All the hotels in the area are dark. Thousands of Republicans stir in their beds, dreaming thousands of dreams about Sarah Palin. But Charles Hunter, an environmentalist delegate from New Hampshire and a veteran of Republican conventions going back to the 1980 coronation of Ronald Reagan at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, can't sleep at all.

"This is my last convention," he tells me, lighting a cigarette.

"Why?"

"I'm a real McCain guy. I served. But I liked the old McCain -- when he was a true hero, before he signed on with the yahoos. I actually believe in 'country first.'"

"Not a fan of Palin?"

"If I were McCain I'd probably bring her onto my ticket, too. That's exactly the problem. I guess I tricked myself into thinking that McCain, even after he watered himself down for the election, could somehow restore sanity. The Democrats tried to paint him as a twin of Bush. Not true. But Palin ... she does remind me of Bush. McCain has made a devil's pact and sealed this party's fate."

Even though he's old, he smokes his cigarette like a young man, with earnest haste, before he flicks it off into the dark.

"That's it," he said, "we're through. Even if we win, we've lost."

That sums up politics for me. Even if we win, we've lost.

No matter how much power, influence, or control we've gained, it has done us nothing. Innocent people die under oppressive regimes, children are killed in wars, disease and disaster we can't protect against.

The truth is I want to put my hope in someone like Obama, or McCain, or Bush, or Clinton. I want to believe they can change my life, our lives, the world. That they can make America into a country people love and respect instead of hate, that they can make American into a country of peace and not war, that they can bring justice to the oppressed, not only in the states, but also in the world. And then I realize, that's already been done, there's already been an election and it happened three days after the cross and I have to put my hope in that.

That which does not exist he calls into being. He says, Go!

Even if we lose, we've won.

by wah

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 02:48:10 PM PDT

• wah's diary :: ::

"So Sambo beat the bitch!"

Source Article

Watching Gov. Sarah Palin explode onto the national scene over the last week got me thinking back to a cold evening earlier this year, just before the New Hampshire primary. I was half-listening to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton speak at an auditorium when a strange noise interrupted the event: two young men shouting, in muffled voices, "Iron my shirt!"
.
At first, Clinton seemed as taken aback as the rest of the audience, unsure of what was going on. Then she saw the yellow "Iron My Shirt!" sign one of the young men held, figured out what was being shouted and brushed the interruption aside. "Ah, the remnants of sexism, alive and well," she said, then continued with her remarks. When security officers removed the young men from the audience, I joined several other reporters in following them outside to find out who the hecklers were and what had motivated them to make such a spectacle.

Little did we know that the bizarre incident was a precursor of what was to come -- of the debate over sexism, feminism and the role of women in public life that would emerge as one of the defining aspects of the 2008 campaign. My fellow reporters and I never really did resolve the mystery of the "iron my shirt" episode; the two young men refused to give us their names and offered strangely vague reasons for being there. But we were put on notice that night: Gender politics was going to be a part of this race in ways that no one could foresee.
After following Clinton on the campaign trail for more than two years, I have been watching the Palin story with some wariness -- especially the conservative charges that the treatment she's received has been overwhelmingly sexist. With each new development, I keep wondering: What if?

What if, back in the 1990s, Clinton had announced the pregnancy of an unmarried, teenaged daughter? Would the Republicans have declared it an off-limits family matter and declined to judge her, or would it have turned into a national scandal that hurt her chances as she decided to pursue her own career in elected office?

What if, instead of the GOP's new vice presidential candidate, Clinton had been the one to run for national office without any international experience to speak of? (After all, Clinton's rivals diminished the relevance of her eight years as first lady, saying they counted for little on her résumé.)

And what if Clinton had rejected questions about her record by calling such lines of questioning sexist? What if she had refused to name any national security decisions she had made, as a spokesman for Sen. John McCain did on Palin's behalf last week, on the grounds that the question was unfair?

What if, simply, the roles had been reversed?

Howard Wolfson, Clinton's former communications director, said he is confident that the Republicans "would have attempted to destroy her" if she were in Palin's shoes -- as, in fact, some Republicans tried to do to Clinton throughout the 1990s, and were preparing to do again if she had won the Democratic nomination this year.

At the same time, Wolfson said, Republican attempts "to defend Palin from sexism lost a fair amount of credibility when Carly Fiorina refused to acknowledge that her party had ever been sexist toward Hillary Clinton." (Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief turned McCain economic adviser, told a "hear-me-roar" press conference with other Republican women Wednesday that Republicans were not responsible for any mistreatment of Clinton.) I have had my share of major disagreements with Wolfson over the last few years, but on this one, he is probably right.

It may seem a pretty pointless exercise -- envisioning the "would haves" if Clinton and Palin had somehow swapped roles, parties and lives. But it is a useful tool as a reporter, a way of contemplating what is fair game now by comparing it with what was fair game then. Even the issue of "Would you ask a man the same question" (raised so indignantly last week by senior McCain adviser Steve Schmidt and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani) falls slightly short, simply because there are so few templates for female candidates running for higher office -- and the ones who have, including Clinton, Palin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have tried to use their roles as mothers and women as part of the overall package in ways that men do not.

That is not to say that every awkward detail of Palin's personal life is an acceptable target....

