Image via Wikipediahttp://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1001/p09s01-coop.html

"On April 18, 2006, Palin and I sat together in a hotel coffee shop comparing campaign trail notes. As we talked about the debates, Palin made a comment that highlights the phenomenon that Biden is up against.

"Andrew, I watch you at these debates with no notes, no papers, and yet when asked questions, you spout off facts, figures, and policies, and I'm amazed. But then I look out into the audience and I ask myself, 'Does any of this really matter?' " Palin said"

That about says it all. No, it does not matter. People are idiots, and it does not matter. It sucks, but it's true.

Is It True?!

Image by Kovis via Flickrhttp://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/30/144112/240/571/615741

"Turns out that Palin is right -- you can see Russia from Little Diomede Island"

Just What is Wrong With People?

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14066.html

"You know, there's nothing like being able to create low expectations, and that's certainly being done for her," Romney said during an interview on NBC's "Today Show."

Romney, a former GOP presidential candidate, characterized the match up as something of a mismatch. He called Biden "a veritable wall of words," while noting that Palin is "not the master of words that Joe Biden is."

This whole thing is rediculous.

Gifts

Image by iancorey via Flickrhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/09/25/ST2008092504011.html

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has made a crackdown on gift-giving to state officials a centerpiece of her ethics reform agenda, has accepted gifts valued at $25,367 from industry executives, municipalities and a cultural center whose board includes officials from some of the largest mining interests in the state, a review of state records shows."

Dive

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.sound-effect.com/sounds1/airplane/divcrash.wav

I'm not making any assumptions at this point. However, it looks like we're taking the world with us, starting with Canada.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=akF53JjwZYbg&refer=canada

"The Bank of Canada tripled the size of an agreement with the Federal Reserve to access U.S. dollars if needed, to $30 billion, in a coordinated effort to shore up turbulent credit markets. The Bank of Canada tripled the size of an agreement with the Federal Reserve to access U.S. dollars if needed, to $30 billion, in a coordinated effort to shore up turbulent credit markets."

It's Not Working

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aP5hzUWla7Jg&refer=home

"The Federal Reserve will pump an additional $630 billion into the global financial system, flooding banks with cash to alleviate the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression.

"Stocks around the world plunged the most since 1997 today and credit markets deteriorated further as authorities scrambled to save more financial institutions from collapse."

Meanwhile...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122270285663785991.html

"The White House and congressional leaders agreed on a deal to authorize the biggest banking rescue in U.S. history.

"The $700 billion program would effectively nationalize an array of mortgages and securities backed by them -- instruments whose deteriorating value has clogged the nation's financial system."

Image by confusedvision via Flickr

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/sarah-palin-has-the-same_b_130102.html

"When Sarah Palin started babbling to Katie Couric about the "good guys" and "bad guys" in the Middle East, I had one immediate terrifying thought — she has the exact same worldview as my 7 year-old son, Sasha. He too in his childish mind, sees the world starkly divided into the two camps.

"He also believes in superheroes with superpowers and monsters under the bed at night.

...

"Now there is one way that my 7 year-old does have an edge on Sarah Palin. He knows for a fact that dinosaurs walked the earth millions of years ago. He also knows that human beings were not around at the same time.

"But then my son isn't a creationist like our potential Vice President."

This election has me depressed. Yes, Obama is doing well, particularly when the electoral count is gauged, but that's not the point. The point is that the McCain campaign is embarrassing. How are people able to take these people seriously? There is not even an issue-based debate going on. If you can find a McCain supporter, you'll find them completely misinformed. If half of what they thought was true were indeed the case, I'd be a McCain supporter too. But their belief, and more stunningly, much of what McCain's been saying (on taxes and health care for example) don't even pass the laugh test.

The other day I was telling someone how I just can't understand what is happening to this country. He said the reason was simple, the median IQ is 100. It other words, it's not our imaginations that people are stupid, they really and truly are in fact deeply and shockingly stupid. And they deserve what they get.

