Sound Politics Public Blog

Is the McCain Campaign Now Playing With Fire?

2008-10-07T20:59:59Z

Even if you believe only one of the candidates running for president, it is clear that at least one pair of pants is on fire.

"Liar! liar!" has been both the chorus and refrain from Senator Obama's camp running all the way back to his snatching of the nomination from the jaws of Hillary Clinton. As desperation set in, the McCain-Palin ticket has finally caught on that their straight talk rhetoric begs for straight walk follow-through. McCain has launched an attack against Obama's lies that is short on subtlety and will likely be the deciding skirmish in his campaign for the White House.

When Obama lies - and by that I mean that he denies certain facts, or chooses to play a hide-and-seek game on topics that do not present a strong image to the general public - John and Sarah will no longer avoid using the "L" word. After listening to Biden and Obama smear both of their records and then hold the distortions up for all to see as an example of "lying" on the part of Team Maverick, it's about time they took the gloves off.

I will disclose that I have previously written on the distastefulness of using this potentially slanderous verb - lie - in public discourse. It is the nuclear bomb of political campaigning because of the collateral damage it inflicts by polarizing the electorate and lowering the standards of political discourse.

The verb should only be entered into a campaign when it is clear that a candidate is stubbornly omitting or obfuscating in order to avoid taking any consequences for some action they have taken that the people need to know about. Each politician must make their own Truman-esque decision and will be judged by the voters on whether the end justified the use of catastrophic rhetorical ordnance.

In my opinion, the preconditions to allow McCain to go on the attack, and not wait for the media to catch Obama in lies, have not only been met, but I believe that he is morally obligated to make these charges.

It's a double jeopardy strategy on McCain's part that will only work if McCain can activate that most valuable portion of the human character - common sense. When confronted with an accusation and uncertain facts, the average person tends to want to fill in the blanks to make some judgment of their own. We are all reporters at heart, and when something stinks we are compelled to find the cause.

So far, the public's ignorance of Obama's messy past and the full weight of his ambitions has not met the stink test, because the mainstream media has done a fantastic job of spraying him down with several cans of air freshener every day. At any moment in the news cycle, Obama and Axelrod can select from the pleasing scents of Katie Couric, Soledad O'Brien, Campbell Brown, and a host of other starry-eyed media cohorts to neutralize their unpleasant campaign aromas.

What McCain must do over the course of the next week - and beginning in tonight's debate - is to hold up a big flashing red neon arrow pointing to the steaming pile that Obama has tried to keep the public from getting a deep whiff of. Even media voices who bathe each morning in Eau de Barack won't fight the public if the common sense wakes them up. Just ask Dan Rather.

It is obvious that McCain is prepared to make his case not only that Obama is lying, but that his cult-like following is beginning to take on some sinister characteristics.

In his speech this morning, McCain said, "I guess [Obama] believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed."

Whoever wrote McCain's speech was deliberately referencing (for those of us in the know) the infamous quote from Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist, who said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." McCain is willing to risk inciting Armageddon in order to alert us to something much more dangerous than the loss of this election. He seeks to alert us to the abandonment of logic that has fueled the insomnia of many freedom-lovers and has seductively ensnared many Obama supporters in a fog of ignorant bliss.

Americans have always been proud of their individualism, their self-proclaimed immunity to nationalism and fascism. Those movements start when the masses begin to follow without question, to subordinate their own instincts and thoughts to the great good of "The Cause". If "The One" can't even submit himself to a mild vetting, he is not fit to lead. Whatever their final ballot choice may be, voters deserve answers.

Cross-posted at Unequal Time http://unequal-time.blogspot.com

Shot in the Fannie Mae

2008-10-07T15:12:53Z

A friend of mine sent me this and it has some great information regaridng the current financial crisis:

shotinthefanniemae1

Also,

Michelle Malkin has this great article on her site today.

crossposted: The TrueSoldier Rants

Obama resurrects a lie to attack McCain

2008-10-06T19:32:53Z

John McCain was named decades ago in 1989 as one of the Keating Five. The Keating case involved US senators who were accused of abusing their authority by interfering with government regulators investigating Charles Keating, chairman of Lincoln Savings and Loan. Yes, part of the Savings and Loan scandal.

Sounds pretty awful doesn't it? And John McCain was the only Republican in the scandal, along with 4 Democrats, including John Glenn.