Read the rest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/w
p-dyn/content/article/2008/09/05
/AR2008090502656.html?hpid=
opinionsbox1

NY Times

ST. PAUL — The names at the top of the ballot on Nov. 4 will be McCain and Obama, but the juicier battle this fall for an important group of swing voters — white working women with children — may be fought between the other two stars of the Republican and Democratic conventions, Sarah Palin and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Ms. Palin, the governor of Alaska and Mr. McCain’s running mate, gave the best speech of her party’s convention on Wednesday night, drawing 37 million television viewers. And she made it clear that she aimed to win over undecided women voters with her own version of the history-making, “I’m one of you” message that Mrs. Clinton employed to great effect in her fight for the Democratic nomination.

Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, has a legacy to protect: She has no intention of turning over her “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling,” as she called her supporters, to Ms. Palin, a social conservative whose policy positions are poison in Hillaryland. What is more, Mrs. Clinton wants to be the one to make history as the first woman to win at the top of a presidential ticket, be it in 2012 or 2016. Source Article

Ms. Sommers calls the one strand "egalitarian" feminism.  It began with the British writer and political philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), and has devolved into the feminism of  NOW, Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, et.al., and the self-parodying extremists who occupy the departments of Women's (or "Womyn's") Studies departments across the country or write embarrassing plays obssessing about their intimate anatomy.  What Wollstonecraft would think of her progeny is an interesting question.  No doubt she would rejoice at the victories won for full legal and civic equality, the equal access to all levels of education... but how that hard won liberty has been used, that's something else again.

Wollstonecraft is relatively well-known, but how many of you have heard of her contemporary, Hannah More (1745-1833)?  Some excerpts from the AmSpec essay:

"The late UCLA literary historian Mitzi Myers calls her a 'female crusader infinitely more successful than Wollstonecraft or any other competitor'[...]

"If Wollstonecraft was the founder of egalitarian feminism, More was the founder of conservative feminism.  Like Wollstonecraft, More was a religiously inspired, self-made woman who became an intellectual peer of several of the most accomplished men of her age.  But whereas Wollstonecraft befriended Paine and debated Burke, More was a friend and admirer of Burke, a close friend of Samuel Johnson and of Horace Walpole, and an indispensible ally and confidant of William Wilberforce, a father of British abolitionism [...]

"As one biographer notes, 'In her time she was better known than Mary Wollstonecraft and her books outsold Jane Austen many times over'.  Her various pamphlets sold in the millions and her tract against the French revolution enjoyed a greater circulation than Burke's Reflections or Paine's Rights of Man.  Some historians credit her political writings with saving England from the kind of brutal revolutionary upheaval that traumatized France."

But although she was a devout patriot and supported the constituional monarchy, she was quite the social revolutionary in her own unique way.  Continuing from the essay (bear with me!):

"Unlike Wollstonecraft, More believed the sexes were significantly different in their propensities, aptitudes, and life preferences.  She envisioned a society where women's characteristic virtues and graces could be developed, refined, and freely expressed.  She was persuaded that these virtues could be realized only when women were given more freedom and a serious education[...]

"She loathed the mindless pasttimes that absorbed the upper-class women of her day, and encouraged middle and upper-class women to leave their homes and salonsso as to take up serious philanthropic work[...]  She told women that it was their patriotic duty to apply their natural gifts- nurturing, organizing, and educating- not merely to their own households, but to society at large."

Another UCLA literary scholar, Anne Mellor, commented that "... her call was heard: literally thousands of voluntary societies sprang up in the opening decades of the 19th century to serve the needs of every imaginable group of sufferers".

"British historian F.K. Prochaska, in his seminal Women and Philanthropy in 19th century England (1980) wrote,'The charitable experience of women was the lever which they used to open the doors closed to them in other spheres.' According to Prochaska, as women began to become active in the outside world and form pholanthropic organizations, they became interested in government, administration, and the law. [He] concludes, 'It should not come as a surprise that in 1866 women trained in charitable society were prominent among those who petitioned the House of Commons praying for the enfranchisement of their sex'."

"More initiated a humane revolution in the relations of the sexes that was decorous, civilized, and in no way socially divisive.  Above all, it was a feminism that women themselves could comfortably face: a feminism that granted women the liberty to be themselves without ceasing to be women."

Ms. Sommers goes on to describe a 19th century American suffragist whose story has also been airbrushed out of the "official" histories (or 'herstories') for being the "wrong" sort of feminist.  I will leave it to you, if interested in this facinating revelation, to find a back issue of American Spectator at your local library, or go to their web site at www.spectator.org, check out the current offering, and subscribe if you're smart, rich, and hip enough.

I was tempted at first to say that Hillary Clinton is obviously the embodiment of the Wollstonecraft spawned egalitarian feminism.  After some reflection though, it has to be conceded that her life has had a very unliberated, downright unfeminist character to it.  For all her radical feminist education at Wellesley, how did she then advance herself?  By marrying the right (she gambled) man, and riding his coattails as far as they would take her- and obviously she hoped that would be right into the Oval Office.  Some commentators noted that her primary argument for supporting her was "I deserve it... I've paid my dues in humility and humiliation... Fate owes me!"  I doubt Wollstonecraft would have much respect for that.

But how 'bout that Sarah, eh?  Would you agree that she seems to be an almost perfect embodiment of Hannah More's ideal?  Here, the previously suppressed but never extinguished ideal of conservative feminism has burst into the national spotlight like an irrepressable force of nature.  Another reason for the fear and loathing, the insane drive to discredit and destroy.