Train Wreck

Image by CR Artist via Flickrhttp://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13991.html

Conservative columnists Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing on the conservative National Review, says "that's not a crazy suggestion" and that "something's gotta change."

This is the strangest election cycle I think I have ever seen. McCain seems to be completely winging it, trying anything, just hoping something will catch on.

Now, there are a huge number of really, really stupid voters in America. Put them together with the racists and it's definitely not a settled matter. But no matter what happens between now and the election, I think that if the election where held right this minute the results would be the
same.

I'm sure Sarah Palin is a very nice person. But she's a religious kook and a political lightweight, to be generous. McCain's selection of her as his running mate is just one of many frankly bizarre twists in this story that make me seriously wonder if the Senator could maybe use a little
more sleep, and some advisors he'll listen to. No maybe just a long vacation.

The fact that McCain isn't sub-10% in the polls right now, after all this, is depressing. The US is letting too many mentally handicapped people vote, clearly.

And I'm not entirely kidding about that.

Debate Drinking Game

Image by NewsHour via FlickrThe debate is on!

http://wonkette.com/403075/coward-mccain-will-maybe-show-up-tonight-so-heres-your-debate-drinking-game

When McCain says anything about his family:

Angrily drink half a beer or half a glass of wine and call your host a cunt.

Search

Image via CrunchBasehttp://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10051743-75.html

"Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company may be the only one with a chance to rival Google in search over the long term, but acknowledged that it will take several more years and a whole lot of money.

"It's going to take us a while," he said, during a speech at the Churchill Club. "We've got a lot to do."

MSFT will bankrupt itself trying to displace Google. Fine with me... Many years from now people will blame MSFT's decline on this.

Sad Interview

Image via WikipediaPainful...

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Palin_and_Couric.html

I like this comment: "Specifics? In what respect, Katie?"
Now there's a catch phrase for the whole Palin campaign.

Dirt

That's one hell of a lifestyle there, it takes filth to a whole new level...

http://www.houston-imports.com/dirty/dirty.html

In Cars

http://www.newsweek.com/id/160091

"When you have seven homes, that's a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates' cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here's the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one."

Crisis

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/wall-street-crisis-gives_b_128500.html

"Last week was not a good week for Sen. John McCain. It began on Monday, mid a 500+ point stock market drop and news of Lehman Brothers' and Merrill Lynch's bankruptcies, when the curmudgeonly 72-year-old Republican presidential nominee incredibly declared that "the fundamentals of the "economy are strong."

"Exactly one week later, on NBC's "Today" show, McCain said, "We are in the most serious crisis since World War II."

"What happened in-between was the McCain camp's realization that, in a time of great national crisis, their candidate demonstrated a glaring and embarrassing lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation, and an inexcusable disconnect with the financial pain and suffering of Mr. and Mrs. Average American (an interesting side note is the Newsweek report issued Monday that the McCains own a total of 13 cars--two of which are foreign--while "the elitist" Sen. Barack Obama owns just one...a Ford hybrid)."

Imagine

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/opinion/21kristof.html?em

"Just imagine for a moment if it were the black candidate in this election, rather than the white candidate, who was born in Central America, was an indifferent churchgoer, had graduated near the bottom of his university class, had dumped his first wife, had regularly displayed an explosive and profane temper, and had referred to the Pakistani-Iraqi border..."

Make Health Care Like Wall Street?

Image by jim.greenhill via FlickrJohn McCain has published an article outlining his ideas about reforming the health care system in the US.

"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."

Yes that's right, John McCain is openly siting the success of deregulation of the financial system as evidence that the health care system should be taken in different direction. A person would have to have a pretty low IQ to support John McCain for President. He has absolutely lost his mind.

* * *

Meanwhile...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/business/19bush.html

"President Bush spoke about the economy at the White House on Thursday. It was brief, two minutes. His brow was furrowed, and his words were careful: “The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence.” Then, having imparted no specifics, he once again slipped out of sight."

Our hero!

Bush's Left Turn

Image via Wikipediahttp://wonkette.com/402893/402893

"America just sold another half-trillion dollars of itself to China, all to keep the markets flat for a week in September.