So today, Barack Obama is revisiting the Keating Five scandal in attacks against the character of John McCain. But what if McCain was completely innocent then, but included for simply partisan reasons in the Democratic Congress' investigation. What if a high-profile Democrat investigator of the Keating 5 nearly 20 years ago believed McCain was railroaded and innocent? Would that make a difference to Obama supporters? Would it make them consider the character of their candidate; using a lie to attack his opponent?

In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee determined that Democrats Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with regulators in their investigation of Lincoln Savings, with Cranston receiving a formal reprimand. But - pay attention! - Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were "criticized" by the Democrat Senate committee for having exercised "poor judgment".

Ok, so McCain was found not guilty by committee controlled by Democrats. That should be a pretty convincing factoid, and even the "poor judgment" finding could easily be explained by partisan politics, but don't take my word for that.

Super-attorney Robert Bennett was Bill Clinton's attorney during many of Bill Clinton's legal problems in the 90s. He was certainly not thought of an ally to Republicans then, and more evidence of that was in 1989 when the Democrats appointed him as special outside counsel to the committee conducting the Keating Five investigation. So what did Robert Bennett conclude about McCain?

On FoxNews some month ago, as well as at the time of the investigation, Robert Bennett stated that no evidence was ever uncovered implicating McCain in any wrongdoing. Bennett actually lumped tons of praise on McCain in that FoxNews interview. Bennett stated that despite his recommendation for McCain and John Glenn to be excused from further investigation after he had performed his investigation, because McCain was the only Republican alleged to have been involved in the wrongdoing, the Democrat-controlled committee refused to excuse McCain. In fact, Bennett even said that he believed that McCain had been included from the start simply to include a Republican and support the Democrats' claim that the scandal was bipartisan.

According to Bennett, referring to a New York Times hit piece that was reported just before his Fox interview:

"You know, I'm in a pretty unique position to talk about John McCain. First, I should tell your listeners, you know, I'm a registered Democrat, so I'm not on his side of a lot of issues. But I investigated John McCain for a year and a half, at least, when I was special counsel to the Senate Ethics Committee in the Keating Five, which, by the way, this New York Times article goes back to and discusses, goes back years and years.

And if there is one thing I am absolutely confident of, it is John McCain is an honest and honest man. I recommended to the Senate Ethics Committee that he be cut out of the case, that there was no evidence against him, and I think for the New York Times to dig this up just shows that Senator McCain's public statement about this is correct. It's a smear job. I'm sorry.

If your listeners want to know about the Keating Five case, I have a whole chapter on it. And what happened was that I had recommended that John McCain be cut out of it and not go forward. And, you know, I call it the way I see it. As I said, I'm a Democrat. And I recommended they go forward against Senators DeConcini, Senator Cranston and Senator Riegle.

But if you cut out John McCain, you would have had 28 days of public hearings with just Democrats in the dock. So, it's probably the first time in the history of the Senate that they rejected the advice of their counsel to exonerate a senator.

McCain's "crime" was attending two meetings with the 4 other senators with government regulators investigating Keating in the room. He was guilty of participating in meetings where he would say that, "the appearance of it was wrong. It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do." So McCain admitted the poor judgment, but just poor judgment attending two meetings.

Unfortunately for John Glenn, a Democrat, he was also forced to have his name and reputation smeared, because if Democrats couldn't remove McCain from the scandal, they would have appeared to be partisan hypocrites if they had excused John Glenn, another true American hero.

So Barack Obama, the new "change and hope" candidate worshiped by many, is resurrecting a lie to attack and smear John McCain today. He's attacking an innocent man to offset the charges and growing evidence of his involvement with William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, and darker figures who are appearing as one news network, FoxNews, continues the near-impossible task of vetting the Democratic presidential nominee.

What does that say about the character of Obama that he would attack his opponent using a charge that Democrats found McCain innocent of nearly 20 years ago?

Oct 7: Stock Market down ANOTHER 508 how's that "bail out" working for you?

2008-10-06T17:59:32Z

Gee, today's bailout news?

Stock Market: down another 508

Do YOU feel "bailed out" yet?

Remember, it was YOUR government and BOTH of our presidential candidates that helped do this to you.

Well, here's a partial list of payoffs and sellouts within the bill that some here, initials "Eric," were so proud of (Are so proud of?)