Lord, have mercy.

“Mrs. Palin Goes to Washington”. Makes a wonderful movie pitch.

Tina Fey in the title role as an ordinary woman from Alaska (who hunts moose with an ice hockey stick) with a husband and five children (and they need a big dog too!) who must assume the role as the President of the United States because John McCain (played by William Hickey, who starred in Prizzi's Honor. I know he's dead, that's the point...) has Alzheimer's and keeps thinking the dog's droppings are cookies! 

Here’s scene from the movie to pitch to a producer: Sarah's five kids are running around the White House with the big dog sliding past a painting of Abraham Lincoln while she’s on the phone with the Russian Ambassador because the Russians accidentally fired missiles that are headed for Oshkosh, Wisconsin!

Funny!

Tina Fey (in Sarah’s Fargo-ish accent) on the Pink Phone with the Russian Ambassador (which used to be the ‘Red Phone’ to Moscow until she painted it ‘pink’ to “to simmer things down”!)…

Tina: “Ohmygosh, missiles headed for Oshkosh!?

Russian Ambassador: “Very big missiles, yes, that’s right, Mr., err, Mrs., ah, President?”

Tina: “Oh hell, Mr. Russian Ambassador, anyone who fires his big missles at me might as well call me Sarah. And buy me dinner afterward.”

…She covers the Pink Phone’s receiver with her hand and looks at Will Ferrell, her new Vice President, who’s recently lost his sense of taste in a skindiving accident…

Tina:“You know I’ve never been out of Alaska -- where the hell is Oshkosh? -- France, I hope…”

Will Ferrell: “No, Wisconsin. In Winnebago County.”

(Winnebago County! HAHAHAHA!)

Tina Fey: “Uh oh, there goes the RV vote…”

UNFORTUNATELY, life is not simply a movie. It’s real, and with that reality is the ‘harsh’ to our collective buzz that if McCain is elected, he has about a 30 percent chance of not living another 4 years, therefore leaving a self-described ‘Hockey Mom’ and ‘Pit Bull with Lipstick’ in charge – a person who has no real experience, believes in banning certain books from our libraries, that creationism should be taught in schools, and who has a reputation for being ruthless after gaining power. That is not a recipe for comedy.

Don't be sad for Bill though, he deserves it...

CHANGE.

A man who voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time. A woman who , like George W. Bush, believes God is a card-carrying Republican who can't possibly dissapprove of war and neglecting the poor.

CHANGE.

A 'maverick' who has completely sold out his independence and flip flopped to appease the extreme right wing. A woman who, like George W. Bush, surrounds herself completely with 'yes men' types and fires anyone who dares to have a different perspective.

CHANGE.

A man who was born in Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term and barely comprehends technology like the Internet. A woman who, like George W. Bush, was a hard partying youngster who found religion, and uses that discovery to hypocritically judge the rest of us on morality.

CHANGE.

A man living the rarified, disconnected life of a multi-millionaire. A woman who spends as many tax dollars as she can get.

CHANGE.

A sad old man who surrendered his values just to be nominated, in a lifelong quest to live up to ghosts of overachieving elders. A naive woman eager to be led around by the uneducated nose, by faceless, shadowy operatives who rank America's best interest far behind their own.

CHANGE.

HIM: Four more years of Bush policy and shortsightedness. HER: Four more years of Bush scheming and arrogance.

All together now.....

THAT'S NOT CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN

THE LYING

TAX PLANS HERE
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/09/04/obamas-tax-plan-better-for
-working-families-than-mccains

HERE’S A CALCULATOR. Put in your adjusted income and compare your tax savings under Obama and McCain
http://alchemytoday.com/obamataxcut/

FACT CHECK – MCCAIN ON TAX CUTS FOR THE RICHEST AMERICANS
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/603/

One More Tax Lie
New McCain ad keeps pounding the Lie Of The Year; Obama Will Raise Taxes On The Middle Class
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/a_new_stitch_in_a_bad
_pattern.html

HAVE WE MENTIONED IT'S THE ECONOMY?

Jobless Rate Hits 4 1/2 Year High
61,000 Americans 'Changed' From Employed to Out Of Work. Believe it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0439189920080905

The Fed 'Beige Book': Prolonged Economic Downturn
Inflation, Unemployment, Despair. McCain talks about empty words about change....pocket-change.
http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/1738

SARAH’S SORDID PAST
Palin attended 5 colleges over 6 years
http://www.mercurynews.com/hotjobs/ci_10382124

The National Enquirer Palin had an affair
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/03/mccain_aide
_rips_tabloid_repor.html

SARAH PALIN in CHURCH

“Pray for a gas line” and some rambling about some stuff and OH my “Nanny” and “The war is GOD’S PLAN” and “Track got another tattoo” and “You’re a bunch of cool lookin Christians” and “God is gonna tell you what’s going on” and like, “Alaska is the head not the tell” and some more stuff and stuff.

