Weekend Watchdog

Heck of a job Bill!

Quote of the Day
"It just proves his campaign is governed by tactics and not ideology. In the end, he blinked and Obama did not. The 'steady hand in a storm' argument looks now to more favor Obama, not McCain... My guess is that plasma units are rushing to the McCain campaign as we speak to replace the blood flowing there from the fights among the staff."

-- Former McCain adviser Craig Shirley, quoted by the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/26/ex-adviser-mccain-blinked_n_129...

Paraguay's president says he turned down offer to meet Palin
Steve Clemons

Apparently not everyone wants to have their photograph taken with Sarah Palin.

Paraguay President Fernando Lugo, while attending both the UN General Assembly meetings and the Clinton Global Initiative, shared with friends over dinner some of the other meetings he had been having in New York.

After enumerating the various heads of state he'd met with, the room went silent and then laughed a bit when he confided that he was approached about meeting with GOP Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

President Lugo said he turned the meeting down.

The 57-year-old left-leaning former Catholic bishop known locally as "bishop of the poor," was elected to office in April. His swearing in marked the first time in Paraguay's history since the country gained independence that an opposition party turned over power peacefully to a candidate elected from the other party.

Lugo has also refused his presidential salary, saying it "belongs to more humble people." He joined the priesthood in 1977 and was ordained a bishop in 1994 before resigning in 2006 to run for office.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Paraguays_president_says_he_turned_down_09...

McCain's Mistake?

What I think McCain also might have done, however, is to confuse slightly different things: a tragedy and a crisis. In a tragedy -- say, a terrorist attack, or a Category 5 hurricane hitting a major American city -- people expect the political process to be put on hold. That's not to say there aren't political implications to such things -- decisions to be made, lessons to be learned. But those are the moments where we hope to come together as a country. Imagine if a politican were to run an attack ad during Hurricane Katrina -- this would seem completely inappropriate.

The financial tremors on Wall Street, however, were not a tragedy, but a crisis: an ongoing, slowly building, relatively forseeable event, but perhaps one lacking the acutely emotional impact. In that sense, it was more along the lines of global warming than 9/11. And in a crisis, people do not expect the political process to be put on hold. On the contrary, they expect it to go into overdrive to get them the hell out of the crisis.

Now, I'm making a semantic distinction here ... returning to Washington to work on the bailout would also be a perfectly approrpiate response to an economic crisis. But something about the timbre of the McCain response was off. They did not merely expect Ameriacns to view McCain's response as appropriate -- they also expected Americans to view it as honorable. But a crisis does not call for honor; it calls for cool-headedness, decisiveness, and hard work. One can argue about whether McCain has in fact demonstrated those things in response to the crisis, but I don't think that's what he was aiming for.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Scarborough flip-flops on McCain campaign suspension
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster

Within a period of 12 hours, Joe Scarborough seems to have changed his position on whether or not it was a good idea for John McCain to suspend his campaign and return to Washington.

"I think John McCain, uh ... It was a smart political move," said Scarborough, originally. "And anyone who's been through the legislative process and worked on a bill this important -- and there aren't a lot of bills this important -- knows that this is a time to go back and work.

"There are times, in your life, in your work, in this country, where your arms goes like this, and clears everything off the desk, and say 'we're gonna take care of this issue and nothing else.' ... It is the responsible thing to do."

Scarborough then proceeded to criticize Sen. Barack Obama for never having 'rolled up his sleeves' in D.C. and worked with political opponents on crucial legislation.

Then, seemingly doing his best impersonation of John McCain's own rapid reversals, Scarborough told MSNBC host David Gregory, "I would have stayed out of town, he over-thought himself."

"Stay the hell out of Washington D.C. while you're bailing out Wall St. tycoons," continued Scarborough. "It's simple."

This video is from MSNBC's Morning Joe and MSNBC's Race to the White House, broadcast September 25, 2008.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Scarborough_flipflops_on_McCain_campaign_s...

I can't wait to see the debate tonight!

We get to take a look at Obama under the gun.

In the primary, Obama didn't get challenged as he will be tonight.

In the primary all we had was a bunch of Dems tryin to out liberal each other.

Tonight Obama must answer not only to McCain, but to the American voter who doesn't want to hear all that lefty foolishness.

Obama must transform himself once again.

Tonight Obama must play the roll of the acceptable mainstream candidate.

And with no teleprompter...

Are you ready?

The first debate is less than five hours away.

Ralph will be at the HBO studios in Los Angeles, waiting to go on the Bill Maher show (tune in at 11pm EST to see Ralph live).

He'll watch the debate backstage, our video team will capture Ralph's response, and then we will post it on our YouTube channel within an hour or two after the debate.

Our entire staff will remain in the DC campaign office, to respond online to the corporate propaganda being beamed to 100 million Americans from Oxford, Mississippi.

First when John McLiar decided to "suspend" his campaign, and just now watching DN.
Clip being played of Katie Couric discussing her interview with Sarah: "She is not always responsive..."

By Jeff Mitchell

Famed consumer advocate and presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his vice presidential running mate, former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, are scheduled to make two Bay Area campaign stops next week.

On Tuesday, the ticket will appear in San Francisco at 2:30 p.m. at San Francisco State University's McKenna Theater. Joining them will be nationally known peace activist Cindy Sheehan who is running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the California 8th Congressional District.

On Tuesday evening Nader and Gonzalez will make their final scheduled stop in Oakland at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave. at 7 p.m. for a rally.

Sheehan will join the pair there to speak out against the Commission on Presidential Debates which has so far banned the participation of third party presidential tickets.

[Why will she do that? Because it's fucking BULLSHIT, that's why]

The American Imperative: McCain's Suspension and the Democractic Process
Robert Mackey

As many of you, I was shocked today by the announcement from the McCain campaign of the suspension of his campaign so he can deal with the economic crisis.

What surprised me was in two major parts. I'll address this to Senator McCain, who I have long respected as an American war hero.

Part one. Senator, with all due respect for your heroic actions in Vietnam and your position in the Senate, you are not the President of the United States. We already have one of those. He is going to speak tonight. This is not 9/11 for you; it is another crisis that the current administration has to deal with. Perhaps you will be sitting in the Oval Office in January. I do not know. While I have my own preference in the current campaign, and it isn't you, if you win in November, you will have the Big Job.

You don't have it now, so it isn't "your" crisis to deal with. You have at least 98 other Senators, minus yourself and Senator Obama, who can work in the Senate to create a solution to the current crisis. That is what we, the American people, elected them to do. So, Senator, please calm down and get back on the campaign trail. This is what you wanted to do, so please, go back out there, man-up, and run for the presidency. That is what we expect you to do.

Secondly, as my friend Eric Rauchway wrote today this is not 1864. You are not President Abraham Lincoln looking at the realistic possibility that he would be the last elected president of a fully United States, with nearly 400,000 of his fellow Americans lying dead on the field of battle. You do not have to deal with the specter of a global war of a scope that is nearly unimaginable, as did President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 and again in 1944. Why? As I noted above, you are not the president of the United States. It isn't your job.

No, it is the job of someone whose policies you supported for the last eight years. It was your job, to deal with the economic crisis a long time ago. You could have done something about the deregulation that you instead supported with your friend and colleague, Senator Gramm. No, you had your chance to do the job that the fine citizens of Arizona hired you to do. And you didn't do it. So now, the Bush administration and your friends in the Senate get to deal with the crisis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-mackey/the-american-imperative-m_b_...

cramer was kicking ass and taking names in response to the likes of shelby from alabama wanting to torpedo any sort of bailout and send us into a depression of global proportions.

McCain blinks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"One side effect of McCain's debate gambit is, I'm told, that everyone at Ole Miss now hates him. It will make for a very hostile audience tonight among those students and faculty attending."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/candidates_debate;_ylt=Ap4oUhgB17NWfw1bIuCHQs...

Senator McCain, would you ever have American emissaries meet with Subcomandante Marcos?

More "Spanish" history--
http://www.narconews.com/Issue40/article1542.html

I can't wait to see the debate tonight!

We get to take a look at McCain under the gun.

In the primary, McCain didn't get challenged as he will be tonight.

In the primary all we had was a bunch of Cons tryin to out fascist each other.

Tonight McCain must answer not only to Obama, but to the American voter who doesn't want to hear all that fundie foolishness.

McCain must transform himself once again.

Tonight McCain must play the roll of the acceptable mainstream candidate.

And with no teleprompter, or list of fundie talking points...

Begala calls Bush a "high-functioning moron": "one of most awesome moments in history of cable news"

With the days of the Bush presidency dwindling, and yet one more crisis ramping up, the talk is getting hot on the TV circuit.