From Evergreen Freedom Foundation:

Today the bailout bill (HR 1424 http://senateconservatives.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/ayo08c32_xml.pdf ) was signed into law by President Bush. EFF agrees that action was needed to be taken to reassure the markets. However, we proposed free market solutions like exempting capital gains tax for anyone who purchased these troubled assets.

We do not believe this will solve the financial problems facing the country because this bill essentially nationalizes the mortgage market and gives the Secretary of Treasury virtually dictatorial power over much of our economy. It does not address the pubic policy problems which led this crisis... things like government forcing financial institutions to give home loans to people who could not afford the payments.

We are deeply troubled by the intent section of the bailout bill.

The U. S. Constitution clearly says "to protect the general welfare" not to ensure the general welfare. But the purposes of this bailout bill include giving the Secretary of Treasury the authority and such facilities to use in a manner that:

-"protects home values, college funds, retirement accounts, and life savings;.
-"preserve homeownership and promotes jobs and economic growth;
-"maximizes overall returns to the taxpayers of the United States; and
-"protects public accountability for the exercise of such authority."

The bill reads more like the Communist Manifesto than a free market bill, and I read every word of its 451 pages.

Here is a summary of the bill.

1. It started out as 3 pages and is now 451. (http://senateconservatives.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/ayo08c32_xml.pdf), but only 112 1/2 pages are bailout. the rest is:
* energy improvement pages 112-244
* Broker requirements pages 244-261
* Tax breaks 261-310
-alternative minimum tax relief (sections 101-103 , pages 264-267)
-extend deductibility of state and local sales taxes (section 201, page 267)
-extend deduction of qualified tuition and related expenses (section 202, page 268)
-extend deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers (section 203, page 268)
-extend tax free distributions from IRA plans for charitable purposes to December 31, 2009. (section 205, page 269)
-$18 million in clean energy breaks (includes wave- and-tide electricity generators, fringe benefits for bicycle commuters, etc
-$192 million to cover a rum excise tax with money diverted to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.(section 308, page 279)
- $33 million in economic development funds for small business in American Samoa. (section 309, page 279)
-$4 million in tax credits for mine rescue team training. (section 310, page 280)
-$? million in expensing advanced mine safety equipment (section 311, page 280)
-$? million in Domestic production activities in Puerto Rico (section 312, page 280)
-$119-205 million in tax credits for business that employ American Indians who live on reservations and accelerated depreciation for property used on reservations (sections 314 and 315, page 288)
-$? million railroad track maintenance. (section 316, page 289)
-$331 million seven-year-cost-recovery period for land improvement at motorsport racetracks. (section 317, page 290)
-$? million in tax incentives to invest in the District of Columbia (section, 322, page 291)
-$? million in enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory (section 323, page 293)
-$148 million reduction of wool fabric import tariffs to the Wool Trust Fund to promote American wool competitiveness (section 325, page 295)
-$397 million deduction for domestic projects for film and television productions (section 502, page 298)
-$6 million for exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children (section 503, page 300)
-$223 million in payouts to fishermen who received payments for the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident (Section 504, pages 301-307)
-Mental health parity which will cost $3.8 billion over the next five years and will result in more uninsured people because mental health coverage will now be included in all health care plans - pages 310-344
-Rural schools - pages 344-394
-Disaster relief-pages 394-451
-"Spending reductions [I can't find them!] and appropriate revenue raisers for new tax relief policy"
-correct title of bill page 451

2. Notice this is a "mental health" and "substance-related disorder" bill that had the bailout added to it.

3. President Bush, on October 1, told us not to worry because it is not really $700 billion. It is only $250 billion to start and then the Treasury can ask him for another $100 billion and, if needed, go back to the Congress for the remaining $350 billion.

SO WHY IS THE DEBT LIMIT RAISED BY another $700 billion, which is in addition to the $800 billion increase in July. (SECTION 122, PAGE 68 ) .

4. The underlying assets involved do not even have to be in the United States! Here is the definition of a "troubled asset," right from the bill:(Section 3(9). This permits the Secretary of Treasury to bail out foreign investors.
"(9) TROUBLED ASSETS. The term "troubled assets" means (A) residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before March 14, 2008, the purchase of which the Secretary determines promotes financial market stability;
and (B) any other financial instrument that the Secretary, after consultation with the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, determines the purchase of which is necessary to promote financial market stability, but only upon transmittal of such determination, in writing, to the appropriate committees of Congress."

