“The Express” Is Right On Time

“The Express” Is Right On Time

By Michael – Louis Ingram for Football Reporters Online





“From the time I started in sports, I was always the player who got the limelight, who had the nice stories written about him; all this I gained merely by doing what I liked to do most.”

--Ernie Davis, the first African – American to win the Heisman Award; from an article entitled “I’m Not Unlucky” in the Saturday Evening Post, March 30, 1963 (with Bob August).



It has long been something most people take for granted, especially in the era of self – promotion and media commotion; to be able to translate their talents into real – world affectation, benefitting not only themselves, but mankind as well.

If you were a Black person living in 1950s America, those opportunities to do something you loved and prosper from it were few and far between; and as prior generations of Black people sought to channel their frustration into realization, waiting for that one source which could not only burn, but illuminate.

In 1959, Syracuse University would produce such a source in Ernie Davis.

The life of tailback Ernie Davis is put on display in a new film, “The Express,” to be released nationwide today. As the first African – American to receive college football’s highest honor, the Heisman Trophy, Davis, who was nicknamed “the Elmira Express” for his community in Elmira, New York, would do the thing he loved; while transforming into a conduit for the aspirations of civility and humanity for Black people during the Civil Rights era.

As herculean a task as Davis had thrust upon him, there was one who had previously blazed a trail for him. The great Jim Brown, first to wear the now mythic #44 for the Orangemen of Syracuse, revealed that Davis was made of the right stuff. “Ernie Davis was a quiet storm of courage and self – awareness,” assesses Brown. On the field, he was everything you could want in a talent – big, quick and powerful.

“But off the field, with the eyes of the world on him, he stared perception in the face with his reality of knowing who he was and knowing what he did and what it meant to everyone at that time.

“You have to remember cats like Davis saw the big picture; they didn’t come out of school with no degree and little life experience. If anything, Syracuse kept its word in guaranteeing an education to us.

“Out of the Black men who would go on to play professional ball in that era, over 90 per cent of these men had their degrees – real degrees -- and knew there were more things than football we had to contend with.”

Syracuse head football coach Ben Schwartzwalder was one of those things; a hard, focused man who was tough but fair – and Davis’ enduring spirit endeared himself to Schwartzwalder, helping him and the program to become one of the strongest in the country during a time resistant to change and more sensitive to transition.

Davis’ story is a lightning rod for the growing civil rights movement that would take the country to task in the 1960s. The covert and overt racism Davis would run over around and through would change the face of college athletics; but Davis, unlike many after him, didn’t have the luxury of opting out of the challenge and ignoring the unspoken calling for commercial gain.

Brown cites this as the quintessential difference between then and now. “You take a Michael Jordan,” pauses Brown,”…and all you can really say about him is that he was a great basketball player – but that’s all. Jordan is no hero to me.

“There were cats like Jordan back in our time, too – and whatever motivations sparked them to do what they did was just something unsaid; but we knew (who they were), and they were far in the minority in our overall approach of what we collectively had to do.

“Ernie Davis never gave his manhood up – and still managed to sign what was at that time the largest pro contract at the end of his college career.

“There is no question Davis would’ve been a great pro player; that he never got the chance to fulfill it pales in comparison to the commitment he made in earning it and making things better for those who came after him,” Brown said.

In addition to being the first Black player to be awarded the Heisman, Davis would become the first Black player to be selected as first overall in any NFL draft in 1962.

When his rights were traded from the Washington Redskins and their racist owner George Preston Marshall (in part because Davis refused to play for him), Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell laid the foundation for a dream backfield of Brown and Davis. Although leukemia would end Davis’ life at age 23, the Browns retired #45 in honor of him.

The ‘one who came after’ Davis at Syracuse was Floyd Little, who, compared to Brown and the 6’2” 220 pound Davis, was the smallest of the titanic triumvirate (5’ 10”, 190) and Little still smiles in recalling the day he committed to Syracuse. “We were all at home, watching ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’” laughs Little. The door was answered and here’s Ernie and Ben Schwartzwalder. Ernie had on this camel hair coat and this huge smile on his face as he said hello and my sisters are all goo – goo eyed, staring holes through him.

“We then went to dinner and what I remember most was the university promising that they would ensure me that if I played for Syracuse, I would leave with an education and something else besides Saturday afternoons in the fall – and they kept their word.”

While Little may have been the runt of the litter, his heart was huge. As the sixth player in the AFL – NFL common draft in 1967 after an All – American career as an Orangeman, he singlehandedly saved the Denver Broncos with his efforts at Mile High Stadium.

In Denver, Little was merely “The Franchise” – but suggests Davis was of even greater stature. “I would have to say this movie about Ernie has been in the works for over 40 years. In terms of scope and its effect on our society, it has to rank right up there with Jackie Robinson’s story in baseball.”

What is clear about “The Express” is this is not a football movie, a sentiment Little echoes. “This is a story of a young man who knew he was sick; who should’ve had everything to look forward to after overcoming so much refusing to dwell on ‘what if’ or ‘why me?’ – and doing it with a desire to live and class that I sincerely hope will give some of these young men out here pause to start thinking again.”

I see “The Express” as an “Old School” primer in knowing what to do and how to do it; and as these great men have stated, will hopefully serve as a wakeup call to many athletes and non – athletes to reconsider the unspoken covenant made between those who came before and the expectations in holding down those values intrinsic to all cultures.