Paul Begala, the television commentator and Democratic strategist who with James Carville propelled Bill Clinton to the presidency in 1992, knew he was about to get into trouble on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" show Thursday night with his description of President Bush. He said as much as soon as he opened his mouth.

Still, with a panel that included Ed Rollins, the Republican strategist who ran Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign, he blurted it out:

"I'm going to get in trouble. He's a high-functioning moron, and that's what Congress treats him as. Both parties."

To be sure, the panelists were egging each other on:

COOPER: "Watching the president last night give that speech, it was like watching him in Jackson Square in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I mean, he did not seem to be there."

ROLLINS: "No, he wasn't there."

GLORIA BORGER: "He's not comfortable — "

COOPER: "He was physically there but — "

At which point Begala chimed in. And lit up the Web — from the liberal DailyKos site ("one of the most awesome moments in the history of cable news") to the conservative Media Research Center's NewsBusters ("What is it with Democrats and their grotesque slurs upon the intelligence of their political rivals?").

(NOTE: Video at link.)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/09/begala-moron.html

Bah!

He couldn't even manage to choke on a pretzel correctly...

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bluerootsradio
I think McCainViper is off to Blockbusters for some alternative view material for tonight.

Washington Mutual Inc.'s new CEO, Alan Fishman, will be eligible for at least $12.65 million or more in salary and bonuses next year, the company said Thursday in a securities filing.

Fishman, who replaced Kerry Killinger as CEO on Monday, also received a $7.5 million signing bonus for joining the company, according to a regulatory filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D934QLJO0.htm

Conservatives blame the housing crisis on a 1977 law that helps-low income people get mortgages. It's a useful story for them, but it isn't true.

Robert Gordon | April 7, 2008 | web only

The idea started on the outer precincts of the right. Thomas DiLorenzo, an economist who calls Ron Paul "the Jefferson of our time," wrote in September that the housing crisis is "the direct result of thirty years of government policy that has forced banks to make bad loans to un-creditworthy borrowers." The policy DiLorenzo decries is the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, which requires banks to lend throughout the communities they serve.

The Blame-CRA theme bounced around the right-wing Freerepublic.com. In January it figured in a Washington Times column. In February, a Cato Institute affiliate named Stan Liebowitz picked up the critique in a New York Post op-ed headlined "The Real Scandal: How the Feds Invented the Mortgage Mess." On The National Review's blog, The Corner, John Derbyshire channeled Liebowitz: "The folk losing their homes? are victims not of 'predatory lenders,' but of government-sponsored -- in fact government-mandated -- political correctness."

Last week, a more careful expression of the idea hit The Washington Post, in an article on former Sen. Phil Gramm's influence over John McCain. While two progressive economists were quoted criticizing Gramm's insistent opposition to government regulation, the Brookings Institution's Robert Litan offered an opposing perspective. Litan suggested that the 1990s enhancement of CRA, which was achieved over Gramm's fierce opposition, may have contributed to the current crisis. "If the CRA had not been so aggressively pushed," Litan said, "it is conceivable things would not be quite as bad. People have to be honest about that."

This is classic rhetoric of conservative reaction. (For fans of welfare policy, it is Charles Murray meets the mortgage mess.) Most analysts see the sub-prime crisis as a market failure. Believing the bubble would never pop, lenders approved risky adjustable-rate mortgages, often without considering whether borrowers could afford them; families took on those loans; investors bought them in securitized form; and, all the while, regulators sat on their hands.

Con't-Prospect.org

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I know many morons, they didn't deserve a swipe like that.

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bluerootsradio

Contractor (CACI) says immune from Iraq torture lawsuits

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Defense contractor CACI (KA'-kee) is claiming immunity from lawsuits alleging torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, saying it was doing the U.S. government's work as a supplier of interrogators.

CACI International and a sister company, CACI Premier Technology, say in court documents that they'll employ that defense in a dismissal motion they plan to file next week in federal court in northern Virginia.

Eleven U.S. soldiers were convicted of breaking military laws in the Abu Ghraib scandal.

CACI and another contractor, L-3 Communications, are accused in separate lawsuits of a conspiracy to torture detainees in 2003 and 2004.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hXZlMqKrNDLSyKZOEj87zhuphgggD93EHL7G0

NEW YORK (AFP) - An angry US public and Congress are pushing to snip the rip cord on golden parachutes used by fat cat CEOs to escape Wall Street's mayhem.

Democrats in Congress -- set to resume emergency talks Friday with their Republican counterparts on a 700-billion-dollar (478-billion-euro) bailout for the financial industry -- insisted that any agreed package include restrictions on executive pay.

They caught the mood of a nation sickened at watching the titans of finance walk away from Wall Street disasters not only unscathed, but enriched.

"The wealthiest people, those... in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all," read a petition to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, which by Thursday, after three days, had 32,600 signatures.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/pl_afp/usfinancebankingpaysociety_0...

Start producing it here again with oversight.

Instant Coffee, Tea From China Recalled for Melamine (in the USA)

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Seven instant coffee and milk tea products made in China are being recalled in the U.S. because of possible contamination with melamine, as health fears increased worldwide over the safety of Chinese dairy exports.

The Mr. Brown brand mixes are being recalled by King Car Food Industrial Co., based in Taiwan, and were made by China's Shandong Duqing Inc., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today in a statement. The agency said consumers shouldn't use the products.

The recall is the first announced by the FDA since milk tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical, was tied in China to the deaths of at least four babies and the illnesses of an estimated 53,000 children. The 27-nation European Union yesterday banned all imports of dairy-based Chinese food products for children and infants. India also has placed a three-month ban on diary products from China.

``The FDA is still in the process of determining how widespread the distribution is of Mr. Brown products in the United States,'' said Stephanie Kwisnek, an FDA spokeswoman, in an e-mail.

The FDA also warned consumers today not to eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy after New Zealand's food safety authority found the product had high levels of melamine. The agency said it was unaware of any illnesses in the U.S. connected to the candy or to Mr. Brown products.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aKWm.cUQGkOo&refer=h...

All Blogging and No Play Makes MMRules a Dull Boy.. ;)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Mr. Scher

Bailout won't keep Wall Street from sending jobs offshore

September 26, 2008 (Computerworld) The collapse of Wall Street may prompt financial services firms to increase their use of offshore outsourcing and cut more jobs in the U.S. on top of the layoffs they have already announced.

And that job cutting will happen even with a taxpayer-backed $700 billion bailout. These firms will be under too much pressure to cut costs, and offshore outsourcing will be one way to do it, according to outsourcing consultants.

The financial services industry, including banking and insurance, is already the most aggressive industry in the U.S. when it comes to offshore outsourcing. It is the biggest single source of revenue for Indian offshore companies.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

The average premium that seniors will pay for Medicare drug coverage in 2009 will rise, with the average for the 10 most-popular plans increasing 31%, according to an analysis of new government data.

The average premium will increase 24% to $37 a month for all standalone drug plans, up from $30 this year, according to Avalere Health LLC, a Washington, D.C., consulting company that analyzed data from Medicare, the federal health-insurance program for seniors.

The average monthly premium for Humana Inc.'s basic plan, for example, will rise to $40.83 in 2009 from $25.52 this year and $9.51 in 2006, the cheapest plan that year. The plan is the second largest by enrollment, with 1.5 million participants, and overall, Humana has 3.4 million people enrolled in Medicare drug plans. Monthly premiums can vary from county to county.

The nation's most popular plan with 2.7 million participants, UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s AARP "preferred" plan, will raise its average monthly premium to $37, 15.5% more from 2008. Overall, UnitedHealth plans have 5.4 million enrollees.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122239167851577569.html?mod=googlenews_w...

Sign them all up and raise the prices. This is what happens when you can't negotiate the drug prices.

taken to hospital

Sen. Ted Kennedy Taken to the Hospital. No word why yet!

I'm hoping he will be okay!

Central banks step in as bail-out fears mount

The Bank of England moved on Friday to inject longer term cash into money markets as part of a co-ordinated effort with the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

The intervention follows the breakdown late on Thursday of talks over a $700bn bailout for the US financial system.

Money market traders said that interbank lending for terms longer than a day had come to a near standstill as counterparties feared that they may be lending to a bank that could suddenly become insolvent.

The Bank of England said it would extend $30bn in cash for a week against eligible collateral, drawing on currency swap lines put in place earlier this month with the Fed.

”These operations are intended to address funding pressures over quarter-end,” the Bank said.

The Bank will also make $10bn available for overnight borrowing. It had previously agreed to provide $40bn daily in overnight money last week, but so far, there has not been demand for the full amount.