GOOD THING THEY GOT HER A SPEECH WRITER !!
WATCH http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html

She also supported a ROAD to NOWHERE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/palin-also-supported-the_n_123991.html

PALIN COMPLETE DEBUNK
http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/09/palin_v_reality.php

OBAMA REACTS AND SO DO HIS SUPPORTERS
Obama raised 8M from 130,000 donors online after the Palin Speech
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/obama-raises-8-million-af_n_124023.html

McCain raised 1M
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/04/donations-pour-in-to-rnc-after-palin-speech/

Ignoring the rest of his life, Constitutional Law Professor, State Senator, US Senator, Leader of the most awesome Grassroots Presidential Campaign in the HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 19 months on the campaign trail meeting almost ALL of us, 25 debates, 18 MILLION VOTES and a LONG list of incredible
LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
http://underdog.typepad.com/progressreport/2008/09/palin-vs-realit.html

What exactly is wrong with PUBLIC SERVICE anyway?
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/barack_obama_the_community_org.html

GENDER CARD NO. RACE CARD…YES!

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland “Barack and Michelle are UPPITY”
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/03/mccain_aide_rips_tabloid_repor.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014560.php

Oh I almost forgot – John McCain gave his POW speech to the Republican WAR Convention – NAP TIME!

The Speech: It Is What It's Not
At the Republican Convention , John McCain the Republican stood in front of Republicans to accept the Republican nomination and spoke of....how much he's stood up to and disagreed with Republicans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/us/politics/05assess.html?hp
Clean Out The Republicans...Change America With....Republicans!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/05/AR2008090500121.html?hpid=topnews

The Speech: Sucked
Bush's speechwriter hated it. David Gergen derided the 'Same Old Ideas' . And GOP delegates were actually falling asleep.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/john-mccain-speech-reacti_n_124115.html
CNN Analyst/New Yorker columnist Jeffery Tobin at :15 "I thought it was the worst speech..." to :41 "shockingly bad."
Homework for Friday, September 5, 2008

Dear Sarah " Don't Yell At Me, I'm Holding My Infant In My Arms- Former Beauty Queen " Palin

I see that you went after Obama a few nights ago.

I found that amusing after watching him go up against real opponents like  Hillary Clinton- however, I wasn't worried once your heavily made up face started to make noise ( I'd watch that if I were you, you should hear what McCain said to his own wife about wearing too much makeup- WOW! ) because after a few minutes it was obvious you were never intended to be more then a little distraction with a lot of lipstick ( hey now...she started the lipstick joke with that dog comparison ) at the RNC.

Do you know what made me mad?

You went after Community Activists ( code word for Uppity Minorities ).

Those are people who work to make their communities a better place- they do that work for free, they will probably never be recognized outside of their community for the work they do- and sometimes they  don't even get recognized inside of it because Community Activists work in groups and rarely does one name bubble up unless they've been appointed a spokesperson-

I do work like that.

So does my husband.

And so do my friends ( thanks guys ).

You know, I'm the same age as you- which means that you HAVE benefited from the activist work that women did back in the 1960's and beyond that I have.

They were activists Caribou Barbie- and if it had not been for people like that you would be up there in Alaska, sitting in your kitchen wishing that you could have been more in life then a floor waxing- baby making machine.

I haven't forgotten that- but obviously YOU HAVE- which explains why you are  willing to play " The Hostess With The Mostess " for McCain.

Way to set the Women's Movement back 100 years you 'Book Banning- Her hope is to be on ESPN one day' girl.

Oh and FYI

I was NEVER a Hockey Mom like YOU.

I Played Hockey.

Sincerely,

an activist from Washington State

“I wonder if Obama has ever even been to Moscow, much less studied there. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Obama was on vacation in Hawaii while Sarah Palin was there studying our enemies,“ Cindy McCain said, “it’s even possible she was a spy at the time, gathering intelligence for America, her life constantly at risk as she protected us from possible nuclear annihilation. What was Obama doing at the time? I heard he was taking drugs and chasing white women.”

According to friends and family, Palin attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo after graduation from high school in Alaska in 1982, but left a few weeks later after learning, while attempting to apply for a hunting license, that Hawaii has no moose population. 

After that, Palin traveled to the northwest, attending whichever schools fell within the migratory pattern and home range of North America’s largest moose herd; dropping out of one college and enrolling in another as the herd journeyed from western Montana to Idaho, to Oregon, to Washington, and back again.

One of her roommates during this time, Rita Doppleganger, remembers Palin being an avid hunter, preferring an ice hockey stick to the more traditional bolt-action rifle as her hunting weapon of choice. Often, Rita recalls, as she and Palin studied for exams late at night, Sarah would hear a moose calling in the distance. According to Rita, Sarah would then leap to her feet, grab the ice hockey stick she kept at the side of her bed, and jump out of the dorm room window into the snow below, screaming, “To moose! To moose! Ya, you betcha!”. 

.

• The GOP has been criticized for insisting that Palin's family be left alone, only to have her bring them to the stage following her speech (as has been the practice for generations). Who FIRST said that family was off limits and THEN, not only brought family to the stage, but gave his little girl a microphone? ("Where are you daddy?")

• The Left has criticized Palin's lack of experience. What is the Alaska state budget and what is the largest budget Barack Obama or Joe Biden ever managed? What executive decisions have eithr made?
  

• Where is the National Organization for Women during the sexist rants against Sarah Palin?

Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a cynical effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary Clinton voters and get them to vote, ultimately, against their own self-interest.

Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman. Sadly, she is a woman who opposes women's rights, just like John McCain.

NOW PAC Chair Kim Gandy

So much for a woman's right to choose.