Note: conspicuously missing from the definition is the requirement that the asset's underlying thing (that is, the property that was mortgaged, etc) lies within the United States. Also note that Treasury must tell Congress if they add "new types" of debt, but that Congress has no right of review or censure.

5. The bill authorizes the government to renegotiate loans for people who can't afford them! The government can reduce the interest rates; reduce the loan principal; and do other similar modifications. (Section 110, pages 27-29). Think of the difficulty of implementing this without fraud taking place.

What a socialist grab. Whoever is elected /re-elected next month will have the most sweeping authority and virtually unlimited resources to spend to have their way with the economic course in American History. Private enterprise as we call it will be less free than ever, and ownership as we know it will erode as the possibility for politically manipulated transfer of wealth is embraced as the "finest hour" when the US Senate and US House came together to fix this problem.

Bob Williams
_________________________________________
And now today's impact...

So this piece of crap was passed and signed into law.

The result? Gold took another hit... and so did oil.

Just as a brief aside, I have to give credit where it's due.

Back in the halcyon days of $140+ oil, when it seemed the sky was the limit, George Soros of all people came out and said that oil wouldn't go beyond $150 and that it would, in fact, fall.

While Mr. Soros appears to have the political acumen of a box of hammers, one finds it difficult to fault is financial forecasts.

How did the stock market greet this great news from the White House?

The Dow nosedived 157... dropping to 10325... lower then when it dropped 777 earlier this week. Wall Street rumblings yesterday? $805 billion: not enough.

Tell us again: how is putting us on the hook for a "so-far" $2400 or so for each man, woman and child in this country benefited us?

Oct 2.

Let's see... today's bailout impact?

Gold nosedived. Not good for THOSE investors. Oil weakened, which ultimately, may trickle down to the pump... And the senate, in their infinite wisdom, blew the 3-page-from-the-Treasury, 110-pages-from-the-House-bill up to 450 pages.

No money was freed up; after all, the entire bill doesn't REQUIRE lending. The stock market was so impressed by this sell-out that it responded... by DROPPING 348 points... putting the market back to about where it was after the 777 point drop.

So... when are all these wonderful effects SUPPOSED to impact?

Most Americans STILL don't have a clue what's actually IN the bill... you can bet that next to no one voting on the bill, yeah or nay, had a clue, either.

Well, intrepid souls, here's a link.

It is loaded with garbage. Some of those items NEED to be accomplished. But not as part of THIS bill. Many more of those things in the bill do NOT need to be accomplished.

How it is, for example, that "mental health parity" needed to be in this bill?

Now, the worthiness of mental health parity can be argued by many, both one way or the other.

But what the hell is it doing in a bill that we so "desperately" need to "save" our country?

It ISN'T needed, of course. And it's the kind of political; forgive me, bullshit that any one of us KNEW was going to be ladled into this bill.

You know, like the House bill, section 103, where all the unions were bought off and paid for by all of us.

No conservative could possibly support this kind of crap. That is, presumably, why Eric supports it.

That explains why Gordon Smith, so-called Republican, complete turncoat and non-conservative voted for it. That also explains why Patty Murray voted for it.

But in supporting the idea of, once again, removing the element of responsibility for the actions both of business and individuals who supported and took loans they could not afford, we also get this:

First, forget about the "snatched out of thin air," absolutely unsupported and arbitrary $700 billion figure. The true figure is now $805 billion.

Who was it that once said, "a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon, you're talking real money?" (Attributed to Sen. Everett Dirksen... but in some doubt as to authenticity.) Whether he actually said it or not, the sentiment is accurate.

Therefore, here we have received the largess from a 450-page bill that had no hearings, no critical examination and is loaded with crap.

Bully for us.

Let me be clear: there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THIS BILL TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT CAUSED IT.

So, conservatives... you like the idea of spraying money around like paint so that we can hope it will stick somewhere... while doing NOTHING to address the issues and people that put us here in the first place?

What tax loopholes were fixed? What criteria were changed? What's to keep PRECISELY THE SAME THING FROM HAPPENING OVER AGAIN?

We have a bill packed with garbage... that will dramatically increase our debt... that's an additional $805 BILLION that will vaporize.

To paraphrase the Braveheart movie, "If Republicans support this, then I'm ashamed to call myself one."

Which is, come to think of it, part and parcel as to why I no longer do.

The TRUTH SQUAD -- Examining Roger Goodman's Claims

2008-10-06T15:26:38Z

We've added a new feature to our web site at www.tobynixon.com. The Truth Squad will take a careful look at the claims Roger Goodman makes in his campaign ads, and fill in the facts he omits.