Moreover, the Bank said it will inject longer term money into the sterling markets, as banks had been pressing it to do. It said it will extend its long-term repurchase operations against extended collateral, including mortgages. As of September 29, it will offer £40bn for maturity on January 15, taking banks through the year end when cash is generally hoarded by banks.

Bankers welcomed the move. Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of Global Banking and Markets at HSBC, said: ”It’s what the market was looking for. It shows a willingness to listen and will alleviate stresses in the UK bank system right through year-end.”

Money market rates have been distorted as banks parked money overnight, with overnight funds rates far below the Bank of England’s 5.0 per cent rate. However, as of Thursday, money borrowed for three months on an unsecured basis was trading at a crisis high of about 1.5 percentage points above the three-month forward overnight rate, known as SONIA.

The Bank said it would continue to drain reserves from the short term money markets to help keep those rates in line with its Bank Rate.

In addition, it said it and other central banks will continue to work closely and ”are prepared to take further steps as needed to address the ongoing pressures in funding markets.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a $25bn package of low-cost loans to help hard-pressed carmakers and their suppliers finance plant modernisation at a time of restricted access to public capital ­markets.

The automotive loans are separate from the proposed $700bn bail-out for the banking sector, which is still being debated in Congress. The House approved the measure 370-58, setting the stage for Senate approval within days.
...

but won’t touch Israel-Palestine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvMlN6SEcK0&e
American & Israeli leading political bloggers meeting

Back in April, we were very upset to learn that the Israeli Foreign Ministry was organizing an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel for progressive American leaders and bloggers, led by the director of the National Jewish Democratic Council. (See the video above for folks you’ll recognize from outfits like HuffingtonPost, DailyKos, MyDD, and MoveOn. Let us know if you recognize any progressive Israeli leaders like folks from Rabbis for Human Rights, New Profile, ICAHD, or Tayush or… ).

Apparently, this was the first trip to Israel for the bloggers. Participants went to Sderot to see the devastation wrought by Qassam rockets, but needless to say, the group didn’t bother to head to the West Bank or Gaza beyond a meeting in Ramallah with the PA’s chief negotiator.

We wrote to some bloggers to urge that them to visit the Palestinian Occupied Territories, but got no response. At the time, most were keeping their names secret. (We think it was shame–how many of these folks actually wrote about the propaganda educational trip they were on? The few who did deserve kudos for their transparency. )

Israel, AIPAC and private philanthropists have long funded free trips to Israel as a way to shore up support for Israel’s so-called “war on terror”. What was so shocking was the ease with which left bloggers and leaders allowed themselves to be purchased with the promise of a free trip. (There’s no doubt about the objective of the trip.)

Now, Richard Silverstein at Tikun Olam points out, that the issue has been deliberately cleansed from one of the internet’s most influential liberal blogs.

Silverstein reports a recent interaction with a blogger who apparently has some sort of official capacity at DailyKos beyond a Diarist:

I introduced myself to the visiting blogger as a local political blogger who writes about U.S.-Israel relations and the presidential election. I asked her whether her blog (remember, I didn’t at the time know it was DK) ever covered the foreign policy implications of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

She shook her head sagely and said: “No.” I asked her why. “Because there’s just no upside in it for us. Too much dissension and disagreement.”

Several years ago, I heard pretty much the exact quote from the station manager of an NPR affiliate. The atmosphere is so bad that there’s no shame in saying it openly.

In fact, a cursory search in DailyKos indicates that debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is nearly invisible. Markos himself gives some indication of why they shy away from the issue:

When I get an email with the word “zionist” on it, how come it’s ALWAYS some crazy, anti-semitic conspiracy rant
...

MSNBC Refusing To Run Outside Ad Questioning McCain's Health

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/msnbc_refusing_t...

I can't wait what the boys have to say about our wars.

Iraq

Afghanistan

Iran

and who knows maybe N. Korea.

I want to hear how Obama plans to win each of the war against terror.

starting with this as one of several premises:

• Paulsen and Hank's bailout plan is tantamount to bailing out Univac, Digital Equipment, etc, in the eighties, which would've retarded the development of Dell, Microsoft, Intel and other nascent technology companies.

this is from big picture, and it actually makes sense:

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/09/an-alternative.html

Basics of the King Report Bailout Plan:

• Directly recapitalize banks by the US government allocating $500B into a plan for community-type banks to increase their capital in partnership with the government.

• The government would match existing or some percentage of existing bank capital. If it would be better, a separate bank could be created. Place a limit of say $1B per bank.

• This would create $5 trillion of credit at conservative 10 to 1 leverage. This is more than the entire private mortgage market. It is a much better use of capital instead of absorbing $700B of losses with
no means to discern resultant credit creation.

• Give the banks a tax rate of 15% on consumer and commercial lending for 5 years and the right to buy out the government share of the operation at some premium.

• Only banks that meet some metric, like a Texas Ratio of 50, are eligible.

• To help the big banks, allow them to create a consumer & commercial lending facility with the 15% tax rate benefit. This should entice private equity and sovereign funds as well as Wall Street remuneration that was garnered over the past decade or so.

• Prohibit trading, especially derivatives, in consumer & Commercial lending operations. However pure hedging would be allowed.

• Immediately increase FDIC-insured bank deposits and money funds to $1 million per eligible account.

Ted Kennedy taken to hospital for feeling ill but report is it's not serious.

Ted Kennedy taken to hospital for feeling ill but report is it's not serious.

DOW Now -64.59
Submitted by maggiesboy on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 12:34pm.
Somebody write that number on a hog and set it loose. Chances are it'll cross paths with Crank Bait sometime today
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Either you are a geographical genius or a lucky wisenheimer.

The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas is near enough to my home that I sometimes shop in the area.

All I have to do is call the hogs (Sooooooo-eeee!) to get a market snapshot? Cool!

Happe Talk

Russia announced an overhaul of its strategic nuclear forces and army yesterday, in the clearest sign yet that Moscow may be preparing for a possible full-scale military confrontation with the US and Nato.

Speaking after Russia carried out its biggest military exercises since the cold war, Dmitry Medvedev, the president, said Russia would build a space defence system and a fleet of nuclear submarines by 2020.

His defence initiative is the biggest in Russia for at least a decade. It comes amid bitter opposition from Moscow to Washington's plan to site a missile defence system in central Europe - a project the Kremlin says upsets Europe's strategic balance. The move is also a riposte to US-backed plans for Georgia and Ukraine to join Nato.

Moscow opposes Nato's further expansion, arguing that it challenges its regional "privileged interests". Moscow also accuses the US of encouraging, and even participating in, Georgia's attack on the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia.

"Just recently we had to rebuff aggression unleashed by the Georgian regime. As we discovered, a local smouldering conflict - even occasionally a frozen one - can flare up into a genuine war," Medvedev said, addressing Russian troops.

Putin, now prime minister, announced earlier this month that nearly $95bn (£51.5bn) would be allocated to defence and security in 2009.

That is a 27% increase on the previous year, but still a fraction of total US defence spending, which this year was more than $600bn.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/27/russia

did rachel really say she expects mcbush to win the election?

Obama will handle the only REAL War we have any chance of winning.

The War on Right Wing Stupidity!

Once we get a handle on that, the retarded War on Terra can be drawn to a close and we can come back home a global disgrace and try and make sure it never fucking happens again!

You can't swing a pork chop around your head down there without smacking 2 or 3 porcine creatures of some sort.

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bluerootsradio

Were having a debate party and I thought I'd share this great fall recipe with all our blog friends:

Queen Yam Casserole
Preheat Oven to 375*
1 yam
2 parsnips
1 turnip
1 rutabaga
2 carrots
peel and cut all of these root veggies into 1/4 inch chunks.
Add a teaspoon of fresh Oregano.
Then take 2 yellow onions and sauteed in a little Olive Oil until translucent. Mix with raw root veggies and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.
Now for the sauce:
3/4 cup of raw Tahini
1/3 cup tamari (soy sauce)
1/3 cup maple syrup
Mix these 3 ingredients together to create a sauce and pour over the veggie mixture.
Cover and bake for 1 hour.
Serve with brown rice, salmon and a white wine maybe a Viognier
Enjoy!

Sen. Kennedy taken to hospital from Cape Cod home By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
25 minutes ago

Sen. Edward Kennedy, who has been in treatment for brain cancer, was taken by ambulance to a hospital near his Cape Cod vacation home Friday after complaining of feeling ill.

A 911 call from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port came around 5 p.m. Friday, said Barnstable police Sgt. Ben Baxter. Kennedy was taken to Cape Cod Hospital and was "alert and responsive" during the trip, Baxter said.

Representatives for Kennedy and the hospital did not immediately return calls for comment.