• WHAT media bias? The doyen of the airwaves, Oprah Winfrey refuses to invite a woman - who happens to be one of only two candidates for Vice President of the United States - on her show. OK... Oprah isn't a journalist, but it's legitimate to consider her part of the media.

• Who's your Mamma?

• What has Hillary had to say about Sarah Palin?

"We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain," Clinton said. "While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."

Most curious... yes?

• Is Whoopi Goldberg an ignorant buffoon? Yes!

"I also thought that this idea of America first coming from her was kind of strange because she was one of the people who wanted to succeed from the United States. She was part of a campaign to succeed Alaska from the United States of America."

• Has Palin had an impact yet? Ummmm... Yeah.

• Is Keith Olbermann, the failed sports reader and narcissistic moron, a festering anal cavity? YES!!!

And the final question ... Hey Barry... Hey Joe. Whatcha gonna do now?

Bully politics – that’s the underlying Republican campaign strategy. It is the clear Republican modus operandi against the Democrats, and in particular, against Sen. Obama. It is a type of politicking fueled by the arrogance of power and wealth, contempt for substance and new thinking.

As we all know, bullying can begin as early as kindergarten. Both boys and girls can be bullies. Being bullied is distracting, frightening, damaging to self-esteem and physically dangerous. Bullying is a way to gain and maintain power.

But do not be fooled. Do not be swayed. Deep inside, we all know that bullying is also the mark of a deep insecurity. In this case, Republican insecurity arises from knowing that the last eight years have been a disastrous experiment in US politics. Republican insecurity arises from the fear of a catastrophic loss of political power in November, thanks to an electorate that has wised up. Thanks to an electorate that is fed-up with a divisive and cynical Republican approach to governing.

When speakers at the RNC this week conspired to sway our votes by poking fun, ridiculing and demeaning liberals, Democrats, community organizers, and Sen. Obama, instead of contrasting the parties on substantive grounds, they insulted our maturity, our intelligence, and betrayed quite openly their much advertised and chanted slogan, “Country First!” What a bunch of hypocrites.

Let us not join them at their level. All the organizers, students, liberals – and progressive thinking independents -- who were pumped up previously by idealism and are now pumped up also by disgust, be calm and be collected.

Let us work quietly but together.

As one let us punish them in the best way we know how. Let us shame these Republicans convincingly by mobilizing votes against them on November 4.

Ronald Reagan joins the Beema team to anchor the RNC wrap-up, supplemental report in place of the usual News of the Weird program. The Gipper summarizes the entire Convention as only the Great Communicator can.

Dear Sarah,

I know it has been a crazy time. You know with the Vogue cover and the speeches and all. I really hope you enjoyed your Oscar Convention speech the other day. It was perspiring. I don't think I have ever felt so disconnected from anyone before. I am so sad that you had your chance to tell us a bit about yourself. You uttered so many words, and of course you didn't say much. But I can understand why. You are the inspiration behind the "No Child Left" plan. Just a shame it obviously didn't work. For you or the actual policy. But your speech was something else. Really something else. A bit like Rush Limbaugh on steroids. Now there is a picture... All hatred and lies included in the words you spewed. But you will have to grow up fast if you want to become a serious politician instead of a PTA joke. And just to show how much I care... Here are 10 practical tips for you to consider as you move from being a small fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond. Or in beauty pageant terms... from a body to a nobody.

1. If your old enough to fall pregnant then you are old enough to be spoken about in public.

I am so terribly sorry that your daughter fell pregnant. Really I am. It might not have happened if she had sex education at school. Like many Americans where both parents have to work, you can obviously not do the task of raising your children at home 24/7 yourself. You just can't give them the attention they so desperately need. Not with both parents having to work in the modern American economy. And nothing wrong with that. Thank God we are over the "woman in the kitchen age". So you need a good support system to help you in this role that either parent would have played in the "good old days" that you so admire. Oops. Sorry. You don't support sex education at school. And guess what happened? Your own warped view on "family values" came to bite you in the ass. So sorry if I don't keep my mouth shut on your pregnant daughter. You asked for it when you made stupid policy decisions. Live with it or get out of the kitchen. You are partly to blame for Bristol falling pregnant and for that you should be held accountable. Especially if your approach could lead to so many other teenagers falling pregnant. That is unacceptable and you should take ownership of that especially if you don't want to give them any other government support. Sorry Sarah, we just can't give you a free pass on this one. Not with so many lives and futures depending on you being stopped or not. No free pass. Bristol is pregnant. Live with it and all the consequences that comes with that.

2. You don't get a free ride if you are a woman.

So I see that you are a woman. I am really happy for you. And it is about time that we have a woman running for VP again. It's been a while. But here is the thing. You get no special treatment just because you are a woman. Don't expect me or anyone to back down because you are a woman. And don't ask that old man to stand up for "the little woman" either. I expect you to be a leader. And I'll give you as much hell as possible to test whether you have it in you. Just ask Hillary. She passed that test. She didn't hide behind anyone. She didn't shy away from answering tough media questions. She took them on and gave them a good spanking. I am doing you a favor here. You think I am tough? Wait until you have to deal with Osama bin Laden or Putin. Now those guys have real women issues. It's a tough world out there and you either sink or swim. How long can you tread water?