This flick is worth more than a bucket of popcorn, and seems to be pulling into the station of self - awareness – right on time.

Mike is F.R.O's Director of scouting and Also hosts a Weekly show on Blackathlete.com's website. You can e-mail him your comments at the address below

mike@footballreportersonline.com

Ecuador's Correa Names Fourth Finance Minister; Correa Says "Mafia" Runs Finance Ministry

This is interesting to me, because I hold that the cover-up of Petroecuador's involvement in oil spills in the Amazon is directly connected to Ecuadorian Government corruption.  Here's Ecuador's own governor talking about such problems in his own government...

Ecuador president names fourth finance minister, slams predecessors for low public spending

Associated Press Newswires, September 17, 2008

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Ecuador has a new finance minister after the unexpected resignation of Wilma Salgado.

President Rafael Correa criticized Salgado Tuesday, accusing her of blocking his efforts to boost government spending on roads, hydroelectric and oil projects during her 10 weeks in office.

Correa said a "mafia" has run the finance ministry, "demonizing" public spending in order to use Ecuador's cash to service its foreign debt.

Ecuador has US$6 billion in foreign currency reserves, and Correa wants new finance minister Maria Elsa Viteri to tap that cash to triple public spending to US$300 million a month.

Viteri is Ecuador's fourth finance minister since Correa took office 20 months ago.

Chevron v. Ecuador - Chevron Files Response To "Fraudulent" Court Report

I'm just updating you on news related to the ongoing legal battle between Chevron and Ecuador:

California-based oil major Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has filed a written response to a court-ordered report in a trial related to alleged environmental damage in Ecuador.

The superior court in Nueva Loja, Ecuador, asked Richard Cabrera to write the report after the plaintiffs aborted a judicial inspection process of the alleged pollution in Ecuador, Chevron said in a statement.

"The findings of the Cabrera report are clearly fraudulent and intended to cause damage to this US company and its shareholders," Chevron general counsel Charles James told reporters in a conference call.

"This report would not withstand scrutiny - be it technical, scientific or legal - in any responsible independent court anywhere in the world," he said.

Chevron believes Cabrera, helped by the plaintiffs, "manipulated" findings to justify false conclusions. Cabrera failed to present evidence for a number of claims and did not look at drinking water samples to prove contamination, according to the Chevron statement.

"It is hard to read Mr Cabrera's report and find a single table, page, assertion or data point that we wouldn't take issue with," James said when asked whether there was any truth to the Cabrera report. "He did put his name on the report and I presume that's correct."

The Cabrera report estimates damages of US$7bn-16bn - a "reasonable" amount that actually "underestimated the number of deaths from cancer due to the oil contamination," the Amazon Defense Coalition, a NGO that supports the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

In fact, plaintiffs have submitted papers to the court asking Cabrera to calculate how much it would cost to remediate groundwater and surface water not included in the assessment.

"There is significant evidence of groundwater and surface water contamination in the record yet no damages to remediate the impacts," Pablo Fajardo, the Ecuadorian lawyer for "dozens" of Amazon communities and five indigenous groups suing Chevron, said in the NGO's statement.

The trial stems back decades, when Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador led an E&P project with partner Texaco Petroleum (Texpet), which years later merged into Chevron. The Petroecuador-Texpet partnership resulted in total crude production of 1.7Mb, with Texpet - which stopped operating in the country in 1992 - taking 5% of the financial proceeds, according to Chevron figures.

Ecuador's government in 1999 enacted a new environmental statute that allows any Ecuadorian resident to file a collective suit for environmental reparations. As a result, plaintiffs filed suit against Chevron in 2003, alleging environmental damage under the Texpet project.

Although Texpet had a minority stake in the project, plaintiffs allege it did substandard work and made major decisions about project technology and methodology.

Chevron denies the allegations and says it performed a US$40mn remediation project that gave it final immunity from claims resulting from its participation in the consortium.

Obama Arkansas Volunteers Face Racism and Threats

The reports of racism from supporters of the McCain / Palin campaign and also reports of threats to Obama supporters are on the rise as we move closer to election day.  I just got this email from an Obama volunteer in Arkansas and who's full name I will not use here:

I live in Mountain Home AR and there are many of us here that support Obama.  But you will not find a sign any where.  The reason for this is the blatant racism and threats that have occurred against Obama and his supporters.  We are all afraid of being attacked in some way for putting up a sign.  Are you hearing this around the country?  Any thoughts?  I pray for his life and safety every day.  One of my friends told me that I was not standing up for my convictions because I did not have a sign.  I told him that now was not the time to put my safety and life on the line, but after he is elected and the attacks on him begin, it will then be time to fight to protect our President.

JP  

If you have a television or radio show, make it your business to tell people not to behave in the way of violating the rights of other Americans.  Barack Obama's going to be a great president and those who are racist need to get over their hate and get professional help to do so.  

Obama Up 13 Points Nationally In Reseach 2000 Poll; Palin at All Time Low

Barack Obama's ahead of John McCain by 13 points and the lead is increasing in the Research 2000 poll.  This is  a better poll than the Gallup Daily tracking which has Obama up by 7 points but does not explain why.

