President-Elect Obama

“Change has come to America.”

With those words, Obama accepted the designation “President-elect.”

In Montgomery County,  voter apathy of the Election 2008 primary dissipated as a surge of voters discontent with economic and military policies of the Bush regime turned out in impressive numbers to cast their ballots and make history in the process.

Either way, the election would step onto new ground: with a female Vice-President or with the country’s first African American President. In the early tallies from the East Coast, Obama surged forward with a momentum that garnered all six New England states, including the New Hampshire communities that in an upset vote brought McCain into the race for the presidency.

Florida fell into the Obama camp, and North Carolina. The McCain “Republican red” popped up in dribs and drabs, but with Obama’s taking of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the die was cast; by 11 p.m. the 270th electoral vote was claimed, and surpassed. By 11:30 p.m., Obama was assured victory with 338 electoral votes and counting.

At the Riverview Inn, a packed house of hundreds of campaigners gathered, cheered, chanted and occasionally rattled the rafters with screaming as their candidate deliberately and diligently walked into the White House.

Just a few days ago, many publications including Clarksville Online published a picture of the late Robert Kennedy circa 1968 that stated “in about 40 years we will have a black president.” Tonight, new young voters, older voters, men and women of  varied ethnic backgrounds, gender, economic status and religious beliefs found a meeting of the minds in the casting of their votes. They made history in a way that has not been seen since the political turmoil of the 60s. The result was exhilirating.

With two large screen televisions booming out the results in a play by play, state by state fashion, the electoral votes just kept stacking up. When the West coast went solid blue from the Mexican to the Canadian borders, it was all but over (our apologies to Hawaii and its time zone distance).

Clarksville Online, with two laptops in use for tracking and posting election results, also tracked global coverage: the BBC, which had an Election bus in Clarksville several weeks ago, was tracking the U.S. elections live, as were news sites in China, Kenya, Chile, and a host of other countries. Some 70 countries had in recent months made known their preference for Obama over McCain, and they were all watching American broadcasts Tuesday night, the culmination of a long day.

Charles Moreland fielding a phone call at Democratic headquarters

Early Tuesday morning, Democratic headquarters was bustling. People seeking 11th hour signs, buttons and bumper stickers came through the doors. The aroma of coffee filled the rooms. Volunteers punched out phone numbers, calling registered voters to remind them to “get out and vote.”

Clarksville Online began its traditional circuit of all precincts in Montgomery County, speaking with voters, documenting the election on film, tracking how many people are voting in which precincts.

A tidal wave of voters cast ballots before 9 a.m. At the Jaycee’s on Hwy 48, a poll worker said she had more voters “in the first hour that in the entire primary.” Some polling places had a 100 people in line, some with 45 minute to one hour waits. It is a testament to concerns about the war, the economy, health care and other issues that few if  any left. Conspicuous too was the presence of hundreds of younger and first time voters in the crowds.

Adeline Burr, 100 years young, watched "history" unfold with Obama's win

Adeline Burr, 100 years young, was seated at the MCDP/Clarksville for Obama celebration. She had not voted in 20 years, but re-registered for the 2008 election. She not only went to the polls to cast her Obama vote, she spent time at the Riverview Inn reception despite recent surgery on her knees. She has seen a lifetime of political change and political battles, and had lived through segregation and the civil rights movement. To see a Black American step into the presidency is something she once could only dream about.

“It’s come true,” she said. “It’s true. I’d never thought I’d see this day.”

Glenellen and Hazelwood schools were jammed with traffic as the last few hours of voting descended. A “steady stream” of people became a river, and parking was at a premium even at 500 feet from the polling place.

John and Kadi Ralston though “the voting went smoothly” and said they were “not surprised” by the crowds given that registration of new voters was record-breaking for this election.

Alicia Piekarski, 18, an Obama supporter, wants the kind of generational change she feels Obama will bring to nation. Currently, Piekarski is studying contemporary issues in schools, and had read numerous articles and had class discussion of the candidates and the issues in the race. Piekarski felt “prepared” to make her choice.

Becca Smith casts her first Presidential vote

College freshman Becca Smith cast the first vote of her life at Ringgold Elementary School. Smith, who candidly admitted she voted the Obama ticket, said “I like what he stands for. McCain drives me up the wall, and there are no words to explain (Sarah Palin).” Smith was “nervous” about voting but said the explanations were “comprehensive.” She felt that with her vote she was part of history.

At each polling place, a plethora of volunteers, some settled into folding chairs, hunkered down for a day of campaigning,were armed with signs, balloons and flags (the latter positioned around Obama/Biden signs).

At Republican headquarters, volunteers prepared to celebrate a McCain win for the State of Tennessee, and were quick to defend their roster of candidates.

At Democratic headquarters on Madison Street, phone bankers were making those last minute calls, arranging to get people to the polls, and planning for the evening’s reception.

As twilight fell, and with bated breath, the waiting began. Seeds planted two years ago germinated, grew and matured to a dream harvested in just a few short hours Tuesday night.

On the road, tracking precincts and voter turnout:

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Celebration at the Riverview Inn:

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Sen John McCain

Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Sen. Barack Obama to congratulate him. To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I’ve always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Sen. Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation’s reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Sen. Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. It is natural. It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I’m especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate’s family than on the candidate, and that’s been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

Gov. Sarah Palin

I am also — I am also, of course, very thankful to Gov. Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I’ve ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength, her husband Todd and their five beautiful children for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don’t know — I don’t know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I’ll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I’m sure I made my share of them. But I won’t spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Sen. Obama and my old friend Sen. Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

I would not — I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

Tonight — tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Sen. Obama — whether they supported me or Sen. Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Obama, with a background of service to community and country, has proven to be an inspiration to millions of people across all demographics. He has conducted himself with ability, honor, and dignity, but most of all has offered clearly workable plans to rebuild America’s economy and military. He has shown qualities of leadership that can mend global fences and re-instill America’s honor around the world. His plans and programs are rooted in realistic assessments and objectives, and he has presented them with cautionary words that “restoring America” will take time, money, and will not happen overnight.

Obama has inspired millions of young people to register and vote, energizing the political playing field across America in a way that has not been seen since the Kennedy era and the time of Martin Luther King Jr. And like the late Martin Luther King, Obama has a dream for America.

Obama is reaching across traditional party lines and into the best of business and industry to accrue the best possible resources for the presidency, and has demonstrated the ability and willingness to work with those “bests” regardless of party affiliation.

Unfortunately, John McCain, despite his stellar service to country and his political experience, despite his self-prescribed “maverick” label, has proven to be too closely aligned to the “status quo” and Bush policies, a more compelling reason to oppose him than age and health issues.

His choice of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin remains questionable at best: Palin’s “pitt bull” lowest common denominator attitude, “joe-sixpack” mentality and fundamentalist views are offensive to millions of voters and to women in particular, and her ability to conduct coherent political discussions and interviews is at best appalling for any candidate seeking one of the most powerful positions in America. Her apparent willingness to take on anybody at any time for any reason is frightening at best, since she completely bypasses diplomacy and negotiation and has implied she would go straight to war. Given McCain’s age, health and the potential stress impact of the presidency, the possibility of a Palin presidency does exist, and that is too frightening to contemplate.