In its initial report, The Truth Squad examines these claims:

* Goodman's claim to have gotten "results" on early childhood education (it turns out that his bill is just another study);
* his claim to have "done something" about drunk driving (he makes it possible for convicted drunk drivers to get a driver license again immediately); and
* his claim that Democrats' "rainy day fund" constituted "holding back government spending" (while they increased state spending by 33% over the last four years, we're looking at a $3.2 BILLION budget shortfall in 2009-2011, and the rainy day fund had been sponsored by Republicans for years before the Democrats claimed credit for the idea).

Check The Truth Squad as the campaign progresses for more facts to equip you when talking about the 45th District legislative races with your friends and neighbors - and let us know if you see any more Goodman ads with outrageous claims that need examination!

Have feedback? Send it to toby@tobynixon.com.

WEEKLY POLITICAL NEWS-MORE ON BAILOUT/OBAMA

2008-10-06T15:22:24Z

HERE IS A LINK ROUNDUP ON THE LATEST ON THE BAILOUT/DISASTER/OBAMA

EXTRA ON OBAMA:
PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS CLAIM OBAMA KEPT THEIR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS!

The Obama campaign says that the millions in illegal contributions with names containing funny boners like soccer stars from Brazil (who never heard of Obama) now say they returned the money to terror groups in the Palestinian territories. That looks like lie number 1,234,788 from the Obama campaign:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/palestinians-deny-obama-returned-illegal/story.aspx?guid={016C7EE7-AB9E-4242-80E1-6D1BA92FDC9E}&dist=hppr

MORE OBAMA SCANDALS AFTER THE FINANCIAL STUFF:

NOW THAT THE PORK BARREL HAS OPENED UP IN WASHINGTON THEY ARE LINED UP AROUND THE BLOCK TO GET THEIR SNOUTS IN THE BIG PIG TROUGH! Comment by former Governor Mike Huckabee on Fox and Friends, Monday Morning, October 6th, 2008!

FED DUMPS IN 900 BILLION NEW DOLLARS TO THE BANKS

Folks this is IN ADDITION to the Bail Out Pork Bill!
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc06/idUSTRE4954BI20081006?sp=true

EUROPE IN MUCH DEEPER TROUBLE THAN THE US

For different reasons the European banking system is in big trouble and was already on the ropes BEFORE THE SUB PRIME MESS AT FANNIE AND FREDDIE began the US meltdown. Unless, Europe can come up with a coordinated effort for a banking bailout as they did overnight in Asia, THEY COULD FOLLOW THE US AND TAKE THAT SLOW CLOCKWISE TRIP DOWN INTO THAT PORCELAIN BOWL
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3141428/Germany-takes-hot-seat-as-Europe-falls-into-the-abyss.html

More problems in the Euro overnight markets:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4895024.ece

Fox Business Network's take on Europe
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/cavuto-bad-europes-worse/

GM TO SHUT DOWN MOST OF ITS EUROPEAN PLANTS!

The General can't make money in the over regulated Euro marketplace so the Euros can kiss about 18,000 job goodbye! So much for Socialism and workers
http://www.discusseconomics.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=78

GM may shut down Detroit Downtown Headquarters
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20081007&id=9236766

FEDS MAY NOW BUY INTO SHORT TERM NOTES AND DEBT

After flooding the country with 800 Billion Dollars yesterday, now the FED wants to buy about 400 Billion dollars in short term debt. Now, if my math skills are still intact that adds up to 700 plus 800 plus 400 equals about 1.9 TRILLION DOLLARS! Who is getting all of this money? Where is this money going?
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/fed-mulls-plan-buy-short-term-debt/

BANK OF AMERICA CUTS DIVIDEND IN HALF AND PRINTS UP 10 BILLION IN STOCK?

Well, in order to pay for Merrill Lynch, B of A is issuing stock and cutting dividend in order to raise about 12 Billion Dollars.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/bofa-raise-capital-q-dives/

DOLLAR NOW AT ALL TIME HIGH!

THE EURO IS IN THE TANK! This is really going to hurt EXPORTS and could have a major impact on employment. Not good news at this time:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avC.1.PvSqHg&refer=worldwide

GERMANY LAUNCHES ITS OWN FDIC?http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d895ef54-92ef-11dd-98b5-0000779fd18c.html

LARGE NUMBER OF AMERICAN BANKS ON THE EDGE OF BANKRUPTCY!

