday night.

Reader's digest:

Coleman's attacks are backfiring, arguably reminding voters that he's a veteran politico in a year when many want to throw the bums in DC out and start fresh.

How fragile is the incumbent?

Al Franken, Dean Barkley, and Senator Norm Coleman met for a debate Sunday night in Rochester, a few miles south of the world famous Mayo Clinic, and frankly Coleman did worse than you'd expect from a veteran politician. He was visibly uncomfortable at times, mumbling as he raced through bullet points; his trademark tendency to leave sentences and thoughts incomplete made a stark contrast to Franken's quiet eloquence.

Barkley, for his part, was affable and folksy, yet undermined his credibility suddenly when he replied at one point that he had "nothing more to say" about energy. It may have been a bid to seem succint, but in front of an attentive audience it was either a curious tactic to adopt or a blunder that made him seem ill-informed.

Is Coleman vulnerable?

True, partisans supporting all three were likely happy with their man's performance. It's difficult to measure the impact such events have quickly, let alone objectively, but listening on the way out I think it's fair to say that Coleman's supporters sounded concerned by more than just his fall in the polling data. Franken's seemed more impressed, and optimistic about his chances in one of the races that's attracted national attention - and money.

I interviewed a number of people right afterward as they were leaving the site of the debate, and the one that stands out is the small business owner I spoke to in the following video. He was cogent, and coherent. Despite Mr. Beck's admitted bias I think this probably gives as accurate a reflection as anecdotal interviews are likely to uncover.

Beck is the owner of the "Javalive" a community coffee house in Faribault, Minnesota, roughly halfway between the Twin Cities and Rochester. As an entrepreneurial host for local talent, be it musical, poetical (or some other form of artistic endeavor) Beck has his fingers on the pulse of the residents of Faribault, a county seat with approximately 20,000 residents. As a small businessman he's constantly tracking the impact of politics on his community, and his bank balance.

I'll get more video from the debate uploaded soon, but Beck's reaction comes first.

Digg this story!

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Rolling Stone: John McCain Fake Maverick, Spoiled Brat

Great piece in Rolling Stone detailing the life of a rich, spoiled brat who has always put himself first and country second.

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Seattle Lands Women's Lingerie Football Team...Score!

An offshoot of the uber-popular Lingerie Bowl halftime show that's appeared during Super Bowls past, there's now a fledgling league of extraordinary women who will play tackle football in their underwear. Tryouts for the Seattle team, the Mist, are this Friday at Greenlake, although official league play won't start for another year...

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Chicago Teams Not Great in ‘08

What's wrong with the Cubs and White Sox? RBI Magazine breaks it down!

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France urges Israel not to attack Iran

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has urged Israel not to launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday Kouchner, in the region for talks with Israeli and Palestinian...

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Johnny Depp to Earn US$56 million For Fourth 'Pirates' Film

I loved the first movie and the following sequels were watchable but $56 million?! The staggering sum is the largest upfront payment in film history and will see Johnny, 45, move to the top of Hollywood's rich list - overtaking Will Smith - when he reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow.

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Senate Wants FCC To Conduct "Advanced Blocking" Study

The United States Senate has unanimously passed a bill that requires the Federal Communications Commission to explore what "advanced blocking technologies" are available to parents to help filter out "indecent or objectionable programming." The "Child Safe Viewing Act" (S. 602) was sponsored by Senator Mark Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas.

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7 Palin aides to testify in abuse-of-power probe

Seven aides to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have reversed course and agreed to testify in an investigation into whether the Republican vice presidential nominee abused her powers by firing a commissioner who refused to dismiss her former brother-in-law.

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iPhone 2.2 Hidden Features

It seems that Apple is taking further care in hiding new iPhone features in their beta releases. The most recent firmware beta seeded to developers listed "compatibility testing" in its release notes as the only change.

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New surveillance program will turn military satellites on US

An appropriations bill signed by President Bush last week allows the controversial National Applications Office to begin operating a stringently limited version of a program that would turn military spy satellites on the US, sharing imagery with other federal, state, and local government agencies.

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Thomas Muthee Prays Over Sarah Palin - Economics, Witches, and Isreal

This is the controversial video making the rounds and really casting light on the idea of the separation of church and state -- which does not seem to exist with Governor Palin. Draw your own conclusions but while I'm a powerful believer of God, I'm also very scared that only one perspective of him is presented and used to control Governments and people.

I'm going to research this in more depth.

The Case for Obama: Economic Recovery Through Progressive Taxation

I. We Are in the Midst of an Economic Crisis

To say that we are experiencing an economic crisis is probably becoming an understatement. Explaining how the crisis unfolded is like watching a “domino effect” in reverse. On September 29th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points, the biggest single-day drop in its history. The market fell on news of Congress’ failure to pass a $700 billion bailout package that, according to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, would save crumbling financial institutions and prevent a credit crunch that may send the global economy into a tailspin. The sense of urgency for the ultimately doomed package grew when, in less than a week, two deposit banks – Washington Mutual and Wachovia – failed and had to be absorbed by other financial institutions. The federal seizure of Washington Mutual represented the biggest bank failure in U.S. history, and greatly eclipsed the failures of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, whose demise, along with the federal seizures of AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, precipitated Secretary Paulson’s $700 billion bailout proposal. As of its close on Monday, the Dow has suffered a 34% drop since this time last year.