The 2008 presidential election is being watched worldwide; this Guardian statement sums up the world view:

Not since the Kennedy era has such a contest resonated so potently with so many people in America and beyond, including in this country. But the circumstances of this year’s contest, the character of the protagonists and the immediacy of the internet age combine to mean that the 2008 election is likely to make a defining statement about America for this global generation that may eclipse even the impact of the contest of 1960. ~~ The Guardian UK

Here are some of the Obama endorsements from across America

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called Obama’s opponent, John McCain, “the incredible shrinking man” who had made a horrific pick for his running mate.

Mr. Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has emerged as the only truly transformative candidate in the race. In the crucible that is a presidential campaign, his intellect, his temperament and equanimity under pressure consistently have been impressive. He has surrounded himself with smart, capable advisers who have helped him refine thorough, nuanced policy positions … In a word, Mr. Obama has been presidential … .Meanwhile, Mr. McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, became the incredible shrinking man. He shrank from his principled stands in favor of a humane immigration policy. He shrank from his universal condemnation of torture and his condemnation of the politics of smear.

The Tennessean

Though Tennessee projected vote remains red, The Tennessean has endorsed Obama.

Obama, in the newspaper’s view, would bring a refreshing vitality to the White House. He has articulated an approach that would give the nation its best chance for change after the poor policies of the Bush administration for the last eight years. America needs new leadership, and Obama, the Democratic nominee, stands out as the best choice to be that leader … Obama represents a rare quality of hope in a time when hope seems to be in short supply among many Americans.

Dayton Daily News

Sen. McCain’s campaign has been as disappointing as his move toward party orthodoxy. More than his opponent, he has run a relentless stream of commercials that have been discredited by nonpartisan fact-checkers … His selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was stunning. She is shockingly lacking in presidential qualifications.

Sacramento Bee

In this election, Americans are picking a future, not a past. That makes Barack Obama the better choice for president of the United States … By electing Obama, voters will make a clear break from the policies of the past eight years.

Wisconsin State Journal

America is at a pivotal point in its history — a difficult time that demands talented leadership to renew our nation’s spirit and pull us together to meet the incredible challenges ahead. The right leader for the time is Barack Obama … Far more than his opponent, Obama represents a new direction. He has shown he can inspire and lead people to action. And his relatively short time in corrupt, self-absorbed, terribly-failed Washington, D.C., may actually be a key strength. Obama is not stuck in the status quo of the Capitol crowd or its long-failed Congress. .. Obama doesn’t just give pretty speeches. He speaks to people’s best instincts, encouraging them to shine.

The Blade (Toledo)

As the nation wavers precariously at the precipice of economic ruin, American voters must decide who has the knowledge, steadiness, judgment, and inspirational qualities to lead us effectively out of that morass, for the next four years and beyond … without exaggeration, the country faces a transformational election on Nov. 4, not unlike that of 1932, which prefaced Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal and a long slog out of the Great Depresssion … We believe the person best equipped by temperament and intellect to firmly grasp the reins of government and guide it safely forward in these uncertain times is Barack Obama … Like another member of Congress from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Senator Obama initially rose to prominence on the strength of soaring oratory. Over the past 18 months of the grueling campaign, his background has been thoroughly inspected and dissected by the press and a political opposition dedicated to keeping him from the White House.

Colin Powell

In what is the most eloquent endorsement of Obama whom he says has “met the standard of being president”, Colin Powell gives the reasons behind his endorsement:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In this momumental election the time has come to indeed choose hope over fear. We suggest that means casting your vote for Barack Obama.

The often-fiery debate of gay marriage isn’t back by accident either. After dual court wins in California and Connecticut, gay couples have two more states in which they can exchange vows. Those same rulings, however, have brought with them the extra baggage of rage and irrational paranoia — usually from those to whom the issue should matter the least.

Let me say one thing perfectly clear. Senator Obama, Senator McCain, Senator Biden, and Governor Palin — I am not your pet little issue that you can pull out of your political backsides just so you can score with your base. Yes, I’m gay. Yes I would very much like to be able to marry my incredible partner one day. But I have no intention of sitting idly by while you and your campaigns use me and millions of other gay and lesbian people across the country for your little pet issues.

These groups do not apparently believe that we’re human beings with real lives, dreams, and issues. It’s not about fairness, equality, or even “the family.” It’s about votes. You’ve found this nifty little visceral issue that strikes a chord with your base — either conservative or liberal — and you’re hoping that they’ll come to the voting booths in droves.

Well, silly me, I’ve already voted since Tennessee has early voting. Now, thanks to this backhanded assault on same-sex couples everywhere, I’m almost wishing that I hadn’t voted for any major party candidate.

If this electioneering slither wasn’t already obvious with the vice presidential debate, it’s in full slimy swing now. Senator Biden made an appearance on “Ellen,” this week, proudly declaring that he’d vote “no” on Proposition 8, the California referendum that would ban gay marriage once and for all. Governor Palin turned right around and paid an “exclusive” visit to CBN, the “news” organization run by Pat “Katrina was caused by homosexuals” Robertson himself. Naturally, she reiterated her support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban gay marriage.

None of this should impress anyone, nor should it be a surprise to anyone. For those who somehow haven’t figured this out, this is nothing more than pandering to their base. Look up the etymology of the word “base” and you’ll realize that this is clearly reaching for the lowest common denominator in both parties.

For one group, it’s a zombie-walking daze that demands that “marriage is man and woman.” For the other, it’s a catatonic cry of “marry mary and mary” no matter what. There’s little discussion, little recourse, and almost no comprehension between either group of the very real issues that those of us who are gay are sick of dodging the arrows that you think are going toward each other. Here’s a tip: those attacks you’re hurling at the “liberals” and “conservatives” about the gay marriage issue? Yeah. They miss. They hit us.

Every. Single. Time.

If you politicians and fellow activists want to actually make some real PROGRESS on the gay marriage discussion, why don’t you turn around and stop preaching to your own choirs? Frankly, they’re tired of hearing it, and we’re tired of looking at your posterior.

It’s all a game. One group goes to court. The other goes to the public. “Activist Judges!” “Majority rules!” Has anyone, even for a brief moment, thought of actually having a discussion on the issue and possibly find some common ground? Or are we so determined to win with the gavel or the ballot box, that nothing else matters?

Gay marriage isn’t even about the people who want to get married anymore. It’s just a pet issue — it’s a pet to conservatives who use it to rally their troops, and it’s a pet to liberals who use it to show how ridiculous conservatives are. The cycle goes on and on.

In the middle of it all, we gay couples — whether we’re married legally or not — are just sick to death of being your little political pets.

To those of you who insist that we’re going to “destroy the sanctity of marriage,” I ask you one simple question: HOW? How the hell does the committed relationship of MAYBE six percent of the population affect you in any way? Because if my relationship affects yours, then honey — your relationship has much bigger problems than me.

And to those of you who just want to parade gay couples like some badge of honor on how “proud” you are to have gay friends, and will fight, blah, blah, blah — give it a rest. If you want to impress me, then invite my partner and me over for dinner. Otherwise, you can pin that badge on my gluteus maximus, right along with your lips.

It’s really simple. Those of us who happen to be gay are literally being slapped around over and over just so the political parties or organizations can get a little more funding, and raise a little more money so they can keep doing what they’re doing, and so they can continue their little mantra of hate/love for gay people.