Obama's Calm Key To Foreign Policy Success - Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan wrote it best:


Obama's not-so-secret weapon in an international crisis: his calm. McCain's not-so-secret liability in a tense election: his hotheadedness. This race is about policy and the times. But it is also about temperament and character. That's why, in my judgment, it has broken so clearly in Obama's direction. He actually reassures and he manages not to take the bait almost all of the time. More to the point, he gets his opponents to destroy themselves, while he glides forward...

Why Rumors Exist in Human Culture and How to Fight Them

By using the tools of evolutionary theory and new approaches to mathematical modeling, researchers are drawing a clearer picture of how and why rumors spread. As they do, they are finding that far from being merely idle or malicious gossip, rumor is deeply entwined with our history as a species.

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American Fundamentalist Right No Different Than Taliban

It’s hard to believe how or why, but there really exists a subculture in America that is militaristic, hateful, vengeful, irrational and ambitious. These extremists are cancerous to progressive society and similar groups have had similar effect throughout the history of civilization.

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How McCain Will Steal the Election from Obama

Conservatives are scared of a progressive majority. And they're going to lie, cheat and steal to prevent it from happening. But they can only be successful if we let them.

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Obama DID NOT ask to delay security agreement, Iraqi FM says

The statement by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari refutes a recent published report and a statement by Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin that Obama tried to influence Iraqi politicians negotiating with the United States to score political points.

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Betty White Says Sarah Palin's A "Crazy Bitch"; Calls Obama Sexy

This is one funny video. Craig Ferguson hosts actress Betty White, who brings the house down by saying that Gov. Sarah Palin's "one crazy bitch" and then crowing that Barack Obama's one sexy man! Watch the video!

Racist Palin Supporter Holds Obama Monkey Doll At Palin Rally

Well, if you need more proof that McCain / Palin rallies are drawing sick, mentally ill people, here you are. I present this big terrible sick idiot for your ridicule and pitty.  Folks like him muddle the Republican message, but I also think some of that racist rhetoric is causing racists to feel it's ok to, well,  be racist again.  


It's not.  It's a mental illness that, in this case, all should call that person on.  

Think Progress Causes Politico To Backpedal On McCain Tax Claims

Wow, it's about time one of the blogs took Politico to task for their occasional pumping up of Senator John McCain's policies as if they support the middle class.  Nothing could be further from the truth, and thank God, Think Progress came through:

Earlier today, ThinkProgress criticized Politico.com for publishing a story that claimed John McCain’s proposed tax cuts for capital gains and dividends would be “aimed directly at the middle class.”

Tonight, Politico published a new story on McCain’s tax cuts that removed the false claim. Instead, the article states that the tax cuts are “designed to lure investors back to the stock market.” Here’s their new story’s lead:

Sarah Palin Booed At Philly Flyers' Game

Watch Alaska Governor Sarah Palin get booed at the Philly Flyers' opener.   This was a total mistake, having her drop the first puck.  But the Philly Flyers' owner had this wild and stupid idea, and apparently no one talked him out of it.  

Full "Troopergate" Report Here For Download

You've read the headlines and my blog, now read the full 265-page "Troopergate" scandal report and judge Sarah Palin's actions for yourself.  

Just click here to download it:

http://media.adn.com/smedia/2008/10/10/16/Branchflowerreport.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf

Sarah Palin Accused of Abuse of Power - Violated State Ethics Law

In her attempt to oust the Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who was her brother-in-law and accused of abusing her sister during their marriage, Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin was found guilty of violating a state ethics law.  

The Alaska Legislature's investigation determined that both Palins played a large role in attempts to strong arm subordinates to have Wooten removed.  One of the key persons involved as a victim was now former public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, who explained in detail how Palin's husband Todd visited him or asked him to come to her office -- not his -- on the matter of Wooten.   


As the NY Times reports, ...

The report says she knowingly “permitted Todd Palin to use the governor’s office and the resources of the governor’s office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired.”

Further, it says, she “knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda.”

Now that the "cats out of the bag" what does it mean for Palin?  Well, she's not going to jail, but in the court of public opinion it totally removes her tag as a "good government reformer" because of the charge of abuse of power.  Moreover, it will almost certainly spillover onto Senator John McCain and open fresh questions regarding how well the McCain staff failed to "vet" Governor Palin.  


The other question is will this news impact McCain's overall polling, which was already behind Senator Obama's after the economic disaster, which shows no sign of abating.  This certainly can't help, but just how much it hurts will not be known until Tuesday, after the public's first two working days of media coverage of the matter.


The McCain staff is already spinning this as the work of "Obama supporters" but as it's an ethics violation, those powerful words will override such fingerpointing.  It's a scarlet letter of the worst kind to have as a public official. 

Palin Friends Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll: The Secessionist And The John Birch Society Member

Salon writers Max Blumenthal and David Neiwert pen a quietly chlling article on two of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's friends Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll, the first is an Alaskan secessionist and Stoll is a John Birch Society member.  


Blumenthal and Neiwert present both as Governor Palin's mentors. As far as I'm concerned, they're scary. Chryson wants to have Alaska out of the union -- that's the United States -- as does Stoll, who did not agree to be interviewed for the article. But in establishing the Alaska Independent Party, Chryson , who was its chair, and Stoll befriended extreme white supremacist group members.