"And this does nothing to halt the actual cause of this financial collapse, the actual decreasing-by-the-day assets sitting on .13-acre exurban lots all over Florida and Michigan and the Southwest, from Dallas to San Francisco and everywhere in between: the single-family stick-and-stucco houses that were sold for double or triple what they were worth, even in good times.

"Today, one-in-ten mortgages is either already in foreclosure or in default, nationwide. Even with foreclosure sales making up half of all purchases in collapsing markets like Southern California, there.s still a record inventory of houses for sale, and a record inventory of vacant homes across the country. And there are more than 9,000 new foreclosures every day."

Welcome Comrades!
To the People's Free Market of America!

A few years ago, a massive government run health care plan was hell on earth - the worst possible thing anyone could dream up. A true nightmare. Well, The Bush administration has now nationalized its deregulated banking and insurance industry, since deregulation was, you know, working out so well and all.

Now I realize that some people reading this may not remember George W. Bush, the President. We have not seen much of him in a while. But you may recall him as the one that wanted to put "your money", the Social Security Trust Fund, into the stock market because the government, he said, wasn't good at managing money.

John McCain is quite open about keeping the same economic and tax policies in place should he be elected. I'm really curious how people feel about that.

Todd

Image via Wikipediahttp://news.yahoo.com/s//ap/20080919/ap_on_el_pr/palin_troopergate

Although subpoenaed by a Republican controlled committee of the Alaska Legislature, Todd Palin is refusing to testify on the grounds that:

"the Legislative Council investigation is no longer a legitimate investigation because it has been subjected to complete partisanship and does not operate with the authority that it had at the time of its initial authorization"

I'll have to remember to use that next time I get a traffic ticket. Haven't people had enough of leaders that believe themselves to be above the law yet?

This about says it...

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/15/24439/0289

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: Gentlemen, we're in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We're burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: No, it doesn't seem so.

As we have now nationalized a large share of the countries financial system, can add nothing to this. And by the way, anyone heard from the president? You know, Geaorge W. Bush? Remember him?

Canceled

Image via WikipediaHar... Idiots.

http://valleywag.com/5051455/microsoft-to-announce-jerry-seinfeld-ads-cancelled-tomorrow

"Microsoft flacks are desperately dialing reporters to spin them about "phase two" of the ad campaign - a phase, due to be announced tomorrow, which will drop the aging comic altogether. Microsoft's version of the story: Redmond had always planned to drop Seinfeld. The awkward reality: The ads only reminded us how out of touch with consumers Microsoft is - and that Bill Gates's company has millions of dollars to waste on hiring a has-been funnyman to keep him company."

Look-A-Like

Image via Wikipedia http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB122116644864624975.html

"Since John McCain chose her last month as his running mate, Gov. Palin's personal style has sparked a buying frenzy. Many women are snapping up her choices of shoes and eyeglasses and blogging about which brand of lipstick she wears. Hairstylists and wig sellers report sudden demand for her trademark up-dos. Indeed, the brands behind Gov. Palin's fashion taste have gone into overdrive seeking to cash in on the association.

...

"Obviously we're going to get a jump from this," says Joe Aronesty, owner of WigSalon.com. In the past week, the company has sold about 25 Palin-esque wigs, ranging in price from $100 to the "Bargain Sarah Palin" wig for $46. "And it's not even close to Halloween," Mr. Aronesty says. Early next week, Mr. Aronesty plans to send a newsletter to his 25,000 subscribers highlighting Palin wig options and styling tips."

The Perfect Republican

Image via Wikipedia http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/17/palin_mayor/

"Four years later, the ambitious Palin won the Wasilla mayor's office -- after scorching the "tax and spend mentality" of her incumbent opponent. But Carney, Palin's estranged former mentor, and others in city hall were astounded when they found out about a lavish expenditure of Palin's own after her 1996 election. According to Carney, the newly elected mayor spent more than $50,000 in city funds to redecorate her office, without the council's authorization.