A. U.S. Indebtedness is Soaring

Even if one turned a blind eye to the horror movie that is the U.S. mortgage market, the signs of our impending economic crisis were written on several walls. Since Bush took office, our national debt has swelled by a jaw-dropping 66.7% and, as of September 25, 2008, stands at more than $9.5 trillion, which represents nearly two-thirds of our GDP as of the second quarter of 2008. The Iraq war has cost the U.S. more than $526 billion and continues to cost $10.3 billion per month. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, by 2017, the Iraq occupation will cost between $1.2 trillion and $1.7 trillion, which will likely have to be debt financed, meaning that billions of dollars in interest must be added to that cost.

To fund, among other expenses, the occupation of Iraq and our reliance on foreign oil, the U.S. is increasingly mortgaging itself to its competitors and potential adversaries. As of July 2008, China holds $518.7 billion in U.S. Treasury Securities (this figure does not include Chinese investment in other areas in the U.S.). Perhaps equally, if not more perplexing: we’ve allowed ownership of our Treasury Securities by oil exporters - which include Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia - to increase by nearly 30% between July 2007 and July 2008 and, during that same period, Russian ownership of U.S. securities has more than doubled. Add to these figures the fact that, as of FY 2007, the U.S. was running a $738.6 billion budget deficit, and it is not hard to see that the U.S.’s penchant for spending billions more than it generates, an appetite which grew markedly under Bush’s presidency, would eventually send our economy spiraling into a meltdown.

B. Jobs Disappear; Costs Skyrocket

While the supposed revenue from Bush’s wealth-favoring tax cuts may not have trickled down to working Americans, the hardships resulting from the emerging economic crisis have. The unemployment rate has risen by 1.4% in 12 months (more than 2 million people), with most of that increase occurring over the past 4 months. Moreover, available third quarter data point to the first quarterly drop in consumer spending in 17 years. While job rolls are decreasing and incomes are stagnant, energy prices have risen markedly. Since the Iraq war began, the average price-per-gallon of gasoline has risen 118% (from $1.73 on March 24, 2003 to $3.77 on September 22, 2008). The price of natural gas has risen by over 50% in the six-month period ending June 2008. Health care costs have risen at a rate four times faster than wages over the past six years. Indeed, from our banking crisis to our huge debt, rising unemployment, decreased consumer spending and increased energy and heath care costs, nearly all signs point to an economic crisis that this country has not seen since the Great Depression.

II. Obama’s Plan Will Strengthen Our Economy and Protect Our Workers

It is for this reason that the most important question on voters’ minds may be which presidential candidate’s policies will lead to an economic recovery. If that’s the question on your mind then Barack Obama’s economic policies should appeal to you as well as to the remainder of over 95% of working Americans. Obama’s policies reflect the fact that the best way to generate economic growth are to stimulate the workforce, invest in business and put more money in the hands of those who need it most.

A. Restoring Jobs through Opening New Markets

Obama’s plan focuses on putting more Americans to work and helping the overwhelming majority of Americans keep more money in their pockets. By investing in wind energy and other renewable energy sources and fuel infrastructure and by incentivizing U.S. auto manufacturers to step up domestic production of hybrid vehicles, Obama will create a new job sector and open up 5 million new “green” jobs. In addition to fuel infrastructure modernization, Obama will also invest in the transportation infrastructure by creating a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank (NIRB), an independent entity tasked with moving our transportation system into the 21st century. The NIRB will provide financing to projects that will create up to two million new direct and indirect jobs while generating roughly $35 billion in annual economic activity.

Obama will also invest in preparing Americans for 21st century jobs – by making college more affordable (example: larger tax credit for educational assistance to low income students) and by incentivizing training for tech-sector jobs – and ensuring that more jobs stay in the U.S. Obama will give preference in public contracts to companies that maintain a domestic workforce rather than moving jobs overseas. Obama will also fight for passage of the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 – which Obama introduced and which will create a tax credit for companies that maintain a favorable ratio of domestic to foreign workers, provide decent wages and health insurance and support employees who serve in the military. By contrast, McCain would repeal the domestic production activities tax deduction, a deduction that primarily benefits small businesses and is aimed at encouraging domestic production – rather than foreign outsourcing – of goods. McCain is clearly demonstrating how committed he is to keeping our jobs at home.

B. Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Corporate Investment

Obama realizes that thriving businesses are an integral part of sustainable economic growth. Thus, he will eliminate all capital gains taxes to start up and small businesses and also make the “Making Work Pay” tax credit (discussed below) applicable to small business owners. Obama will make the research and development tax credits permanent (a move McCain supports), thereby continuing a commitment to develop a skilled research and development workforce and a domestic technology infrastructure that primarily benefits American workers.

C. Putting Money in the Pockets of Those Who Need it Most

Americans returning to work under an Obama administration, as well as the overwhelming majority of those already working, will see their after-tax income improve at a time when Americans need higher effective income the most. It is by now no secret that, despite McCain’s misrepresentations to the contrary, Americans making less than $250,000 per year will see an increase in their after tax income under Obama’s plan. According to the Tax Policy Center’s “Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plans”, Obama will extend the 10, 15, 25 and 28 percent tax brackets while restoring the Clinton administration’s 36 and 39.6 percent brackets at the upper end. Obama will also provide a $1,000 energy rebate to American families – funded by a windfall profits tax on oil companies – together with a $1,000 per family ($500 for individuals) “Making Work Pay” tax credit – which will eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans – and an elimination of taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 per year – ending taxation of 7 million seniors and increasing their annual savings by an average of $1,400. Taken together, Obama’s tax policies would mean a 5.5% tax cut for the poorest 20% of Americans and a 2.6% cut (an average of $1,118 in extra income) for middle-income Americans.