It must be asked why John McCain would select as a running mate someone with such a set of unfortunate and really anti-American relationships?

Bill Clinton And Walter Annenberg, Worked With Ayers; Are They Terrorists?

The idoicy and total rancor of the McCain - Palin campaign strategy of hate is evident in this little diddy of illogic on display, courtesy of this example sent to me by email:

I did a little research and came across some information regarding Chicago, IL current Mayor Richard M. Daley (served 1989 - Present). William Ayers worked with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to shape the city's school reform program, and was one of three co-authors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge grant proposal that in 1995 won $49.2 million over five years for public school reform.   The Hon. Walter H. Annenberg, a former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, designed the Annenberg Challenge to energize and support promising efforts at school reform across the country. President Bill Clinton announced this extraordinary half-billion-dollar gift at a White House ceremony on Dec. 17, 1993.   Never has Mayor Richard M. Daley, the Honorable Walter H. Annenberg or former President Bill Clinton's character or action for working with William Ayers was linked to William Ayers past history in the Weather Underground, nor have they been labeled a "terrorist" for working with a distinguished professor.     "My friends" there is something wrong when only Senator Barack Obama's character, action and previous affiliation with William Ayers is blown out of proportion by linking him to acts of terrorist. If not because of the color of his skin, then why? Where is the wrongful act? How is he withholding information? If that is the case, we should question everyone that has worked or supported William Ayers in his educational profession.   Please contact the media so they will start to see the 'big picture."

Bottom line: if Annenberg and Clinton worked with Ayers and have never been branded terrorists, then Senator Barack Obama's not a terrorist.  

Market Madness ; McCain / Palin Madness - The Blog Report

Gov. Palin Should Check Her Own Associations

Gov. Palin recently charged that Obama would diminish "the prestige of the United States presidency". Well, if we're going to be fair in playing the "guilt by association" game here, Gov. Palin, if elected, could very well be the first Vice President ever to face treason charges. Gov. Palin is, after all, strongly linked to the Alaskan Independence Party, which openly advocates secession and which carries the torch for its fallen founder, who was willing to shed blood to achieve that aim and who also reportedly consipred with the Iranian government to subvert U.S. interests.

The full story has some interesting and little known insights into the AIP and the extent to which Palin is associated with it.

Rob J

Open Letter to Obama Supporters

Call McCain's choices foolish if you choose to; question his judgment or decry his decisions; cite the choices he's made in comparison to other paths he could have taken, but don't call John McCain a coward, or be goaded into the sort of personal attacks you find problematic coming from the other side.

With over 150,000 jobs lost last month and the stock market in a veritable free-fall it’s no surprise that the economy is seen by many voters as a priority for our next president. It doesn’t take advisors for McCain to know that’s undermining his chances. His campaign is struggling to find any other topic that will eat into the time that electronic and print media devote to the economy. They’re “looking forward to turning the page on the financial crisis.” McCain's mistake is in heeding the wrong advice during the campaign, as he evidently did on deregulation in previous years.

"I'm not trying to excuse such behaviors, particularly since he asserted early on that he'd avoid them. The choice was his. Spinning the record of one's opponent was to be expected - this is politics, and a lot is at stake. My point is: the attacks, be they Palin's words, electronic ads, or the phrases and style in the debate are evidence that McCain has picked the wrong team. His campaign advisors have put him farther behind in the polls than he ever imagined he'd be - and don't forget, any savvy GOP insider knew the odds were bleak following the Bush administration even before the economy belly flopped."

The campaign reflects either the wishes of its leader or his inability to get his orders carried out - and in either case the trend is increasingly to go negative, to attack another Senator, to practice the divisive politics of smear mongering and character assassination. But both Biden and Obama have counseled against descending into adopting those tactics, and they're right.

"You may not like what John McCain stands for. You may deplore the strategies and tactics that are being employed with his approval (explicitly or tacitly.) You may question the motivation and/or goals of McCain and his advisors. You may not trust him based on something you've read, or overheard, or because you think his choice of a running mate is evidence of poor judgment. You may think his voting record is disastrous, or that he's simply too closely aligned with an administration you feel hasn't served the country well. But if you don't approve of the various and sundry attacks aimed at Senator Barack Obama for political reasons you should not - must not - be goaded into adopting them yourself."

Frankly, I find the use of Rovian tactics - the same tactics that caused him to defer to George Bush in 2000 - disappointing, and I hope McCain uses the debate on October 15th to reset the rhetoric rather than let his last campaign taint his legacy. He can take back control, or he can let the advisors exert their poisonous influence in a campaign that's no longer reflective of the integrity and honor we once associated with John McCain.

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Brigitte Bardot: Gov. Sarah Palin Is "A Disgrace For Women"

French movie star bombshell Brigette Bardot lowered the PR boom on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.  The screen legend said that Palin..

 was a disgrace to women.

"I hope you lose these elections because that would be a victory for the world," Bardot wrote in an open letter to Republican John McCain's running mate in the November vote.

"By denying the responsibility of man in global warming, by advocating gun rights and making statements that are disconcertingly stupid, you are a disgrace to women and you alone represent a terrible threat, a true environmental catastrophe," wrote Bardot.