3. Running a $22 million debt as mayor doesn't make you an executive with experience.

So I hear you have so much executive experience. Even more than old man McCane. Good on you. I mean really, the last guy we had with executive experience similar to yours was... hum... G.W. Bush. He was a Governor for the United States of Texas and ran the Texas Ranger. Into the ground. Both of them. And the US of A. Okay, let's try that again. You claim you have executive experience. You ran a town of 9,000 people. Wow. Impressive. So what did you do while you were there? Take a small town with no debt to $22 million in debt. That's about $2,500 for each person (kids and moms included). Excellent. Very American. Hell, you brought the average debt in line with the average credit card debt per household in the US. I guess your views on debt is the same as that other great executive G.W. Bush - you both like getting a budget that balances and turning it around into a debt no one can pay. Maybe he should introduce you to his "hero" Ken Lay? I can't wait to see how much you can screw this economy up. But I won't put that past you. You did a proper job of stuffing up little Wasilla into Who-The-Hell-Is-Her. Let's see how much further you can drag the US economy down. Just make sure you switch off the lights when you are done and the US is done.

4. Having a gun doesn't make you strong.

So you like guns. I saw the pictures. I heard you talk. You think it makes you strong hey? Macho even. Butch maybe. It doesn't. Cowards hide behind guns. Just ask that guy who shot his family. Or the kid who shot the school. Or the criminal who sells his drugs from the barrel of his gun. Guns don't make you strong. Saying "no" makes you strong. Life isn't a movie where the good guy shoots up the whole of New York and no one notices. You know that John McClane is a fictional character in Die Hard right? Well, John McCain's policies on gun control is just as violent and just as littered with fictional characters and lies as John McClane. So take that gun of yours and stick it where the sun don't shine. Having a gun doesn't make the terrorist go away. And it doesn't solve the problems in Iraq or Afghanistan. Looking tough doesn't make you tough. Rather give the troops what they need over there. Don't point it in my direction because you are a coward for hiding behind a gun and pandering to the extremists.

5. Less Hollywood, more substance please.

Heard you made an awesome speech at the convention the other day. They told me that it was even better than Vanessa Redgrave's Oscar speech in 1978. And filled with as much hatred. But it reminded me more of James Cameron in 1997. "Top of the world!" You really wanted to shout that didn't you? Or cry like Gwenyth Paltrow in 1998? Come on, be honest. But you really do fit in nicely with the bunch of Hollywood actors. No, I don't mean your looks. I honestly don't think you are hot. Maybe if you look past the hatred and ugliness inside. I can't. But I mean that you are just like the Hollywood actors. You like to stand on the stage and make a big speech and tell lies because you are just "in character". And then you don't want to talk to the media about the real substance of your convictions. Sorry. You are a politician and will have to answer their questions (and those of the American public) at some stage. It's called leadership. I know you don't have any. But you can act if you want. I mean really. Reagan had no leadership qualities and was actually a horrid man with his wars, but he managed to convince loads of people that he was a leader. He knew that all he had to do was act. Smile and wave baby. I am sure you can pull that one off. See it as being interviewed by the judges. Or didn't they teach you that at the beauty pageants? Don't worry. The press here will lob you the same weak questions that the judges did. Grow up and answer. Or shut up and leave.

6. You don't have a personal Patriot Act.

No matter what McLame told you, this isn't your personal Patriot Act baby. You can't just pull a plug on freedom of speech and think you can get away with it. You can't control everything. You might be able to do that in Alaska by firing people for not dancing to your personal song of vendetta. You remember trying to influence Commissioner Monegan to fire your ex brother-in-law and when he refused you fired him? That might be okay in Alaska. But not here on the mainland of the US of A. Over here they actually have rules to limit power abuse. I know, Bush and cronies have gotten away with lies and clamped down on the freedoms the Founding Fathers fought for. But people are starting to wake up to that now. They know that things like the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay is bullsh*t. And anti-American. So when you force poor old Levi Johnson to pull off his Facebook page with the video of him saying he doesn't want to get married... We find out baby. We find out. You can force your minions to do as you say. You can even "whisper" in the ear of Google and WordPress to put ban or put pressure on those writing about you. But you can't shut the truth out forever. Just ask Bush. Weapons of Mass Destruction. He didn't have any. We do. It's called freedom of speech and a blog. This isn't your personal playground. This is America and you will play by the rules or suffer the consequences. You attack with weapons. We have the edge. Information and knowledge. And we always win. Always.

7. Just because you believe in Jesus doesn't mean He believes in you.

I see you are playing the "Jesus" card. Let's play. I heard you are very religious. Apparently. New born and reborn are we? I am truly happy for you. Not. Because you missed a fundamental principle of your religion. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself". And a few basics. Don't lie. Don't spread false rumors. Don't kill or murder. Don't want. Many don't that you don't do. Especially the "love" bits. You suck big time on that. So much hatred and lies coming from you. So un-Christian. So here is the little snag. Your version of Christianity is wrong. It is a sect and not a religion. True Christians will follow the Bible and its intentions. You don't. You might believe in your version of Jesus. But sorry, He doesn't believe in your version of yourself. Don't worry, He loves you like He loves everyone (no matter what you think). He just doesn't believe in you. Or in your version of Him.