Moreover, Obama will work to ensure that families have a proper work/life balance. He will expand the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees (the threshold is currently 50 employees), and also expand coverage of the FMLA to include: (1) up to 24 hours of leave each year for parents to participate in their children’s academic activities; (2) leave for employees to address domestic violence; and (3) leave for elder care. Obama will also expand flexible work options for civil service workers and will invest in programs aimed at showing private employers the benefits of the same. Moreover, Obama will extend and expand the child and dependent care tax credit, providing significantly more assistance to low-income families and increasing the after-tax wages of the poorest workers.

D. Helping Families Keep their Homes

The inability of homeowners to pay their mortgage is a principal cause of our apparent need for a $700 billion bailout. Obama is thus fighting to ensure that any package that makes its way through Congress includes provisions to help families stay in their homes. Additionally, Obama’s plan would create a 10% universal mortgage credit for those families who do not itemize deductions and are thus not eligible for the mortgage interest and property tax deductions. Obama will also fight for passage of his “Stop Fraud Act”, which is aimed at protecting homeowners from predatory lenders.

E. McCain’s Plan is Bad for Small Business and the American Worker

McCain, on the other hand, favors maintaining, and in some cases expanding, Bush’s tax policies that favored the wealthy and regressively put the highest tax burden on those least able to afford it. As the Tax Policy Center explains, while keeping all current individual tax brackets in place, McCain would drop the 35% corporate tax bracket and phase down the next highest bracket until it reaches 25% by 2014 (effectively dropping the top corporate tax rate by 10%). McCain will also greatly extend the AMT exemption until it reaches $143,000 by 2013 (Obama would extend AMT exemptions as well, but by not nearly as much) and increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million while reducing its tax rate from 45% to 15%. While this news may bode well for corporations, wealthy Americans who are actually subject to the AMT, and the approximately 4,000 extremely wealthy estates subject to McCain’s estate tax, it doesn’t look so good for the rest of us. Under McCain’s plan, the poorest American workers will see, on average, only $21 in additional after-tax income, while the richest 1 in 1000 Americans will see more than $290,000 in additional income (Obama’s plan would increase the tax burden of those individuals by 8.9%, or an average of $550,000). Middle income Americans’ after-tax income will increase by only $325 under McCain. Further, McCain actually markets his plan to repeal the domestic production activities deduction as a partial offset to the revenue loss from dropping corporate tax rates. Translation: McCain will make small businesses and those companies that produce “Made in the USA” goods bear the cost of his big corporate tax cuts.

Perhaps McCain wants American workers to take that extra $21 and invest it in healthcare, because as I explained in my healthcare article, McCain plans to end the era of pre-tax insurance payroll deductions and replace it with an inadequate tax credit, meaning that the poorest Americans will likely have to come up with an average $12,000 for off-the-shelf health insurance, which McCain wants to deregulate the same way he deregulated Wall Street (and we see how well that went). McCain’s programs clearly do not favor most working Americans and, furthermore, are counterproductive to digging us out of our weakened economy.

While McCain’s plan will disproportionately benefit the richest Americans, the cost of his plan –which will be borne by working and middle class taxpayers, as well as by future generations – is staggering. The Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain’s tax plan would increase our budget deficit to nearly $7.4 trillion by 2018. (recall, as noted above, that the deficit is just over $7 billion as of FY 2007). McCain’s wealth-favoring tax brackets and AMT extensions will alone account for $2.9 trillion of that revenue decrease over the 10 year period. In other words, while the rich would continue to get richer on the backs of American laborers under McCain’s plan, McCain plan would generate an astonishing acceleration of the rate at which our nation is mortgaged to foreign, and potentially hostile, countries. To be sure, Obama’s plan will also generate increased budget deficits, but by a significantly smaller amount and in a much more progressive manner.

III. The Way Ahead

The “chickens” that represent Reagan’s and Bush’s trickle down economic policies are finally coming home to roost, and it looks like the cost for the failure of these economic policies is going to be somewhere north of $700 billion. This is not to say that democrats do not share blame for the policies that got us into this mess. However, the economic policies espoused by democrats differ from those of republicans in that they have not placed the burden for reparation of our nation’s fiscal irresponsibility on America’s poorest workers. According to Princeton professor Alan S. Binder, “income inequality has trended substantially upward under Republican presidents but slightly downward under Democrats.” And since 2001, when Bush took office, we’ve witnessed a marked rise in after-tax income inequality. McCain wants to continue Bush’s policies, squandering our resources and spiraling our economy deeper into the deficit abyss while providing laughable tax breaks for everyday Americans who have to watch as big corporations and the extremely wealthy enjoy significantly more after-tax income. That’s a continuation not only of the policies of inequality, but also of the policies that got us into this mess.

Barack Obama’s plan will put more Americans to work, protect American jobs and modernize our workforce while investing in small businesses, protecting Americans’ homes and creating a progressive tax code that provides real income to American workers, all at a cost that is significantly less than McCain’s regressive tax policies. Obama clearly understands what is needed to bring about an economic recovery and his policies are better able to accomplish that task than are McCain’s. Obama is the better candidate for economic recovery.

Rob J
Cross-posted to Opinion Streams.

Obama Over 50 Percent In Average Of Tracking Polls - TMP

Talking Points Memo reports that Senator Barack Obama's ahead of his presidential challenger Senator John McCain by a comfortable margin, 50.4 percent to 42.7 percent in a "poll of tracking polls."