The Mentally-Ill McCain / Palin Mob In Action - See This

If you want to see how sick Americans can be, watch this video -- or maybe you should not. These are ralliers at a McCain / Palin event in Strongsville, Ohio.  


It's no wonder that the state of Ohio was branded racist during the Democratic Primary. Moreover, Governor Sarah Palin has single-handedly spread an idea of Barack Obama as a terrorist and the people in this video spit-up her hateful chants without an ounce of critical thinking.

THE GREAT SCHLEP - GO TO FLORIDA AND GET YOUR GRANDPARENTS TO VOTE OBAMA

Sarah Silverman is the spokesperson behind a great program called "The Great Schlep", a cool idea that asks you and me to go to Florida and get your grandparents to vote for Barack Obama.  Here's Sarah talking about The Great Schlep:


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.


For more information, check out the website The Great Schlep !

Does PG&E Want To Screw San Francisco? Opposes Clean Energy

Does PG&E wanto to screw San Francisco? If you consider that the utility doesn't back using clean energy sources and has not met State of California guidelines for renewable energy, it sure seems so. You can change that with the passage of Proposition H - "Yes on H." It's the first initiative of its kind; tell your friends around America about it and have them call friends in San Francisco and tell them to vote "Yes On H".

Palin Displaying Racism and Disrespect For Senator Obama

Governor Palin needs to really examine her heart these days leading to the election -- if she can find it.  This is what she said today according to Politico:

“Barack Obama hasn’t told the American people the total truth about that, about his association with Ayers,” Palin said on conservative radio host Laura Ingraham’s show. “Doggonit, he fails to tell the American people with candor and with truthfulness what his associations are and we have to know.”

Palin blamed the media for not providing what she characterized as the same level of scrutiny to Obama that it has applied to her and running mate John McCain.

“I don't see the other ticket being asked to be truthful and give details,” Palin said.

“Some in the mainstream media are saying that, well, we’re taking the gloves off unfairly. No. You know there are only, what, 26 days to go. We gotta start getting answers to these questions that are paramount here so that voters have a choice in front of them that is based on truthfulness and candor. They deserve it.”

The Alaska governor told Ingraham’s listeners that if those questions were being answered, voters would find Obama “out of the mainstream,” adding that the Illinois senator would diminish “the prestige of the United States presidency.”

McCain's Mortgage Plan May Be His Political Suicide Note

Yesterday, both here and on my blog, I disclosed that McCain's plan - abruptly announced during the second presidential debate - to buy up individual mortgages and renegotiate the principal balance of those mortgages to reflect current home values, was previously called for by Obama and was already part of the bailout legislation signed into law by George Bush. Well, I have a slight correction of sorts: as McCain revealed details of the plan yesterday, It became clear that McCain was trying to accomplish something different, and, in the spirit of McCain policy proposals, far worse, than current law.

Politico reports that Jason Furman, Obama's economic policy advisor, released the following statement regarding McCain's plan:

Last night, in his latest attempt to get [his conflicting proposals for fixing the economy] right, [McCain] threw out a proposal that appeared to give the Treasury authority it already has to restructure troubled mortgages. But now that he’s finally released the details of his plan, it turns out it’s even more costly and out of touch than we ever imagined. John McCain wants the government to massively overpay for mortgages in a plan that would guarantee taxpayers lose money, and put them at risk of losing even more if home values don’t recover. The biggest beneficiaries of this plan will be the same financial institutions that got us into this mess, some of whom even committed fraud.... John McCain’s plan to overpay for bad mortgages by handing taxpayer dollars over to big financial institutions is erratic policymaking at its worst, and it’s not the change we need to strengthen our economy, create new jobs and keep Americans in their homes.

McCain is showing himself quite the magician in this campaign. In one broad stroke, McCain has tranformed himself from being the mortal enemy of government regulation to advocating government regulation on a scale so massive that liberal democrats are saying he's gone too far! There is one resonating constant in this new plan, though: wealthy corporations will be the primary beneficiaries. By purchasing mortgages at their face value - which is clearly above market value - McCain is giving a windfall to banks, especially considering that those mortgages might otherwise have been defaulted on.

My appraisal yesterday of McCain's plan was otherwise dead on. I predicted a flood of republican resentment for the plan, and that's precisely what happened. According to Politico, Conservative columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin had this to say:

I can’t underscore enough what a rotten idea John McCain’s ACORN-like government mortgage buy-up is.... Will he propose a similar plan for those who bought mutual funds at or near the market top?

Andy McCarthy, a conservative writer for National Review, said

The thought that he's going to win this thing on policy is foolish. I mean, now, Fan, Fred and $800 billion later, his great idea is to spend a few hundred bill more to buy the bad mortgages? Really gets the juices flowing, doesn't it?

In fact, The New York Times reports that Michelle Malkin and conservative blogger Melissa Clouthier both cosigned a tag word from my post, referring to McCain's plan as "socialist." It looks like this Hail Mary didn't work either. It's fourth and long. The time has come for McCain to punt the ball to Obama.

Rob J
Cross-posted at Opinion Streams.

McCain Still Comes Off As REAL ANGRY; Some OF His Supporters Are Nuts

I just subjected myself to watch Senator John McCain and his running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin that was on MSNBC and CNN -- I skip Fox News when I can.