8. A pantsuit doesn't make you a woman.

Look, Hillary knew how to pull off the pantsuit. But you don't. Her "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pantsuit" stood for something. Women taking on politics in such a way to make them proud and make them strong. Defining politics. No. Redefining politics. That's our Hillary. She'll outsmart you into the middle of next week baby. Or, in your case, into the present to let you catch up. Women. You shouldn't believe everything your conservative right-wing nutcase Republican male "friends" tell you. Women are strong. Just look at Hillary. And women aren't stupid. They vote for their future. Our future. They don't vote for a woman for the sake of voting for a woman. Don't treat them as if they are stupid. Don't think that you can replace Hillary in their eyes. You aren't good enough to clean her shoes, lady. And they know it. They see through you quicker than you can say "drill for oil". 'Snap'. Uh-uh sista! You're so outa here!

9. From Palin to Pale-One

I just love your surname. Palin. So apt. So easy. You really should pronounce it Pale-One. Why? Because you are just a guy in the body and clothes of a  woman. We call it cross-dressing. You call it cute. I say cute like in Larry Craig. But really. You want to come across as a strong woman in politics? Get a set of political positions, principles and policies (the 3 P's of politics) that reflects substance. Not the airhead crap you come up with. Hate and lies don't not make a policy baby. Hell, you even make blond jokes sound like hard hitting facts. And don't surround yourself with pale males if you want to come across as a woman and different. Really, I haven't seen that many pale males in a room since the last Nascar rally. But at least Nascar had something to look at. Cool cars and loads of beer. All you had was drool tsars and loads of fear. Really. Drop the pale males. They make you look bland. And they are using you. Haven't you noticed? But then, I guess you'll do anything to get to the top right? Just don't expect us to wait for you.

10. A bit foreign to foreign policy are we?

Alaska is a closer to Russia than any other state. Wow. You really should have told Cindy to shut up on that one. I take your silence as an agreement with Cindy "Let-Them-Eat-Cake" McCain. I guess you know all about Georgia then. I know you have been to Atlanta. I mean really. You are so well travelled. Why, you got your first passport in 2006... Sorry Governor Pale-One, you don't know jacksh*t about foreign policy. Nada. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. As I mentioned before, Putin is going to have you for breakfast. I hear that he loves having barracuda sandwiches first thing in the morning. Bears eat fish you know. Alaska closest to Russia. I called it grasping at straws. I guess you are also an expert in the Space Race and Star Wars? Mount McKinley is in highest mountain peak in North America... making you the closest US point to space. NASA should get worried by right now. Sorry Sarah Pale-One, you are more spaced-out than anything else. Foreign policy experience? Hell, you don't even have domestic policy experience. It's Alaska. It has less people than Moose. And less people than Boston. Hell, you don't even play baseball. And no, throwing a snowball is not the same. Sorry Pale-One. You are foreign to foreign policy. I can see the world leaders licking their lips and wringing their hands right now. And having a chuckle on the side. You make Robert Mugabe look all worldly and travelled.

I hope you found these tips helpful. Not. You never know, you might actually become a bit-part player in politics one day when you grow up. But only if you work really hard. Hey, you have nowhere to go but up baby! I know it is a steep hill to climb but hang in there. Let's make it interesting. Let's see who will win a race against time between you and England. Let's see if you can amount to something real and meaningful before they can colonize the world again. No wait. I'll make it easier for you. Let's see if you can make sense before they win the Superbowl. Yeah, I know, they don't play in the Superbowl. But then, you don't make political sense either. The race is on...

Unkind regards, never yours and no love,

Angry African (on the Loose)

But what exactly were Barack Obama's actions as of community organizer in Chicago?

It's been hidden from the news that Obama was a member of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, ACORN. Google ACORN and you may be surprised to find that it is a liberal/socialist organization involved in voter fraud. Look up the lawsuits ACORN is involved in.

Obama's community organizing involved training grievance-mongers from ACORN.

Last week, Milwaukee's top election official announced plans to seek criminal investigatioins of 37 ACORN employees accused voter registration fraud on a massive level.

Obama's campaign apologized for failing to report $800,000 in campaign payments to ACORN. They were "accidently" filed with the Federal Election Committee as money sent to "get-out-the-vote" and "advance work."

The New York Post has more quotes today from upset community organizers. Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, says: "I don't like seeing the really hard work that goes on in really poor communities being demeaned by cheap politicians."

Hard work such as signing up non U.S. citizens as Democrats with voter cards.

The Arkansas connection
You know Acorn. You know the grassroots organization, now a national power, got its start here, led by Wade Rathke (pictured), who spent the group's formative years wheeling and dealing in Little Rock before moving to New Orleans. The local affiliate remains a powerful voice for poor people.

Depending on your point of view, you'll be saddened or gladdened to learn this shocking news:

The New York Times reports today that founder Rathke's brother embezzled $1 million from the organization eight years ago and the matter was handled internally.He stayed on the payroll until a month ago, when whistleblowers finally forced him out.

Wade Rathke said the organization had signed a restitution agreement with his brother in which his family agreed to repay the amount embezzled in exchange for confidentiality.

Wade Rathke stepped down as Acorn’s chief organizer on June 2, the same day his brother left, but he remains chief organizer for Acorn International L.L.C.

He said the decision to keep the matter secret was not made to protect his brother but because word of the embezzlement would have put a “weapon” into the hands of enemies of Acorn, a liberal group that is a frequent target of conservatives who object to its often strident advocacy on behalf of low- and moderate-income families and workers.