Kennedy had a seizure in May and underwent surgery in June for a malignant brain tumor. After undergoing six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, he has been steadily increasing his public activity.

Kennedy had received a visit Tuesday from Chilean President Michelle Bachelet at his home in his first public appearance since he gave a surprise speech in late August at the Democratic National Convention.

Bachelet presented the senator with her country's highest civilian award — the Order to the Merit of Chile — in recognition of his opposition to the country's 1973 government overthrow and his work to cut off military aid to dictator Augusto Pinochet.

At the meeting, the senator stumbled momentarily as he tried to walk on the thick grass, but he quickly regained his balance.

He also made a surprise return to Capitol Hill in July to vote on a Medicare bill. In early September, Kennedy announced he would not return to the Senate until January, but has since held videoconferences with his staff and members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which he leads.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_re_us/kennedy_hospital&printer...

really? Do you not get how hard it will be to elect a non-white President? He has a huge obstacle in front of him. Always has.

I would invite you to pay particularly close attention to President Obama's plan for the War in Afghanistan.

Barack is really too late to win in Iraq, it's already been done.

But he can really expand the war in Afghanistan.

And of course whoever wins the election must stop Iran!

A portion of tomorrow's "This American Life" (NPR) was excerpted by All Things Considered today.

The incident that put the fear of gawd into the Fed is revealed: Ordinary, every day "doing business" credit became unavailable.

This is precisely what I was trying to say when everyone on the blog played "pile on the Fed." I wrote that IF disaster was imminent, then the remedies proposed by the Fed were not a clusterfuck. If a disaster was not imminent, then any outlandish remedy would certainly be a clusterfuck.

IF a disaster was imminent, then the merits of what the Fed proposed were immaterial. The psychological effect of the Fed jumping into the game with both feet could have been enough to temporarily avert disaster.

Remember: When the downward spiral crosses the tipping point, it cannot be stopped.

We shall see how this all shakes out...and we will never know if the downward spiral was short-stopped before it crossed the line of no return.

But, according to the This American Life article, the credit crisis exhibited an actual, real-life signal that the day-to-day credit system was on the brink and it scared the shit out of the Fed.

i guess i'm in denial. its not a problem for me or most of the people i know. the most pushback i've gotten is from my elders who just don't get it. i've told them to think about their grandkids and just stay home on election day if they can't do the right thing.

Why Paulson and Bernanke are only Partly Correct, and Why Main Street Needs More Direct Help

But will it work? Here's Paulson's and Bernanke's logic, made explicit at the Senate hearing today: There's only a certain amount of bad debt on Wall Street's books, left over from the wild and woolly days of lax mortgage lending. Once removed from the Streets’ books, credit will flow again. And once credit flows again, even Main Street can breath a sigh of relief.

P&B failed to mention that bad debts are growing even among people recently considered good credit risks. At end of August, 6.6 percent of mortgages were at least 30 days past due. That’s up from 5.8 percent at end of June. We’re also seeing a growing amount of credit card and auto payments past due.

The culprit isn’t just those sub-prime loans. With jobs and wages are dropping across America, many people who had been able to pay their bills no longer can.

It’s no coincidence that states where mortgage delinquencies are highest are also states with the highest rates of job losses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the official rate of unemployment in California last month was 7.7 percent. That’s up from 5.5 percent a year ago. In Florida, unemployment has climbed to 6.5 percent, from 4.1 percent a year ago. No surprise that bad debts are mounting fastest in California and Florida – and elsewhere around the country where jobs are evaporating fastest.

Note that these are just the official rates. Some 600,000 fewer jobs are listed on the nation’s payrolls than were there last year. Millions more Americans are too discouraged even to look for work. And as employers squeeze their payrolls, even people with jobs are putting in fewer hours.

Bailing out Wall Street’s bad debts when millions more Americans can’t pay their bills is like bailing out a rowboat springing more leaks while the ocean is rising. Many of the average taxpayers being asked to take on Wall Street’s bad loans are the same people whose incomes are dropping, which means they’re struggling to pay their debts and potentially creating even more bad loans.

Congress should drive the hardest deal it can with Wall Street. But Congress also needs to pay direct attention to Main Street. It should extend unemployment insurance, freeze mortgage rates, and pass a stimulus package that generates more jobs.

Bottom line: Unless Americans on Main Street have more money in their pockets, Wall Street’s bad debts will continue to rise -- which means the Bailout of All Bailouts grows even larger, which means taxpayers take on even more risk and cost.

http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-paulson-and-bernanke-are-onl...

She just said she sees the world through books and "mediums".

Geez when Kathleen Parker calls her a ditz you know the Fat Lady is tunin' up to sing.

Parker, after a scalding critique of Palin's readiness for high office, begs the Alaska governor to step down from the Republican ticket.

Parker says: No more. She has declared her cringe reflex exhausted.

___
Parker's Plastering Piece on Palin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tss5OK1NAS0

yes little buddy. We see you there. You are so cute. Can you go wipe your chin and nose and stop licking the snot please? Thank you :)

I hope you enjoy tonight's show, now go put on your Captain America footy pj's and change your undies first. I think I smelled your bum when you passed by chasing moths.

Yea, she is a complete concern troll. She has outlined numerous times for months how; "the Democrats just lost this election today...." It gets tiresome-- and pointless.
Pay no attention. She feels comfortable with defeat.

Putting Country Last

I don't know John McCain as well as David Brooks does. In fact, I don't know him personally at all. But I covered his 2000 and 2008 primary campaigns, and I spent considerable time interviewing him, including several long interviews I did for a profile in 2006. As I wrote in that profile, I liked and respected McCain, and in 2000, I urged the magazine to endorse jointly McCain and Al Gore during the primaries. He was, I thought, basically a moderate Republican (I never took his or Chuck Hagel's positions on social issues seriously). But above all, he was, as he claimed during this campaign, a politician who would put "country first."

By this year, of course, I was far less enthusiastic about a McCain presidency. McCain boasts of his prescience on the surge, but the surge took place four years after a needless war that McCain helped start--a war that devastated a country, destabilized a region, undermined America's standing in the world (and I am not merely speaking of our moral standing), and killed and maimed thousands and thousands of people. It is the kind of an action for which your average politician or general (I am thinking of the Argentinean generals who masterminded the Falklands war) would be banished from public life. It should have been the end of McCain and Bush and all those people.

I never doubted, however, that McCain's motives in pushing America into war were honorable. Nor do I question his motives in pushing Georgia into NATO or in rattling the sabers against Iran. I question his judgment and wouldn't want him as president. But I do question his motives in inserting himself into the attempt by the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, and the Congressional leadership (excluding the usual suspects from the Republican House delegation) to fashion a plan for preventing a Wall Street crash. He has shown a willingness to put the success of his campaign ahead of the country's welfare. And it's not over a relatively minor matter--like offshore drilling or creationism in schools.

I know there are economists, some of whom I respect, that think this financial crisis will blow over, that it's a crisis in the financial superstructure that won't ultimately affect the country's industrial base. I have never understood the post-1980 stock market very well, but I know something about economic history, and I know that at a certain point, a financial crisis can get out of hand and lead to a credit crunch that will depress the industrial base and set off a vicious cycle of unemployment. I also know a little bit about international economic history--enough at least to appreciate what would happen if nations began to abandon the dollar the way they abandoned the British pound eighty years ago. As Paul Krugman--who has been writing about the mortgage mess for years--has argued, it is not worth taking the chance that this crisis will blow over.

That's a long way of saying that it is simply unpatriotic--it's an insult to flag, country, and all the things that McCain claims to hold dear--for McCain to hold this financial crisis hostage to his political ambitions. McCain doesn't know a thing about finance and is no position to help work out an agreement. If we do suffer a serious bank run, or a run on the dollar, it can be laid directly at his feet. As I said to friends last night, if McCain had been president at this point, I would have wanted to impeach him.
That brings me back to David Brooks' column. David thinks that beneath the surface of McCain the craven campaigner, that the man who nominated an ill-prepared Sarah Palin as his possible successor and has lent his energies to blocking a financial bailout, there still sits a "real McCain" who could govern fairly and effectively as president. I doubt it. I really doubt it. Whether because of age or overreaching ambition, McCain has become the kind of man he earlier railed against. He has become the Bush of 2000 against whom he campaigned or the Senate and House Republicans whom he despised. His defeat is now imperative.

--John B. Judis

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/09/26/putting-coun...

Anyone else excited to see Walnuts get splattered? I am! "Pops" Riley is predicting that Obama will come out on top here; despite the lowered expectations for McCain, I predict a great showing for Obama.

It's a problem, of course. If it weren't, O would of had a 10 point lead for three months. We outnumber the haters though, and McLiar's campaign is in complete disarray-- Expect Davis to quit next week.