I've got to say that McCain and Palin are drawing the radical fringe movement and I can't help but wonder how many of them are White Supremacists.  Do they represent America? Well, considering that the audiences at these rallies are almost all white, the answer's no.

McCain and Palin are running for a part of America, not all of it.  That's the problem.

Fellow Keating Five Member: McCain Deserves More Scrutiny

Former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini told PolitickerAZ.com Monday that he thinks Sen. John McCain's involvement in the Keating Five scandal of the late '80s and early '90s is fair game as an issue in the presidential contest between the senator from Arizona and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

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Washington Independent: Petraeus Talk Seems to Bolster Obama

During a talk Wednesday about Iraq at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington policy organization, Petraeus repeatedly made statements that bolstered the foreign-policy proposals of Sen. Barack Obama, McCain’s Democratic rival, or cut against McCain’s own lines.

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AIG planning another executive retreat.

Really, what more needs to be said.

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Palin tried to hire Terrorist Gordon Liddy as spokesperson.

Sarah Palin thought it was a good idea to hire Liddy to promote drilling in ANWR. Did she know Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, wiretapping, contempt of court and contempt of Congress; was willing to kill a janitor and a journalist as part of the Watergate break-in; admitted plotting to firebomb the Brookings Institution? Kidnap plans?

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10 Ways to Eat More Bacon

Bacon chocolate-chip cookies, chicken-fried bacon, bacon-and-egg ice cream, and more creative uses for everyone's favorite meaty treat.

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Apple to Launch an $800 Laptop?

The Inquisitr claims that some Apple retailers have already been given price lists for Apple's upcoming laptops and that there are 12 price points ranging from $800 to $3100. Current laptops are said to have only have 8 retail price points: 3 Macbooks (starting at $1099), 3 Macbook Pros and 2 Macb...

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John McCain Against Net Neutrality; Obama For It

It wasn't a contentious topic at last night's presidential debate, but network neutrality is the hot-button issue on the mind of PM's senior tech editor. He explores the candidates' stands on the issue in a Geek the Vote edition of his biweekly trends column.

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FCC deepens probe into Pentagon TV analyst payola

The FCC is asking former military officers for details on their participation in a campaign to promote the Department of Defense's Iraq policy on national news program without proper disclosure.

read more | digg story

County in Illinois is suspending foreclosure evictions

"These mortgage companies only see pieces of paper, not people, and don't care who's in the building," the sheriff said. "They simply want their money and don't care who gets hurt along the way ... On top of it all, they want taxpayers to fund their investigative work for them. We're not going to do their jobs for them anymore... It stops today."

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Buying Into Team Concept Resulting In Big Results For Big Blue

Buying Into Team Concept Resulting In Big Results For Big Blue-By Jon Wagner for Football Reporters Online

It took the New York Giants the majority of the 2007 regular season to buy into what its coaching staff was selling. We all know how that story panned out for New York, with an unlikely run to a Super Bowl title over the previously undefeated New England Patriots. The Giants didn’t even look like a playoff team, let alone an eventual NFL champion, in the earlier part of the 2007 campaign.

The point at which the Giants are at now, defending their 2007 title with a perfect 4-0 start in 2008 (extending their regular and postseason winning streak to eight consecutive games), clouds recollections of the Giants’ very humble beginnings last season.

Revisiting those early stages of what has become the Giants’ tremendous team growth, provides a great deal of perspective. The Giants began last season 0-2, allowing 80 points in their first two games; after winning seven of their next eight games, the Giants and Eli Manning were about as dreadful as they could be in getting wiped out at home, 41-17, against the Minnesota Vikings; and, after losing a key December game at home (in which they came in favored) to the Washington Redskins, in December, the Giants found their slim playoff chances hanging by a thread, down 14-0 after the first quarter in Buffalo, in a must-win game.

That’s the point at which everything finally clicked for the Giants, who they haven’t looked back since. That’s when Brandon Jacobs ran for two touchdowns (en route to a 143-yard rushing day) to tie that game in Buffalo; when Kawicka Mitchell stepped up with a huge play, returning an interception 20 yards to put the Giants ahead of the Bills to stay; when Eli Manning finally began to prove, in any conditions (even in rainy and windy Buffalo that day) that he could be the leader the Giants had waited for, four years; and, that’s when the Giants learned what they had in Ahmad Bradshaw, who ran for an 88-yard touchdown and a career-high 151 yards to clinch the win over the Bills, and ultimately clinch the Giants’ playoff chances, touching off what became one of the greatest late-season runs in sports history.

What followed of course was the narrow, confidence-building, well-played loss to New England at home, the Giants’ final loss (excluding the 2008 preseason) to date, before the Giants’ magical road playoff run to a title.

Manning’s confidence and level of play soared. The defense finally practiced on the field what Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was preaching, and the rest of the Giants bought in to Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s ideals of personal sacrifice and “team first” concepts.

The Giants of course, have gotten where they are today because they have talent both on their roster and throughout their coaching staff. However, last season’s 18-1 Patriots also had a world of talent, yet as 14-point underdogs in Super Bowl XLII, it was the Giants who emerged as unexpected champions.

Why? Because the Giants mixed their talent with all of the other ingredients needed to overcome injuries and adversity -- maximum effort, heart, true team play, and surprising heroes picking up the slack for the Giants’ stars whenever called upon.