No matter how much Congress can pork barrel over to the boys in New York, it matters little to the hundreds of middle banks around the nation that are on VERY THIN ICE. Unless credit liquidity improves dramatically over the next few months, stand by for more bank failures and SOME OF THOSE BANKS ARE NOT, REPEAT NOT, INSURED BY THE FDIC!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_bi_ge/shaky_banks

ARE THE GREEN NAZI'S WORKING THE GLOBAL WARMING FRAUD BEHIND THE SCENES AS A PART OF THE PORK BARREL BAILOUT BILL?

Steve Milloy of Junk Science dot com thinks so and here is a comprehensive piece he did for Fox News about what the folks behind the global warming swindle are up to these days:
http://junkscience.com/ByTheJunkman/20081002.html

The Carbon Audit in the Bailout Bill has many Corporations looking to relocate overseas and take those manufacturing jobs with them. Just another example of "Al Gorism" at work
http://www.openmarket.org/2008/10/03/carbon-audit-can-we-turn-this-threat-into-an-opportunity/

THE TERMINATOR FACES CREDIT CRUNCH IN CALY-FORN-EEE-YAA!

Well, they used to routinely go out and borrow a billion here and a billion there on a promissory note and do that in ADVANCE OF TAX COLLECTIONS in order to fund major pieces of Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Government-NOT ANY LONGER FOLKS. Stand in line and no more credit line for the biggest government on the LEFT COAST.
http://www.newsmax.com/us/California_bailout/2008/10/04/137281.html
More on California's options to take care of the problem
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTpeeNyM0HuQ&refer=worldwide

CALIFORNIA IS NOT ALONE, NOW IT IS THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Funny here in Washington we worry about 3.2 Billion in Red Ink that Governor Quagmire ran up. In New York they only have about a 1.3 Billion dollar problem. It must be nice!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=atdnkCOzgHmk

LOCAL SEATTLE ECONOMY IN A STATE OF FLUX?

Retail outlets are now reporting a major drop off in sales. What's next?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/381885_economy06.html

HOUSING SALES ARE DOWN THE TOILET ALL OVER PUGET SOUND!

Not since the 1970 BOEING CRASH has the real estate market been this bad! It has gotten to the point where real estate firms are laying off sales people and listings are now called "wish lists", since sales are off more than 50% in some areas. To make matters worse not only is it almost impossible to sell a house these days, but the prices are in the tank! There was a sign over I-5 in downtown Seattle in the summer of 1970 that said: WILL THE LAST PERSON THAT LEAVES SEATTLE PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHTS! Maybe that should be: IF ANYONE SELLS A HOUSE IN PUGET SOUND, PLEASE RING A BELL? One of the problems: unless you have a credit score of over 750 and a well documented income stream, you ain't gonna get a mortgage, period! One of the side impacts of this economic reality is the area's newspapers. The Everett Herald and the Tacoma News Tribune and both on the edge of major financial problems and if the real estate ad business goes down the tubes, you can kiss these newspapers goodbye!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008221341_housing02m.html
Here's more:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/381121_turmoil30.html

SNOHOMISH COUNTY BROKE? SO IS KING COUNTY. HERE IS WHAT IS HAPPENING UP NORTH:

Faced with a tax drop off and a declining job market, Snohomish County is about to take a trip down that big, clockwise circling, ivory bowl (its called a flush!)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20081002/NEWS01/710029880&news01ad=1#County.financial.report.worsens.

Here is what is going on in King County
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008212048_kingcobudget29m.html

STUDENT LOANS ARE NOT FORTHCOMING FROM PRIVATE LENDERS

Because of the massive default rate for Student Loans and the lag time between the default and the time the Fed pays off the banks, many lending institutions are now getting out of the student loan business and that is putting the squeeze on local students. Some area community colleges and Universities may see major declines in enrollment!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008231486_loanproblems06m.html

JOHN MCCAIN FIGHTS BACK, CALLS OBAMA A LIAR!

I guess enough is enough. Now that Obama is clearly running on panic and his campaign is getting worried, some of the anti-McCain ads are nothing less than the mental illness caused rants of pathological liars and crooked politicians from Chicago. Obviously, McCain has had enough!
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93L6MQO1&show_article=1

REASON FOR THE OBAMA PANIC
Latest tracking polls show him in very fast decline and McCain gaining ground quickly. This could be the end of Obama.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/06/opinion/polls/main4504633.shtml

OBAMA VOTER FRAUD IN OHIO INVOLVES ACORN!