It's the first time Obama has been over 50 percent in a poll of polls.

Republican Sues Gov. Sarah Palin Over Email Use

The growing perception that Alaska Governor and GOP VP hopeful Sarah Palin has her own ethics problems is fed by stories like this one. According to the Washington Post, Palin is being sued by a Republican Alaska activist Andree McLeod for her use of private email accounts for public business. Here's the detail:

In a lawsuit filed in Alaska Superior Court, a Republican activist seeks to force Gov. Sarah Palin to produce copies of official correspondence she sent and received on private e-mail accounts.

Andrée McLeod filed the suit Wednesday and publicized it in a news release today. "Rather than using her state e-mail account, throughout her two-year tenure as Governor of Alaska, defendant Sarah Palin, as a matter of routine, has used, and, on information and belief, continues to use, (at least) two private e-mail accounts... to conduct official business of the State of Alaska," the suit alleges.

The suit is the latest front in a battle McLeod is waging over Palin's e-mail. In June, she filed an open-records request and received four boxes of redacted e-mails. But more than 1,100 others were withheld, an action Palin justified by claiming executive privilege. McLeod appealed that claim last month before going to court last week.

McLeod has questioned whether Palin was using private e-mail accounts to conduct state business in a manner that would skirt open-records laws. In one notable e-mail, a Palin aide apologized for discussing state business on a public account. "Whoops!" Palin aide Frank Bailey wrote, after addressing an e-mail to the governor's official state address. "Frank, this is not the Governor's personal account," a secretary reminded him.

John Russo - Oakland's Top Lawyer On Biden Palin Debate

I sat down with Oakland's Top Lawyer John Russo just a day after the Vice Presidential debate between Senator Joe Biden and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and to talk about who won the debate, and what Palin's assendency says about American Government and Culture.

We have a difference of views and it centers on the idea that Palin did a terrible job -- my contention. Russo says that in debates one must "hold their ground" make sure their point is gotten across. He says she did that.

My point was that she just repeated talking points and failed on many occasions to answer questions Gwen Ifel asked of her.

What do you think? Watch the video and let me know here.

John McCain And The Keating Five - " Keating Economics" - keatingeconomics.com

This is the subject John McCain would like many to forget about, but since it concerns the financial markets, which recently caved, the matter of the "Keating Five" scandal comes front and center in the election campaign.

The "Keating Five" scandal consists of five elected officials, four Democrats, none of them active anymore and one Republican -- John McCain. McCain had a close relationship with Charles Keating, the CEO of Lincoln Financial. Keating gave each official, including McCain well over $300,000 to have them hold off the Federal Government from checking into allegations of fraud. McCain himself got over $100,000, making him the largest benefactor of Charles Keating's fiscal gift.

In turn, McCain held off scrutiny, but was eventually caught. McCain was found guilty by the Senate Ethics Committee of using "poor judgement" in his dealings and relationship with Keating.

Now, the question of what John McCain's learned -- nothing -- comes up again. There's a new website that's focused on this called "Keating Economics" and on October 6th at 12 noon -- that's tommorrow -- a new video on the subject will be released.

Stay Tuned.

Sarah Palin's Folksiness Is The Problem - Newsweek

Newsweek has an excellent article on "The Palin Problem" which the mag sees as that in representing "Joe Six Pack" is it good or right for the person seeking high public office to be "like average Americans.?"

The other problem I have is that I view Joe Six Pack as racist.

More on that, later.

Sarah Palin Attacks Barack Obama For Associating With Ayers; Opens Door to Her Own Anti-American Past

Today, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin let go and tossed an accusation and an insult at Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama when Palin accused Obama of associating with Bill Ayers, the former member of the Weather Underground.

As those who regularly read this space know, the Ayers matter is a red-herring. But in attacking Obama, Palin opened the door to her own Anti-American behavior.

There's a new video going around that details Palin's involvement in a group that wanted to cause Alaska to quit America.

That organization, according to the blog "Left of Hudson" was so extreme that.

..Joe Vogler, it's founder, was buried in Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada, fulfulling his wish that he not be buried under the American flag.

Here's the video:



Draw your own conclusions.

"YES ON H" - San Francisco's Quest For Clean Energy November 4th

On November 4th a very important vote is coming to San Francisco. It's called "Yes on H" and if it passes, this is what it will do:

Specifically, the Act directs the City to analyze, identify and pursue strategies that:

Maximize greenhouse reductions from the electricity sector at the minimum cost including the following clean energy mandates: by 2012 ensure at least 107 megawatts; by 2017 ensure 51%; and by 2030 ensure 75%. The SFPUC shall ensure that 100% or the greatest amount technologically feasible or practicable are met through clean energy by 2040. Nuclear is prohibited from being included in the definition of clean energy.

Investigate ways to improve electric service and reduce costs to customers, including through measures such as Community Choice Aggregation.

Establish an Independent Ratepayer Advocate to represent the interests of ratepayers and ensure affordable and reliable service.

Develop a Green Jobs plan providing workforce development for clean energy, construction and operations in PUC jurisdiction. Any PG&E employees who become City employees as a result of this Act will not suffer any reduction of compensation or seniority.

Evaluate the financial and environmental benefits of locally controlled electricity services, including renewable energy and energy efficiency. This includes a cost-benefit analysis of municipalizing the electric system, as well as shorter-term measures such as Community Choice Aggregation.