When Jeremy Shockey went down for the season with a leg injury in the aforementioned Washington game, Kevin Boss stepped in more than adequately for the remainder of the season, including his key, late 45-yard reception in Super Bowl XLII.

And, of course, we all know the remarkable catch that David Tyree made, despite being able to count the number of catches he had previously made in 2007 on the same right hand that incredibly affixed the football to his helmet as he acrobatically fell to the ground.

So, is it any wonder that after their amazing Super Bowl run, even after the retirement of Michael Strahan and the huge season-ending injury of Osi Umenyiora, that the Giants continue to not miss a beat?

Because of their team-first attitude, a collective willingness to prove all naysayers wrong, and the uncanny ability to effectively plug seemingly anyone into holes created by injuries or other circumstances, the Giants have simply refused to let such personnel losses translate into any additional losses to their opponents.

Given the track record since December, it should come as little surprise that the spot of the man who caught the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII (Plaxico Burress, of course, sitting out last week serving a one-game team-imposed suspension), was filled in on Sunday (a 44-6 crushing of the Seattle Seahawks) with Domenik Hixon catching four balls for a career-high 102 yards and a touchdown, and by Sinorice Moss catching the first two touchdowns of his professional career.

The Giants’ schedule will get much tougher this season, it will be a long and winding road back to another possible Super Bowl title, and the Giants may not repeat as champions. However, the smart pick says that because they have defined the word “team” since December, the Giants will at least have a great chance of getting back to the top no matter what other obstacles are placed in front of them.

(image thanks to Ingamenow.com)

Chevron v. Ecuador - Can Chevron Get A Fair Trial? Appellate Court Screws Up

As some of you know, we've been following the Chevron - Ecuador story for some time now.  To recap, the problem is that in the 1960s Texaco produced oil out of that country and through 1990 and in partnership with the Country of Ecuador .  During that time, there were oil spills and economic damage due to oil production.  Texaco spent $40 million in "environmental remediation" which is another term for carrying out a cleanup program.  


Chevron purchased Texaco in 2001 for 46.3 billion, thus assuming Texaco's work and responsibilities in Ecuador.  By that time, Ecuador's then-new state-owned petroleum organization Petroecuador assumed responsibility for the oil wells that were once the product of the partnership.  But the problem is that since that time and through today, oil spills and environmental damage have continued, but Petroecuador has done nothing to either prevent the occurrence of or clean up what was done.  


Meanwhile, the Country of Ecuador has moved to work on three fronts: 


1) Nationalize the oil industry via Petroecuador
2) Kick out American oil companies like Occidental Petroleum and take over their production facilities.
3. Sued Chevron Texaco to get money to pay for environmental damage that their own state-owned oil company, Petroecuador, caused



The third point is the focus of my blog.  Ecuador's suing Chevron to have them pay the afforementioned damange.  To that end, they were assisted by a lawyer by the name of Steve Donziger, who had been working on the case as an "American Legal Advisor",  but who has also admitted his own financial ambitions as he could gain $5 billion from a victory .  The lawsuit -- valued at $16.5 billion by one estimate -- has been the focus of much legal movement.  The latest action by Chevron had it file an appeal to have Ecuador enter into arbitration discussions regarding the level of liability each party is responsible for.  But there's one large problem. 


The appellate court doesn't understand the contractual relationships. It calls Chevron a "third party."  


What!?!


When Chevron purchased Texaco it essentially became Texaco, with all of its obligations and problems. Thus, it's not a third party.  But even with this fact, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York took the step of ignoring Chevron's claims of being able to pursue arbitration by seeing it as a "third party" when it's not.


The result of this failure means that Chevron now must seek other legal tools to get Ecuador to pay its fair share, but the other problem is more sinister: Ecuador's rich continue to cover-up their behavior and irresponsibility toward that country's poorest people.  Making it look like it was just Chevron's fault does not erase the fact that Ecuador has been harming its poorest people.


The bottom line here is that just because a firm's an oil company does not mean it should be treated unfairly, especially when the lives of the poor of Ecuador are at stake.  Chevron / Texaco has paid and does its share; the Country of Ecuador, which by the way will never give Chevron a fair trial, has not done so. 

McCain's Mortgage Hail Mary May Alienate His Base

At last night’s second presidential debate, John McCain made what will surely be regarded as his umpteenth Hail Mary throw. In response to a question from an audience member regarding ways the federal government can bail people out of “economic ruin,” McCain said this:

I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes – at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those – be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.

Aside from the fact that McCain’s sudden epiphany is already part of the bailout package, McCain’s attempt, less than four weeks before the election, to transform himself from the champion of laissez faire economics to the great patron saint of government intervention into private markets, may backfire.

Surely this comment was tailor made for battleground states like Michigan and Florida, which have been disproportionately hit by the foreclosure crisis. If voters in those states who are struggling to make their mortgage payments are fooled into believing this was actually McCain’s idea, they may decide to vote for McCain. However, the reverse may also be true of his core constituency. Republicans are generally not in favor of government welfare programs, and this can be easily construed as such a program. Interpreted through the lens of McCain’s base, McCain is effectively saying “sure, I know you were foolish enough to buy a home you couldn’t possibly afford, but rather than allow you to suffer the consequences of your own fiscal stupidity, I’m going to take Joe Six-Pack’s tax money and give it to you, to save you from your own ignorance.”