We are not an issue. We are not your pet divas. We’re not your enemy, your pals, or your targets. We are your brothers, mothers, fathers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews. We’re your teachers, your employees, your tenants, your landlords, your artists, and doctors. We’re your lawyers, firefighters, postal workers, and your cooks. We’re your servers, managers, and your construction workers. We’re your neighbors.

We’re not hiding anymore, and more and more of us are coming out because living a lie just isn’t okay.

Now would you just leave us the hell alone?

1. Put soldiers in schools as teachers without requiring certification and Desert Storm was about protecting the oil.
2. Americans are innocent victims of greed and excess on Wall Street and as well as Washington, D.C.
3. Palin is a role model to women.
4. McCain rallies harbor few fringe peoples.

Here are McCain’s statements:

1. McCain’s solutions to education and why we had Desert Storm.

During the third debate, when asked about the state of education in the US, McCain had this, among other things, to say:

McCain: “We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations or have the certification that  are are required in many states.”

My Reaction (Incredulous) : Returning soldiers should go straight into teaching?

Soldiers coming back from the war are all, every one of them, suffering from PTSD, according to local psychologists in Montgomery County.  Here, at the home of Fort Campbell army base, agencies that deal with child abuse issues are spending a lot, if not most, of their time with military families.  Soldiers are gone so long from their growing families that they come back out of touch with their children and how to react and interact with them.

Many soldiers came back from the first deployment with sex addictions that befuddled local psychologist, Mary Coe.  News of rape within the armed forces continues to escalate at an alarming rate.  Now McCain suggests that we should put these soldiers in a room with our young, attractive, hormonal young women and men? Or the youngest of our children?

No certification required of soldiers to teach our children?  Well then, what are they going to teach, and how?  Am I jumping off a limb to say that soldiers know how to be good soldiers, how to obey orders without question?  Will classrooms be organized in a military atmosphere, where you listen when told to do so and speak only when spoken to?  Where the teacher’s job is to break down the students and rebuild them as one unit?  People I know, with kids and without, will tell me this is a great idea.  Teach kids how to respect, obey, and have discipline.  To force feed information without question? Without critical thinking and questioning? That works fine if you’re not trying to work with kids who love to learn, who are creative and who can find and express their own personalities.  And the kids who don’t fit in?  How does the military deal with that?  A group is only as strong as its weakest person.

Meticulously programmed Robby the Robot (Forbidden Planet/1956)

Personally, I can’t imagine that making kids into bigger better robots than they are now is the best thing for them or our future.  Or that making them hate school more than many do now is a solution.

No Child Left Behind is teaching kids to memorize data for tests, but we can and should do so much better than that, move beyond that.  We can make kids really hate learning and resist school, essentially pulling them to a place where their choice for the future is narrowed down to the military.

Or, worse yet, it will produce kids who love the discipline so much that they’ll be ready to choose the military as their future.  These kids will be so dedicated that they would turn in even their parents as traitors. Ok, let’s just say there’s something to that idea.  Why does McCain want or need to make larger armies?

McCain: (from the 3rd debate script)

Kuwait

“He (Obama) voted against the first Gulf War. He voted against it and, obviously, we had to take Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait or it would’ve threatened the Middle Eastern world supply.

He said (the war) threatened world supply, not oppressed people.  Kuwait sits on 10 percent of the world oil reserves, so fighting the terrorist Saddam was about protecting our source of oil and now our largest trading partner. This fact has been confirmed to me by a Vet of that and two other wars.

McCain needs armies to conquer oil-rich countries.  Let the Christian extremists believe that Muslims are evil and tell the rest of us that we are defending ourselves against terror.  What happened to the “spreading Democracy” thing?  We bought that for awhile.  Election time arrives: bring terror back into the picture.

If we keep using oil, we burn up the planet, even if we could justify our barbaric invasion into Iraq and Iran for oil.

2.  The Maverick has experience in an economic collapse.

McCain: “Americans are hurting right now, and they’re angry. They’re hurting, and they’re angry. They’re innocent victims of greed and excess on Wall Street and as well as Washington, D.C. And they’re angry, and they have every reason to be angry.”

My Reaction: Both Democrats and Republicans can be blamed for the current economic crisis.  But we should consider who has more “experience” in the world of high finance fraud.  When McCain says American’s are angry, does he know what it is like to lose your life’s savings and your future well-being?

From Wikipedia

“Lincoln Savings and Loan collapsed in 1989, at a cost of over $3 billion to the federal government. Some 23,000 Lincoln bondholders were defrauded and many elderly investors lost their life savings. The accompanying slowdown in the finance industry and the real estate market may have been a contributing cause of the 1990-1991 economic recession.

“Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association made substantial political contributions to 5 senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH),John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), totalling $1.3 million. Keating said, “One question …had to do with whether my financial support in any way influenced several political figures to take up my cause. I want to say in the most forceful way I can: I certainly hope so.”

“After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings, with Cranston receiving a formal reprimand. Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised “poor judgment.”

McCain admitted that was the worst mistake in his life. Thank goodness that hand slap worked; now the Maverick is running for president and I can’t image him being bought out by private interests. (sarcasm, Miss Betty, sarcasm)

So far I see a man with big bucks in his pocket and his hands in the poop when the last recession (so similar to this one!) hit.

3. Palin is a role model to women (in men’s fantasies).

McCain (From the third debate): “Well, Americans have gotten to know Sarah Palin. They know that she’s a role model to women and others — and reformers all over America. She’s a reformer”.

My Reaction: She’s a role model alright. We don’t want a Hillary running things because she stands on her own integrity. Hillary doesn’t support a man because he’s a man. We want a woman who agrees with and defends the man. Palin can take it and turn around and defend it. That’s a role model in the man’s sexual fantasy.

Palin’s a reformer alright. In a YouTube video she greets the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants Alaska to secede from the Union.

From their website:

Q: What is the Alaskan Independence Party?

A: An Alaskan political party whose members advocate a range of solutions to the conflicts between federal and local authority; from advocacy for state’s rights, through a return to territorial status, all the way to complete independence and nationhood status for Alaska.

4. Why the negative campaigning, McCain?

So far, I see a man with big bucks in his pocket and his hands in the poop when the last recession (so similar to this one!) hit. And a woman who holds down the victim while developers rape the land; later she and Joe Six Pack threw around their power by shooting down protected wolves from a helicopter. Oh, she’s a role model alright. She can take it and turn around and defend it. A man’s fantasy role model. She even charges rape victims for their medical examination (that is a fact).

How are you going to keep us from knowing about this stuff, McCain?

The best thing for you to do, McCain, is keep us from looking at you, any way that you can. You better find things wrong with your opponent and pounce on it. Even if it’s a complete lie, just say it over and over until people believe it. Keep your opponent busy clearing himself of all the crap you are saying. Remember, it doesn’t have to be true, you just need to say it a lot, and get people scared.

Say something like 9/11 and get people scared about that again. Then make-up doubts about Obama. People will make the connection. Terror = scared = Obama.

The first lie I saw was “the no hand over the heart” affair, in which Obama was accused of not crossing his heart while saying the Pledge of Allegiance.The truth to that image is that he was listening to the National Anthem. That picture of Obama not crossing his heart hangs at our local Republican headquarters today; they’re not keeping up with the rest of the world and perpetuating a blatant lie.