Anyway, most of the haters are already

McCainVoters.

One of my friends from Nashville sent me the attached. The gas shortage down there has really hit them hard. It's kinda specific to the city, but just let me say Bellevue is where all the $$ is there.

___
There's no f^ ckin' gas in Nashville

I had a conversation today at my sometimes place of employment with two young ladies (26-ish) and a third lady somewhere in her late thirties or early forties. One of the younger ladies and the older lady were meeting me for the first time.

They were all on board with Obama/Biden and, even more strongly, they were all not on board with McCain/Palin and the Cheney/Bush disaster.

The lady I have known for several years announced that "Bait is really smart about politics" to which I countered "No one is really smart about politics. There are only more informed people and less informed people, and there are only knee-jerk people and deliberative people."

Mostly I listened to what they had to say. They were excited and talking on top of one another. There was no dead air. I filled-in a few details along with the caveat of the sources of the details. All three ladies had a pretty good grasp on the presidential race though they admitted that their eyes glazed over when the intricacies of the credit crisis hit the wires. I can't blame them. I didn't know shit from Shinola about the markets when I was their ages and I am still struggling to get a handle on all of it.

Since I was speaking with three employees of a business owned by a retired Republican politician and located in a decidedly Republican area (this is Roy Blunt's congressional district), I came away from the conversation feeling pretty good about the upcoming presidential election.

Okay...I know it doesn't count for much in the national scheme of things. But goddammit, it's nice to know that some people are paying attention and not basing their opinions on the sound bites aired on the evening news.

It is worth noting that the youngest lady was sitting at a computer and she continuously pulled-up information as the conversation progressed.

"I don't think that we're in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Somali pirates capture Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with military hardware

Somali pirates have captured a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying military hardware, including grenade launchers and 33 Russian-made tanks, in the latest brazen attack in the most dangerous waters in the world.

The MV Faina was hijacked on Thursday off the coast of Somalia, where Islamist insurgents are battling government and Ethiopian troops in some of the heaviest fighting in years.

The Ukrainian defence minister, Yury Yekhanurov, said the cargo also included "a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts".

Russia, which has three citizens among the 21 crew members, responded to the news yesterday by sending a warship to Somalia to address "the rise in pirate attacks, especially against Russian citizens".

The heavily armed Somali pirate gangs, who have captured at least 30 ships this year, are rarely interested in a ship's cargo, preferring to extract a ransom for the vessel and its crew that frequently amounts to millions of pounds.

But the presence of arms and ammunition on board the Faina make it an especially dangerous seizure in a country ruled only by the gun for 17 years.

REALLY:

The destination of the tanks also raised serious questions, especially given the current instability across the Horn of Africa.

Ukraine insisted the deal was "in accordance with international law", and said that the weapons had been sold to Kenya, which it said had already received 77 T-72 tanks from Ukraine in 2007. The Kenyan government later issued a statement confirming that it had purchased the cargo aboard the MV Faina for its military forces.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/27/3

Commission on Presidential Debates Hails 2008 Formats as “Historic Breakthrough”

September 21, 2008

Washington, D.C.- Paul G. Kirk, Jr. and Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., the co-chairmen of The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), today announced the finalized formats of the 2008 presidential and vice presidential debates agreed to by the Obama and McCain campaigns, calling them "a breakthrough in the history of televised debates."

Kirk, Jr. and Fahrenkopf said, "In a year when unprecedented voter interest in the general election debates is anticipated, the CPD is pleased that the major party campaigns have essentially embraced the goals and breakthrough formats proposed by the CPD."

When proposed in November 2007, Kirk and Fahrkenkopf said, "Our mission is to promote voter education. The public deserves to hear and see the candidates offer and defend their positions on the critical issues facing our country in the most thoughtful and in-depth manner that television time constraints will allow. Loosening the constraints within the ninety minutes debate will allow for more serious examination of complicated questions. This change will also open the possibility of the moderator inviting candidates to question each other. We want voters to benefit from as full an explanation of a topic as possible, and we feel certain that the candidates will welcome this change for the same reason."

Today, Kirk and Fahrenkopf said, "Indeed, both campaigns, without public controversy, with quiet cooperation and with minor revisions, have agreed to CPD's proposal that each debate will be divided into issue segments allowing time for each candidate to comment on that issue followed by a free-flow conversation/ discussion between the candidates including the possibility of direct exchange between the candidates."

Kirk and Fahrenkopf added, "These formats are an historic breakthrough in the history of televised debates. Televised debates have been hampered by restrictive time limits resulting in scripted, poll-tested, bumper sticker responses. In 2008, when stakes are higher than ever, issues more complex than ever, voter interest more intense than ever, voter education calls for a more expansive discussion between the leading candidates for president and vice president of the United States on the issues confronting America. The Commission commends Senators Obama and McCain for their understanding and acceptance of this need."

http://debates.org/pages/news_092108.html

Updated: Wachovia has begun preliminary talks with Citigroup about a potential merger, people briefed on the matter said Friday afternoon.

Feelers have also been extended between Wachovia and Wells Fargo and Spain’s Banco Santander, these people said.

These talks are early, however, and no deal may emerge from them. But it appears that Wachovia is seeking out potential alternatives should the financial rescue package being debated in Washington is not quickly passed, or fails to provide enough help.

Wachovia, the big bank headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has been under increasing pressure in recent weeks amid the turmoil gripping the banking sector. It took additional fire on Friday after JPMorgan Chase acquired virtually all of Washington Mutual, until Thursday evening the nation’s largest savings and loan, in a government-brokered sale.

Wachovia spokeswoman declined to comment.

If a deal were to happen, Citigroup would gain one of the sterling names in retail banking. Wachovia would give the banking giant a heightened presence along the Eastern seaboard, and Citi would also gain Wachovia’s retail banking management team, considered one of the strongest in the business.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/wachovia-begins-early-deal-...

ad this to your Pirate article...

Russians Rush To Intercept Hijacked Arms Ship

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_somalia_piracy...

MSNBC halts broadcast of ad citing McCain's cancer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The cable network MSNBC on Friday stopped airing a commercial by two liberal groups that makes an issue of John McCain's past bouts with skin cancer and demands that he release his medical records to the public.

``The ad had not been thoroughly vetted prior to air, and has since been removed from our commercial rotation,'' NBC spokeswoman Allison Gollust said in an e-mail. She did not elaborate

MSNBC's decision came a day after FOX New commentator Bill O'Reilly denounced the ad on his cable program as ``perhaps the most vicious political ad of the campaign.'' O'Reilly singled out Dean and Brave New PAC's Robert Greenwald, a California film producer, for blame, and also mentioned Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of NBC parent company General Electric, and NBC CEO Jeff Zucker. ``They should be ashamed, but they are anything but,'' O'Reilly said.

``Democracy for America stands behind the ad 100 percent,'' spokesman Daniel I. Medress said. ``It's disappointing (MSNBC) would take marching orders from Bill O'Reilly. And it's disappointing that they don't want the American people to be able to ask the question of John McCain to release his medical records.''
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7831161

They are running the story of McCain's POW days.

Senate Republicans block economic stimulus bill

ANDREW TAYLOR
AP Features

Sep 26, 2008 12:34 EST

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a plan by Democrats to pump $56 billion in government spending into the economy through public works projects, help for the jobless and money for states struggling with their Medicaid bills.

The 52-42 tally fell well short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a GOP filibuster. The White House promised a veto anyway, saying the measure would not work and would cost too much.

The House was expected to have better luck with a companion $61 billion House plan later in the day.

The bills follow a bipartisan plan enacted this winter that shipped $600-$1,200 tax rebate checks to most individuals and couples and awarded tax breaks to businesses investing in new plants and equipment.

With the economy still sagging, Democrats have long pressed for a follow-up plan that focused on more spending to extend unemployment benefits, boost food stamp payments and build infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, water and sewer projects and school repairs.

The idea, predictably, got no interest from President Bush and his GOP allies in Congress, and the practical impact of Friday's votes would be to add fodder to the Fall campaign. Several Republicans with tough re-election bids voted for the measure, including Gordon Smith of Oregon, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Norm Coleman of Minnesota broke with their party to embrace the legislation.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/09/senate_republicans_block_econo...

thanks

gametime
nervous till the ball is snapped

Really? Cool!

Then let's bring the troops home tomorrow. That reduction in costs alone should save us from having to bailout wall street.

this was the important work nancy pelosi trumpeted as a reason for "there is no time to impeach, we have important work to do in the little time left before the elections"

i wondered why someone didn't ask Sarah why her son is going to Iraq, since she also just said: 'We've won in Iraq.'

dan,

I heard a very brief interview on NPR with some kind of economist or market expert or I-don't-know-what. I didn't catch his name but I remember that he was in Italy during the interview.