Some voters, both republican and democrat, dislike the idea that the government is going to reward the foolhardy financial decisions of people who bought a house they should have known they couldn’t afford, effectively shifting the burden from those people to the responsible Americans who budget properly. After all, don’t Republican pundits label this as socialism – taking money from responsible taxpayers and “redistributing it” to people who make unwise financial decisions? By attempting to claim this idea as his own, McCain risks being inexorably linked to it, making his base view him as the one trying to play the part of Robin Hood. Thus, even if McCain’s latest Hail Mary (probably more accurately described as an interception attempt) wins him some votes from distressed homeowners in battleground states, those votes could come at the expense not only of support from his Party, but also of other potential votes both in those states and in Republican strongholds. In short, with this Hail Mary, McCain risks alienating his base at a time he can ill afford to do so.

Rob J
Cross-posted to Opinion Streams.

Obama Aide Robert Gibbs Goes After Sean Hannity For Anti-Semite Guest

Yeah for Robert Gibbs.  The top Obama Aide confronted the ever-irritating Sean Hannity over his hosting of an Anti-Semite guest Andy Martin as Sean was trying to make the stupid McCain-supporting Ayers connection that really has no basis in reality.  


It's too bad Gibbs didn't know about the White Supremacist friend Hal Turner Sean has had on his show, too.

Is McCain's Handshake Refusal Racism Toward Obama?

This is the supposed snub, but really I don't think so in looking at this again. Senator McCain tapped Senator Obama on the shoulder to turn him to say "hi" to Cindy McCain, but the way both of the McCain's handled the moment was clumsy and even then revealed a disdain that could be seen as a kind of racism.  

I don't like how McCain's running his campaign and he's trying to rip America apart.

Obama - McCain - Obama Will Win; The Economic Problem Is Why

This video was created just before the debate, but my prediction seems to have held and for the reasons I state here.


This American Economy is in trouble. It's in bad straights for three basic reasons:


1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate topped out 10 years ago and then decreased and continued to do so through to present day. What that means is that more and more people basically stopped looking for jobs and working at jobs than ever before for the first time.


2) The total rate of job growth started to increase at a rapidly smaller rate in the late 1990s and that continues today. You can see the BLS data I collected right on the video. We added about 20 million jobs each decade from the 60s to the 90s, but again in 1999, the job growth party stopped cold. We added just barely 5 million jobs in ten years, that's a drop of 75 percent over what we've produced in the past.


3) During the period of the job losses and labor force participation problems consumer credit shot to rapid rates of annual increase starting just before the turn of the 21st Century. What that means is as we were losing our capacity to produce jobs, we were relying on the credit system to essentially make up for the lack of job growth we experienced in the past.


That's why we're in trouble now. Job losses due to the increased number of competitive market economies -- not the sub-prime mortgage issue -- is the real problem and its been years in the making. 


We have to fundamentally alter our economy and the current proposals and the Bailout Bill are only a start of getting at the problem -- but they don't impact this combination of forces that basically creates constant job loss and part of that is the overall International Division of Labor, where cheap workers overseas do jobs that were once located here.


There's an answer, and it's in something I call Zennie's Plan. Stay tuned.


On CNN IReport -- click here. 

How closely is McCain tied to Wall Street?

Only 84 of the 177 lobbyists on his campaign staff have ties to the financial industry. Why's everybody so worked up about lobbyists anyway? Are they good at exerting influence...? Oh. Well, maybe they can at least scare up some money to pay for the mortgage buyout McCain adopted for tonight's debate? It's clearly not cheap. Meanwhile, if we can't let the government fix health care, or regulate banks, how's McCain figure bureaucrats will handle millions of mortages in any timely way?

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McCain-Palin Rally in Anchorage: A Whole Lotta Empty Chairs

Once again, there were dueling rallies here in Anchorage. The McCain-Palin rally was held in the just-completed Dena'ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage. The Obama rally was held outside, just a couple blocks away, at the Delaney Park Strip.

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Michael Moore on Slacker Uprising’s Piracy ‘Problem’

Michael Moore decided to give away his latest film ‘Slacker Uprising’ for free, but only to people in the US and Canada. However, since he chose to use BitTorrent, and open trackers such as The Pirate Bay, it was fairly easy for the rest of the world to download it as well. Was this done on purpose? Moore responds.

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John McCain's Domestic Terrorism Problem (new video)

If John McCain wants to make this campaign about domestic terrorism, he'd do well to remember that in the early 1990s, he voted against cracking down on domestic terrorists who targeted abortion clinics. Twice.

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McCain's Desperate Claim: Obama is Dangerous.Vote for Me!

The McCain campaign is all set to roll out its message for the last 30 days of the campaign: "We may not be good for your bank account, your mortgage, your health care, or your job security -- but none of that will matter if you are dead. John McCain: If You Want to Live."

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Clinton goes to bat for Obama and party

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised more than $8 million for former rival Barack Obama's presidential campaign since July and plans to barnstorm the country for even more cash, as the New York senator works to show she is aggressively helping the candidate who cut short her White House bid. "I am using every tool that I have to help Democrat

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