Then there was the no-pin problem, when Obama did not wear an American flag lapel pin. Obama rhymes with Osama. What more proof do we need that he himself is a terrorist? Obama is a Muslim. A co-worker said that to me recently. Or suggested he has a Muslim background. Geez, girl. That was so last spring. Catch up. That’s been disproved and the party has moved on to bigger, better things. Recently I saw a short movie with out-of-context slides of Muslim terrorists. Lots of blood and guts too. IS THAT WHAT WE WANT? (vote McCain)

I’ve been doing a little study of the Neo-Conservative party and their efforts to control the population. They seek to convince people that we are in terrible trouble from terrorists. (The Power of Nightmares). They use control by fear of terror.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Edvard Munch - "The Scream" (1893)

I’ve been to England when people were afraid of bombs in fast food restaurants and airport lockers. But these people did not walk around in fear every minute; they would not buy into fear.

In the last debate, McCain put himself on the line as supporting accusations that Obama is connected to terrorists. Although his campaign had been pushing that subject for weeks, McCain said “I don’t care about an old washed-up terrorist. We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama’s relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.” As Saturday Night Live puts it, he also believes there is a unicorn under his bed.

It’s desperate, McCain, but you know you have to get people scared because when they get scared they get mad and fired up enough to get out there and vote. And anyone who opposes you, well, you have to discredit them, as quick as you can. Liberal, hippie, washed up: use those words.

McCain’s supporters have been recorded calling Obama a traitor and saying things like “kill him.”

McCain (from third debate):

“Let me just say categorically I’m proud of the people that come to our rallies. Whenever you get a large rally of 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people, you’re going to have some fringe peoples. You know that. And I’ve — and we’ve always said that that’s not appropriate. I’m not going to stand for people saying that the people that come to my rallies are anything but the most dedicated, patriotic men and women that are in this nation and they’re great citizens.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Colin Powell is upset enough with McCain’s campaign to reprimand him in a press release.

The next thing McCain will do is insist on election fraud by ACORN. McCain will tell his lies and then it becomes our job to disprove it. Visit the ACORN website. Might as well get versed up in it ahead of time.

To my fellow people on this Earth who believe in McCain:

Our founding fathers gave us a Bill of Rights that has undermined our freedom

You refuse to watch the films, you refuse to question the stuff that is thrown at you.  We knew that Bush would not kill Osama, he is best friends with the Bin Laden family (see Farenheit 9/11).  He flew the Bin Laden family out of the U.S. directly after 9/11.  We, liberals, freethinkers, decent and creative people, were right. We were right about a lot of stuff: the war, Bush, torture, oil, violations to the constitution, our rights to free speech, and our rights to privacy. When we told you about it, you bullied us to get us to shut up. You are a long way from admitting that you were being bullies, just as you are a long way from admitting that fear lay beneath that. But know that it was all cleverly controlled. Being a bully is a way you were shown (by Fox News icon Bill O’Reilly and others) that gives you a sense of power when in reality you felt powerless. Now you need to WAKE UP. See the beautiful things around you that you have the power to destroy as you sleep.

You have been controlled through images of fear and terror. You react to it by hating and bullying and believing bullshit. Having to be “right” is a very low form of emotion for Democrats and Republicans alike. It’s barely above apathy. This is not the future we want for our United States. We are all in this together. Come back to us in this uphill battle to regain our freedoms and our prosperity and our health.

We miss you and miss America. We miss decency and fun. This is our most important choice.

Click here for a CNN transcript of the third debate.

The following video is the full 90-minute 3rd presidential debate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Okay, when McCain first popped on the Election 2008 radar back in that early New Hampshire primary, I was next door in Vermont, wondering with a bit of perverse pleasure how McCain managed to dislodge the likes of Romney, Giuliani, and others in a presidential nomination bid. It just got interesting, I thought. Little did I know…

I know now, though, that his nomination has been a boon to the Democratic Party, a boon magnified orders of magnitude by his choice of Palin as VP. Thank you, John for handing over so many states to the Dems. Three times in a row, I watched the debates, and watched the post debate charts fade from red to pink to yellow to light blue…you get the idea.

Senator John McCain

I am dumbfounded that in three debates, McCain never found his footing, never managed to get the knock-out punch in, not one, not on any subject. All Obama had to do was break even to win. The first debate was not the showstopper it should have been; the subsequent and much heralded town meeting was a colossal bore with more action on the streets of Nashville than the under the lights at Belmont University. In both cases, Obama came out ahead, though not with the power of his early campaign speeches and interviews. One more shot, I thought. They have one more chance to get it right.

Wednesday’s final debate in New York, which was deftly moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS, was the right format with the right moderator. It was the right fit for Obama, who both looked and sounded presidential, who exuded the right levels of charm and intelligence (not hard considering the competition), who had the answers to the questions, even when the answers were tough for some viewers to swallow. McCain entwined himself in the life of “Joe the plumber” (perhaps not the same Joe six-pack of Palin fame) and hammer that poor man to the ground. Once, twice a mention, maybe. But for heaven’s sake, John, give it a rest.

Senator Barack Obama

What America saw Wednesday night was an articulate educated black man who was at ease with himself, his opinions, his ideas, a man who looks at America with a reality check, not a blank check, and looks and sounds presidential while doing it.

What America saw Wednesday night was a war hero who despite his honorable service to his country was now incapable of staying the subject, unable to pronounce or string words and sentences together without rambling off the issue and changing the subject, a man who resurrected old themes and could not give any genuine assurance that he was not still a participant on the GOP/Bush playing field.

What distressed me the most?

McCain’s opinion that we “need to reward these good teachers.” Hey, nothing wrong with that. Oh wait, here’s the rest of that story:

• “We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which — or have the certification that some are required in some states.” ~~ John McCain
  

And then there was:

• A little detail of McCain’s not knowing the difference between Down’s Syndrome that affects Palin’s youngest son, interchanging that diagnosis for autism, which is an entirely different issue. If he does know the difference, he failed to articulate that.

And then there was:

• That detail of the $5,000 taxable tax credit for health care. Oh, yes, somewhere there is a plan available for $5,800 a year. How many families will actually find a $5,800 plan that covers all their needs? I certainly haven’t found one yet. And probably don’t have the difference to fund a realistic plan that would run me, at my present age/health, somewhere in the vicinity of $10,000-12,000 a year. McCain has also said nothing about pre-existing conditions.Is that $5,000 tax credit something you have to spend before you can claim it and then have it taxed? Or am I missing something here?

And was anyone else bothered by the fact that McCain simply could not stay on point? That he stumbled through words and phrases in a way that rivals George Bush? That he meandered across his own view of the political landscape, which holds a wide disconnect from middle America reality? That he fumbled and stumbled through a number of questions just as Palin did in several of her interviews? McCain simply did not look or sound presidential and that’s a trickle down effect on Palin. Or did it surge up from her?

My belief is that college needs to be made affordable, that the bar in educational standards must be raised significantly higher, that everyone has a right to health care and prescription medications, that we need to build a new economic structure for America that will include green jobs and a return to industry that has for some time been shifted offshore. My belief is that women need to have a right to choose, not have reproductive choices made for them by people who do not have to deal with the realities or circumstances behind these choices.

My belief is that no candidate is going to fix America’s problem in four years of a first term presidency. The only thing a new president can do is start working on the problems we face as a nation, and as individuals. The only thing a new president can do is have a plan rooted in reality that can be implemented in a progressive series of laws and actions for the long term. Investments in education, energy, industry, small business, take time to mature: we have lapsed in many areas, and there is no quick fix, no painless recovery.