He proposed something interesting, though the interview was too brief to fill in the gaps that I question, so cut me some slack when you see the same gaps.

He suggested a bankruptcy bill, temporary or otherwise, that requires companies/groups/corporations/funds that profit from a debacle like the mortgage crisis to collectively bail-out a failed financial company in exchange for stock equity.

I assume that he has thought this through more thoroughly than he had the time to explain during the interview. He sounded like an expert in his field, whatever it is.

I assume that the liability of a company/group/corporation/fund would be based on its profits from the debacle or from its market capitalization if it profited greatly from the debacle?

However the machinations of his proposal are determined, the idea is that companies/groups/corporations/funds would have a vested interest in blowing the whistle before the debacle reached a tipping point (i.e. self-regulation in the interest of self).

The other half of his idea is that the companies/groups/corporations/funds would have a vested interested in making the failed company return to profitability because they have been forced to input cash in exchange for securities in the failed company.

It is an interesting concept. To my way of thinking, it is even more interesting for the future. It places all market players on the hotseat to examine how foolishly their fellow market players are playing the game.

Their worst nightmare is to be forced by law to invest cash in an institution that has seen its stock drop by several thousand percent.

Barack and I agree that it's time to start the build up in
Afghanistan.

very encouraging story, happy to hear it

this evening i am glued to the tv (computer streaming) watching a very interesting program on italian tv about the bailout of the italian airline Alitalia, of course they can't help but bring up the recent financial doings and undoings in the US, it's very interesting to me, lots of parallels, with italy of course being on a very corporatist path, there's always enough money to bailout some corporations, and the blame for the failings always on labor (the pilots' and stewards' salaries in this case)

anyway just to say it's time to switch the channel to the debate

i wish i had some people over for a drinking game

is the bartender here? (maggiesboy)

Seven Years After the Start of the So-Called "War on Terror," Terror Attacks Are Up

It is seven years since that terrible day of September 11, 2001 when terrorists killed 3,000 Americans, triggering a massive global response by the United States. As President Bush's term comes to an end, it is time to assess the prudence of his policies.

According to the State Department and the National Counterterrorism Center, in 2001 there were 531 total terrorist attacks resulting in 3,295 deaths. Three years later in 2004, the number jumped 651 incidents or terrorism, killing 1,907 people. Last year, in 2007, the number of terrorist attacks more than doubled to 14,499 incidents and 22,666 deaths.

President Bush's "Global War on Terrorism" neither eliminated nor reduced global terrorism. Instead it caused an exponential rise in the number of incidences and number of victims. This surge in terrorism is a direct response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Did anyone take a peek at ABC tonight?
new
Submitted by toniD on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 8:45pm.

They are running the story of McCain's POW days.
»

* reply

What's your pleasure?

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bluerootsradio

McSame's tie and miltary anecdoes are hypnotizing me and putting me to sleep at the same time.

"People are going to be held accountable in my administration".

LOL! that woke me up!

mcain speaking now, make it a double please, i'll need it!

Submitted by mire on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:03pm.
...i wish i had some people over for a drinking game...
------
If you quaff freely every time you hear "My friendszhsz," in short order you will be saying "friendszhsz" just like Senator McCain.

yeah he mentioned eisenhower, he had to bring in the war, any war, somehow

LOL Lehrer... whatever dude.

..it's the 4th characteristic of fascism

4. Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
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bluerootsradio

he looks absolutely ridiculous

..that's what I'm guzzling, er sipping.
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bluerootsradio

These two men are IN THE GOVERNMENT they're complaining about....!!

this is kind of old...

uh?

i'm determined to get you guys to talk to each other...?
Submitted by GBC on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:13pm.
LOL Lehrer... whatever dude.
------
He's showing who's in charge. I hope it forces a real debate.

THE PEN IS OLD!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA

i have a pen
Submitted by mire on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:16pm.
this is kind of old...

uh?
-----
I'm guessing that the veto-pen bromide is kinda old, not the pen itself.

It was certainly an awkward reference, even giving him the benefit of the doubt.

can't be President.

I'm expecting a giant parakeet to come on stage and start pecking the shit out of him.

Crank. I know Jim's in charge.

my friendshz
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bluerootsradio

i've had enuf of this already.
(¯`*._(¯`*._(--)_.*´¯)_.*´¯)

...she is too qualified!

Yuk yuk yuk

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bluerootsradio

...that they can speak to each other?

I atually kind of like that..but I thought that in debates they weren't allowed to directly address each other

McCain wants us to be like Ireland???? They are in a recession as of TODAY. Bad timing MCAIN:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9uch9QDg5jtnuh1jLjatAYpER6A

LIES LIES LIES...pandering...AND MORE LIES

Skewed to begin without the qualified candidates being able to debate....

Submitted by GBC on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:20pm.
Crank. I know Jim's in charge.
------
Well...the "address you opponent directly" advisement doesn't seem to be working.

...just turn down the sound and wait for things to start popping out on McCain's face.
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bluerootsradio

Moderator?

...of the cuttlefish - parakeet war, bibs!

...I really need to watch more Animal Planet...I seem to be missing out on a lot, lately...

anybody up foer some fresh buttered popcorn?

i put a couple bowls of it on the bar.

can't stand to watch this man, scuttlefish is putting it kindly

eliminate spending, all spending, cut all agencies, cut taxes, cut, cut

Did Lehrer say before this that they can debate..
Submitted by 60th Street on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:24pm.
...that they can speak to each other?

I atually kind of like that..but I thought that in debates they weren't allowed to directly address each other
--------
In a formal, judged, forensic debate that's true. One is supposed to refer to one's opponents as "Our opponents" or "The affirmative [negative] has stated that [fill in the blank]."

A "debate" during presidential campaigns is a different animal every fucking time it occurs.

more votes in the Senate than any other senator and even

one that had a stroke ?

Candyass McCrazy is trying to bully Obama..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I found it really saccharine esp. considering what the tone of the campaign has been. Why should have to talk to this guy who basically implied he was a child molester? And also it plays to Obama's weakness in that he's a basically a nice guy and it will be harder to say what he needs to if he has to look at McCain. (And other stuff too.)

Who told him we wanted them to be more than civil to each other about real issues? The point is that he ask them worthwhile questions and police their answers for smears and trifling b.s. It's not to make them hold hands. They're opponents!

Well I'm glad he stopped now. Good.

put out from this mcain

http://platial.com/mapv/495729

Obama just mentioned his google for government. Remind idiots for Palin that uh, it's ALREADY BEEN DONE after she proposed it for the federal government.

McCain looks like a giant cuttlefish
new
Submitted by bibimimi on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:20pm.
I'm expecting a giant parakeet to come on stage and start pecking the shit out of him.

»
McCain looks even paler next to Obama.

Are you watching his jaws? He keeps clentching his teeth when he's not answering questions or spinning.

mcbush is a lying sack of shit. why hasn't obama ripped his fucking head off?

remember the scene in the man who would be king where they play soccer with the head of the deposed emperor. mcbush deserves that fate for all the lies he tells.

....I'm not sufficiently annoyed yet...

He's a walking Polyp..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Are we a wee bit cranky this eveing,Missy ? ;-)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

... ummm, there's this thing called the war in IRAQ?!!?!?!

No Bid Contracts???

Estimated $3 Trillion in cost???

Please.

no toni, freaks me out, and that smile of his? where's that 5,000 makeup artist that can hide the horror of that smile?

now he's repeating himself, cut expenses, i'm not miss congeniality, i'm a maverick and i have a partner who's a maverick......

Is that the same as spending?

Ixnay on the...oops, is there a way to say orgy in Pig Latin?

I'd love to see these two have to answer to Ralph....

Haliburton is still making huge bucks off it!

of his mouth,down pat !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I'm just sayin'...

Or the preemptive bullshit..

"We should never hesitate to use military force"
-OBAMA

Did you see Angry Aussie in re that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c6nW40ABm4

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bluerootsradio

Your right..That would be very interesting..

He would probably win going away..

That's why I'm pissed at him for not trying Alot harder

to get a third party established..

You can't do it by just popping in every 3 1/2 years..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

your bias is staggering!

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bluerootsradio

that smirk off your face?

where are mcbush's parents now that they are needed?

(its a rhetorical question)

would someone please wipe that smirk off his face

I've often wondered if Johnny get's into Cindy's stuff.

Submitted by gloryoski on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:32pm.
...he's a basically a nice guy and it will be harder to say what he needs to if he has to look at McCain.
----
Methinks Barack Obama is proving you to be incorrect. He is sprinkling his comments with an occasional direct address to McCain.