Well, the ACORN folks were rounding up anyone off the street that they could control all over the major cities of Ohio. Guess who these homeless drunks, drugged out meth heads, and mentally ill people voted for: OBAMA THAT'S WHO!
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10062008/news/nationalnews/homeless_driven_to_vote_obama_132395.htm

OBAMA PAL TONY "THE FIST" REZKO IS SINGING LIKE A BIRDIE?

Well, in the end they all rat each other out and the word is that the Obama Campaign is LITERALLY PETRIFIED that Tony is going to tell the Feds everything he knows about POLITICAL CORRUPTION in Chicago politics and OBAMA! Rezko may be a rat, but he sure knows a lot and a whole bunch of people are going to prison before this is over!
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/07/prosecutors-seek-delay-sentencing-tony-reko/

Tony had a lot to do with this FBI raid on another of Obama's buddies
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/03/fbi-raids-obama-friends-home/print/

OBAMA ACCUSED OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE FRAUD!

In fast breaking developments, the Republican National Committee has filed criminal charges against the Obama Campaign for MAJOR CAMPAIGN FRAUDULENT FUNDRAISING. Here are the story links in this fast breaking story:

Strange and unexplained contributors raised flags:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/162403

GOP'S initial Complaint filed TODAY:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/05/rnc_to_file_fec_complaint_on_o.html?hpid=topnews

Foreign ILLEGAL contributions in the mix? Middle East?
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4942Z720081005?

OBAMA AND AYERS A NEW TERRORIST LEADERSHIP FOR THE US?

The media was shocked this last week with of all newspapers the NY Times came out with an expose' about Obama and the weather underground radical terrorist Bill Ayers. Now Palin is not going to let go of this issue:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20081006/pl_bloomberg/aj7yeq09er4q_1

OBAMA CAMPAIGN NEVER HEARD OF AYERS?

Mr. Gibbs and his entourage of Obama campaigners appeared on Fox and Friends this AM and according to them, OBAMA NEVER HEARD OF HIS NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR BILL AYERS, THE GUY HE WROTE AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS BOOK FOR, A MAN HE SERVED ON TWO COMMISSIONS WITH AND A GUY HE TOLD FRIENDS HE LIKES? I suppose the never heard that Ayers said after 9/11 that he wished he had done more terrorist bombing back in the 1970's and told people to kill their parents. Hmmm?
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081006/D93L788O0.html

HEIL OBAMA? OBAMA'S NEW BLACK SHIRTS?

When I first saw this video it is clear that we have some real serious problems with Obama, who has some kind of megalomaniacal desire to do some serious damage to the American Democracy. Look out folks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUEQz5dltmI

AL-QAIDA DECLARES THE DEFEAT OF US ECONOMY?

This is the end of the US declares Al-Qaida official
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081005/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_al_qaida_american_video

THINGS HEATING UP ON ISRAEL'S NORTHERN BORDER

Israel is sending out word to the terrorists: DON'T TRY ANYTHING OR ELSE
http://www.newsmax.com/international/ml_israel_lebanon/2008/10/03/137108.html

PUTIN'S RUSSIA POKING FUN AT THE US

Having a good time kicking the US when it is in a down place may be fun for Putin, but his major problem is the vast sums of money that are fleeing Moscow and headed to New York and into dollars. Things apparently can be bad in the west, but the folks in Russia think things are much worse in Moscow
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/02/europe/russia.php

Is Obama eligible to run for president?

2008-10-04T22:51:41Z

I hesitate to bring this up. I really do. But in our current atmosphere of lawyers scouring the country using the law and technicalities to attack just about everything, I can't help but consider this one man fight in US District Court in Pennsylvania to uphold the US Constitutional requirements on eligibility of a US presidential candidate. I also know that the less people know about a case like this, the more likely the judge in the case will feel safe to quietly rule against it. Given that there is some news related to this story, I will simply provide the links and leave it to readers to judge the merits for themselves.

In the Pennsylvania Eastern Federal District Court there is a case, "Berg v. Obama et al". The case was brought in August of this year challenging the eligibility of Barack Obama to run for the office of president, under Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution.