What I saw Wednesday night was a candidate, Senator Obama, who had a reality check and a plan to fix what ails America. I’m not exactly sure what McCain was offering that would be of any use to middle America.

Sarah Palin has stated she believes in a literal translation of the Bible; a literal translation of the Bible dates creation of the Earth at 4000 B.C. Is the U.S. prepared to elect someone who truly believes dinosaurs became extinct only 6000 years ago? Forget the fact that science has proven the age of the Earth to be in the billions of years through countless (independent of each other) disciplines. Is the U.S. prepared to give the nuclear launch codes to someone who cannot pronounce the word ‘nuclear’ and refuses to believe in the science that created it?

Sarah Palin stated that it was God’s will to have a pipeline in Alaska; she followed this statement by asking a church full of followers to pray for its manifestation. I may be wrong because I admit I am not a Bible scholar, but it has been my understanding that God’s design for the planet was perfect to begin with and ever since sin man has only been able to ruin it with greater ease. Wouldn’t that include destroying thousands of square miles to drill for oil? Shouldn’t a Christian ask in their prayers to end man’s destruction of the Earth and not to increase it?

Sarah Palin supports making abortions of all sorts illegal under all circumstances, yet when asked up front about it in an interview with Katie Couric she was unable to defend her position other than to say she would advise the hypothetical worst case scenario woman/girl not to seek an abortion. If you stand for something, stand strong, state your case and stand by it. This sort of political meandering is surely a sign of things to come. She supported a bill while mayor that makes rape victims pay for their own rape kits while under the care of the public health system(getting raped in Sarah Palin world= $1200 and 20 to life for an abortion, electing an idiot= Priceless). Is this the sort of compassion America needs in a leader?

When Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin what periodicals she has read that have influenced her world view, first she replied that she had read them again (therefore at least twice), then afterward when asked to give an example said “uh… all of them, uh… any of them” and was unable to give a single example after an awkward moment of silence followed by a diversion about Alaska not being a foreign country…? WHAT? I have heard rhetoric like this before usually immediately followed by my saying in a loud voice “LIAR!” Really, if you cannot answer the question, ‘what magazines do you read’ honestly, what else are you going to lie about?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sarah Palin supports Hamas seriously? She would rather say Hamas needs our support before admitting she doesn’t know what it is? This makes a good leader? Since when is more obfuscation what Americans need?

Basic Geography: You can see Russia from the outermost Alaskan Islands

While commenting on what qualifies her having ‘foreign policy’ experience by way of Alaska’s proximity to Russia, Sarah Palin explained that she could actually see Russia from Alaska. What? So I have seen dozens of countries; does that mean I have dozens of times more experience than Sarah Palin? By her definition it does. If she bases her qualification to be V.P. on such nonsense can we trust her judgment about accepting the nomination for V.P.?

In a discussion about whether or not the U.S. has the right to invade Pakistan to stop Al Queda without the approval of their government, Sarah Palin said she would not even blink before she invaded. This was actually in complete contradiction to John McCain, whose platform has been not to invade without prior approval and should in no way be acceptable to the American people. Are we about to elect a V.P. who thinks we have the right to invade any sovereign nation in the world without blinking?

Sarah Palin spent 48 million dollars on a road that literally goes nowhere! Yet she gave her speech dozens of times claiming to have championed the fight against useless spending: is it ignorance or boldface lying? Which is worse?

Unfortunately, we should all know where this is headed. After eight years of leadership(or something), Bush has brought the U.S. success and pride in the Justice system, Iraq, the writ of habeas corpus, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the hurricane Katrina disaster, preventing terrorism, the economy, torture, interpretation of the constitution, and general overall prosperity and good fortune across the globe (when was the last time Americans were so well liked?). If Sarah Palin, oops, I mean when Sarah Palin becomes President I am sure more great successes just like these are in store for Americans and the rest of the world, God bless.

70 is the new 40, vote Mccain 08!

Not so, it seems. With McCain himself now saying he’ll kick Obama’s “you-know-what” in the upcoming debate (of course, it’s been the opposite at all of the debates so far), Palin has gotten the blessing to keep on blathering about things she clearly does not understand.

ABC News says that Palin “tones it down a notch,” but a “notch” down from the fever pitch of accusing the Democratic nominee of “pallin’ around with terrorists” and insinuating that he’s a terrorist himself, is, well, not much of a notch at all.

The ABC article reflects much of what’s been reported in the Associated Press, so the quotes that follow are pretty universal. With each passing statement, she proves just how out-of-touch with reality she really is. Take, for example, her asinine interpretation of just what all the “anger” their campaign has seen is all about:

While Palin cited the anger felt by many of her supporters — as expressed verbally at two separate town meetings earlier in the week — Palin attempted to turn it into a positive message on Republican nominee John McCain reforming Washington.  She did not turn it into anger at the Democratic nominee, who is leading the race in most national and battleground state polls.

“All across America, I know that there’s a lot of anger right now,” Palin said. “There’s anger about the insider dealing of lobbyists and anger at the greed of Wall Street, and anger about the arrogance of the Washington elite. And with serious reforms to change Washington, John McCain is going to turn your anger into action.”

Okay, Governor, let me see if I can explain it in small words so that you can understand. The anger you’ve seen isn’t about “insider dealing” or “lobbyists.” It’s all because you and your running mate (that’s the old guy who calls Obama “that one”) have whipped your base into a frenzy of vile hate. You’ve accused your opponents of “pallin’ around with terrorists,” and have created a state of fear across the country.

You, like many Americans, don’t even know the difference between a lobbyist and a lobby, which is made evident by all of these preachers who violated their 501(c)3 code last month with their “freedom Sunday” garbage. They clearly don’t understand the difference between an educational organization (which is what they’re supposed to be) and a lobbying group, which is a 501(c)4 organization.

Apparently, a “Christian-based” group of attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, encouraged pastors all across the country to do exactly what the 501(c)3 charter says they can’t do: attempt to influence an election from official positions within their organizations. Those many thousands of pastors violated the agreement they signed, and should be given the appropriate fines. Their goal, apparently, is to file a suit to have the tax laws rewritten or struck down by the Supreme Court.

Good luck with that.

So, Governor, since you have no clue what lobbying is for, and you have even less of a clue as to why there’s so much anger in your rallies, maybe you need to seriously consider the possibility that you just need you shut your mouth and learn something about how your government really works.

Clearly, this is a person who doesn’t need to be anywhere near the White House, let alone a heartbeat away from occupying it.

The ABC article further discusses her usage of the phrase “bad guys.” Apparently, she’s replaced “terrorist” with “bad guys” in order to continue to rile that low-level base of supporters for whom “terrorist” is probably too big of a word. No, wait. Maybe it’s too big of a word for Governor Palin. After all, she’s “one of us,” right? As Newsweek’s cover said recently, maybe that’s the problem:

While Palin made no mention of William Ayers, who just days ago she charged was “a terrorist” with closer ties to Obama than he will acknowledge, she did speak about “terrorists” in general as the “bad guys,” and then went on to describe the “bad guys” in the current economic crisis. It was unclear if Palin was attempting to allude to Ayers when speaking about “terrorists.”