...

Of course they are both going to be somewhat tentative. WTF do you want? A debate or kickboxing?

I blame reality TV for skewing expectations of these events.

Plus I'm waiting for McCain to ask for a bathroom break.

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bluerootsradio

That while it's true Osama Bin Ladin and Gen. Patraeus did both say Iraq now is the central front in the war on terror that IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IF WE DIDN'T INVADE IN THE FIRST PLACE. C'mon Obama - that would've been perfect for you to use.

McCain is in the dog food isle for his goldfish.

Tonight we have 2 choices, you'll just have to make do.

Grow up and deal with it.
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bluerootsradio

...How many MILLIONS of images and words have been sent to us via the media of these two men? ..and how does that compare to the exposure Ralph is given on any media DURING THE ELECTION...

Do you really think he could beat his way into the media off election time?

and they are fact checking things as they go along.

Check it out:

http://thinkprogress.org/

Trex wouldn't last 30 seconds against Obama ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Do you want to go to bed now Joey,

Yes or No? Those are your choices...

McCain is simply unable to directly address Obama and he hasn't looked him in the eye once.

This is the steely war hero?

bomb bomb bomb
bomb bomb iran
bomb bomb bomb
bomb bomb iran

Obama needs to stick with "..but what you did McCain was sing bomb, bomb, ..."

It's not what you are, it's what you did.
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bluerootsradio

No. Thank you. But NO.

Obama needs to stick with "..but what you did McCain was sing bomb, bomb, ..."

It's not what you are, it's what you did.
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bluerootsradio

The failed state in Pakistan was Bhutto, who came back, was killed and now her husband is in power. So how far did Pakistan get?

Musharaff was ousted just like Bhutto was ousted.

Submitted by maggiesboy on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:52pm.
...Plus I'm waiting for McCain to ask for a bathroom break.
-----
Depends.

(The all-purpose joke.)

McCain and his jingo mumbo jumbo has grown old.

McCain has no monopoly on patriotism.

McCain's supported every war EVAH!

You have to establish a Solid 3rd party first !

That takes a tremendous amount of work..

You know grassroots stuff ! Build up a strong organization..The media will come to you.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

he's claiming as his own?

i've counted 5 outright lies and 23 distortions so far

Do you think John has a record?

A broken record!

I have a record, I have a record, ya know, I have a record.

Obama is coming across like a Sarah Palin.

maybe he's having one of those flashback thingys and thinks that mclair and obama are really gooks in charge.

now obama bragging he's got a bracelt too

the media made Obama the Dem candidate....

While the United States does have the second highest corporate rate in the world on paper, the effective tax rate is in line with the rest of the world’s leading economies. Further, two-thirds of American corporations pay no taxes.

Let us not forget, Missouri voted a dead man into office as governor not too long ago...

So would it be a stretch for several states to vote in a geezer?

I think not...

Looking at these gentlemen, and realizing they hold the future of our nation in their hands, gentlemen, I NEED A DRINK!

Think progress live blog is cool. Ty. I came back when they were "fact checking" whether 666 or TR was John McCain's most admired. There's watchdogging and then there's anal.

Looks like Afghanistan is in for are real shit storm no matter who wins this election!

Obama noted that McCain said before the Iraq war that U.S. soldiers would be greeted as liberators. In July this year, McCain claimed “We were greeted as liberators.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/27/mccain-denies-timetables/

Obama was snorting cocaine.

but that's because he ran against John Ashcroft.... so...

Yeah, that sounded a little flip. Too bad. Hate it when he messes up like that.

I've stopped listening,SJ..I get so pissed off at McVain !

Plus,I just found out my other people are in a recession, too.. ;)

I should have guessed..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

So Far
new
Submitted by antibody on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 10:00pm.
Obama is coming across like a Sarah Palin.

He's yet to use any of these words:

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bluerootsradio

That is grassroots to me...

And other candidates have way better thoughts and ideas than Obama..Money is what you are watching...not knowledge...

Obama says Pakistan.

It's probably the correct way.

But I still don't like it.

And I don't like him suggesting we take them out either.

McCain insists “You don’t say…out loud” that you’re going to strike inside Pakistan. Singing “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” presumably still ok, in McCain’s view.

McCain says that “increased Iranian influence” would have been one of the consequence of defeat in Iraq. What does he think the consequences of invading Iraq have been? The current Iraqi government is controlled by political parties that were literally founded in Iran.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/03/18/mccain-iranian-influence/

McCain has already used the joke that he wasn’t “elected Miss Congeniality in the Senate” twice during this debate. Ironically, Sarah Palin was Miss Congeniality.

That's not true, Alice. He came from right here in my neighborhood on a wave of support from everyday average people who repeatedly told and eventually convinced him that he needed to shoot for higher offices.

His rise in Illinois politics was equally meteoric and based on the biggest wave of public support that I have ever seen in my life.

This is nothing new to me.

Alice,

I don't have a problem with other-party candidates being included in the debates. I do have a problem with how it would be determined WHICH other-party candidates will not be included in the debates. A blanket invitation ain't gonna happen, so there will always be an Alice or two who are pissed-off that her preferred candidate was not invited.

I have another problem with other-party candidates in general: IF one of them were elected, he or she would most likely be the lamest President in history because he or she would have no party members (or very few) in the bodies of legislature to support their presidential proposals.

The last thing that I want to see is four years of waiting for the next four years to begin so that something might be accomplished.

John McCain’s proposal for an across-the-board spending freeze in discretionary spending would entail large per capita cuts in everything from education to the FBI and federal prisons to national parks, highway and bridge repair, food stamps, etc. Along with having a deleterious impact on people who rely on these programs, the cuts would cause a contractionary impact on economic growth at a time when the country is in need of a second stimulus to forestall the risk of a deep recession.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/second_stimulus.html

LOL!

So even the trolls are against Caribou Barbie now.

That's the funniest thing I've heard yet.

Guess someone outta put up a Palin bailout clock.

Does anyone notice how much he blinks,
doesn't that mean your lying???

I can't stand it anymore - McInsane
& his fucking lying.

No matter how well McCain does he has to explain how Palin could fill his shoes.

I'm sorry, she's a fucking joke. Even her own kind are throwing her under the bus. How much cred could anyone have having chosen someone like her to be second in command?

It's unbelievably unbelievable!

She can no longer be defended, unless your defense is when the going gets tough she'll try flashing her tits.

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bluerootsradio

...so far

Obama=38

McCain=9

A drink?

I need a bullet....this is nuts...

Is detailed accurately in this book:

The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate by David Freddoso (Hardcover - Aug 4, 2008)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

McCain insists “You don’t say…out loud” that you’re going to strike inside Pakistan. Singing “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” presumably still ok, in McCain’s view.

Uh, that's not what he said Annette. Actionable intell on Al Qaeda strongholds INSIDE Pakistan.

where do you get tose pictures??
How fantastic - do ya think that
Keating 5 will be mentioned - not

He nailed him on Spain!

Is Obama's VP pick: Joe Biden.

Biden tells us all about how FDR got on TV in 1929 to talk to the Americans about the stock market crash.

Biden tells us all about how if Obama trys to take away his Beretta, Obama's got big problems.

___
Go get your fill
..and come back after the debate.

He's not in it.
I'm sorry.
Save it for later.

ass licking...

oh good, getting a little heated now

Aw man! I missed it. I was outside.

McCain just restated his intention to form a “League of Democracies.” He mentioned Germany and France as potential partners. Would he allow Spain to join, after refusing to meet with the Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero as President? (Update: League of Democracies? It’s a “hidden agenda” to “kill the UN.”)

Discussing ways he would save money in the federal budget, McCain said, “Look, we’re sending $700 billion a year overseas to countries that don’t like us very much.” But as the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler points out, McCain is confusing foreign aid with the amount of money that Americans spend on foreign oil. The U.S. spends only $39 bllion a year in foreign aid.

I'm just frozen. Wait for the YouTube I guess...

Sucking the cock of Israel McInsane is

Isn't Kissinger a murderous thug???

I lived in Chicago also...I know how this shit happens too...It ain't people power that makes a presidential candidate..IF I were to pretend these were my two choices, yes - Obama is better...But you don't get to be a candidate for president without the media...and the media is controlled by MONEY...This is what the rich dangle for you to choose from...

*

Crank...I would LOVE to see a third party in office..doing nothing or not..it's better than the appearance of doing something and having the same OLD CRAP come out of it...

The third party debates had at least five people involved....You want to keep it this way so you don't have to hear the "light party" or the "KKK party" - I disagree - I would take it all just to have some MORE choices...MORE voices...MORE ideas...Listening to McCain is like listening to any of those really out there parties...so what's it matter - let them all in...Cuz this is LAME

"What Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand..."