Seems like a no-brainer, and it is. One problem is that SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's not behind it, and no one seems to have a good reason why, including Mayor Newsom. Not a good idea for someone running for Governor of California.

Bush's tax policies didn't create jobs, or economic well-being for most Americans. Why does McCain want to pursue more of the same?

Senator Barack Obama is proposing tax cuts that would help struggling, middle-class families get back on track and provide relief during these financially uncertain times.

No matter how many times John McCain claims otherwise, the overwhelming majority of Americans will never see a tax increase under Barack's plans. Barack's proposals will lower tax rates for 95% of families, including the small business owners that are the core of our economic well-being. It's time to help the folks that have been hurt the most by the Bush economic policies that McCain has backed for the past eight years.

John McCain pledged to run and honorable, honest campaign. Instead he's been using his stump speeches and attack ads to purposefully mislead voters about Obama's real tax plans.

The crisis that we're facing calls for innovative solutions. John McCain's plan calls for renewing Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. That didn't create jobs. That didn't stimulate economic growth. In fact, that approach is fundamentally more of the same, and the United State of America just can't afford it.

No more lies.

Before you vote, know who will raise your taxes more. According to independent, non-partisan comparisons, if you earn less than $250,000 per year? It's McCain.

Do the causes of Global warming matter?

Let's try a little hypothetical situation:

You're standing on a riverbank and you see more and more people who appear to be trying to get out of the river, but they're tired and can't swim to shore so they're being swept on out to sea. Do you

1. go upstream and figure out why they're all in the river, or
   
2. blame the policies of the Bush~Cheney Administration, or
   
3. ignore the cause and hope sound-bites on the 6:00 news will make it clear that you're not pointing fingers but definitely in favor of keeping people from drowning?

While you're thinking which of those three you'd suggest, watch this excerpt from a recent interview:

Is that your final answer?

While forming a sub-cabinet to study the issue isn't exactly the epitome of small-government solutions, it is creative. It wasn't, however, one of the choices you were offered.

If you picked "3" you were likely impressed by Governor Sarah Palin's amazing winking soundbite show in what was supposed to be a debate Thursday night. I suggest you move to Alaska where you can rest assured you'll be hearing a lot more sound bites from her in the coming months and years.

If you picked "2" I sympathize, but you'd better be out working to get Obama elected, and working to add forward-thinking progressives who think about energy and the environment in terms of the future to both the U.S. House and Senate or you'll be whining on November 5th.

If you picked "1" feel free to add me to your friends list, we just might have something in common.

We urgently need a comprehensive energy policy for the United State that will, at a minimum:

• Incorporate energy into an overall national security policy.
• Unify energy and environmental policy, recognizing our obligation to act as planet-stewards on behalf of future generations.
• Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
• Help create new jobs by strategically investing to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
  
• Provide incentives to save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
  
• Put hundreds of thousands of Plug-In Hybrid cars on the road sooner rather than later. Our government must work to encourage those vehicles are being built here in America.
  
• Ensure 10% or more of our electricity comes from renewable sources within 5 years, and aim for 25% within 15 years.
  
• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to substantively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Let's talk about the real world

The causes of global warming do matter. And while there is more than one reason people may fall in the river, making sure other people aren't pushing them in and figuring out what the main causes are -- and preventing those -- will save us a lot of time and risk we'll otherwise invest in hauling drowning people to shore. Governor Palin's flippant, sound-bite-ready reaction shows a naive, dangerous lack of understanding.

read more | digg story

False Steve Jobs Report Not CNN's Fault

Just two days ago an iReporters created a video that reported news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a heart attack. The result was a drop in Apple's stock price before the iReport team got wind of the news that the video's report was false.

They took it down 20 minutes later.

For some reason, some want to blame CNN for this situation. CNN's not at fault because the video was never tagged for official use by CNN.

London Bike Messengers Race Video - Cool View Of An Event

I found this and put it up for two reasons: 1) I wanted something about London, and 2) a video that was offbeat and a slice of life outside America.

This is it:

Biden / Palin Debate - Senator Biden Beats Gov. Palin Handly

O.J. SIMPSON FOUND GUILT FOR ARMED ROBBERY, SHOULD BE RELEASED ON APPEAL DUE TO JURY

This, to me is a crazy. I'm not saying O.J. Simpson was not stupid for not calling the police in Las Vegas and filing a stolen items report, but given the complexities of the overall case, and the assertion that the Las Vegas law enforcement people wanted to score a big arrest of O.J. Simpson, it's shocking to even hear of the final verdict.

But also consider what could be grounds for filing an appeal: that none of the jurors were Black -- zero. That's stupid and for the judge to allow the formation of such a jury is criminal in itself -- or should be.

Plus, O.J. Simpson himself never had a gun. Plus, the person -- an obviously questionable man called Thomas Riccio -- who Simpson for some god-awful reason asked to help him, ended up recording Simpson and selling it to the media for $210,000.

Wild and not right at all.

There's reason to believe Simpson will be released on appeal of the makeup of the jury. That's crazy to even think that a fair trial was had with an all-White or at least non-Black jury. Plus, the judge , Jsckie Miller, didn't release information on the juror questionaire. Why? I don't know.

All I know is this fish stinks and it's being thrown back into the water.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Wants $7 Billion Loan For California

The long term impact of Proposition 13 and the changed economy have produced a situation where California finds itself in a cash and credit crunch of historic proportions. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants a $7 Billion loan for California otherwise thousands of teachers in the state will be laid off.