On September 24, at the deadline to respond, Obama's lawyers submitted a motion to dismiss the case. Ignoring the obvious response by providing evidence to refute the allegations made, the basis for the dismissal was standing of the plaintiff to challenge Obama's status as a "natural born" citizen of the United States.

On September 29, Philip J. Berg filed his response to the motion to dismiss. In this motion are the full details of Mr. Berg's argument why Barack Obama is not entitled to run for president of the United States, and in fact, it even lays out a argument. that argues that on known facts and laws, that Obama may not even be a US citizen.

I am not a lawyer, but I am also aware that the rule of law too often takes a backseat to political pressures and party politics. I do find it ironic too, that for a candidate like Obama who has successfully used technicalities to remove opponents from his own elections in the past, that this ultimate challenge would target not only his right to run for president, but actually suggests that as a US Senator, Mr. Obama has been given access to classified information that he may not be entitled to, if in fact, he is not even a US citizen.

While Mr. Berg awaits a ruling on these motions from the court in Pennsylvania, and while the media completely ignores this case out of disbelief, a fear of criticism, or simply the anger for even suggesting such a situation might exist, I will leave it to Americans to read the response from Mr. Berg and consider the arguments for themselves.

The full history of the case can be seen here:
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-paedce/case_no-2:2008cv04083/case_id-281573/

By clicking on 13, you can see the document submitted by Berg, and even download a PDF version to your computer to examine. I think you should be able to click here to get it directly.

Be aware that the order it begins with is the order provided by the plaintiff should the judge in the case concur with his response. It is unsigned and the case is now pending a ruling by the judge in the case. When the court will rule on this is unknown, and frankly, could be long after the election November 4, or any day. Also note that Judge R. Barclay Surrick was appointed in 2000 by William Jefferson Clinton, so the prospects of a lower-court finding against Obama are probably equal to winning a super-lottery somewhere.

Many believe that our Constitution is a living document, and not subject to literal interpretation. One of its most basic and fundamental rules is on who is allowed to lead this nation as president. If that most basic rule is to be ignored, or if the courts refuse to demand evidence that it has been satisfied, then perhaps we are not a constitutional republic as our Founding Fathers defined us to be.

Sandstorm in Iraq

2008-10-04T13:03:07Z

Just thought I would share a picture of a recent sandstorm we had here in Iraq

Biden Distorts, Exagerates and Lies in VP Debate; Yet MSM Stays Silent

2008-10-04T12:19:37Z

I finally got to watch the VP debate last night here in Iraq and I must say it was pretty good. I feel Palin did exceptionally well and Biden did to....up until the point he decided to distort, exaggerate and flat out lie to try to make his point. The MSM has been utterly silent about these lies and distortions; yet if it had been Palin who made these claims they would have been all over it. Little Green Footballs has the following links to just some of the lies:

Biden lied about "clean coal support"

Biden Lied About Obama Not Supporting Hamas Election

Biden Doesn't Know the Difference Between Gaza and the West Bank

Biden's Lebanon Nonsense

Biden's Big Lie

From National Review Online there is this about the debate lies of Biden

Finally, I would like to point out that Senator Biden, a lawyer who was once the head of the Judiciary Committee, mentioned that it was Article I of the Constitution that spelled out the powers of the Executive branch. Well Senator Biden you are wrong. Article II spells out the powers of the Executive Branch; Article I deals with the Legislative Branch.

Of course I am not expecting the MSM to bring any of this up as it is obvious that Obama/Biden can say anything they want true or not and it will not be reported. I guess the MSM is still to busy trying to decipher what Palin's wink meant.

(cross posted: The TrueSoldier Rants)

Lamestream Media Bias? Fight Back.

2008-10-03T07:35:55Z

One of the primary reasons why I tend to lean conservative is that there is such an overt media bias towards the left.

Again and again throughout this campaign we have watched prominent media figureheads attack conservative candidates with tough questions and gotcha questions, while throwing up lobs for those candidates on the left.

One way you can fight the media is to use their most precious manipulative tools in ways they had not intended.

When you get calls from pollsters, lie. Tell them what they want to hear. Keep them guessing.

Update - Oct 6: Down 438: RU Getting it, yet? Rip-Off List added. So... how's that bailout working for you?

2008-10-02T23:55:46Z

Gee, today's bailout news?

Stock Market: down 438 as I write this.

Do YOU feel "bailed out" yet?

Remember, it was YOUR government and BOTH of our rpresidential candidates that helped do this to you.