McSame was prepped for this.

so far it's the SOS.

it's pathetic.

Biden tells us all about how FDR got on TV in 1929 to talk to the Americans about the stock market crash.

That WAS funny.

However, I'd rather someone confuse TV and radio then, say, Shia and Sunni. Or, Alaska and Canada and Russia... 'Why Katie, they are in the state I'm executive of!"

person.. but I would LOVE to see
Obama just Bitch Slap McInsane.
What a douche bag he is.

"loo..loo..loo..loo...look, ub, ub, ub, ub...."

Ralph ain't gonna be President of this Country in our lifetime..
Not the way he has and is going about it..Sorry.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

ya got that right!

What Obama Should Say (Rude Version):
If at tonight's debate, Jim Lehrer asks Barack Obama, "How do you answer your critics who say you lack the experience necessary to be President?" and the Democratic candidate doesn't say, "Experience? Are you fucking kidding me, Jim? Let's get that out of the way real quick. The Crypt Keeper over there chose as a running mate a fucking idiot who couldn't find Pakistan on a map even if it had a giant cock-shaped neon arrow pointing at it saying, 'It's here, bitch.' A fucking moose-slaughtering tool who thinks that Russia gives a happy monkey fuck about Alaska. So let's just shove that thought aside. And as for experience, that dead Eisenhower-looking motherfucker's been around DC for three decades, and his party had no holds barred power for six of the last eight. Where did that get us? No, no, fuck that.

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

sorry i ducked out my sweeties. D. wants 2 watch 'the Office'

...if you don't like what I write....SPIT on me...I don't even care...

McCain mocks the idea that Kissinger supports talks with Iran without preconditions. Just yesterday, CBS News’s Katie Couric, after interviewing Sarah Palin, who called the idea of meeting without preconditions “naïve,” checked with Kissinger. Couric: “Incidentally, we confirmed Henry Kissinger’s position following her interview. He told us he supports talks, if not with Ahmadinejad, then with high level Iranian officials . . . without preconditions.”

It was more than confusing TV and radio, it Biden's ignorance of history. FDR wasn't president, Hoover was...anyway, better confuse that than say Iran's no threat because it's a tiny country.

McCain takes the view that to meet with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be to legitimize Ahmadinejad’s views on Israel. Does that mean that McCain’s meetings with Nouri al-Maliki constitute an endorsement of his various anti-Israel views?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/world/middleeast/20shiites.html

antibody.

Same new shit stinks just like your same old.

Go back to school punk.

Palin is so clueless they can't let her speak more than a few minutes at a time and every time she does she only digs herself in deeper. Again read the writing in the conservative press you fucking moron.

And I quote Katleen Parker noted conservative pundit:

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

That's one of your own!

___
Read her lipsticked lips

the epitome of a currupt old pro corporate geezer.

no original thinking, just stale talking points and lies.

he sure is a time hog.

McCain has correctly identified the resurgence in Russian military power as driven by increased oil wealth, but his record has shown consistent opposition to the alternative energy initiatives that might undercut this aspect of Putin’s strength.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/08/23/mccain-energy-summit/

high level officials is that the same as President to President without preconditions.

I'm surprised you and Katie can't grasp the difference. Well, actually I'm not.

..but I refuse to indulge you. Tell me more, tell me more...

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bluerootsradio

speak at the debate...And to have the debate determined by more than one organization....

Submitted by smcgee43 on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 10:21pm.
ya got that right!

Wait. I'm ALWAYS right.

*snark*

Here you go,smcgee43.. :)

Emptywheel

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I think he sounds hyped up, repeating talking points and getting in as many underhanded digs as he can, he seems vicious. Obama is making reasoned arguments and has made many good points, but it's hard to argue against spitting hatred. McCain says spending cuts; that's help for somebody. It's too bad that Obama's principle point, that we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, is lost against McCrazy's spew of false patriotism and slobbering over Patreus.

..quick relief.

10 years is quick?

Chances are he won't be here to see the results.

I"m just saying.

This is a good debate.

Obama will gain 10 points tomorrow and get beyond the range they can steal in the voting booth.
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bluerootsradio

....

I have a particular burning hatred when McCrazy rants on against earmarks. I live in Arizona and his disdain of earmarks means he is proud of not trying to help the people of AZ in any way. That's the poor and middle class of course, there's plenty of evidence of his helping out the rich.

McCain referred to offshore drilling as a “bridge” technique that would lower prices “in the short run.” In fact, the Bush administration’s own Energy Department has concluded that it could have no significant impact before 2030.
http://climateprogress.org/2008/06/18/eia-bombshell-offshore-drilling-wo...

Sen. Obama is the first to mention climate change, which Thomas Fingar, the top intelligence analyst in the United States, has warned will be the central foreign security threat “for the next administration and beyond.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR200809...

Scary...

___

.♡. - .☮.

has is limp attacks.

at least Obama is getting to the heart of the issues.

McSame is sucking the fire out of this debate like a wet rag.

..is neither great, nor a success Senator McNutty.

When you succeed it denotes longevity and certainty. Success cannot be fragile by definition.

Not very Presidential of you McCain.

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bluerootsradio

and then pretend I didn't vote to keep funding it...

in saying that you want pork and earmarks for you and yours.

{{{{DRUDGE POLL}}}} WHO WON THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE?...

MCCAIN 72% 11,327

OBAMA 25% 4,013

NEITHER 3% 432

Total Votes: 15,772

Yes HOOVER was on the RADIO saying everything was fine... just fine. And then crash.

The fireside chats.... WAS FDR. Talking truth to the people during a difficult time.

I believe that was what Biden was referring to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireside_chats

still been trying to up load videos

"I know the veterans and know them well"

Then why did you vote against them john
why did you vote for torture...

crap etc.
==
shit his last word

why did you block the record dump of pow/mia data?

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

one striking emotional sparks is Obama.

McSame sounds like a tired old hack.

...he's cooked!

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bluerootsradio

Shit, Obama got snookered by McCain's bullshit about a cancelled debate. Obama didn't prepare enough for this. Obama sounds uncertain compared to McCain.

drudge kludge poopy polls.

he famous for them.

get a life.

vote AGAINST the G.I. Bill?

nt

you totally ignored that Kissinger said without preconditions.

I really don't give a rats ass what you think anyway!

That, to me, goes without saying...

I'm done voting for the one who isn't an idiot...of my two choices...

The Commission on Presidential Debates selects the candidates and not the media..but then again, I read that they use an average of opinion polls to determine eligible electoral support prior to the debates being scheduled, so I am not sure if those are rigged, assuming they are private...

as far as I see there is a "tyranny of the majority" in terms of the public overall deciding electoral support to determine who gets to debate

However, considering that the "Independent" voter is always courted and supposedly a significant bloc, I would think they would help push electoral support for third parties.

I am not sure why that wouldn't happen...

..who gives a flying fuck what that schmuck says?

Let's see what all the polls say fool.

I see sleepless nights in your immediate future.

You're fucked plain and simple.

The media has already started to remember their roles as Fourth Estate.

McCain looked more like Walter Mitty. Never once looked Obama in the eye.

The real danger here is Obama gets better with time and McSame, well it's all in the name.

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bluerootsradio

From this day forward..Let the trolly's be know as

Asswipe !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

boring.

They have been twisted by the R's troll, so in the sense that that is how Senators now advocate for their constituents, yes I want pork.

And when McCrazy rants on about all the jobs from dozens of new nuclear plants, he, of course, doesn't mention the environmental damage and carbon footprint from mining uranium and the fact that no one wants to store the spent fuel.

Nora O'Donnell!

Though mb wrote "you're fucked Palin and simple."

McCain was just totaly lost on Kissingers remarks. Sad part is he was lost with style. It was his high mark in the debate stylisticly but he was totaly out of touch with the reality of Kissinger's views. Will the media report the obvious - that McCain is cluless on his own advisors opinions?

What Kissinger said as reported by ABC News

ABC News' Rachel Martin Reports: Former U.S.Secretary of State Henry Kissinger today told an audience in Washington, DC that the U.S. should negotiate with Iran "without conditions" and that the next President should begin such negotiations at a high level.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/26/222827/495/316/611936

save that for after the recount

New thread!

Giving a big tax break to people to get health care does nothing for those who are living at the poverty line and below. They cannot afford to dole out a big chunk of their paycheck and then hope to get it back without interest in a year's time. There is also the big headache of making sure you do get a rebate, which oftentimes is not easy, especially if you aren't blessed with tons of free time. It also doesn't address those who cannot get healthcare due to existing conditions. In short, McCain, the Republican, puts forth more shitty ideas for the nation.