BIDEN SCORES BIG DEBATE WIN AGAIN PALIN

Senator and Democratic VP Candidate Joe Biden basically ate Governor and GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin alive at the "first and only" Vice Presidential Debate. I had the pleasure of watching the debate at a special event held by The Bay Area Democrats at the offices of McKinsey and Company in the Bank of America building in San Francisco.

I will share video of the impressions of viewers, but my firs take is that Palin came in with well presented canned lines that more often than not did not match the question that was asked. But the fact that the words were well-presented seemed to be enough for some people, leading me to a great concern for America's collective desire to want to think critically about anything.

Biden gave an awesome and commanding performance. His 36 years of Senate experience came to bear on the debate and he presented himself well, giving a civics and foreign policy lesson to America.

Palin avoids imploding during VP debate

Did Governor Palin's performance change the outcome of the election? Almost certainly not, though she probably did succeed in getting the attention back on Senator McCain. Her answers were obviously much less spontaneous, and accordingly less substantive, less revealing, and generally less related to the questions Gwen Ifill posed. In fact, the debate may have been overshadowed by the revelation that the McCain campaign has written off Michigan, and will even continue running ads there.

Both candidates foreshadowed their strengths and styles for the evening handling the very first question, Biden gave a fairly soft answer when asked had the previous week been DC at its best or its worst, but Governor Palin essentially ignored the question altogether to assert that McCain, who had championed Wall Street deregulation, nonetheless had warned people "two years ago" that something bad might be looming.

What came through from Senator Biden was the sense of a man who genuinely grasps the enormity of the dual crises facing America: the meltdown in our economy and the damage to our standing in the world that the policies of the Bush administration have wrought. Biden was considerably more willing to show himself to us, while his opponent's agenda was clearly to echo now-familiar talking points wrapped in folksy colloquialisms – a sort of blending of the styles of George Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Biden did seem to gloss over that the time-tested Republican campaign theme of "lowering taxes" which has not by any means strengthened our economy during the Bush administration. So perhaps casual viewers looking for bright spots in Palin's performance will buy her assertion that a vote for McCain isn't likely to continue current policies even though Biden did once basically dare her to name one way in which McCain offered any real change. We're left to wonder if gosh-darnits meant to sound like Reagan are sufficient evidence of a viable Vice President or not. As a strategic goal, distancing the McCain~Palin ticket from Bush and Cheney is obviously prudent, yet speaking at a tactical "in the limelight" level, Sarah Palin mispronouncing nuclear in the same way that George Bush does surely emphasized her similarities to our increasingly unpopular President.

When Ms. Ifill asked how a VP might change the partisan posturing that we associate with Washington politics the two answers were markedly different. Biden's story about being given a come-uppance and his resulting lesson about not judging another motives rang with credible humility. Palin, on the other hand, after suggesting the secret was in selecting political appointees without regard to their politics (that's a trifle naïve, I must say) then immediately launched into a highly partisan smear as she made her appeal to voters to pick Republicans to return to the Oval Office.

Who dealt with the questions better?

Palin dodged the question when both candidates were asked about their weaknesses. Biden was forthcoming, whereas the Governor clearly launched into talking points. Asked about policy issues they'd had to change on during their careers Biden admitted to giving up his original ideal about selecting judicial nominees based solely on temperament and intellect, learning there was reason to consider "judicial philosophy" as well. Palin cited not vetoing budgets when she lacked support. In other words she'd learned she couldn't dictate from a minority position, which frankly sounded like she didn't understand the question although it's a good lesson.

Biden did have the upper hand in the exchanges about taxes. The Governor was obviously in talking point territory on that topic, while Senator Biden clarified and debunked those points and how they relate to wage earners under $250,000, regardless of if they are small business owners or not. A format that allowed longer responses probably would have provided Biden the opening to talk about how tax cuts haven't been creating jobs lately, but the rules for the VP debate cut down the intervals each had for speaking in comparison to the Presidential events, and that frankly worked in Palin's favor.

Well moderated evening

Any questions or concerns about Gwen Ifill's impartiality as a moderator have been erased by her style of presenting both with similarly sticky questions – and letting both hear both questions before replying when the two were different, such as on challenging the Governor to explain why she'd said she didn't know what a VP did ("it was a joke") whereas Ifill noted Biden had been quoted as saying he'd never be a VP (which he didn't actually have to address, since Palin wanted BOTH to be seen as jokes - Sarah let Joe off the hook.) Ifill had moderated the vice-presidential debate between Republican candidate Dick Cheney and Democratic candidate Senator John Edwards during the 2004 debate, but her as-yet-unpublished book had been the source of some hand-wringing among certain pundits during the 24-36 hours before the debate.

One outstanding quandary for those who were paying close attention to Palin's talking points is how to reconcile her assertions about getting government out of the way with such statements as being the first Governor to form a climate change sub-cabinet. That's not exactly a small-government approach, although it did allow her to nearly deflect questions about what causes climate change. Biden, of course, was quick to point out that while it's all well and good to talk about avoiding finger pointing, yet it's hard to solve problems if you don't know what the cause is. Perhaps his best shot of the night came early on when he likened McCain's proposals to tax health care benefits while deregulating the health care insurance system as a "Bridge to Nowhere."

Republicans can relax, she passed.

Still, it must be said, Governor Palin was much better prepared for this than she had been for her interviews with Katie Couric, and surely exceeded the expectations of many who watched the debate. Did she win? Not in the traditional sense of providing substantive answers related to the questions. Yet political debates are not judged solely by that standard, and since she likely didn't drive conservative voters away she also didn't lose.