Wade Rathke said he learned of the problem when an employee of Citizens Consulting alerted him about suspicious credit card transactions. An internal investigation uncovered inappropriate charges on the cards that led back to his brother.

“Clearly, this was an uncomfortable, conflicting and humiliating situation as far as my family and I were concerned,” he said, “and so the real decisions on how to handle it had to be made by others.”

If one of the prosperous businesses or public officials Rathke and Acorn have bedeviled and humiliated over the years had offered this alibi for wrongdoing, they would be in Lompoc right now.

Don't really know if it's real..but i think it is :P eheheh.. just click here to see it.

If you are a woman who voted for Hillary Clinton, and are now thinking of voting for McCain because of his vice-Presidential pick, Sarah Palin, then YOU are a sexist voter.  Why?  Because Hillary and Sarah dissagree on nearly every issue there is, while Hillary and Barrack AGREE on nearly every issue.

For example, From Slate

What's Palin's record on environmental issues?

The environmental Web site Grist.org has reported that she objected to listing polar bears or beluga whales as endangered in Alaska, fearing it might affect Alaskan drilling projects. She also voted against a proposition to limit mining where runoff would threaten salmon populations. She is outspoken about opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other offshore locations for oil drilling. The Sierra Club has condemned her advocacy for wolf hunting and her eagerness to drill throughout the state.

I can see Hillary Clinton fuming!  Just cause someone is pretty and a female is not a good reason to vote for them.

If you LIKE that Sarah Palin is against gay marriage, pro-Life, for the war in Iraq, wants creationism taught in schools (alongside evolution "for the debate"), AND doesn't think that humans have anything to do with climate change, then you're probably a member of the Republican base and it makes sense that you'd vote for her.

But, if you DON'T like those things, but are still thinking of voting for the McCain/Palin ticket because you want a woman in the white house ... you're a sexist.

Hillary is voting for Barrack.

Wow, I could be McCain’s political strategist and be satirical at the same time…

Dems Eat This: McCain’s VP Choice Locks Up All of Alaska’s Electoral College Votes!!

YES!  McCain’s brillant VP choice has now locked up all of the Electoral College votes for the LARGEST STATE IN THE COUNTRY!

Dems, chew on that.

By choosing Sarah Palin, Alaska’s governor, McCain is certain to take Alaska, which is twice the size of Texas! And since Texas has 34 Electoral College votes, McCain is certain to get what I estimate to be 68 or more Electoral College votes from Alaska.

Wooop, wooop….wooop, wooop…how do you like me now?

Last week they ran an article on how the Democratic Primary was rigged for Obama, and in fact had been rigged years ago, in their own words:

The nomination was rigged, long ago. The people responsible for ignoring the will of the voters and selecting Barack Obama as the nominee have been plotting and planning for years. This was no accident. The full scope of what happened may never be known, but in hindsight some of it is obvious.

I'm a bit confused as to how they can even make such a leap... the other posts on the blog are insane, true, but this one steps into grounds of convoluted illogical assumptions that are so deep they stagger me. Have they forgotten that it was Hilary Clinton that led the charge to have the delegates unseated? Do they realize what they are suggesting? Their claim that the election was rigged via the treatment of Michigan and Florida is a claim that Hillary rigged the election for Obama...

They actually believe that Hillary Clinton, in their mind the rightful presidential nominee for the Democratic party, rigged the Democratic Primary so that her opponent, Barack Obama, would win. In what sort of universe does a conspiracy theory like this even make sense!?! It's like claiming that Kennedy hired his own assassin! This sort of stuff reaches so far down the well of crazy that I am really excited to see what they come up with next. It's like watching a car wreck, I can't stop reading their blog. It's a whole new level of insanity, and while it creeps me out, like the patron of a good horror movie I keep coming back for more.

If the crazy half-baked conspiracy theory wasn't enough, the author has the absolute audacity to suggest that Hillary's campaign is akin to the Civil Rights Movement. I'm sorry, but at that point the dose of crazy goes from funny to pathetic. If you really think you can compare a race's struggle to not only have the right to vote, but the right to attend the same schools, live and work where they want, and not have to live in constant fear for their lives, you are just pathetically misinformed.

Edit:They're even running an article today about how Obama was "supposed to pay" for Hillary's debt. Um, when was this decided? I know Hillary asked him to, but why should he? She didn't have the decency to bow out when it was clear to everyone else she had lost. She needs to pay her own damn bills. Obama is not liable for her irresponsibly continued campaign.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius all were scheduled to campaign for Obama in the coming weeks.
 
Hillary still has a role but she has to come out of the dugout to do it....

About Sarah Palin, Obama strategist David Axelrod said, "We respect her. She's a skilled politician, as she proved.... She's deft at going on the attack."

"She mastered the words written by the Bush speechwriters and delivered them well," said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Above: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Philip Elliott of the Associated Press wrote, "But it's not clear exactly how Obama and his running mate Joe Biden should respond. They keenly remember how women rallied around one-time Democratic front runner Clinton when they perceived she was a victim of sexism. They don't want to appear with a weak response, either, and certainly they also don't want to send independent women flocking to the GOP."

Above: Hillary Clinton.  Below, Janet Napolitano.

See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080905/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_obam
a_women;_ylt=AvbnCjwUX728PO6XSWayxTis0NUE