“Help me Ohio to help put John McCain in the White House,” Palin said. “He understands… For one thing, we know who the bad guys are, OK? We know, we know that in the war, it’s terrorists, terrorists who hate America and her allies and would seek to destroy us, and the bad guys are those who would support and sympathize with the terrorists. They do not like America because of what we stand for: liberty, freedom, equal rights. Those who sympathize and support those terrorists who would seek to destroy all that it is that we value, those are the bad guys, ok?”

Really, Governor? Those are the bad guys? You mean that those who have completely shredded our constitution, diluted the right to free speech and the right to assemble peacefully, supported rampant wire taps, and have even put gay rights groups on list of “domestic terrorist” groups in recent years aren’t the bad guys?

There’s one phrase we need to look out for: “destroy all that it is that we value.” You see, dear friends and neighbors, her “values” have been clearly demonstrated in this past week as she continues to spread the lies and insinuations that Senator Obama is “pallin’ around with terrorists who would strike at their own country” and that she has abused her power in the firing of her ex brother-in-law.

Her “values” even questioned the local librarian as to whether or not certain books would be removed from the shelves of the Wasila public library if the then-mayor asked them to be. The librarian said no. She was later fired. More here and here.

Her “values” have said that she believes that homosexuality can be “prayed away” despite the fact that every single major medical, psychiatric, and professional group that works within the gay and lesbian community says otherwise.

Do us all a favor, Governor. You’ve said that you can see Russia from the front door of your home. Great. Go home. Better yet, we’ll help send you back there on November 4th.

The snake-oil blathering reached its fever pitch last week just after the Vice Presidential debate when corrupt governor Sarah Palin accused Obama of “pallin’ around with terrorists who would strike at their own country.” Well, imagine the reaction that she got. As if on cue, the rallying supporters shouted their jeers against the Democratic candidate. What they didn’t expect was the shouts of “off with his head” or “kill him!”

Never mind the fact that the accusation is completely false. CNN reviewed the claims and the project records, and points out that the William Ayers, a founding member of the radical Weather Underground group, was involved with a series of bombings in the 1960’s — when Obama was eight years old. Ayers is now Distinguished Professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Both Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrm, who were fugitives at the time, surrendered themselves to the authorities in 1980. The charges were later dropped due to improper evidence gathering, and both “domestic terrorists” avoided prison. Oh, by the way, no one was hurt in any of their attacks.

Let me be clear: His actions of damaging public property was irresponsible, dangerous, and potentially deadly. One thing is certain, though: they made a point NOT to attack people or individuals. Their fight was against what they viewed as “the system,” which was in the middle of an unpopular war at the time. Their actions were illegal, and they were wrong. In my opinion, they should have served hard time. Alas, they did not, and were given a second chance.

Apparently that second chance is exactly what they needed. Since then, they’ve given back to the community and Ayers has received high recognition for his service by Chicago mayor Richard Daley. In fact, Daley has gone on record for his support of both Obama and Ayers, as reported in the Chicago Tribune back in April.

With Sarah Palin’s (and John McCain’s) irresponsible and incindiary accusations that Obama is “pallin’ around with terrorists,” the frenzied responses really aren’t all that surprising. Apparently, they’re surprising to McCain, though. CNN now reports that the Republican candidate is now trying to calm people down:

At a rally in Minnesota on Friday, a woman told McCain: “I don’t trust Obama. I have read about him and he’s an Arab.

McCain shook his head and said, “No ma’am, no ma’am. He’s a decent family man…[a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That’s what this campaign is all about.”

One man at the rally said he was “scared of an Obama presidency.” McCain later told the man he should not fear Obama.

“I want to be president of the United States, and I don’t want Obama to be,” he said. “But I have to tell you, I have to tell you, he is a decent person, and a person that you do not have to be scared as President of the United States.”

Really, Senator? You think he’s decent? I thought he was so contemptable that he was reduced to being “that one.” I couldn’t believe my eyes! This man — who wants to be our PRESIDENT – is actually behaving as if he’s surprised at the fear and hate that he helped to produce! Not only is this a classic case of deception in politics, but it’s downright revolting; horrifying, even.

Please, Senator McCain, stop with the personal attacks and get back to the issues. No, wait. You can’t campaign on the issues because you know that the American public doesn’t want another four years of Republican thrashing.

Corrupt Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has already proven herself to be the perennial pit bull in drag, throws gallons of fresh new blood into the frenzy with every stump. By using words like “fearful” and “terrorist,” she has defiantly created one of the most volatile situations in recent history:

At a rally Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida, Sarah Palin said Obama was being “less than truthful” about his ties to Ayers. “His own top adviser said they were ‘certainly friendly.’ … I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way that you and I see America — as the greatest source for good in this world,” she said.

Palin told the crowd that she sees “a pattern in how our opponent has talked about one of his most troubling associations.”

One member of the Palin audience in Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday shouted out “treason.” And at another rally in the state Monday, Palin’s mention of the Obama-Ayers tie caused one member to yell out: “kill him” — though it was unclear if it was targeted at Obama or Ayers.

Truthfully, folks – who are we kidding? Palin is willingly fanning these flames of hate. No amount of “aw shucks” hockey-mom-and-Joe-sixpack” excrement will excuse it. With each passing statement, she reveals her true ignorance and contempt for intelligence more and more.

When the hell are the American people going to wake up and realize that it’s just this kind of political wrangling that will destroy everything we stand for? Clearly, the Republicans know that they’re in a losing battle, so they’ve pulled out all the stops in this hateful, fear-mongering, damn-near race riot-inducing onslaught.

They’ve appealed to the uneducated, the racists, and the bigots. Is it any surprise at the response they’ve gotten? Every time I think that America has gone beyond this kind of hate and stupidity, this kind of thing comes up.

Please, America — Grow. The. Hell. Up!

As posted on Skipping to the Piccolo

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate an Arkansas church whose pastor endorsed John McCain from the pulpit Oct. 12.

According to a report in the Associated Press, Bishop Robert Smith of Word of Outreach Christian Center in Little Rock told congregants, “I will be voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin.”

Smith later admitted that he took this action fully aware that federal tax law prohibits houses of worship from opposing or endorsing candidates. He told the Associated Press, “It’s about principle. I wouldn’t care if it’s my mother. If she isn’t for life or for heterosexual relationships, I wouldn’t vote for my momma.”

Smith’s violation of the law was part of a larger effort coordinated by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Religious Right legal group. The ADF sponsored a so-called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” Sept. 28 during which pastors were urged to violate federal tax law by endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. Smith had planned to take part in that event but was out of town at the time.The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, urged the IRS to act swiftly in this case.

“Bishop Smith knowingly and flagrantly violated the law and has even dared the IRS to investigate him for it,” Lynn said. “I hope the federal tax agency promptly takes him up on that.”

Lynn noted that recent public-opinion polls have shown widespread opposition to pulpit politicking. He criticized Religious Right groups for pushing this crusade.

“The ADF and groups like it are trying to divert America’s churches away from spiritual matters and turn them into faith-based political action committees,” Lynn said. “It’s a mistake, and the effort deserves to fail.”

About the Author: Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

Gov. Sarah Palin

The verdict is in: Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin “abused her power as Alaska’s Governor” when she tried to get her former brother-in-law, an Alaskan state trooper, fired. This ethics issue and the investigation it spurred has dogged Palin throughout her vice-presidential bid.