If the standard is which candidate presented a person ready to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency, a question Ifill asked about, Senator Biden's more thoughtful, spontaneous familiarity with the national policy issues outshined the Governor's repeated references to Alaska as an energy producing state. There can be little doubt in the minds of the voters that the Obama~Biden policies will diverge sharply from those in force currently, whereas based on Palin's performance, (which didn't meet the level she attained reading her acceptance speech at the RNC,) a vote for McCain~Palin is, indeed, a vote for more of the same.

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McCain pulling out of Michigan

According to Jonathan Martin at The Politico, John McCain is throwing in the towel and ceding Michigan. He will go off TV, discontinue all mailings, and pull almost all of his staff. He has also cancelled a scheduled rally there next week. According to recent polling, Obama has opened up as much as a 10 point lead over McCain in MI. For more details on the Republicans stunning decision to cede Michigan more than a month ahead of the election, see The Politico.

Sarah Palin Distracts Voters and Journalists With Her Legs

This video shows that Alaska Governor and GOP hopeful VP Candidate uses her legs to gain an advantage. But we Democrats must undertand that we're all gaining from this process -- eventually people will get tired of the whole deal of seeing her legs and vote for Obama = Biden.

See this on CNN iReport.

Senate Version of Bailout Bill Passes 74 to 25 - House Next

The U.S. Senate passed the new version of the Bailout Bill 74 to 25 votes. And while credit markets have not recovered all the way -- about 70 percent -- from Monday, at least it's not going to crash as it did that day.

At Senate Bailout Bill Vote, McCain Rude To Obama

Remember last week's debate, when some observed that Senator John McCain acted as if he didn't like Senator Barack Obama, refusing to look at him during the contest and acting as if he was annoyed at the very presence of Obama? In fact, this CNN iReporter explained it well:



Well, here's even more evidence that McCain's "got issues" with Barack Obama. According to CQ Politics:

Let the record reflect that Barack Obama made the approach to John McCain tonight.

As the two shared the Senate floor tonight for the first time since they won their party nominations, Obama stood chatting with Democrats on his side of the aisle, and McCain stood on the Republican side of the aisle.

So Obama crossed over into enemy territory.

He walked over to where McCain was chatting with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and Independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. And he stretched out his arm and offered his hand to McCain.

McCain shook it, but with a “go away” look that no one could miss. He tried his best not to even look at Obama.

Finally, with a tight smile, McCain managed a greeting: “Good to see you.”

Well, at least McCain's right about one thing: he didn't win "Miss Congeniality" for nothing!

Believe me, the Malkin outrage is NOT about Ifill.

Seriously. It may be to distract people from issues again, or it may really be the soft bigotry of low expectations being heaped on the rookie Governor before her national debate debut as some have suggested. Are Malkin and her ilk just readying their excuses, or really trying to torpedo McCain by undermining Palin's confidence? One thing I know, it's not what they want us to hear:
it's NOT about Gwen Ifill.

I realize that any number of proud social conservatives have expressed reservations over Palin’s readiness and/or suitability for the position of Vice President. But it behooves us to grant Governor Palin her time in the limelight, to approach the evening with as open a mind as is possible as we focus on the issues important to the voters - the economic bailout being considered by congress, deregulation, Iraq, taxes, and health care to name a few obvious issues more important than the fact that Gwen Ifill a moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS also aspires to be author.

It’s not time to distract us by creating false controversy about the moderator. But since even McCain says it's not about Gwen Ifill:

...so why are the most visible, infamous right wing pundits so exercised on the eve of the debate? Is it as simple as an attempt to lower expectations? Is that fair to Palin and her running mate? Is that even plausible?

Will Ms. Ifill present more rigor than Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric? Probably so. The late Tim Russert might have been rugged in this sort of context. Why are the right-leaning pundits so concerned about Gwen Ifill? Why are they making this about people, not issues? And even if she is up against a more experienced, worldly debater in Senator Joe Biden, she’s been prepping for weeks; it’s show time!

Was Malkin jealous of Ifill's opportunity? We know she opposes multiculturalism, she makes that plain on her blogsite. Was she hoping Palin would face somebody less experienced as a moderator, such as David Letterman -- or Jon Stewart?

Much ado about nothing.

We arguably learn more about a candidate from a slightly adversarial interviewer (or moderator) than we would from somebody lobbing easy questions. Governor Palin is something of an unknown on the national political scene in the U.S., and the campaign has not to this point made her very available for interviews or press conferences. This is her chance to shine - and I, for one, expect her to do a creditable job in the spotlight. This is not her first debate; anyone ready to be Vice President surely has to be ready, willing, and able to handle questions from a PBS moderator in a controlled situation.

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Raiders Davis Fires Kiffin by Phone

Raiders’ Davis Fires Kiffin by Phone (I guess smoke signals would have taken too long) By Dr. Bill Chachkes for Football Reporters Online

So what makes this time different from the last? Davis said he had the goods on Kiffin and that his conduct was detrimental to the Raiders organization, to the coaching staff and players, and to Davis personally.
“I had to let him Go” Stated Mr. Davis. Sounds like wall street letting go of a few billion and saying Opps, we messed up. It seems like they have messed up plenty of times before. What is Davis’ Excuse this time? “I Hired the wrong guy”, and “he’s A flat out Liar” was his answer. So then what was his excuse for Mike Shanahan? Norv Turner? Jon Gruden? all now successful with other teams. Two of them, Turner and Shanahan even in the same division.