"Carney confronted Mayor Palin at a City Council hearing, and was shocked by her response.

"I braced her about it," he said. "I told her it was against the law to make such a large expenditure without the council taking a vote. She said, 'I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't.'"

Even in small towns , people will not be rest until they live in a dictatorship. This sort of personality is exactly what voters want in leadership, right up until they can't vote anymore. And even that won't matter, they will still cheer.

***

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/15/bess/index1.html

Another valley activist, Philip Munger, says that Palin also helped push the evangelical drive to take over the Mat-Su Borough school board. "She wanted to get people who believed in creationism on the board," said Munger, a music composer and teacher. "I bumped into her once after my band played at a graduation ceremony at the Assembly of God. I said, 'Sarah, how can you believe in creationism -- your father's a science teacher.' And she said, 'We don't have to agree on everything.'

"I pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And she said yes, she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them."

Munger also asked Palin if she truly believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"

Someday America will make Iran look progressive, if people like Sarah Palin have their way. And why shouldn't they? When you believe God is on your side, you are more that right, you are righteous, anyone who disagrees is an enemy and any enemy is more then wrong, they are evil.

Sickening

Image by earthpro via Flickr http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/10/palin.earmarks/

"...when Palin served as mayor of her hometown of Wasilla, outside Anchorage, she obtained about $27 million in federal "earmarks" during her last four years in office, according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.

"In a 2001 statement opposing a transportation spending bill McCain singled out for criticism about $3 million worth of those projects. McCain's list of "objectionable" spending included a $2.5 million road project for the town that then had a population of 5,500, as well as a $450,000 appropriation for an agricultural processing plant there."

And

Image by Getty Images via Daylife It looks like another bright sunny day on Wall St.

I was thinking, we all remember Bush wanting to to the Social Security trust fund into personal account in securities... I wonder if the gigantic influx of funds that would have been was something people were thinking about, that is people that knew the house of cards was coming down soon. No, they're probably not that smart, at least not the Bush people.

But it's head-spinning to put this into perspective. Bush, Mr "ownership society", "it's your money", "privatize health care", "privatize emergency response", "faith-based social aid", "end the Department of Education", "get the EPA off the back of business", "market solutions solve
everything", "government is the problem"... This administration not only made the government larger than it's ever been, and ran it deeper into the red, but has also nationalized both the home mortgage industry and now a large chuck of an international insurance business - nationalized.

And that's not even to get into "nation building"...

Any Republicans paying attention to this as they cheer for their candidate that has openly pledged to continue the same policies?

McCain

Image via Wikipedia http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/11/politics/animal/main4440080.shtml

I wonder if McCain is actually falling apart, mentally. The campaign might be too much for him. He does do fewer appearances by far than Obama, at least in the past, and he takes more out right breaks. It can't be easy doing all that traveling and talking and such day and night for weeks and weeks. There may be people desperately trying to control him, and Palin, just to get through the next two months.

What would the party do if McCain doesn't stay healthy until the election?

The Solution is Sooo Simple!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife Why didn't we think of this before?! Just make success the law of the land, problem solved - it's so obvious!

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/11/lieberman-resolution/

Yesterday, Lieberman introduced the formal amendment (S. Amdt. 5368 to S. 3001), which 'expresses the sense of the Senate recognizing the strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq.'

Yes, but People are Dumb

Image via Wikipedia http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rutten10-2008sep10,0,7601200.column

"Less than a month ago, Palin sat in the pews at the Wasilla Bible Church, to which she and her family belong, and listened to a sermon by David Brickner, who heads Jews for Jesus, a group cited by the Anti-Defamation League for its "aggressive and deceptive" proselytizing of Jews. Brickner said that Arab terrorism against the state of Israel was an expression of God's judgment on the Jewish people for their rejection of Christ. After Brickner concluded his remarks, a special collection was taken up to support the sect's activities."

There was some concern about Obama's Paster awhile back. Anyone remember that? Is there anyone concerned about Sarah Palin's Paster? No? I didn't think so...