Palin allegedly dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan fired after he refused to fire trooper Mike Wooten, Palin’s former brother-in-law. Wooten had gone through a bitter divorce battle with Palin’s sister.

The news flashed across international television and the internet this evening after a bipartisan Legislative Council, which had authorized the investigation of Palin’s actions in this case, adopted the 263-page public report with no dissenting votes following a lengthy executive session today. An additional 1,000 pages of this report remain confidential.

The report clearly states that “Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda”  and that Monegan’s refusal to fire Wooten was “likely a contributing factor” in Monegan’s dismissal. As governor, Palin had the authority to fire Monegan.

The report, however, states that Palin’s attempt to get Wooten fired “violated state ethics laws” that prohibit public officials from using their authority to pursue a personal agenda.

In that debate, Moderator Gwen Ifill asked Senator Biden if he supported “as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples.” His answer was a resounding, “absolutely.” He further said that under an Obama administration, there would be no distinction between same-sex couples and heterosexual couples. When pressed on whether he supported gay marriage, he said no.

Palin’s response was, well, pathetic. It was the same kind of yammering she gave Katie Couric on the topic only a day before that she has “dear friends” who were gay and that she would “tolerate” and “be tolerant” of same-sex couples. Never mind the fact that she’s said before that she believes that sexual orientation is a choice that can be “prayed away.”

Let me say this clearly. I don’t care how much of a pit bull she thinks she is. Sarah, you and your “tolerance” can bite me. We don’t need “tolerance.” We don’t even need assurances that “contracts can be signed.” What we really need is protection — from people just like you.

Tolerance indeed. The last thing we need is a vice president who doesn’t even have the guts to even talk clearly about same-sex couples. She’s no barracuda. More like a betta. That’s a teensy little fish that’s all frills and fight, and wouldn’t even be a proper snack for a cat.

But, I digress.

This only illustrates the simple reality – both parties are the same on paper. Democrats are often long on promises, but short on delivery. Bill Clinton’s promise to allow gays to serve in the military collapsed into the single worst policy in US military history: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. This would allow gays to serve as long as they don’t act gay or disclose their sexual orientation.

Obama has promised to rescind the policy and let gays serve. McCain promised to take advice from his generals (most of whom are as homophobic as their grunts). But would either actually sign any law that would grant gays to serve their country with honor? Well, I’m not going to hold my breath.

As I’ve said before, the big issue in 2004 and 2006 was gay marriage. States all around the country have clamored to pass anti-gay marriage amendments because they all know what Biden said: that the constitution allows for same-sex marriage. This is why bigoted reich-wing groups like the American Family Association are so adamant to get these atrocities passed – not because they’re afraid of “activist judges,” but because they know the Constitution (darn that pesky fourteenth amendment!) guarantees equal protection under the law. So their only hope is to write discrimination into a document that is at its core — liberty.

Many of my fellow gay activists are angry that none of the Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates openly supports gay marriage. Truthfully, I’m okay with this. Because of this, it actually takes the candy of anti-gay bigotry out of the mouths of the already-sugar high right wing nuts who are salivating to have their pet issue back on the lips and ballots of the American people. Too bad. Maybe they’ll boycott themselves one day.

In fact, two of the three states that have constitutional amendments on the ballot, Florida and California, are likely to reject those amendments. The third, Arizona, already has rejected it once. It’s not the driving issue of the day. Thank God.

Let me say this, though. The United States of America, as a whole, is not ready for gay marriage. This isn’t an issue that’s going to go away overnight, and it’s not going to be solved with a simple presidential proclamation. As time goes on, we’ll see more and more states pass laws allowing for civil unions and domestic partnerships. If we’re EVER to see gay marriage in all 50 states, then it will be through education, understanding, and something far more than tolerance: patience. Americans are slow to change, and we’re slow to look beyond ourselves. But that’s what it’s going to take.

If we’re ever to see marriage, we’ve got to have a full set of protections in place first. Why the hell are we blathering about marriage, when in many states – including Tennessee – we don’t even have basic protections in housing and employment? What good is it to be able to marry when there aren’t even hate-crime laws in place across most of the country — including in Wyoming, where Matthew Shepard was killed ten years ago? There’s not even a hate crime law in place at the federal level!

Seriously, folks – let’s not get into the idea that we have to have this pie in the sky when we don’t even have the key ingredients needed for that pie? When even Alaska has a meager domestic partnership policy in place – mandated by its supreme court, it’s clear that we have a long way to go. That policy is still in flux, and several attempts have been made to nullify the court’s ruling. As a my friend Michael Rowe says, Quel surprise! “Tolerance,” indeed.

So we only got one question in the Veep debate. And it was about gay marriage. The two candidates even agreed on it. “Okay, let’s move on,” Ifill said. What an excellent idea.

As posted on Skipping to the Piccolo

BBC radio's Rowan Bridge interviews Clarksville for Obama chairman Terry McMoore at MCDP headquarters

When the BBC Election Bus pulled into Clarksville, its first news stop was the Montgomery County Democratic Party headquarters on Madison Street, where a steady stream of area resident surged in and out, registering to vote and picking up Obama/Biden signs from a rapidly depleting stockpile (more signs due in Tuesday, October 7).

The BBC Election bus originated its trip in Los Angeles, and is working its way across middle America, talking to everyday Americans and catching the Presidential and Vice-presidential debates along the way. The bus trips end on Long Island, but the teams will continue to feed political news through the election on November 4.

MCDP Chairman Gene Lewis, State Senate Candidate Tim Barnes and Clarksville for Obama Chairman Terry McMoore welcomed the BBC team to Clarksville.

BBC newsman Allan Little poses a question to military wife Lisa Jackson

BBC television crews took the time to speak with several residents, including Lisa Jackson, whose husband is about to deploy to the Afghanistan war zone. Lisa, a first time campaign volunteer who renounced her Republican ties, explained to BBC broadcaster Allan Little why she is so sure Senator Barack Obama “needs” to be the next president.

“The Republicans are out of touch, they have a selfish approach to government. I did my homework, and in my opinion, Obama is brilliant, prepared and capable, he’s the type of leader we need. I am talking aboutt he state of the country, not my own needs. Obama just has the better plan.” ~~ Lisa Jackson

Retired Army Chaplain Rev. Charles Moreland speaks to BBC newsman Allan Little

Vietnam veteran and retired chaplain Rev. Charles Moreland spoke of his two tours as an Army chaplain in Vietnam, from 1966-68. “I trust Obama to the right thing,” Moreland said, indicating that war is not the answer. Moreland, who is quietly active on many fronts in Clarksville, had high praise for the Obama/Biden ticket, and said of Republican vice-presidential pick Sarah Palin, “I’m glad she’s on McCain’s ticket.”

BBC Radio Reporter Rowan Bridge spoke with a number of Democratic volunteers before heading to Republican Party headquarters at 1820 Madison Street, where a similar bustle of voters seeking yard signs, bumper stickers and T-Shirts were politicking through the day. Beside the McCain/Palin promotional materials were write-in vote materials for Senator Rosalind Kurita.

[Show as slideshow]

Montgomery County Democratic Party

Montgomery County Republican Party

The Joe Biden/Sarah Palin debate is over and history. The verdict: Biden held his own, scored particularly well in areas of foreign policy, and, I believe, won the debate. Palin, after a spate of blundered interviews and disingenuous flubbed questions from “Katie” (Couric) and “Charlie” (Gibson), did better than expected but still managed at best a break even score, up from her previous level — which was sounding ridiculous.