Who will save the Raiders now that the silver is mottled with rust? Not Interim head coach Tom Cable. Not this mystery off-season hiring of an exec who will bring the Raiders back. “We’ll get back, the Raiders will be back” said Davis, who surely would be better off in a nursing home right now then at the Raiders offices. Al, please hang it up. You are hurting the poor Raiders fans, and the people of Brooklyn NY where you are from.

Gov. Sarah Palin Shows Legs In Beauty Contest Video

Well, there's nothing wrong with pointing out that Governor Sarah Palin has great legs, or at least had them when she was competing in this beauty contest. This video -- in many copies -- has become the rage of the Internet:




But the appearance of this video deepens an already large PR problem for the McCain campaign: Governor Palin's image is being formed into something akin to a young, lucky, ambitious, sexy, dumb..female. That's the truth and I don't like it.

I'm not a Palin supporter but references to her as "That woman" and other examples make my blood boil. I chose to "bash" Governor Palin on her comments and actions, but not her gender. Ok. Why the legs video? Well, she's got them and wanted to show them and not just at one point.

Remember the photo with Henry Kissenger? She went to that showing hosiery-less legs , so you tell me? She could have done it Hillary Clinton-style and worse a pants-suit, right?

Right?

Right?

Yesh. Now you're getting it.

451-Page Senate Version of "Bailout Bill" Now Online Here

As you know, the U.S. Senate is going to vote on the Senate version of the Bailout Bill, which is now at 451 pages. What are the highlights? As I read past the definitions of the bill, which are many, I find..

1) This interesting text:

18 (4) In order to provide the Secretary with the
19 flexibility to manage troubled assets in a manner de20
signed to minimize cost to the taxpayers, estab21
lishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to super22
vision by the Secretary, to purchase, hold, and sell
23 troubled assets and issue obligations.

This means that there'a mandate to protect Taxpayers from exposure.

2) This provision seeks to curb profiteering:

17 (e) PREVENTING UNJUST ENRICHMENT.—In making
18 purchases under the authority of this Act, the Secretary
19 shall take such steps as may be necessary to prevent un20
just enrichment of financial institutions participating in
21 a program established under this section, including by pre22
venting the sale of a troubled asset to the Secretary at
23 a higher price than what the seller paid to purchase the
24 asset.

For the total bill and to download it, click here.

The Ongoing Pakistan Issue

In light of Pakistani President Zardari's warning that US troops crossing the border into Pakistan without authorization would be subject to attack, a new BBC poll on world attitudes toward Al Qaeda is particularly interesting.

Zardari's cover for his position, while asking out of the other side of his mouth for US aid, is that the terrorist organizations in his country will 1) unify; and 2) attack inside Pakistan in protest if the US continues its policy of only informing Pakistan of its cross border actions instead of asking for permission from that sovereign nation. His point was more than borne out when terrorists blew through the Marriott in downtown Islamabad on September 21 of this year. It should be no surprise that Al Qaeda is suspected in the attack.

Which brings us full circle back to the BBC poll regarding world attitudes toward Al Qaeda. To a country, attitudes were negative toward the organization, except in Egypt and ... can you guess? ... Pakistan. We are in the process of spending obscene amounts of money and obscene numbers of American lives to "root out" Al Qaeda in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan only to encourage it, by our actions, to gain strength in Pakistan. We are playing a very dangerous game in Pakistan: enforcing our will against the wishes of the people and government with the effect of strengthening the one terrorist organization we fear most. This is one to watch, folks, and watch very closely.

Gallup Daily: Obama Up 4 Points; Daily Kos Tracking: Obama Up By 10 Points

The war of poll methods can be seen in the major difference between Gallup and Daily Kos. Gallup Daily has Senator Obama ahead of Senator McCain by 4 points, 48 to 44. By contrast, Daily Kos has Obama with a 10 point lead 51 to 41. The Daily Kos poll is done by Research 2000 and uses Likely Voters. Since they tend to be Republican, that spells danger for McCain. But it must be noted, Gallup should be more transparent about their methods.

SENATE VOTE ON BAILOUT BILL TODAY - MARKET WAITS

Today is the next critical step in the road to the passage or failure of The Bailout Bill. This is the day the Senate takes up the matter of the legislation with Senators and presidential candidates Barack Obama, John McCain, and Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden expected to attend for the voting process.

According to the Huff Post, the new version of the bill has tax reductions in it to gain more Republican support than the last version.

The vote takes place tonight.

Average Voters Don't Get It

What's upseting to me is how many people just plain don't understand the problem we face. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said it best when he observed that "Commerce could stop", and Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed that “Everything that is happening in the economic and financial sphere has started in the United States. This is a real crisis that all of us are facing," the former president told a government meeting in Moscow.

“And what is really sad is that we see an inability to take appropriate decisions. This is no longer irresponsibility on the part of some individuals, but irresponsibility of the whole system, which as you know had pretensions to (global) leadership."

What's galling is that Americans don't seem to understand how their finances are tied to Wall Street and the World Economy.

Ralph Nader - Presidential Candidate On The Bailout Bill

http://www.zennie62.com - Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader took time to talk with me specifically about what kind of form he would like to see the Baillout Bill take before he could support it.

Nader appeared today at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California as part of a California and Bay Area event swing which saw the consumer crusader take in 10 events in one day.

On CNN iReport