Watching the man/woman voter scrolling scoreboard at the bottom of the TV screen, a tally of sorts based on Ohio voters, both candidates managed to find sharp and prolonged spikes of interest, catching the attention of listeners not by political affiliation but rather by the issues that were being discussed. What were those topics: the economy, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy, the economy and the economy. The Economy encompassed middle class tax relief, health care/insurance, jobs, gas prices, and the high cost of higher education.

Sen. Joe Biden

BIDEN: Yes, well, you know, until two weeks ago — it was two Mondays ago John McCain said at 9 o’clock in the morning that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. Two weeks before that, he said George — we’ve made great economic progress under George Bush’s policies.

Nine o’clock, the economy was strong. Eleven o’clock that same day, two Mondays ago, John McCain said that we have an economic crisis.

That doesn’t make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he’s out of touch. Those folks on the sidelines knew that two months ago.

Palin did her “I am one of you sitting around the kitchen table” complete with incorrect grammar, slang (”betcha” was the most irritating by far), and mispronounced words (can any Republican say “nuclear” instead of “nucular”? Please? Most notable, though, was Palin’s inability to stay on course and simply answer the darned question. All domestic roads, or in her case, questions, led back to taxes. Many of her foreign policy responses led back to taxes.The problem is, while I want a United States President and Vice President to have a real sense of what the average American wants and needs, I want that leader to sound, well, intelligent and functioning at a level commensurate with interaction on a global scale. “Betcha” doesn’t quite do it. By the time she spurt out the “six pack American” cliche she was, in my book, more than done. Nothing has offended me more in this campaign than that reference. Except the sappy “Charlie’s” and “Katie’s” in those CBS and ABC interviews. Maybe “six pack American” or “Joe six pack” was just my tipping point. Just how condescending can she get, I wonder.

Gov. Sarah Palin

PALIN: My experience as an executive will be put to good use as a mayor and business owner and oil and gas regulator and then as governor of a huge state, a huge energy producing state that is accounting for much progress towards getting our nation energy independence and that’s extremely important.

But it wasn’t just that experience tapped into, it was my connection to the heartland of America. Being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child, about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills? About times and Todd and our marriage in our past where we didn’t have health insurance and we know what other Americans are going through as they sit around the kitchen table and try to figure out how are they going to pay out-of-pocket for health care? We’ve been there also so that connection was important.

But even more important is that world view that I share with John McCain. That world view that says that America is a nation of exceptionalism. And we are to be that shining city on a hill, as President Reagan so beautifully said, that we are a beacon of hope and that we are unapologetic here. We are not perfect as a nation. But together, we represent a perfect ideal. And that is democracy and tolerance and freedom and equal rights. Those things that we stand for that can be put to good use as a force for good in this world. (Palin’s tolerance and freedom and equal rights did not extend to gay marriag or the choice issue).

Biden stumbled on words and names from time to time, and it seemed as if his mind had more to present but not enough time to dish it out. At times he almost seemed to be playing a game for which Palin remained ignorant of the rules, the first and most important being “Answer the question”. Biden zero’d in on detail and stayed on task; Palin, well, didn’t. Palin frequently responded with statements that became lost in a maze of topics, ending nowhere near an actual answer to the original question.

BIDEN: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history. The idea he doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there’s a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he’s part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

As the debate drew to a close, Biden summed up the state of the nation under President Bush:

BIDEN: I’ll be very brief. Can I respond to that?

Look, the maverick — let’s talk about the maverick John McCain is. And, again, I love him. He’s been a maverick on some issues, but he has been no maverick on the things that matter to people’s lives.

He voted four out of five times for George Bush’s budget, which put us a half a trillion dollars in debt this year and over $3 trillion in debt since he’s got there.

He has not been a maverick in providing health care for people. He has voted against — he voted including another 3.6 million children in coverage of the existing health care plan, when he voted in the United States Senate.

He’s not been a maverick when it comes to education. He has not supported tax cuts and significant changes for people being able to send their kids to college.

He’s not been a maverick on the war. He’s not been a maverick on virtually anything that genuinely affects the things that people really talk about around their kitchen table.

Can we send — can we get Mom’s MRI? Can we send Mary back to school next semester? We can’t — we can’t make it. How are we going to heat the — heat the house this winter?

He voted against even providing for what they call LIHEAP, for assistance to people, with oil prices going through the roof in the winter.

So maverick he is not on the important, critical issues that affect people at that kitchen table.

While both candidates were speaking into a dais-mounted microphone, at times it looked as if Palin was wearing a wire, possibly with an earpiece tucked beneath her hair (hair that, I might add, is a messy semi-upswept style fit for a bad prom night circa 1968 — sorry, Sarah); at the end of the debate as she walked across the stage, she pulled a device out from the hem of her suitcoat. We might almost suspect she was being prompted as each question arose.

The vice-presidential debate only served to affirm my choices in leadership for the next four years.

Sen. Joe Biden

Gov. Sarah Palin

It’s a battle between veteran Democratic legislator Joe Biden, and political newcomer, Republican Sarah Palin.

As a political junkie, I’ve been watching their public appearances, listening to their speeches and interviews, and I know where Biden’s been, what he stands for, and the periodic verbal missteps he’s made along the way, including those most recent to the Obama campaign. It’s Palin I keep watching, only because she’s set up a pattern of world-class faux-pas’ and a blatant display of ignorance in this national and global playing field.

“But the vice-presidential debate has the potential to be incredible prime-time entertainment, especially for viewers looking for a political car wreck.” ~~ Josh Visser, CTV.ca News Staff

Visser’s right. My incredulity began with the Charlie Gibson (ABC) interview and her statement on foreign policy that consisted of knowing she can see Russia from one of Alaska’s islands. Then there was the CBS Katie Couric interview in which Palin in responding to a repeated question, said, “I’ll get back to you on that.”I watched the 29-second clip of her at the UN being told how pretty she is. Wednesday morning, though, I balked when I read her speaking about “six-pack Americans.” What is that?

Now I am the kind of woman who can shoot a rifle and a pistol if necessary (I hate guns, but in the coyote, moose and bear laden north country of Vermont, there’s always a rifle ready). And I am the kind of woman who can catch and clean her own trout, plumb in a second bathroom, drive a snowplow, load construction supplies, handle a rip saw, stain, cut and install clapboard siding on a house, find her way to or from anywhere, build a fire in a woodstove and split the wood to put in it, and manicure my own nails after wrecking them up with those jobs. I can also dazzle on the ballroom dance floor and keep up in the boardroom. I know where Russia is, and what its history is, including those Cold War years when families talked about building fallout shelters in their basements.

But six-pack America? I just had to take offense at that, and ask “is that how I want a president of vice-president thinking of me?” Nope. No way. Uh-uh. Think before you speak. Whether it is a reference to six-pack abs (I doubt it) or a six-pack of beer, I don’t want to be included in that particular assessment of the average American she claims to represent. It is more troubling because nothing really new or particularly intelligent followed that statement.

So I will be watching tonight, just like millions of other Americans, to see what she will say and how she will say it as she debates Biden. I know that there are risks for Biden, but there genuine campaign-killing potential for Palin, who has faired less than well in most of her campaign commentaries. Stay tuned…